What's with the crazy hats?

Practically anyone who knows me, knows by now that my family had two graduations this weekend.   On the same day.  In two different towns.  However, fortune smiled and due to the times of the ceremonies, we were able to attend both.

 

Mindy graduated from St. Catharine's College in Springfield, KY with a degree in Sonography.  Andy graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a degree in Pyschology.  We are extremely proud of them both. 

 

 Countless blessings have come to pass during these last few years.

 

 

Friends made

 

 

 



Love found.

 

Making it to this point has, of course, been a series of celebrations.  And, as any parent knows, the time between these pictures.....

 

 



 

and this picture...

 

 

well, it flew.

 

In honor of these special events, I thought it would be fun to share some thoughts on graduation from a few sources....

 



Tom Brokaw

You are educated. Your certification is in your degree. You may think of it as the ticket to the good life. Let me ask you to think of an alternative. Think of it as your ticket to change the world.

 

Sydney Harris

The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows.

 

Garry Trudeau

Commencement speeches were invented largely in the belief that outgoing college students should never be released into the world until they have been properly sedated.

Incidentally, The square academic cap is called a mortarboard because of its similarity in appearance to the hawk used by bricklayers to hold mortar.  (Or so Wikapedia says)

 

Blessings on all graduates tonight. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magical Monday. Or this is the day that the Lord has made

Here we are again.

Another beautiful weekend come and gone. It was a really good one, too, for me and my family. 

But Mondays tend to roll around and I thought it would be fun to share a fabulous story from the GoodNews Netword.

 



 

An employee from College HUNKS Moving and Hauling service in Florida proved that the company's motivation "to make the world a better place" is more than just a slogan.

A student from the Art Institute of Florida was performing a move for College HUNKS at an assisted living facility inside a 10-story building when the elevator got stuck.

"We were riding with a very nice elderly women," said Cesar Larios. "As soon as it got stuck the lady said she could not stand for extended periods."

So, what did Cesar do? He created a human bench for her.

"I offered to serve as a chair," the 23-year-old told his boss, who contacted the Good News Network. "She was so thankful."

For a full 30 minutes he sacrificed himself for her comfort, as shown in the photo taken by one Larios's workers.

"I thought this was a great example of old-fashioned service and helping your fellow neighbor," said Co-Founder & President of College HUNKS Nick Friedman in an email to us. "Our company mission is to Move the World both literally and emotionally, and this is an example of our brand coming to life."

HUNKS, which stands for Honest, Uniformed, Nice, Knowledgeable Students, has 52 franchise locations and is based in Tampa, Florida.

This motivated company doesn't simply employ "clean cut" college students, their training program, "HUNKS University." teaches them how to embody a leadership mindset and provide WOW service to keep the client stress-free.

Certainly Cesar Larios must have graduated Magna cum laude

 

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/inspired/individuals/man-volunteers-to-be-human-bench-for-old-lady-stuck-on-elevator.html

Sunday

“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
― John Paul II

Saturday

Remembering

 

 

Thursday

Friday

The Light

 

 Once there was Someone who said such amazing things and did such wonderful things that people began to follow Him.  But they didn't know who He was.  So one day, they simply had to ask Him.  And He said, "I am the Light."*

 

Last night at Ash Wednesday service we had an opportunity to light prayer candles for people or things that we wanted to lift up.

 

Steve and I lit three candles (OK, we lit four, but that's because we are uncoordinated).  One for each of our children.  It is a time of new beginnings. 

 

Our son and daughter will both be graduating from their respective schools in May - on the same day, 100 miles apart, naturally.  My soon-to-be daughter-in-law will be returning to college in the fall, after the wedding.

 

We prayed for their futures.  For the right doors to open.  For good judgement.  For joyful days ahead. 

 

We prayed.  Now we wait.  Ugh.  I am the kind of person that needs to know things NOW.  Uncertainty is not my friend.  I want to know what jobs are waiting, what housing will become available, what classes will be offered. 

 

There are things to do, of course to help get ready.  Courses to sign up for.  Finals to study for.  Wedding clothes to buy.  Parties to plan for celebrating these occasions.

 

And, I suppose that is the essence of Lent.  We pray, we get ready for Easter by observing the disciplines of Lent.  And we wait.

 

But we don't wait alone. 

 

After the service last night, someone extinguished the lights.  The flame from the Christ candle was replaced by curling tendrils of smoke, and "the Light is changed so it's not just in one place anymore. It can be in many places at once."*

 

The essence of the Christ candle swirls into the air and becomes part of the world.  It will never be contained in one place again, but is in all places at all times.  Thanks be to God.

 

  

 

*Purple text is from Children Worship & Wonder program.

The Elephant Rope

I love animals (don't we all?) and believe we have much to learn from them.  And so I was interested in this article I saw on Wimp.com, a website dedicated to inspiring or just plain fun pictures and videos.  

How do you control an elephant?  Turns out it might be easier than you think. 

The Elephant Rope

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.

He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. "Well," trainer said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free."

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before?

Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.  Nor should we attempt to be something we are not.

It doesn't fool anyone anyway.

As the always delightful Dolly Parton says....

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.”

You might be amazed at what you are capable of.

Truly amazed!
 

 

 

 

Check out more funny animal pics at Johnlund.com