June Blog
This month we will discuss:
- Be Happy
- Quotes
- Chesapeake News
Be Happy.
Over the last several years I have volunteered to help in the prison ministry at Bibb County Correctional Facility in Brent, Alabama. Volunteers and inmates never enter the room at the same time; as one group is already in the room. The inmates arrived and they were all very happy. There were high fives, fist bumps and joy just oozing out of them. It was exciting to see and it was hard not to get caught up in their joy.
I was leading a table of 12 inmates, and we finished about ten minutes early. We were sitting around shooting the bull and one of the inmates said, “I don’t know about you guys but I am really happy that I am here.” They all agreed, and again started high fiving one another.
I didn’t understand and said, “Hey guys. Help me out here. Why are you so darn happy? This is a prison!”
The answers I got still have me scratching my head:
- “All of the people I used to run with are dead. I would probably be dead too if I were not in here.”
- “I found my faith in here. I now live a new life and have hope.”
- “I met people who care about me in here.”
However, the main reason they were happy is that they chose to be happy. Joy, or happiness is a choice. There were probably about 800 or so other inmates that chose not to be happy. They were not there that evening.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone enters an area, and they suck the energy out of the room? Of course, you have! You don’t want to be that person. Bring joy into the room when you arrive.
When you walk into a room – you change the environment because of your presence. Let’s all do our best to make that a positive change by choosing joy.
Quotes:
- Humility is the firm foundation upon which our spiritual life is built. Humility is not underestimating our worth or allowing ourselves to be defined by another. Humility invites us to say, “no thank you” to being the center of our own universe. Humility is recognizing that we are God’s creation and allowing ourselves to be grounded in that truth. Kathleen Flood
- There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we
need to learn; whatever steps we take, they’re necessary to reach the places we’ve chosen to go. Richard Bach
- When you make a mistake, don’t look back long. Take the reason of the things into your mind, and then look forward. Mistakes are lessons of wisdom. The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power. Hugh White
- Adversity is another way to measure the greatness of individuals. I never had a crisis that didn’t make me stronger. Lou Holtz
- The greatest ability in business is to get along with others and influence their actions. John Hancock
- The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur. Vince Lombardi
- Happiness is a matter of one’s most ordinary everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self. Iris Murdoch
- When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have a lot of fun, you can do amazing things. Joe Namath
- One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. Lucille Ball
Chesapeake News:
Starting in August we plan to offer our introductory Leadership Development one hour session for free once per month. We are in the process of selecting a venue now. We are doing this as a community service.
We have someone reach out to us to provide a Christian approach to alleviating racism. We had not considered this as a product but we are reconsidering. If this is something that interests you, please give us a shout.