The saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” is attributed to Jesus by the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts, but the saying does not show up in the gospels. I’m sure many things Jesus did were not recorded. And Paul had intimate knowledge of Jesus’s ministry—from the experience on the road to Damascus and thereafter—and was well acquainted with the other apostles. So, I have no doubt about the veracity of the saying. Still, I struggle with this axiom, not the giving—I love to give—but the receiving. For instance, after playing a flute solo or duet in church, I often receive kinds words from others. I tend to mumble in embarrassment rather than receiving gracefully, or put myself down by pointing out my mistakes, thus creating an awkward situation. I have to practice in order to receive well, which in a way is another form of giving. Here are some of my practice sayings: just say, “Thank You;” share the credit by acknowledging others; quote from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31— “…all for the glory of God.” Now that’s a saying—and a whole lot more!
Stretch is a towering 6-foot-11 Marine vet, a local fixture of my hometown in Iowa. Fifteen years my elder, we became friends while I was still in high school, that influential time. He enjoyed sharing military stuff like funny acronyms used in the Corps: DILLIGAF (Do I look like I give a f*c*?) and FUBAR (F***ed up beyond all recognition!) amongst other unrepeatable sayings. Biting insults like “A waste of human sperm” and rhetorical questions such as, “What the f**k, over?”. He also loved teaching proper gun handling. We’d pack the trunk of my ‘86 Accord, head west of town to the public hunting grounds and go “plinking” with his latest firearm purchase. A giant man, an even bigger gun collector. I didn’t know the first thing about handling guns and was ready to learn. We practiced on aluminum cans, rotting fruit, old televisions. The targets inanimate, never alive. He'd teach proper technique and protocol. “Let the brass cool down, then scoop it into this here bag, Meijo,” he’d instruct, making sure no brass bullet casing was left on the ground. Stretch would reload them later at home, to be used at our next plinkin’ session. Keeping the costs down with Marine efficiency. Minimal waste. A lesson I’ve not forgotten.
“If you’ve been to Tenerife, he’s been to Eleven-erife.” – a saying that never fails to make me laugh.
There was a lad on my uni course who was notorious for it. When someone at a party mentioned they'd been to see the band Paramore, he said he'd snogged the lead singer in a club. We doubted she would have been in a student nightclub in the UK but he insisted it was true.
When someone recalled spotting a (very famous) footballer who lived in the city, this lad told us that only two days ago, he had been walking along near the grounds and the very same footballer stopped his car and gave him a lift all the way home.
That wasn’t so much one-upmanship, I guess, as compulsive lying. It used to really infuriate me; I think because the things that make us cringe the most are the qualities we worry we have inside us too, and I used to exaggerate wildly as a child. It reminds me of another saying that always makes me smile, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
From early on there was a mantra, a true saying that guided me throughout my life. It had to do with the concept of “luck”. My family was always considered the lucky ones. This used to rile my dad as he believed wholeheartedly in Benjamin Franklin´s saying that luck was preparedness meeting opportunity. Honing their innate skills, he and my mother achieved things over their lifetime because they were always honing their innate and acquired skills to be ready to seize an opportunity when presented- Nothing ¨fell into their laps¨ or was presented on a silver platter. Friends and family never truly understood their secret. This resulted in respect and a degree of separation, as well.
The saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” is attributed to Jesus by the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts, but the saying does not show up in the gospels. I’m sure many things Jesus did were not recorded. And Paul had intimate knowledge of Jesus’s ministry—from the experience on the road to Damascus and thereafter—and was well acquainted with the other apostles. So, I have no doubt about the veracity of the saying. Still, I struggle with this axiom, not the giving—I love to give—but the receiving. For instance, after playing a flute solo or duet in church, I often receive kinds words from others. I tend to mumble in embarrassment rather than receiving gracefully, or put myself down by pointing out my mistakes, thus creating an awkward situation. I have to practice in order to receive well, which in a way is another form of giving. Here are some of my practice sayings: just say, “Thank You;” share the credit by acknowledging others; quote from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31— “…all for the glory of God.” Now that’s a saying—and a whole lot more!
Stretch is a towering 6-foot-11 Marine vet, a local fixture of my hometown in Iowa. Fifteen years my elder, we became friends while I was still in high school, that influential time. He enjoyed sharing military stuff like funny acronyms used in the Corps: DILLIGAF (Do I look like I give a f*c*?) and FUBAR (F***ed up beyond all recognition!) amongst other unrepeatable sayings. Biting insults like “A waste of human sperm” and rhetorical questions such as, “What the f**k, over?”. He also loved teaching proper gun handling. We’d pack the trunk of my ‘86 Accord, head west of town to the public hunting grounds and go “plinking” with his latest firearm purchase. A giant man, an even bigger gun collector. I didn’t know the first thing about handling guns and was ready to learn. We practiced on aluminum cans, rotting fruit, old televisions. The targets inanimate, never alive. He'd teach proper technique and protocol. “Let the brass cool down, then scoop it into this here bag, Meijo,” he’d instruct, making sure no brass bullet casing was left on the ground. Stretch would reload them later at home, to be used at our next plinkin’ session. Keeping the costs down with Marine efficiency. Minimal waste. A lesson I’ve not forgotten.
“If you’ve been to Tenerife, he’s been to Eleven-erife.” – a saying that never fails to make me laugh.
There was a lad on my uni course who was notorious for it. When someone at a party mentioned they'd been to see the band Paramore, he said he'd snogged the lead singer in a club. We doubted she would have been in a student nightclub in the UK but he insisted it was true.
When someone recalled spotting a (very famous) footballer who lived in the city, this lad told us that only two days ago, he had been walking along near the grounds and the very same footballer stopped his car and gave him a lift all the way home.
That wasn’t so much one-upmanship, I guess, as compulsive lying. It used to really infuriate me; I think because the things that make us cringe the most are the qualities we worry we have inside us too, and I used to exaggerate wildly as a child. It reminds me of another saying that always makes me smile, “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.”
From early on there was a mantra, a true saying that guided me throughout my life. It had to do with the concept of “luck”. My family was always considered the lucky ones. This used to rile my dad as he believed wholeheartedly in Benjamin Franklin´s saying that luck was preparedness meeting opportunity. Honing their innate skills, he and my mother achieved things over their lifetime because they were always honing their innate and acquired skills to be ready to seize an opportunity when presented- Nothing ¨fell into their laps¨ or was presented on a silver platter. Friends and family never truly understood their secret. This resulted in respect and a degree of separation, as well.