Goodnight and goodbye Walter 
Speaking of watching what you say…
Someone forwarded this to me a few years ago and I found it in “the archives” recently. I am not sure whom to attribute it to, but I think it is worth passing on. Here it is in its entirety:
THE TONGUE CAN BE YOUR WORST
ENEMY!
Your words, your dreams, and your thoughts have power to create conditions in your life. What you speak about, you can bring about.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your job, you might lose your job.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your body, your body can become sick.
If you keep saying you can’t stand your car, your car could be stolen or
just stop operating.
If you keep saying you’re broke, guess what? You’ll always be broke.
If you keep saying you can’t trust a man or trust a woman, you will always
find someone in your life to hurt and betray you.
If you keep saying you can’t find a job, you will remain unemployed.
If you keep saying you can’t find someone to love you or believe in you,
your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs.
If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship,
then you might end up with it.
Turn your thoughts and conversations around to be more positive and power packed with faith, hope, love and action.
Don’t be afraid to believe that you can have what you want and deserve.
Watch your Thoughts, they become words.
Watch your words, they become actions
Watch your actions, they become habits.
Watch your Habits, they become character.
Watch your Character, for it becomes your Destiny
The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you
settle for.
Thought I would share this with you. “In the search for me, I discovered
truth. In the search for truth, I discovered love. In the search for love,
I discovered God. And in God, I have found everything.”
So it has come to this
Several posts ago, I wrote about a particularly disappointing adventure in a restaurant regarding chicken. I simply refused to wait in a fast food restaurant for FAST FOOD. I ws momentarily nonplussed, but I relaxed and have since gotten over it. Really. However, I have found out that calling 911 is the new and improved way to deal with unpleasant and/or personally annoying social situations. A few weeks ago, someone who didn’t get the correct change in a McDonald’s called 911 to ask for police intervention. A few days ago, I herd (yes, I know) that a woman who’s cattle had gotten loose made a similar plea to our underworked 911 operators. And in case you forgot, last year John McCain’s brother called them to rant about traffic problems in our nation’s capital. As someone who spends a lot of time in traffic going to fast food restaurants…our 911 operators might want to get ready for the onslaught.
A modest proposal & prayer for our nation
Even as someone who has voluntarily served in the military, I have had mixed feelings over the years about the idea of patriotism. I went into the Navy, as most do, before I knew better. I was young, ignorant, and just wanted somewhere to “park” while I figured out what I really wanted to do. I originally wanted to go to college, but it just didn’t happen at the time for a variety of reasons.
The four years I served were a mixture of very good times and very bad times. I met some very good people and some very bad people, but I learned one thing: we are all in this together. At 18 years of age I met and became good friends with someone who had never met or seen a black person…EVER! He had a lot of questions and misconceptions to be sure, but he accepted me as I was. Whether on a ship, in a submarine, or in the barracks…there was no place for prejudice, pride (the bad kind), or pettiness. We all knew that and lived in that reality every day. No, we didn’t all like each other; and we argued, fought, and had disagreements as all “families” do. But we understood that each of us was just as important and worthy and valuable as the other.
As an African American living in the south, I have also learned that often there is plenty of room for each of those–sometimes in the community and sometimes even within the walls of a church building [not The Church.] I am not a raving jingoist, but I do love this country. Even with all I’ve experienced, the United States is where God chose for me to live and as I’ve gotten older, I have learned to appreciate it more with each passing year.
On this 4th of July, I want to offer this prayer in the hopes that we are reminded that we really are all in this {life journey} together and we can, with God’s help, make it more pleasant for each other if we really want to.
Lord,
Grant us peace, your most precious gift.
O eternal Source of peace, bless our country, that it may ever be a stronghold of peace and the advocate of peace in the council of nations.
May contentment reign within its borders, health and happiness within its homes.
Strengthen the bonds of friendship and fellowship between the inhabitants of our land.
Plant virtue in every soul; and may the love of your name hallow every home and every heart.
May you be praised, O Lord, Giver of peace.
Amen.
—Adapted from The Methodist Hymnal
