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Beloved, here is a little exercise I hope you find enlightening and amusing. In the original mailing, the font-color was the same as the background color, so readers had to highlight the answers to see them. In this blog entry, all of the answers are right there for you to see.

Test your reasoning skills
How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?

The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly-complicated way.

2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?
Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator? Wrong Answer.

Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.

3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend…. except one. Which animal does not attend?

Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. Didn’t you just put him in there? This tests your memory.

Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.

4. There is a river you must cross, but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it?

Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got the answers to all questions wrong, but many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.

Send this out to frustrate all of your smart friends.
PS: Just the fact that I sent it to you should make you feel good.

So what’s with the picture? Just tell me which direction the school bus is facing. If the driver starts it up, which direction will it go when it moves forward? To the left or to the right? If you don’t know for sure, drop me a note and I’ll give you the answer.

In closing, here’s some information about another kind of test.

God tests us. He uses one of those incredible essay questions:
“Do you love Me? Why or why not?”

That’s THE BIG ONE worth 95 points out of a hundred possible points. But then he gives us lots of 25 point pop-quizzes with hundreds of bonus questions each worth up to 10 points each. Some are T/F, some multiple-choice, and some fill-in-the-blanks. Yes, He does test us, mostly on the essay, but, Good God that He is, he wants us all to get an A+ so they’re all open Book tests.

I love you, too. Make it a great day. Pray for Peace and believe your prayer will be answered.

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The Lord is my shepherd. thant's all I need to know.

Aloha nui loa kakou! I hope you will enjoy this story. It was sent to me by an MBN member recently. The account itself may be fictional, but the intent of the message is quite clear: God intends for us to be persistent in our faith as well as in our witness. Please continue to pray with, for, and about one another, especially for the persons in the MBN you do not know:

Father, I take a moment to remember everyone in the Moon Beam Network. Watch over them. Bless them. Protect them. Guide them. Direct them. Keep them all safe from any harm or danger in body mind and spirit. Give them your Light. Bless them all for the love we share among all of the members of the Moon Beam Network. Likewise bless everyone I have ever loved and everyone who has ever loved me and anyone who has ever loved them for the love we have comes from You through your Son Jesus the Christ by the ministry of The Holy Spirit. AMEN.

The Last Tract
Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.

This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said, “OK, dad, I’m ready.”

His Pastor dad asked, “Ready for what?”

“Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out.” Dad responds, “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.”

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, “But Dad, aren’t people still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?”

Dad answers, “Son, I am not going out in this weather.” Despondently, the boy asks, “Dad, can I go? Please?”

His father hesitated for a moment then said, “OK, son, you can go. Here are the tracts, but please, be careful son.”

“Thanks Dad!”

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone- chilled, wet, and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted.

Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered. He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited, but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something seemed to be holding him there on the front porch! He rang again and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, “What can I do for you, son?” With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, “Madam, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about JESUS and His great LOVE.”

With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. “Thank you, son! And God Bless You!”

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked, “Does anybody have any testimony or want to say anything?”

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, “No one in this church knows me. I’ve never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live.

“So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof, then stood on the chair, and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, ‘I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.’ I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me.’ I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

“When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice, ‘Madam, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.’ Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

“As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract. Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them any more.

“You see—I am now a Happy Child of the KING. Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God’ little angel who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell.”

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated..

He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son… Except for One.

Our Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above every principality and power and every name that is named.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message. Blessed is your heart for embracing this message. Blessed are your hands for sharing this message.

Don’t let this message die, read it again and pass it to others. Heaven is for His people! Remember, God’s message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you.

Please share this wonderful message…

“Faith is the affirmation and the act that bids eternal truth be present fact.” – Coleridge

Just 3 Words

Three things in life that, once gone, never come back –
1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person –
1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose-
1. Hope
2. Peace
3. Integrity

Three things in life that are most valuable –
1. Love of and for Family & Friends
2. Faith
3. Kindness

Three things in life that are never certain –
1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams

Three things that make a person complete –
1. Commitment
2. Sincerity
3. Hard work

Three things that are truly constant –
Father – Son – Holy Spirit

I ask the Lord to bless you, as I pray for you today. God’s love is always with you, God’s promises are true. And when you trust in him God sees his Son Jesus alive in you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Pass this along to People you want God to Bless – I just did! And I think all of us should make it a point to remember what it says in John 3:17. Look at the image up there again. I love you. Make it a great day!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever— at your service, Beloved ….

chick

Once-in-a-lifetime shot!

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This is an image from our trip to Manhattan. I believe that is an adventure we will talk about for years to come. We had such a good time despite the fact that it was so very cold (well, for a couple from Tropical Hawaii, 40º F is really cold!), and I was sick for a week or more afterward. It’s all good, though, and we’re so happy Mr. Conrad – our Chorus Director – worked on this trip so hard. It took about 22 months to plan it and pull it off. He had the help of many, many people and we are very grateful for their huge contributions. Ms. Nina Saraos made a bunch of important contributions also from designing the logo for the uniforms we wore (a clever adaptation of G-clefs to look like a hibiscus blossom) to accompanist to right-hand and left-hand assistant, to just so much; without her, it would not have been possible for this trip to happen as wonderfully as it did. And of course, the students! My gosh! They were WONDERFUL! We will always feel especially close to those kids for the treasured times we shared together.

Now, this shot was taken on St. Patrick’s day on our way back from a thrilling day at the New York City Opera where the students rehearsed for their Ovations program. This is a special program NYCO runs where students learn the chorus parts from famous operas and then sing them with cast members from NYCO. It was just such a wonderful experience, and our kids made a wonderful impression on the professional with whom they interacted. We were so proud. And to top it off, an alumna from Kaua`i High School who is now working professionally in New York came to sing with us. She was flat-out amazing, and all of us recognized that she had continued to work hard and develop her considerable talent. It was an inspiring moment.

Well, one more time, back to the picture: Crucita and I of course sent out Moon Beams right as we took this shot. Hopefully one of you managed to get outside and take a quick look. Remember, two people can be hundreds – thousands – of miles apart and both be looking at the same moon at the same time.

Meanwhile . . . Tommy and Maria are moving again!! This time it is because the house they are now living in has been condemned. They have a court date this week to give testimony about the lack of heat and A/C, the bugs, the leaky pipes, the drafty walls . . . and the city inspector is testifying on their behalf. Hopefully they will get assistance with locating another place. William had his fifth birthday on 3/29 (seems impossible, but there you go), Charles is excited that he will be going to school soon, and Ana (Miranda) is making considerable progress with her physical therapist and should be starting on SSI very soon. That will help ensure she gets her medical care as she needs it without delay.

Tim will be visiting us in June, and Chanson will join him on Kaua`i toward the end of his visit. She’s just a real gem, and we are so looking forward to meeting her. A long-time friend from my days at Sacaton (AZ) will also be on Kaua`i that week with her two children. Have seen them since they were just little-ones, so that will be fun, too. OH! And our new Goddaughter, Lily Mae Glick will be arriving in June also!!

It’s the final quarter of this school year for Crucita, and once again her students are distinguishing themselves – some for being apathetic, lazy and rebellious and some for being amazingly good at learning prealgebra. One of her students is at the top of his class – a SpEd student doing better than the ‘regular-ed’ students at math. I tell you, she’s a heck of a good teacher!! Kids who will work with her learn more than most people expect them to.

Nobody left except the cats, and they’re turning 3 and 4 this year. We love’em and they are so much fun to be around. There’s lots more happening, but then that’s for future Fridays. For today, I’ll just ask you to pray for peace (and have the faith to believe your prayers will be answered) and to pray for health for our buddy Jim and his stage 4 lung cancer recovery.

I never stop praying for all of you. Pray for one another, please

chick

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I’m a little slow in getting this out this week. It’s been nearly a week since we returned from NYC, and we’re both still off-schedule. I’ll give you a brief sketch of the week:

Left 3/14 at night on the red-eye to Phoenix. Very uncomfortable ride because we were so packed in, but still a happy time because of all the excitement. The trip from Phoenix to JFK airport on 3/15 was also cramped, so by the time we got there we were ready to stretch our legs. Good thing. We would be walking nearly everywhere. Saturday night we settled in after a few little hiccups at that Holiday Inn Midtown. Some folks had to be moved because of some formidable fumes from some construction at the hotel.

Sunday we participated in the Palm Sunday service at St. Paul’s. It was a very moving. St. Paul’s is literally across the street from Ground Zero. Being there really brought it home for many of us. The scope of that tragedy, the size of the site — — impossible to describe adequately. It is more than we can imagine; it must be seen to be fully comprehended. Miraculously, St. Paul’s chapel sustained NO DAMAGE and served as a site of refuge and safety for many feeling the attack and for the workers thereafter. Sunday night we went to the first of five Broadway shows: “The Little Mermaid.” It was enchanting, and a technical masterpiece of staging.

Monday was St. Patrick’s day, but we were very busy with the Chorus Director of the New York City Opera. The students had learned several opera choruses, and the idea was that they would sing the chorus parts with performers from the NYCO cast. We also had a former student from Kaua`i High who is now signing professionally in NYC (amazing operatic soprano!!) join us. It was an exciting time and the kids worked hard. The performance – invitation only – was stellar.

Tuesday we were at the CBS Early show. It was very, very cold. We were provided with a pastry and a cup of coffee which did little to take off the chill. We did finally get a chance to do our thing on the air, and one of the parent/chaperons members of the group got interviewed. All in all it wasn’t worth the effort, and most of us retreated to the APPLE (Macintosh/Apple gear store) located on the property. Lunch was at Planet Hollywood. Let’s just say the experience was good. We toured Manhattan that afternoon seeing sites where films and TV shows were made. Took a nice group picture on the front porch of the Cosby House – the brownstone used to show the exterior. The filming was of course done in a studio elsewhere. Finished up a John’s Pizzeria for genuine NY pizza. We all enjoyed it. Our second show was “Curtains.” It was really fun! Sort of a comedy-musical-murder/mystery story. David Hyde Pierce (from Frasier) was the male lead and he was fabulous.

Wednesday was the best. We took a tour of Harlem. Amazing. Beautiful, Such history!! The tour guide was very informative and gave us lots of information about the cultural and musical history of that area. We stopped at a church in Harlem and listened to a Gospel presentation. We did a number there, too, and Crucita got to help translate a public testimony. She was awesome! Then it was lunch at Sylvia’s! As we say here in Hawaii: “BROKE DA MOUTH!” Fried catfish, collard greens, southern-Fried chicken, corn-bread, Cajun rice and all of it you could eat! YUM! After lunch, we sang at St. John the Divine church. This is the second-largest cathedral in the world (St. Peter’s in Rome is first). There is an eight-second delay – that is a sound echoes for 8 seconds – and our choral music really rang out beautifully. The women’s chorus was especially impressive here. We finished up at Mars 2112. You should check that out online. Weird place, but the kids had a lot of fun there. The food was mediocre but the themed atmosphere was well presented. We finished up with “Mama mia!” Gosh! That was a fun show! We were literally cheering and dancing during the curtain calls.

Thursday, 3/20, we toured the UN. I distinguished myself by taking a header at the top of the escalator while trying to take a picture of a mosaic at the bottom of the escalator – waited too long. No harm, no injury, no foul. That took longer than we expected, so we skipped lunch and went directly to La Guardia High School – that is the scene of – and the subject for – the movie and TV show “FAME.” Our chorus had a musical exchange with their women’s chorus – they sang one, we sang one – and it was magical. We then zipped back to the NYCO and a backstage tour and lecture about Madama Butterfly, the opera we would be seeing that night. Dinner was at a place called Dallas Barbeque. You know that commercial about Pace Picante Sauce? They don’t know how to barbeque in NYC either.

A bit of extra space here for our visit to NYCO and the season Premiere of Madama Butterfly. The students knew the story very well, had been on the set (first time on a Broadway Stage for some of our future stars), and the production was remarkable. Vibrant! The voices and the acting were exceptional. Crucita and I were smack-dab in the center-orchestra section, third row. We were surrounded by our eight excellent, well-behaved students and a host of frequent opera patrons who told us this was the best presentation of this particular opera they had ever seen – including productions at the nearby Metropolitan opera! We were all just thrilled by the performance, and it was also broadcast live on “Live from Lincoln Center” on PBS and then rebroadcast Saturday night (most of us missed that broadcast; just too tired). To cap off the evening, we ended up getting a ride back to the Holiday Inn in a Big Black Limo! Couldn’t get a taxi, but Crucita managed to snag us a limo. Our students were ecstatic.

Friday we took a cruise around one end of Manhattan, saw, but did not visit, the
Statue of Liberty, and finished up the morning with lunch at Bubba Gump’s. We were chilled to the bone that day (and every day in fact), so getting inside for lunch sort of overrode any reaction to the quality of the food. It was OK, though, and we had a good time with the staff. We had a bit of free time, and of course the kids went shopping. Our students wanted to join friends in other groups, so that left Crucita and I a chance to visit several churches, including St. Patrick’s. We were joined by our Assistant Director for those self-guided tours. I have a Moon Shot from that week, but we haven’t downloaded it yet. Dinner was at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. The main feature was the very talent “singing waiter” staff. Here were folks with excellent voices and performing skills, living in Manhattan, but still not on Broadway. Just another view of the rigors of the performers’ lives. You’ve really got to bring it all if you want to make it. We finished the evening with our fifth and final show, Altar Boyz. I wasn’t much impressed, but the kids got a good laugh at the caricatures of religiosity presented in the show. They started off by filling the stage – and theater – with smoke, and that triggered my COPD and started an episode of Reactive Airway Disease. Still, it was a well-staged and energetic performance.

The flight home was torture. We were tired, sick, still partially frozen, and the plane was undoubtedly the most uncomfortable vehicle I have ever flown in. We got into Lihu`e about 2:30 Saturday afternoon and I think most of us went to bed as soon as we hit the door.

In all it was a wonderful trip. Crucita and I found New York to be clean, safe, beautiful, and a place we’d like to visit again – just not when it’s so darn cold!

So there’s a long story, but only about a third of all the wonderful things that happened. We are so proud of our kids, so grateful for all the support hey received, and so appreciative of all the hard work they did – along with the leadership and guidance of Mr. David Conrad the Chorus director and his Assistant Ms. Nina Saraos. It will be an even the students will tell their kids and grandkids about with great fondness.

That’s more than enough for today. Peace be with you. Remember, love one another as He as loved you.

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved

chick

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Happy, happy Aloha Friday Beloved! Since it’s Leap Day, let’s just put in a FUN Aloha Friday Message!

“The Bible in a nutshell”- as told by some junior “Bible students”
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, “The Lord thy God is one,” but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, “Give me a light!” and someone did. Then God made the world.

He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren’t embarrassed because mirrors hadn’t been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn’t have cars.

Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.

After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat.

Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Hesston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh’s people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti then He gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include don’t lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor’s stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother.

One of Moses’ best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town.

After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn’t sound very wise to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don’t have to worry about them.

After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom is s always saying to me, “Close the door! Were you born in a barn” It would be nice to say, “As a matter of fact, I was.”) During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him.

Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn’t stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.

Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, and then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

___
Well, maybe not quite the way YOU heard it, but fun anyway. Remember Proverbs 17:2

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

This one ought to prevent
Dem Bones, Dem Bones, Dem Dry-y-y-y-y bones!!

Lovya!!
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Beloved

chick

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The Great Escape

When I was in Junior High I had many wonderful learning experiences with our church youth group. Some of those lessons were big paradigm shifts in my mind and heart. This is the story of “The Great Escape.” I have used this exercise many times in management training to illustrate the importance of efficacious problem solving. Here’s how it worked in the eight grade:

We were given four sheets of colored construction paper and told to use them to make a paper chain. No specifics were given on the size or color of the links. Some of us swapped colors and made our chains diverse, some cut narrow strips and others cut wider strips, some used short links and some used long links and some used varied lengths. No one decided to make their chain look like someone else’s.

Once we had our chains made, the facilitator told us to pair up. Then she asked us to fasten the chains to our right wrists using some string. Turned out we needed our partner to help with that. The next step was to cross chains with our partner and then tie up the other wrist. The result was something a little like the illustration above in which the paper chains were replaced with strings. The instructions were that we were to “escape” from these chains but without breaking them or removing them from our wrists. “Remember, these are chains you made but they are no longer made of paper. They are of the strongest steel and you cannot cut them, break them, or even damage them.”

Now, if you look at the similarities between the linked people, and the linked rings, you can see where the problem arises: The interlock has no openings! Or so it appears. . .

The story that went along with this was that two brothers were prisoners of a great king. He had them bound together like the illustration and told them that if they could escape without breaking the chains or removing the chains from their wrists, he would set them free. If they could not, they would die together. They were give five minutes to solve the problem. Them managed it just before the time expired. I’ll tell you how in a bit, but let’s go back to the paper chains.

Once we finished the exercise we were told, “These chains are chains you yourselves made. Each one is different, each one put together with what you had or what you could trade for with someone else. You built them yourself. You chose a partner to share them with. You bound your fate together with your partner, and did you best to follow the rules. Until you learned the solution, you could not find a way to escape. All of you had fun doing this, and there was a lot of laughter despite the impending “sentence” that would be imposed for failure. However, no matter how much fun you had, no matter how many solutions you tried, the partner remained bound together because you were working on the wrong solution.

“You can have lots of fun, enjoy your work together with your partner and enjoy finding a solution to this simple problem; however the wrong solution is always the wrong solution! You will fin that to be true in life, in your marriage, in your business, in school, in every experience you have. The wrong solution is always the wrong solution. Another thing you also know is that the right solution will work in this situation, but might not work in all similar situations. However, you also now know that sometimes when you think “This is impossible” it isn’t really true.”

When I use this in management training classes, it is always a great deal of fun as people twist and turn, step through the loop made by their partner’s chain, get their chains tangled up, and finally come to the realization that none of that works. Once they see the solution, they often actually reverse the process, link up again, and then try the solution all over again. It is a lot of fun to work on the right solution as well.

Of course, you can see the values this lesson taught. But there are some lessons that are less obvious and have been used in some of my training sessions.
1. “I choose not to accept that these are paper (or string) chains, and I will break them to escape.”
2. “I can see that the efforts of other around me are not producing results. I will work with my partner to examine ideas about how this can be accomplished by studying the problem carefully.”
3. “I will undo only one link, and then put my chain back together outside my partner’s chain. No one will ever know.”

In addition, the chain is a chain you yourself make – just as you yourself forge your life. In real life it is often true that you cannot break that chain, or if you do it is a traumatic experience rather than a liberating one. The opposite can be true if your chain ties you to someone or something that is not good for you. You can break the chain sometimes by just taking action against it. You can find the solution, too, without having to be shown. But always, always, always, the wrong solution is the wrong solution.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
~~ Albert Einstein

Thanks for taking the time to spend a little time with me today. I’ll see you in the moon!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service.

Chick

And you can find the solution here: http://www.questacon.edu.au/html/the_handcuffs_puzzle.html

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If you hold an egg above your head and let go of it, it will drop to the floor, probably break open, and you most likely would not want to use it. The first part is physics. The second and third parts are the consequences of physics.

Much more on that in future messages, but for now:

RED Asian Lillies

Here we are having another Aloha Friday! Glad you could come along. I decided to re-send you this little meditation today. You see those flowers? Those are hybrid lilies. Hybridization is something man MAKES out of what God CREATES. These are not IMPROVEMENTS on God’s design, but rather a demonstration on the COMPLETENESS of his work. With that in mind:

May your day today be filled with Love and Light from Him by whom are made all good things in Heaven and on Earth.
Romans 12: 9-13

9. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Thank you for YOUR love and light. You have made something beautiful and wonderful out of the love God created for you and in you.