First, a joke that my brother posted on his blog...
An American, a Canadian, a
Mexican, a Cuban, a Nicaraguan, a Costa Rican, a Hatian, a Brazilian, a
Bolivian, an Argentinian, a Fin, a Swede, a Norwegian, an Englishman, an
Irishman, a Spaniard, a Frenchman, a German, a Pole, a Ukrainian, a Romanian, a
Bulgarian, a Turk, a Libyan, an Algerian, an Ethiopian, an Israeli, an Egyptian,
an Iraqi, an Iranian, an Afghan, an Indian, a Russian and a Korean walk in to a
restaurant. The manager approaches them and says, "Sorry gentlemen. You can't
be served here without a Thai."
That joke made me laugh out loud when I read it. And I needed a good laugh. Thanks Chris.
In the past 24 hours I've been blessed in many ways... blessed to be able to minister to an old friend who's hurting, blessed by being part of a great Ministerial Association in Pierce, blessed by meeting folks from all walks of life, blessed to have people who say what they feel.
That last one is a little twisted... because in my "line of work", I'm not like a weather forecaster. If I say how things should be, some people can get quite upset with me.
I wonder if the gal on my television station gets angry calls, letters, and visits when she talks about the horrible storms.
I wonder if the Weather Channel gets hate-mail because of a tornado.
I'm curious if the National Weather Service gets people who threaten to "pull their support" because of a 30% chance of rain.
At the same time, if the weather is great, I sometimes feel like I'm in the same boat as a forecaster. After all, when was the last time you called the weather person and said "thanks for the great day"?
Now before you get carried away with the "oh, he's sobbing"... no, I'm not. I'm joking. I'm chuckling. I'm even laughing my butt off because I know of a couple of people who are going to read this and not find any humor what-so-ever.
To them, "bless your hearts"...
Today someone walked up to me and thanked me for being the Pastor of their church. The other day, a couple of people commented on how my preaching has gotten better and better (although sometimes, I'm preaching from my "oldie but goodie" file... did I fall into a slump in between?)
I appreciate the positive comments. It's nice to hear something good in a day, in amongst all of the sad or painful news I deal with.
But I also wonder, such as in the case of my preaching, what will happen when I have a "down day"? If my preaching isn't up to par that week, will everything backfire? Or if I don't make it to the hospital to visit someone because of other visits, will it snap back at me?
Again, I appreciate the positives. I really do.
At the same times, are we keeping focused on the positives?
When we go somewhere - getting gas, buying groceries, seeing a show, visiting a friend - are we bring up the positives, or stuck on the negatives?
Do we mention how great the wait-staff was, or keep griping because the steak wasn't "perfect"?
Are we complaining because we don't get visits, or are we make ourselves more hospitable?
Can we say something nice, or are we too busy whining?
Have we tried to lend a hand to someone, WITHOUT expecting something in return, or are we too tied up with "they shoulda..."
Writer and lecturer Dale Carnegie wrote in one of his books about a man who would get his lunch from a waitress that felt down all of the time. The lunch reflected her attitude... stale, lacking, and cold. Finally, the man addressed the waitress by name one day and complimented her. After that, every time he'd come for lunch, the waitress had a smile on her face, and even tossed some extra chips on the man's plate.
Carnegie's concept is that it is possible to change other people's behavior by changing one's behavior toward them.
Granted, this doesn't always work... a person who is doing some consulting for and with me has tried and tried to make this work with a few people with little to no success. Is he doing something wrong? Does he not have the knack? I don't think it has anything to do with him... some people just can't change, no matter how greener the grass is on the other side.
But for those who are willing to try out that new meadow, things are sunnier, brighter, happier, and more exciting because of the opened opportunities to them.
Next time you get a chance, compliment someone, and do it honestly. Maybe something as simple as how their clothing looks, or how nice they were to open a door for you.
If you can't find anything nice to say, then as the saying goes, then don't say anything at all. This is not only for you, but for everyone else around you, because the more you gripe, the less people will want to hear from you. The more you complain, the less people will come around.
And I'm willing to bet that more people will be happier not being around a whiner, moaner, and complainer than getting dragged down in someones bad habit.
Now go out and give it a try... say something positive to a person, and watch what happens =)
Otherwise, you may look like this...
