It is listening!
Not judging, not telling your own story.

Support is not offering advice…
It is offering a handkerchief, a touch, a hug…caring.

We are here to help women discover what they are feeling…
Not to make their feelings go away.

We are here to discuss steps with a woman…
Not to take the steps for her.

We are here to help a woman discover her own strength…
Not to rescue her and leave her still vulnerable.

We are here to help a woman discover she can help herself…
Not to take the responsibility for her.

We are here to help a woman learn to choose…
Not to make it unnecessary for her to make difficult choices.

This day is a special gift from God.
There are many who saw yesterday’s sunset
yet have not seen today’s sunrise. But I
have been given another day of opportunity;
a day to learn and grow.

Today I will sift through the experiences
of past days. I will store up knowledge and
wisdom as treasures, and discard hatred and
jealousies as trash to be burned. I will turn
to God in times of joy as well as in times of sorrow.

Today I will laugh and play with children, love
and assist the elderly, heed the advice of the righteous.

I will smell the roses even though I may suffer
the pricks of thorns. I will strive for the
mountain tops, overcoming steep cliffs and loose
boulders each step of the way; but always feeling
the wind of God’s love blowing in my face.

Today I will arm myself against emotions which
tend to destroy. I will replace anger with love,
sadness with joy, hurt with pity. I will counsel
when counsel is needed; but be silent when someone
speaks; always praying for guidance from the Lord.

I will be firm when firmness is called for. I will
weep with those who weep and laugh with those who
laugh. I will fear no person; for God has given me
this day and no man can take it away without His
prior approval.

And if God is willing that I see tomorrow’s sunrise,
I will have even more treasures to store… treasures
where moth and rust do not destroy and no thief can steal.

- – - written by Steven L. Blanchard

A young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job.

“That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell this tree.” The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, “You can start Monday.”

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by. Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your paycheck on the way out today.”

Startled, the young man replied, “I thought you paid on Friday.”

“Normally we do,” said the foreman. “But we’re letting you go today because you’ve fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you’ve dropped from first place on Monday to last place today.”

“But I’m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “I arrive first, leave last and even have worked through my coffee breaks!”

The foreman, sensing the young man’s integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening your axe?”

The young man replied, “No sir, I’ve been working too hard to take time for that!”

————————————————————————————————————

Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to “sharpen the axe”  In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?

There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But God doesn’t want us to get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like taking time to pray, to read and study scripture or to listen to “the still small voice of God.”

We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

Take time today to sharpen your axe!

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