“Swing hard, in
case they throw the ball where you’re swinging.”
---Duke Snider (1926--), professional baseball player,
primarily with the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was the last to hit
a home run in Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, September 22, 1957
“Lord, enable
me to keep swinging, for I know that in due time you will
provide the harvest in my life.” Amen
August 2, 2006
“There is more
treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure
Island…and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day
of your life.”
---Walt Disney (1901—1966) Artist and Film Producer
“Give me a hunger and thirst for knowledge, especially the
knowledge of you, O God, that I find in the greatest book of
all, the Bible.” Amen
August 3, 2006
“Realize that
true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort
searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world
outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in
getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug.
Happiness is perfume you cannot pour on others without
getting a few drops on yourself.”
---Og Mandino, (1923-1996) Author and speaker
“Lord, may I realize the source of true happiness is not in
getting but in giving, giving of myself to others in serving
you, my Lord and Savior.” Amen
August 4, 2006
“It is better
to be kind to our neighbors than to cross the world to offer
incense to our ancestors.”
---African proverb
“Lord, sometimes it’s easier for me
to send a mission offering to another country than to love
neighbors and those closest to me. Help me to have the love
and compassion to do both, for I know that true love, when
it’s of Christ, will flow from me to the ‘uttermost parts of
the earth.’” Amen
August 5, 2006
“A single event
can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us.”
---Antoine De Saint-Exupery (1900-1944), French aviator,
writer
“I realize that nothing in this day will come as a surprise
to you, O Lord. You have planned this day. Let me have open
eyes and a sensitive heart to sense the significance in
seemingly insignificant events.” Amen
August 6, 2006
“Only those who
risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can
go.”
---T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), poet
“Lord, give me the courage to adventure, to risk, to stretch
my faith. In so doing I trust that you will enlarge my heart
and strengthen my resolve to become the person you want me
to be.” Amen
August 7, 2006
“The central
lure in the Eden account…was the temptation to exceed our
humanity and to ‘be as gods.’”
---Gardner C. Taylor (1918--), Minister
“My Lord, Satan wants to place doubts in my mind to convince
me that you are withholding the best from me. I by faith
choose to follow you and rest in the person you have created
me to be. I trust you to provide all that I need.” Amen
August 8, 2006
“Try not to
become a success, but rather try to become a man of value.”
---Albert Einstein (1879-1955), Scientist and professor at
Princeton University
“Lord, you have created me to be a person of great value.
Let me remember that as I become who you want me to be,
success in its truest sense will follow.” Amen
August 9, 2006
“Many proclaim
the value of patience; few practice the reality of it.”
---David B. Whitlock, Ph.D.
“Lord, it’s so easy to talk about being patient and then tap
my foot while waiting in the grocery store check-out line.
And, it’s easy to meditate on patience and grumble when you
don’t seem to show up on time. Forgive me Lord and enable me
to live the true reality of a patient life.” Amen
August 10, 2006
“An optimist is
an 80 is year old man, who marries a 30 year old woman and
buys a 12 room house, next to a grade school.”
---W.A. Criswell (1909-2002), Baptist preacher
“Lord, help me to smile at life and look for and expect the
best.” Amen
August 11, 2006
“The next time
you use the phrase ‘just a moment,’ remember that’s all the
time it will take to change this world.”
---Max Lucado, in God Came Near, P.13
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Lord, help me look forward to and
anticipate that moment when as the Scripture says, ‘We shall
all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye,’ (I
Corinthians 15:51) and I shall see you in all your
fullness.” Amen
August 12, 2006
“Regardless of
the business you are in, the first step is to eliminate any
fear or worry that is getting in your way. As your worrisome
thoughts gradually disappear and become less appealing, new
ideas and insights will begin to emerge.”
---Richard Carlson, Ph.D. in Don’t Worry, Make Money
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “O Lord, remind me that I am to be
anxious in nothing but trust you for the peace that can come
only from the Spirit of God.” Amen
August 13, 2006
“She always
made home happy.”
---epitaph in a church cemetery, inscribed by a husband
after sixty years of marriage
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “In the midst of all that goes on today,
let me be mindful of the fact that what goes on in my home
will produce an atmosphere—for good or bad--- that will be
long remembered. Enable me by your grace to help us have a
happy home.” Amen
August 14, 2006
“The main thing
about Christianity is not the work we do, but the
relationship we maintain and the atmosphere produced by that
relationship. That is all God asks us to look after, and it
is the one thing that is being continually assailed.”
---Oswald Chambers (1874-1917), teacher, minister, author
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “In all my activity today, let me take
time for you, O Lord, and invite you into every aspect of
this day.” Amen
August 15, 2006
“Harmful words
spoken can negate hopeful words written.”
---David B. Whitlock, Ph.D.
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Let the words from my mouth never
betray the words I write. Let the words of my heart and the
meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
my strength and redeemer.” Amen
August 16, 2006
“A setback is a
setup for a comeback.”
---Willie Jolley
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “O Lord, may I realize that you will
take me where I am and move me to the place you want me to
be. I know that you are working all things together for good
to those who love you, to those who are the called out ones,
according to your glory. I believe that includes me.” Amen
August 17, 2006
“Durability is
more important than ability.”
---Buddy Ryan, football coach
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “I think about that quote, Lord, and I
am reminded that you have built me to last for an eternity!
My abilities and talents may fade, but my relationship with
you will increase. Let me celebrate each day knowing that I
will not only survive but soar.” Amen
August 18, 2006
“Lord, where we
are wrong, make us willing to change; where we are right,
make us easy to live with.”
---Peter Marshall, Pastor, US Senate chaplain
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Give me obedience to change what you
want, Lord, and humility to be patient with others who
haven’t.” Amen
August 19, 2006
“Keep away from
small people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small
people always do that, but the really great make you feel
that you, too, can become great.”
---Mark Twain, (1835-1910), writer and humorist
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Help me choose my friends well, O Lord,
and let me be the kind of friend that empowers others to
become all you want them to be.” Amen
August 20, 2006
“What you
believe is what you achieve.”
---Mark Victor Hanson, author, motivational speaker
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Give me a willing heart to stretch my
faith today, Lord, for I know what I do for you depends on
what I believe you can do through me.” Amen
August 21, 2006
“Always look at
what you have left. Never look at what you have lost.”
---Robert H. Schuller, Minister and author
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Lord, thank you for family and friends,
and those intangible gifts like faith, hope, and love.” Amen
August 22, 2006
“It’s the
seemingly insignificant moments of life—sharing a sunset or
sunrise with someone you love, hearing your children
laughing together, watching your dog wag her tail when you
walk in—that give life its significance.”
---David B. Whitlock, Ph.D.
DR DAVID’S PRAYER: “During the day today, may I see, really
see the people and events around me and what it means in the
eternal scheme of life. Let me take it all in, for I realize
it is passing by so quickly.”
August 23, 2006
“You have
within you right now, everything you need to deal with
whatever the world can throw at you.”
---Brian Tracy, author and speaker
“Lord I am reminded of what Paul the Apostle wrote: ‘I am
quite content with my weaknesses and with insults,
hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak,
then I am strong’ (II Corinthians 12:10). Let me take that
truth and live today with confidence, knowing that in my
weakness, I am in Christ strong and able to overcome the
hardships of the world. You have made me adequate for each
and every trial in each and every moment.” Amen
August 24, 2006
“Perseverance
is not a long race; it is many short races one after
another.”
---Walter Elliott
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Let me be mindful of the fact that
today is one of the many short races that constitute the
marathon of life’s race. Enable me to run well, O Lord, in a
way that pleases you. Give me the stamina to stay in the
race and the focus to keep on the track.” Amen
August 25, 2006
“Some men give
up their designs when they have almost reached the goal;
while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting,
at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.”
---Herodotus (ca. 484-425 B.C.), known as the Father of
History
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Help me remember this day that victory
may be within reach, even though I may not see it now. As I
give this day my best effort, I have faith that I am closer
to victory than I was yesterday.” Amen
August 26, 2006
“A good coach
will make his players see what they can be rather than what
they are.”
---Ara Parasheghian, former football coach, Notre Dame
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Open my eyes to see what others can be
rather than what they are. Let me begin in my home, with
those closest to me, and also to others, the checker at the
grocery store, the indifferent student, my fellow workers,
and the depressed patient…give me eyes of hope for those who
have lost hope.” Amen
August 27, 2006
“Grace is but
Glory begun, and Glory is but Grace perfected.”
---Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758), American theologian,
pastor, philosopher
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Thank you for the gift of grace, O
Lord. What a glorious thought: one day the process will be
complete, and I will be perfected in you, by your grace and
to your glory!” Amen
August 28, 2006
“Good ideas are
not adopted automatically. They must be driven into practice
with courageous impatience.”
---Hyman Rickover, admiral, US Navy
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “This day may I have the courage to
press forward with the ideas I truly believe in. May I not
be deterred by the indifference of others who do not yet
understand the positive nature of these new ideas.” Amen
August 29, 2006
“The church is
in the people business; not the people-pleasing business.
The people business holds the possibility of maturing
disciples into servant ministers. The people-pleasing
business inevitably attracts a customer clientele bent on
self-satisfaction rather than gospel proclamation.”
---David B. Whitlock, Ph.D.
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Give the church the courage to be the
church, O Lord. Let those of us in the church remember that
all people matter to you. Let us also be mindful of the fact
that you have commissioned us to make disciples, not
customers.” Amen
August 30, 2006
“Hold yourself
responsible for a higher standard than anyone else expects
of you. Never excuse yourself.”
---Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887), American clergyman
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Let me look to you, O Lord, and the
standard of what you desire me to be and do. And when I
fail, let me look to you, knowing you are a God who
understands my weaknesses.” Amen
August 31, 2006
“In the long
run, men hit only what they aim at.”
---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862), American author and
naturalist
DR. DAVID’S PRAYER: “Let me focus on what you want me to do
for you today, Lord. Then may I be determined to get it
done.” Amen
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Please
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