London’s National Gallery is showing nine master paintings and dozens of drawings in the “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan” exhibit now through February 5, 2012. Read the complete Reuters story at Leonardo da Vinci gets celebrity billing with UK show.
Category Archives: FAVORITES
Mother Teresa
Mother Teresa was a Catholic girl born in Albania who asked to be sent to India to serve the poorest of the poor after her 18th birthday in 1928. She became a nun there and established the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta years later. As of her death in 1997, there were 610 missions in 123 countries (more in 133 countries now) that provide home for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis, plus hospices services. They also help families with food, schooling, and counseling (See full Mother Teresa story at Wikipedia).
A woman under five-feet tall, Mother Teresa was a giant in making a positive difference in the world. She even won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. Her secret to success was having a mission in life that no one, not even a Pope, could deter. I read a story once of how she pushed the Catholic Church over years into allowing her new order in Calcutta.
Why is Mother Teresa one of my favorite people? She showed that one person can make a tremendous difference in this world by having a great vision for people to rally around and a lifelong commitment to making it happen. She displayed unconditional love to people in the worst conditions of the world. She did not judge. She just pushed on and expected God to provide – and He did! Her selflessness moved the world’s morale needle in a positive direction over the periods of the Great Depression, World War II, and all the dramatic world events from the 1950s to the 1990s.
I could only hope to be one millionth of the goodness that she was. She was beatified as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta in 2003 on her way to sainthood.
Learn more about Mother Teresa at the Mother Teresa Center.
What is Success?
To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people
and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics
and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by
a healthy child, a garden patch
or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed
easier because you have lived;
This is to have Succeeded.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
MLK Memorial
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. yesterday (10/16/2011). I’m writing about this event since Dr. King has been one of my heroes. He fought for freedom in America and is a symbol of standing up, in a non-violent way, for what is right.
I was surprised to see a sculpture so stubborn, almost angry with crossed arms and a slightly furrowed brow, in a Stone of Hope when I always thought of Dr. King as a beacon of hope, more like a lighthouse or the eternal flame at President John F. Kennedy’s Memorial (see Washington Post MLK Memorial picture). I thought I would see something like Dr. King giving the I Have A Dream speech, showing the great orator passionately insisting that each person act, through non-violence, to uphold freedom and justice for all people (see MLK I Have A Dream picture).
Footprints in the Sand
One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there was only one.
This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord,
“You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you, you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life
there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?”
The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one
set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
– Mary Stevenson
Risk
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool,
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental,
To reach out to another is to risk involvement,
To expose feelings is to risk exposing your true self,
To place your ideas and dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss,
To love is to risk not being loved in return,
To live is to risk dying,
To hope is to risk despair,
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow,
But he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or live.
Chained by his servitude he is a slave who has forfeited all freedom.
Only a person who risks is free.
The pessimist complains about the wind;
The optimist expects it to change;
And the realist adjusts the sails.
– William Arthur Ward
You are Worth More Than Birds
Luke 12:24 – Jesus said, “Look at the crows: they don’t plant seeds or gather a harvest; they don’t have storage rooms or barns; God feeds them! You are worth so much more than birds!”
I thought of this saying when I noticed the tiny spider in this picture – on the flower stem.
Take Care of the Animals
Genesis 1:28 — God said, “I am putting you in charge of the fish, birds, and all wild animals.”
