just because (15)

now and then it is good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy
Love is the only thing that can be divided without being diminished
You keep on getting what you've been getting when you keep on doing what you are doing
You can give without loving; but you cannot love without giving
Not only to say the right thing in the right place, it is far more difficult to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment
A sense of humour reduced people and problems to their proper proportions
Learn to say kind things ~ nobody ever resents them
if we fill our hours with regrets of yesterday and with the worries of tomorrow, we have no today in which to be thankful
You cannot help a person up hill without getting closer to the top yourself
Civilization is the slow process of learning to be kind
Enjoy the little things; for one day you may look back and discover that they were the big things
Happiness is inward and not outward; and so it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are
The best and most beautiful things in the world connot be seen or even touched; they must be felt with the heart

So true!!

Very good

7 days of One day at a time:

1. Each new day brings your dreams closer

2. Say something nice to yourself; it's true

3. Why worry about the worst case scenarios? Happy endings are far more likely
4. Choose the path that leads to joy

5. Friendship is a boat that keeps us afloat on still waters or stormy seas

6. Believe in yourself, and there's no limit to what you can accomplish

7. Where you go from here is up to you

" And what is as important

as knowledge?" asked the mind.

"Caring and seeing with the heart,"

answered the soul.

Its always good to self-check ourselves ........ what do we spend our time doing/dwelling on .... is it getting us where we desire to go?

THE BIRTH OF THE SONG 'PRECIOUS LORD'

Back in 1932, I was a fairly new husband. My wife, Nettie and I were living in a little apartment on Chicago 's south side. One hot August afternoon I had to go to St. Louis where I was to be the featured soloist at a large revival meeting. I didn't want to go. Nettie was in the last month of pregnancy with our first child. But a lot of people were expecting me in St. Louis. I kissed Nettie good-bye, clattered downstairs to our Model A and, in a fresh Lake Michigan breeze, chugged out of Chicago on Route 66.

However, outside the city, I discovered that in my anxiety at leaving, I had forgotten my music case. I wheeled around and headed back.

I found Nettie sleeping peacefully. I hesitated by her bed; something was strongly telling me to stay. But eager to get on my way, and not wanting to disturb Nettie, I shrugged off the feeling and quietly slipped out of the room with my music.

The next night, in the steaming St. Louis heat, the crowd called on me to sing again and again. When I finally sat down, a messenger boy ran up with a Western Union telegram. I ripped open the envelope. Pasted on the yellow sheet were the words: YOUR WIFE JUST DIED.

People were happily singing and clapping around me, but I could hardly keep from cryin g out. I rushed to a phone and called home. All I could hear on the other end was 'Nettie is dead. Nettie is dead.'

When I got back, I learned that Nettie had given birth to a boy. I swung between grief and joy. Yet that same night, the baby died. I buried Nettie and our little boy together, in the same casket. Then I fell apart.

For days I closeted myself. I felt that God had done me an injustice. I didn't want to serve Him anymore or write gospel songs. I just wanted to go back to that jazz world I once knew so well. But then, as I hunched alone in that dark apartment those first sad days, I thought back to the afternoon I went to St. Louis. Something kept telling me to stay with Nettie. Was that something God? Oh, if I had paid more attention to Him that day, I would have stayed and been with Nettie when she died.

From that moment on I vowed to listen more closely to Him. But still I was lost in grief. Everyone was kind to me, especially one friend. The following Saturday evening he took me up to Maloney's Poro College, a neighborhood music school. It was quiet; the late evening sun crept through the curtained windows.

I sat down at the piano, and my hands began to browse over the keys. Something happened to me then. I felt at peace. I felt as though I could reach out and touch God. I found myself playing a melody, once into my head they just seemed to fall into place: 'Precious Lord, take my hand, lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn, through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.'

The Lord gave me these words and melody, He also healed my spirit. I learned that when we are in our deepest grief, when we feel farthest from God, this is when He is closest, and when we are most open to His restoring power.

And so I go on living for God willingly and joyfully, until that day comes when He will take me and gently lead me home.

-Tommy Dorsey-



For those too young to know who he is, Tommy Dorsey was a band leader in the Thirties and Forties.