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A Attitude
"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered." — G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), British author. All Things Considered, "On Running After One's Hat" (1908).
Or, in the words of the more common cliché: "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
Source: The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations
From Aesop's Fables:
THE BAT AND THE WEASELS
A Bat who fell upon the ground and was caught by a Weasel pleaded to be spared his life. The Weasel refused, saying that he was by nature the enemy of all birds. The Bat assured him that he was not a bird, but a mouse, and thus was set free. Shortly afterwards the Bat again fell to the ground and was caught by another Weasel, whom he likewise entreated not to eat him. The Weasel said that he had a special hostility to mice. The Bat assured him that he was not a mouse, but a bat, and thus a second time escaped.
Aesop's moral: "It is wise to turn circumstances to good account."
To escape his dilemma, the bat needed only to point to the obvious. Like the bat, we have some very simple, usable, even OBVIOUS tools at our disposal in life's dilemmas—tools like prayer, scriptural meditation, discipline, righteousness, boldness, and childlike trust. As we become willing to use these tools, we too can "turn circumstances to good account."
Source: SAGE Digital Library
Topics/Tags: Optimism; Attitude; Boldness; Discipline
Hugh Downs said, "A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes." When we find our attitudes drifting away from the godly attitudes God desires for us to have, we must be quick and faithful in letting God do the adjustment which He sees is necessary.
Source: "20/20," ABC, date unknown
Two duck hunters were known for their contrasting outlooks on life. One was an eternal optimist while the other lived out the role of the ever-negative pessimist. The optimist set out to get a positive response from his hunting partner by taking the off-season to train his dog to retrieve the fallen ducks by walking on the water. His dog didn't just swim out to get the ducks, he literally walked on the water. When opening day arrived, the optimist couldn't wait to show off his dog.
Soon enough he got his chance as he shot down the first duck that flew over. Confident that his dog would generate a positive remark from his pessimistic friend, he sent his dog after the duck. Just like he had been trained, the dog walked out on the water and brought back the duck.
He beamed with pride at his negative pal only to hear him say, "Got a dog who can't swim, huh?"
_______
Critics will always abound—yet we can have confidence in the Lord anyway!
Source: Bob Reccord, Leighton Ford Evangelism Leadership Seminar, 1991
Topics/Tags: Confidence; Criticism, unjust; Attitude
"A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition."
____
With the joy of Christ at the fore of your life, you can overcome even the most "cloudy" circumstances.
Source: William Arthur Ward
Dietrich Von Hilderbrand summed up our present American scene in the following 1970 appraisal:
"Our basic attitude of life is one of claiming rights and shunning responsibilities. We have ceased to appreciate the blessings of life, such as health, the beauty of nature, human friendships and love, and then to respond to them with gratitude. Gratitude is the key to happiness. We feel that life owes us the fulfillment of every desire, and if we do not receive this we feel bitter and we feel entitled to take advantage of others. Any question of moral good and evil is eliminated."
_________
Nearly 30 years have passed since these observations, and little has changed. Can we learn to live with gratitude?
Source: "Proclaim," 1983 #4, p. 39.
The person who looks up to God rarely looks down on people
--
Gary Heard
Melbourne, Australia
Source: "Christian Leadership" email discussion list
Topics/Tags: Submission; Attitude; Friendship; Relationships
Life would be more pleasant if we could forget our troubles as easily as we forget our blessings.
Source: "Christian Leadership" email discussion list
"Words can never adequately convey the incredible impact of our attitude toward life. The longer I live, the more convinced I become that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it."
— Charles Swindoll
Source: Dr. Stan Toler, ed., Pastor's Little Instruction Book.
Topics/Tags: Attitude
"A smile is a gently curved line that sets a lot of things straight."
Source: Dr. Stan Toler, ed., Pastor's Little Instruction Book.
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