Thursday; July 30


          According to one of those “This Date In History” websites, today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s first professional performance.  On July 30, 1954 Elvis opened the Overton Park Shell Concert in Memphis by singing “That’s Alright Mama” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky”.  (In and of itself, putting those two songs together in a set predicts the type of career the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll would have.)  Oh, and by the way, who were the headliners for the show – Slim Whitman and Billy Walker.  Just about everyone I know is familiar with Elvis Presley, not everyone has heard of the other two guys.
          The reason I bring up this event is that it is a reminder that we never know the potential of the people waiting in the wings.  I am sure that on that day in 1954 no one had a clue that the kid from Tupelo, Mississippi would not only eclipse the popularity of the headliners, he would surpass just about everybody else in popular music! 
          Who are the up-and-comers in our world?  Maybe it is in our offices, our classrooms, our churches or in in our communities – but who has the potential to make a major difference?  The ability to identify these folks is just the first step in making a difference, we then must do what needs to be done to bring them along.  We must never be accused of limiting someone’s potential – especially to maintain our own status. 
          Let’s make sure we support those who come after us.  Not only will we make life better for them, we will also have a positive impact on all of those who are influenced by them.
Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Thursday; May 3

I have a fish tank that allows my three Bettas (Larry, Darrell and Darrell) to live in the same structure, but remain hidden from each other – well sort of.   When I go to feed the fish, I believe that one of the Darrell’s can sort of see that the other Darrell is getting fed and he will linger over on that side of the tank even after I put his food in his tank.   I have to tap on the side of the tank where his food is floating to help him refocus and eat.   I get the impression that he is so interested in what is going on in the other Darrell’s tank that he can’t enjoy his own food. I have been told that the brain of a fish is pretty small – which explains their inability to process “blessings”, but are we guilty of the same malady as Darrell?   Are we so worried (or consumed) by what happens to the people around us that we fail to realize what is going on with us?   Are we envious of the blessings that others are receiving and end up missing out on what we have been given?   Are w
Read more

Thursday; February 14

         While most of us are familiar with today being Valentine’s Day, there are some who actually refer to February 14 th as “St. Valentine’s Day”.  This title is often affixed to a criminally historic event known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” on February 14, 1929 in Chicago, but that is another story for another time.  Not knowing much about the history of “Saint Valentine” I did a little research and found out he was a Roman religious leader who was martyred in 269 AD.  According to my limited research Valentine was killed because of his encouragement of Roman men (especially soldiers) to marry which was in violation of Claudias’ edict that prohibited marriage to keep their minds singularly focused on their task of defending the Empire.  Somehow, from this beginning – and possibly embellished by Chaucer – St. Valentine became intertwined with the concept of romantic love.           I am not really sure how February 14 th became connected with love, but inspired by thi
Read more

Wednesday; December 6

What does it mean to be a leader? I subscribe to the belief that a leader is someone who seeks the best for others and works with them to achieve their potential. There are others; however, who define leadership as the ability to have a vision and the tenacity to get their own way. Leaders who are this way are often portrayed as having developed the maturity to manipulate people to do things their way. However, is the ability to drive people in our direction mature or is it childish? The Christians of the 1st Century came from a lot of different backgrounds and had to work hard to work together. As the Apostle Paul challenged Christians in the city of Ephesus he challenged them to accept individual differences, “… until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. “ (Ephesians 4:13). Bossiness was not to be viewed as a sign of maturity, a willingness to wo
Read more