Goodbye Haruna

IF If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream–and not make dreams your master,
If you can think–and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ‘em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings–nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And–which is more–you’ll be a Man, my son! –Rudyard Kipling

ATTITUDE

by: Charles Swindoll

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.


Lee Ann Womack

I hope you dance

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake
But it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you'll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a real and constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who)
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

(Tell me who)
I hope you dance
(Wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(Where those years have gone)

YOU GET TO Choose!

When I asked a group of seniors what was most surprising about
their high school experience, Fumika's answer was most revealing.
I thought when I got to high school, my skirt would be shorter
and my hair would be a atrange color.

TV and manga have made it easy to think
you can not choose, but you have to do
what everybody else is doing, or what the
girls in the big cities do, or what the
girls in high school TV programs or manga do.


How liberating to discover our own power to choose.

Your Best Life, Your important Choices

Over the years, I have seen hundreds of teens graduate
from high school and swim out into the stream of modern life.

As near as I can tell, they have no firm moral anchor, and expect
that they will just decide about everything as it comes up.


I grieve for them, for their parents, and the children they will bear.

So, I am trying to write a slim booklet
that will at least explain their choices and
give my reasons for the choices I believe are right.

The crucial choices these teens will make are many.

Choosing to be

Drug, Tobacco, and Alcohol free
Sexually pure before marriage,
Hard-working and persistent about achieving their goals,
On the way to Heaven

These are four that I can possibly tackle in a book to give to teens when they leave high school.
Or better yet, study with them a little at a time the last few months they are in my class.
And of course, some day I would like to make it available to others.

PRECIOUS memories

www...thanks Dad...do you know that one of the best things I remember the most living in Searcy during high school was when you would leave me notes by my door before you guys left for work and before I got up...thank you for always taking the time to show that you cared and loved me. I love you

She came to church on Sunday!!!

Hey Brent - Y came to our service on Sunday. She was a
little late, so I couldn't meet her until she introduced herself to
the congregation, but she seemed very outgoing.
Y sat and talked a long time with several of the ladies in the
church and my wife Masako talked with her for a while. I talked with
her, but not for long, because I had some students there, too.
She lives pretty close to us, surprisingly, so I hope we can get
together soon. We are praying for Y.
I think others got a better picture of where she is in her faith now,
but I got the impression she is still a little bit "at arm's
distance," not wanting to feel pressure to believe. I don't think we
pressured her yesterday, although the message was evangelistic, so
hopefully she feels comfortable with us.
We're praying for her relationship situation too.
R

Dear Brent and Sandy

Hello! Brent and Sandy
We attended a cousin's wedding on Saturday. That was a church-type wedding. It was a very wonderful church. A minister read the Bible, and sang a hymn with all. I became a very sacred feeling. Then, I thought that it was gentle when you were allowed to study the Bible. I am filled with a feeling of gratitude toBrent and Sandy!