Nuggets of Wisdom

I first heard him speak almost 15 years ago.

He didn't have a title or fancy degrees.

He spoke with quiet strength & humility.

He traveled around the world carrying a cross.

He used the cross to open doors to share about The Master.

And most of all, he loved Jesus. It truly seemed to ooze from his being.

"Ministry is the overflow of a life lived in love with Jesus," he was known to say often.

His name is Keith Wheeler, and I found some notes from the first time I heard him speak at Oral Roberts University, during my freshman year, and I was encouraged & challenged by them ALL over again, so I thought I would share them with YOU!

Love God more than you fear Hell.

{living a life of love and not fear}

Once a week, let a child take you on a walk.

{wow! I need to do this one more often - children teach us SO much}

Make major decisions in a cemetery.

{puts life in perspective, don't cha think?}

When no one is watching, live as if someone were.

{character.....}

Succeed at home first.

{what the people who know you best say about you often says who you really are}

Don't spend tomorrow's money today.

{plan for the future while enjoying the moments}

Pray twice as much as you worry.

{oh boy! I need to practice this one A LOT more often}

Only harbor a grudge when God does.

{cause He doesn't right?}

Treat people like angels. Some you will make and some you will meet.

{I love this - people will rise to your lowest [or highest] expectations}

Tis wiser to err on the side of generosity.

{I love this!}

God has forgiven you, you would be wise to do the same.

{that I may have more of His heart}

Toot your own horn.

{not always easy to do this - but good to know who we are in Christ}

Do not feel guilty for God's goodness.

{being thankful for His gifts & promises in my life; not apologizing for His grace}

The book of life is lived in chapters; know what page you are on.

{WOW! This was a big reminder. I have struggled with this in different seasons}

Live your liturgy. Live the sermon that you want told at your funeral.

{I think of this one often}

Fall in love with Jesus and follow Him wherever He is going.

{This is my favorite and it inspired my email address and sign in name - lindseyfoj -- Lindsey follower of Jesus}

***Picture of Keith Wheeler taken from his Facebook page

Embracing the Merriment of May

"The world's favorite season is the spring.

All things seem possible in May."

- Edwin Way Teale

"You are as welcome as the flowers in May."

- Charles Macklin

"What is so sweet and dear

As a prosperous morn in May,

The confident prime of the day,

And the dauntless youth of the year,

When nothing that asks for bliss,

Asking aright, is denied,

And half of the world a bridegroom is,

And half of the world a bride?"

- William Watson, Ode in May, 1880

"Oh! that we two were Maying

Down the stream of the soft spring breeze;

Like children with violets playing,

In the shade of the whispering trees."

- Charles Kingsley

"The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh

In fullgrown thickness every May.

Last year is dead, they seem to say,

Begin afresh, afresh, afresh."

- Philip Larkin, The Trees

Character Quotables

"We'll never grow to spiritual maturity until we learn to do what's

right even when it feels wrong." [Joyce Meyers]

"Character is NEVER built in the classroom,

it's built in the circumstances of life."

[Michael & Bonnie Fehlauer]

‎"God brings men into deep waters not to drown them, but to cleanse them." [Augury]

"Adversity has the same effect on us as training has on a boxer:

it reduces us to our fighting weight." [Josh Billings]

Settled

May today there be peace within.

May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others.

May you use the gifts that you have received and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content with yourself just the way you are.

Let this knowledge settle into your bones.

—Mother Teresa

In His Grip,

Open the Door to A Different World