I did some grocery shopping yesterday after putting it off as long as I could. So I got a lot of exercise because I parked under a tree way out from the Sweetbay supermarket. It's worth it to keep the car cooler. I also did a lot of walking in the store. Wish the baked goodies didn't look so enticing. Takes a lot of will power to resist!
Later on, I went to the park and it looks a lot nicer mowed and loose limbs picked up. Not too many people were there in the hot day, but several walking their dogs.
The egrets look so graceful with their long necks stretched out against the green and dark, leafy background. If I were an artist I would paint them. Flocks of ibis pecking their way along...one crosses the street, and the others play follow the leader, and soon all are on the other side. Butterflies, yellow, and some yellow and black fluttering along aimlessly...these are a few of my favorite things! God is good!
From the devotional book Quiet Moments with God:
A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth and a word spoken in due season. How good is it! Proverbs 15:23 KJV
Disagreements are a natural part of working together--and different points of view are critical to creative and problem-solving processes. Still, the friction caused when differing opinions arise can cause needless pain and waste valuable time and energy. Occasionally, the best way to convince someone of your point of view while maintaining clear lines of communication is just to keep quiet and "start plastering".
Benjamin Franklin learned that plaster sown in the fields would make things grow. He told his neighbors, but they did not believe him, arguing that plaster could be of no use at all to grass or grain.
After a little while, he allowed the matter to drop. But he went into the field early the next spring and sowed some grain. Close by the path, where people would walk, he traced some letters with his finger and put plaster into them.
After a week or two, the seed sprang up. His neighbors, as they passed that way, gasped at what they saw. Brighter green than all the rest of the field, sprouted Franklin's seeded message in large letters, "This has been plastered."
Benjamin Franklin did not need to argue with his neighbors about the benefit of plaster any longer!
The answer to some disagreements may be to stop talking and try out several solutions together, measure them against like standards, and then resume the selection process. Meanwhile, tempers cool, objectivity returns, and new options can surface.
The best way to keep people
from jumping down your throat
is to keep your mouth shut.
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
