HEART TALKS - BOOKENDS

Everyone knows that books do not stand up by themselves…THERE MUST BE BOOKENDS on both sides in order to make it possible for them to remain upright. Otherwise, they fall in both directions and normally knock some other things down as they do. As important as the books are and as much knowledge as they might contain, they are dependant upon the bookends to keep them in place. These can be medical books, legal books, financial books, school textbooks, religious resource books…it doesn’t matter…they are dependant upon the bookends to keep them together and in place.
People are like that! WE NEED BOOKENDS! We do not stand up very well without bookends to keep us from falling down and probably knocking someone else over, even breaking their spirit and causing them pain and suffering. We all require being held up, held in place. WE ARE TRULY CO-DEPENDENT! We do need each other. We’re different, all of us. It is called “individuality”. We all have different information (called talent and experience) that to the other books are important.
There is something else interesting about the books between the bookends. Everything in those books may not be the best information. Bad things happen! The human element is flawed…every one of us. And, some of what is in the books is of no real interest or value to us, but it is there. THINGS HAPPEN and everything that happens over the course of a person’s life isn’t good or beneficial. We would like to go back and undo some of the painful history in the history book (journal) of our life, for instance. We would all like to undo the hurt that we have caused others, even something as seemingly trivial as hurtful words and/or the denial of the love and affection that we did not receive. THE JOURNAL OF OUR LIFE IS BEING WRITTEN EVERY DAY! We should all be thankful that we have others in the library of life who stand side by side with us to help hold us in place when we fail, or when discouragement drives us to quit.
What about the bookmarks? From the Christian perspective (and this is really important) WE HAVE THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA AS THE BOOKENDS TO THE RECORD OF OUR LIFE…THE VOLUMES WE HAVE WRITTEN BY OUR THOUGHTS AN DEEDS. His name is JESUS! We cannot eradicate the bad things in the book of our earthly life…BUT HE CAN…and that is what really matters most. WHAT HE FORGIVES HE FORGETS…never to remember it against us anymore. Maybe the big challenge is to strive with every ounce of energy we have to be like Jesus and also FORGIVE and FORGET.
I close with the thought that we can always count on “Our Bookends” being there for us, holding us up, cleansing when called upon, and making it possible for us to endure to the end and ultimately be saved. Think on these things! -- Dr. Jerry A. Jones

Another Heart Talk

It’s How You Say it that Matters

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.
A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.”
What he had written was: “TODAY IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND I CANNOT SEE IT.”
Do you think that the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course both signs told the people they were lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be thankful for what you have. Think differently and positively. Invite people towards good with wisdom. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life you have 1000 good reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future with fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don’t believe your doubts and do not doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Life is wonderful if you know how to live it.