As we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. today, let us remind ourselves of some of the things he said.  But let us not stop there for though we have made much progress since Dr. King’s lifetime, his dream has not been fully realized.  Let us continue to stand up again injustice and for justice, against violence and for peace, against hate and for love.

May these 53 statements made by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. inspire you to action.

1. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
2. Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.
3. We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
4. Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.
5. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.
6. Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.
7. I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.
8. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
9. We are determined here in Montgomery to work and fight until justice runs ‘down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’
10. True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice.
11. Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.
12. The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an almost morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.
13. Faith is taking that first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.
14. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
15. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.
16. The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.
17. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality.
18. A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
19. A nation or civilization that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.
20. All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.
21. An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
22. An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.
23. At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.
24. Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle.
25. Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
26. He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
27. History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
28. I am not interested in power for power’s sake, but I’m interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.
29. I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
30. If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.
31. If physical death is the price that I must pay to free my white brothers and sisters from a permanent death of the spirit, then nothing can be more redemptive.
32. It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
33. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’
34. Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.
35. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.
36. The means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.
37. Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.
38. Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.
39. Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.
40. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.
41. Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.
42. The time is always right to do the right thing.
43. The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.
44. The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.
45. The quality, not the longevity, of one’s life is what is important.
46. The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be… The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
47. War is a poor chisel to carve out tomorrow.
48. We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.
49. We must build dikes of courage to hold back the flood of fear.
50. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.
51. We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
52. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.’… I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
53. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Which is the most meaningful to you? What are you doing to continue working towards Dr. King’s dream?

My kids have this natural ability to whine and complain. It must be a gift because they’re so good at it and I haven’t given them one lesson on it. (Or perhaps it’s in their genes, since I seem to exhibit the same ability and don’t recall being taught how to do it either)

Give them one cookie and they whine when I say no to a second. Let them play a video game for a half hour and they complain when it’s time to turn it off. As them to clean up their rooms, do their homework, or eat some vegetables and sometimes you’d think I’d asked them to carry 50 pounds of manure up a 10 mile hill.

When that happens, I often do a quick little exercise with them. I say:

Name 5 things you’re thankful for.

I did this so many times it started to become cliche in our house and my children started whining about the exercise. So, I started to mix it up for fun… Tell me 4 things you’re thankful for that are red. Tell me 6 things you’re thankful for that are sticky. It can be pretty silly at times.  Or it can be more serious… Tell me 3 things you’re thankful for that aren’t things.  Tell me 5 people outside our family you’re thankful for.

The point is that it takes their focus away from what they don’t have and reminds them they have much to be thankful for.

And guess what…

It works for adults too.

The next time you feel like whining about traffic, your job, your struggles, what someone else has that you don’t… name 5 things you are thankful for.

When have you seen gratitude turn around your children’s attitude?  Or your own?

This morning I tweeted:

Good morning! Instead of 1 day of Thanksgiving, how about living a life of thanksgiving?

That’s because I believe as Marcus Tullius Cicero has been quoted as saying:

A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues.

An unthankful person complains. A thankful person compliments.

An unthankful person discourages those around her. A thankful person encourages those around her.

An unthankful person hoards because he thinks he doesn’t have enough. A thankful person gives.

An unthankful person selfishly pushes her own agenda ahead of others. A thankful person selflessly puts others first.

An unthankful person lacks compassion. A thankful person recognizes he wouldn’t be where he is today without the help and has compassion on others who are in need.

An unthankful person disrespects the gifts she’s been given. A thankful person stewards well the gifts she’s been given.

An unthankful person may lie, cheat or steal to get what he thinks he deserves. A thankful person respects the rights of the people around him.

This is why starting each day with gratitude sets the tone for your entire day and therefore also sets the tone for your entire life.

How does gratitude affect your day?

Are you willing to commit to making every day a day of thanksgiving no matter what circumstances you’re in?

Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. –Steve Jobs

Last night the Tampa Bay Rays completed what may be the greatest comeback in sports history.

Not only did they come from 9 games back at the beginning of September to make the Major League Baseball playoffs – something no team in history had ever done before, but they came back from being down 7-0 in the bottom of the 8th inning and 7-6 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Yankees.

It’s an amazing story!

But think back to where the Rays were a month ago 9 games out and given up for dead. Everyone was telling them their season was over. Think back to when they were going into the bottom of the 8th losing 7-0. People were saying, “It was a great effort and they got so close, but it’s over now.”

There is one ominous yet essential ingredient in every great comeback story: a terrible beginning.

Every comeback story, by definition begins with something to come back from, terrible circumstances with a seemingly insurmountable obstacle.

The next time you find yourself in terrible circumstances – a marriage that seems broken beyond repair, an addiction that you can’t overcome, a financial situation that’s about to collapse, a spiritual dead end – instead of thinking it’s hopeless, remember…

You may be on the verge of one of the greatest comeback stories of all time.

Don’t give up until the final out has been made.

If you need some inspiration, watch and cheer…

On September 11, 2001, the unthinkable happened. That day and the days that followed are forever etched in our memories. During that time, we learned so many things we wish we could forget. But even in the darkest moments, light emerged, and we began to learn some powerful truths.  Here’s a video by Igniter Media that speaks to this:

Those who cannot remember the past, are condemned to repeat it. -George Santayana

What do you think of the video? What did you learn from 9/11?

This past Saturday we had a heck of a storm pass through our neighborhood. Strong winds blew the pouring rain nearly sideways, and then the power went out. Our family went to a friend’s birthday party that evening and when we got back the power was still out. So, we went to bed in a very warm, humid house. We were startled awake sometime after midnight by a loud noise as the power came back on, but that was not the end of the drama.

At 4 AM the power went out again with a flash and a bang. A few minutes later a fire truck pulled up in front of my neighbors’ house. A branch of the big oak tree in their back yard was touching the power lines and on fire. The fire eventually burned itself out, and then a crew from the power company showed up with chainsaws. They trimmed tree branches for what seemed like forever, but was probably about an hour. When they were done they turned the power for our street back on. And then the sun came up.

I was pretty tired. And I could have been annoyed and frustrated. Our power goes out in storms several times a year. Why doesn’t the power company bury the power lines? Why don’t they keep the trees trimmed?

However…

Last month in Kenya I met Benard Msandu. I call him Pastor Ben, because he used to be a pastor of a church. As pastor he saw people in his church in need of food or emergency medical care and he started helping some of them in any way he could. There were a lot of poor and sick people in his church and he couldn’t help everyone. He didn’t want to be accused of favoritism and create division within the church, so he resigned. Now he spends all day every day helping people who are hungry, taking people with AIDS and other maladies to the doctors and hospitals, and taking children into his home who have been abused or abandoned. He’s married and has two young children and does all of this with no official job or regular source of income. He relies on donations and gifts, and trusts God to provide. (You can read more about the day we spent with Pastor Ben in Kenya)

A few days before our power outage I saw a message from Ben on Facebook. There’s a neighborhood in his community which could get electricity for the very first time, but they haven’t been able to put together the $300 they need to make that happen.

Focus on the 0.1% or the 99.9%?

In light of that, I can handle being without power for a night. Instead of being upset about the 0.1% of the time we’re without power, I’m grateful we have electricity 99.9% of the time. I’m grateful that when the power goes out, the power company has a crew on the scene within an hour, even at 4 AM on a Sunday morning. I’m grateful we have firemen that come out in the middle of the night.

Serving in the midst of extreme poverty changed my perspective. The memories and my ongoing friendships and involvement constantly remind me of how blessed I am.

Not only that, but trying to fix the 0.1% problems in my life doesn’t seem nearly as important as helping with the 99.9% needs others have.

No matter how rough you have it…

…there’s always plenty to be thankful for. There’s always someone who has it rougher than you. And you don’t have to fly to Africa to find them. In my town and yours there are people who are unemployed and on the brink of losing their house. There are 40 year old husbands and fathers who have just been diagnosed with cancer. There are single moms who can’t keep up with the demands of work, kids, chores, etc. There are homeless people who have given up hope. There are children who have never heard anyone say, “I love you” or “You can do it!”

Find them. Get to know them. Help them.

It will powerfully change your perspective and your life.

How has serving those less fortunate than you changed your perspective and focus?  What do you need to do to further change your perspective and focus?

Do you like to wait?  Me neither. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who does.

In the book The Great Cow-mission, Kevin Weatherby writes:

We all have sat frustrated and wondering what was going on. Our lives just aren’t quite going the way that they should be. We had plans. We had dreams. We even had Google draw us a map. So what went wrong?

Delays often get us frustrated, irritated and down right mad. That frustration can lead poor, rash decisions. It can also cause us to see other people as obstacles. When that happens we get impatient with them, snap at them, and treat them in other, not so nice ways.

Nothing good comes from that.

Kevin goes on to point out four truths that can change our whole perspective and attitude concerning delays. (The 4 points in bold are quotes from the book, the non-bold parts after them are my explanation except for #4 which is all Kevin.)

1) Delays can be opportunities. God sometimes makes us wait because he’s got something else he wants us to do before moving on. Look for those opportunities.

2) Delays can be forced rest from God. Our lives are so busy, sometimes God causes delays just to slow us down and give us some rest.

3) Delays are inevitable. We get frustrated when there’s a gap between our expectations and reality. If we expect delays, we’re less likely to get frustrated when they happen.

4) Delays can be life changing. Are you for sure that you are ridin’ down the road that God wants? Sometimes we get so focus on doing this one thing that we miss all the signs from God that he wants us to do something else. One thing I know is that if you are comfortable, God probably has a different plan for you.

Discussion:

1. Can you think of a time when a delay turned out to be a good thing in one of those four ways?
2. How are you doing in dealing with delays these days?

I’m giving away an signed, hardcover copy of The Great Cow-mission at 5 PM Eastern time today (June 16, 2011). Check out my review and see how you can win it.

In sports and in life, when you’re winning it’s easy to get along with everyone. There are plenty of accolades to go around. Everyone is patting each other on the back. Everyone is happy.

When you’re losing, usually the exact opposite happens. There is plenty of blame to go around. Everyone is pointing fingers. Someone is going to get benched or cut or fired, and teammates begin to throw each other under the bus.

Not so with the Butler men’s basketball team which lost the championship game for the second straight year on Monday night.

Dan Wetzel wrote an awesome article capturing what went down in Butler’s locker room after the loss:

Butler blew it and that’s when fingers tend to get pointed and playing time gets questioned and selfishness can rise up. If only he had made that lay-up. If only he had knocked down that open jumper.

“It’s very easy to just think about yourself and be frustrated in the situation,” Howard said.

Instead, the Bulldogs showed all the talk was real. They did it one hug after the next. One whispered “I love you” after another. One pat on the back and look into the eye and honest bit of concern. The harder some cried, the harder the rest worked to ease the pain.

Stevens stood in that locker room, took it all in and saw the kind of miracle for which coaches strive – collective support in the lowest and rawest of moments. Kids caring about kids. Perspective and purpose on display. It may not get you a clipped net, but that’s some kind of championship in itself.

Even if you’re not a sports fan, you don’t want to pass on this moving  article.

We all love to win, but isn’t it when the chips are down that you find out who really loves you? And they find out whether you really love them?

It’s easy to be married in heath… good times… and in joy. But you gain a whole new appreciation for your spouse when you stick together in sickness… bad times… and in sorrow.

It’s easy to be a friend with someone who always there for you and makes you feel appreciated. But you find out who your true friends are when you mess up, hurt someone, and are in need of help and forgiveness.

It’s in the tough times we learn that good friends are more important than good circumstances.

Agree or disagree? Can you cite an example from your own experiences?

Now that you’ve got a personal mission statement (you did take the time to write your personal mission statement, right?) and you’ve got a clear idea of what you want your life to be about, it’s time to honestly evaluate why you’re doing what you’re doing and put the kibosh on those things that are leading you away from your mission.

The truth is we waste a lot of time, energy, and money over the course of our lives doing things to

• compensate for our insecurities
• run from our fears
• gain affirmation
• measure up to other people’s expectations
• escape pain or boredom

Often we’re not aware of our true motives.  Sometimes we start doing something out of noble motives, but then we begin to drift or things get out of control.

For example…

If you’re working 60+ hours a week, is it really because you love your job and want to serve in that capacity as much as you can? Or is it because you’re afraid of failure? Or perhaps because you feel like you never measured up and this is your chance to be somebody? Or do feel like you need the house, the car, and the vacations to fit in and be successful.

If you spend a lot of your time and money shopping for clothes is it because you have a passion for fashion? Or is it because you long for people to notice you and compliment you on how you look?

Are you drinking too much, eating too much, watching TV too much, playing too much Farmville, or overly absorbed in a hobby or recreation because it’s a comfortable escape?

Are you staying in a dating relationship with someone you know isn’t good for you because you hate being alone or are afraid of an uncomfortable break-up?

Are you serving in a certain role because you can’t say no or don’t want to disappoint someone or feel like you have to to be a good mom, dad, employee, Christian, or ____?

Are you spending a lot of time blogging, tweeting, facebooking because you want attention and affirmation?

You Don’t Have Time for That Stuff

If you take the time to examine your motives, you may find a number of things you’re doing for underlying reasons you weren’t aware of, things that are contributing to your stress and busyness, things that are leading you away from your dreams instead of towards them. These are things you can cut out or cut back on if you remind yourself of the truth:

You are important, one-of-a-kind, and have a unique mission to accomplish in this world.

You are too important to unknowingly waste your time running from fears, numbing pain and boredom, and pursuing affirmation for its own sake.  You don’t have time NOT to examine your motives.

Where have you seen people waste time and energy motivated by things they may not have even been aware of? Where have you seen this in your own life?

5) Create a Personal Mission Statement <– Things You Don’t Have Time NOT to Do –> 7) Focus on Your Strengths