Neely Young: Words Of Wisdom

Each December I present to our readers a Christmas column made up of old sayings and quips. Some are from famous people like Abra-ham Lincoln or Erasmus, while others are some I hear from friends and family.

They all show a bit of truth, wit and whimsy and should bring a smile to your face.

I’ve learned that Lincoln was right. It’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years.

I’ve learned that you measure your friends around the heart.

I’ve learned that a positive thinker learns to knock the “T” off can’t.

I’ve learned that happiness is an inside job.

I’ve learned that Bill Gates is correct. Spectacular success is always preceded by unspectacular preparation.

And that you should treat your friends as you do your best pictures and face them in their best light.

I’ve learned that you can only keep one thought in your mind at a time, so you should make it a good one, as Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said.

I’ve learned that if you think big, believe big and act big, the results will be BIG.

And that Walt Disney was most likely right. He believed the four most important characteristics for success are: Curiosity, Confidence, Courage and Consistency.

I’ve learned that the time to make friends is before you really need them.

I’ve learned that the old saying is correct. “Nobody likes you when you’re down and out. When you have money you have friends aplenty, when you don’t have money, you don’t have any.”

I’ve learned that Theodore Roosevelt was right when he said: “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

And that our grandchildren accept us for ourselves, without rebuke or effort to change us, as no one in our entire lives has ever done, not our parents, siblings, spouses or friends.

That experience is the dividend you get from your mistakes.

That America is interested in the whole world because that’s where most of us came from.

I’ve learned that nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.

And I have learned that life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react to it.

Here are some more quips from friends:

From Gail Aronoff I have learned that good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.

From Nell and Bob Hall: “Years wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” And “The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which bridge to burn.”

From Frank Moore: “Just think. If it weren’t for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.”

From Senator Lindsey Tippins: “Pick your battles and foes carefully. You might win a fight with a skunk, but the lingering odor of the contest will make it not worth the effort!”

From another friend: “Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.”

And, of course, more Church Bulletin Bloopers: Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These notices were printed in church bulletins or were announced at church services.

The Pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday morning.

The fasting and prayer service will be held Wednesday and includes meals.

Stewardship Offertory: “Jesus Paid it All.”

Hymn 47: “Hark! An awful voice is sounding.”

Don’t let worry kill you off – let the church help.

Ladies: The Pastor is on vacation. Massages can be given to the church secretary.

And my all time favorite: The Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet in the church next Thursday at 7 p.m. Please use the back door.