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| Dew Drops On Hydrangeas An Every-Day Miracle |
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"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.
My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:
1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time.. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come....
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."
7 comments:
Wow. Thanks Don and Ange. This helps me immeasurably.
Gregory
You are most welcome. My ntcc eXperience has taught me so much. One lesson was to learn from others instead o learning the hard way. But an even bigger lesson was to TRUST MY INSTINCTS.
My first impression of r w davis was that he was mean and not someone I would want in my life. Right on both counts. Observing davis' m.o. Has taught me that bullies like davias and kekel put others down because the bullies are insecure. davis and kekelhave such low self esteem they constantly tear down others and belittle others in order to level the playing field. If davis and kekel have mocked you, it is because they see you as a threat. davis and kekel know that you are a better person than they are. Rather than work on themselves, they try to pull you down. Like the crabs in a pot of boiling water that won't let each other escape, they keep dragging you down. Next time anyone tries to put you down know in your heart that you are a better person than they are.
Don and Ange
Sounds like a really neat lady that has alot of wisdom. It is especially true for NTCC parents about # 37.
True.
Anonymous said:
"It is especially true for NTCC parents about # 37."
Don and Ange said:
#37 - Your children get only one childhood.
This is one of the saddest things that we have had to witness in the ntcc. A child learns what he or she is taught by example more than words. Children in the ntcc have received permanent damage that will remain a part of them until the day they die. When you grow up in a cult, as a child, you miss out on all the normal activities and all the good times. No child should ever have to spend their childhood in the ntcc. What kind of memories are they going to have? Getting laughed at by all their friends?
Ask Sarah Goodwin, her sister and Mother who have all commented on this blog, what kind of memories they have of the ntcc. It's beyond sad. The damage is irreparable. They can't go back again and try to get it back. Everything they have learned from the ntcc has shaped them into what they are and there is much regret and sadness in their lives. Children learn all this garbage when they are at an age that they believe everything they are told by adults. The damage becomes permanent and healing is a life long process.
Ask Jeff, the Shunks or anybody that has left and they will tell you that as an adult you never get over the cult experience. How much more do people suffer that have been through this in their childhood?
Don and Ange
I think that a child will learn to hate God when they are in NTCC because of these facts:
1) The harsh way they are treated by their parents
2) They are told to abstain from so many activities (now the leaders have had a revelation)
3) They are told to avoid different types of friends, especially those outside of NTCC
4) They are forced to move from place to place with their parents in the NTCC ministry
5) They observe and hear the leadership and only feel the condemnation that their parents may/may not acknowledge
6) Many times they do without financially, time with parents, and emotionally for the sake of their parent's ministry
7) A combination of all these things affects their outlook on who God really is and what He thinks of them
Ask John St. Clair how many children grow up to stay within NTCC.
Anonymous, ...
You make some excellent points here. We have copied your comment and added it to the thread "Take My Children To ntcc? NOT after reading THIS..." Thank you for your comment.
Don and Ange
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