Books and banter by W.H.Manke

The year 2012 has almost vanished.  Solomon wrote many, many years ago that there is a season for everything.  Are there then no enduring things? This weekend might be a good time to think on things we think might be enduring.

Let’s lake a bit of time to contemplate also on the following ten words.   

In the Bible we read God’s Word will endure forever.

Maybe there we can also find something to guide us in 2013.  In it we read that what He wants us to do is to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him.

It sounds like a reasonable code to live by, in my opinion, and should keep me out of trouble in the New Year

Happy New Year!

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In its native environment an opal looks like any plain rock with no hint of brilliance or great worth.  But after it comes into the sunlight and is polished, it sparkles beautifully in shades of blue, green, red and yellow.  Of all gems it most closely resembles the beauty of a rainbow.  It is a unique gem.

The rock from which the opal comes took much time to form.  To reach its full beauty it has to be carefully shaped and polished.   Once it is finished it is a gem of unique beauty. It is worth a great deal.  Its beauty delights  those who look at it.  Jewelers say that the opal is a stone alive with beautiful fire.     

Each person, in my view, is like an opal.  DNA tells us that each person is one of a kind, unique.  A life once lovingly shaped and polished possesses a unique beauty, and can create a great deal of good, bring much joy and happiness to those that life touches.

For this weekend, here in ten words or fewer is this encouragement for you.  This weekend take time to reflect and remember.

Each person, each life is unique, beautiful  and priceless.            

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We are, in my view, in the busiest season of the year.  It’s a time when we can become so entangled in doing a multitude of things that we forget what toll it can take on us.  So here is a reminder to slow down for a few moments each day this weekend. Take time to reflect on what some of our blessings are.  Here in ten words or less is what I want to do to keep my sanity, and I hope you will do also.

 Reflect and enjoy the beautiful things near you.

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One way I had initially planned to update this blog regularly was to add a few words of encouragements  weekly.  Starting this week I will post at the beginning of the week a few words, less than ten, that I hope to be encouraging.  I will also add a challenger or riddle to help keep Mr. Alzheimer at bay. In addition, at the start of each weekend I plan to add a new statement or quote to focus our thoughts on things other than work.

For the first part of this week I hope these less than ten words below will be an encouragement to a few of you.

                           Even tiny personal improvements are victories!   

Victorious

And here is the challenger.  The date this coming Wednesday can be written as 12/12/12.

First, calculate or guess when the next time will be  that the date may be written that way.

And if you were to place the multiplication mark between the numbers instead of the slashes, how much would you have to add to the product to make 133 bakers’ dozens?

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