Morning Briefings

To be grateful for the good things that happen in our lives–the good as well as the bad, the moments of joy as well as the moments of sorrow, the successes as well as the failures, the rewards as well as the rejections–that requires hard spiritual work.

– Henri J.M. Nouwen
Bread for the Journey

According to a new Baylor University survey on religion, 55% of all adults say they’ve been ‘protected from harm by a guardian angel.’ This number surprised the study’s authors, and includes 66% of evangelical Protestants, 57% of Catholics, 49% of  ’other religions’ and even 20% of those who say they have ‘no religion’!

– Michael Medved
Townhall.com

Fortunate are those who take the first steps. Someday people will realize that men and women are capable of speaking the language of the angels–and that all of us are possessed of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and that we can perform miracles, cure, prophesy and understand.

– Paulo Coelho
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

It’s a fact that many traditional employees resent the arrival of a temp from the reasonable fear that their own job may be next to be converted. Be aware that temp workers may well expect a chilly reception, and it is largely the responsibility of the staff to bring them into the team and introduce them in a positive way to the company culture.

– Peggy Post & Peter Post
Emily Post’s The Etiquette Advantage in Business

Clothed in His grace we can do all things, whether to give a talk, go to Africa, battle an illness, kick a habit, lay hands on the sick, or love somebody that drives us crazy. We just believe and get our carcasses to the starting gate.

– Elizabeth Mulloy
Divine Love Song

Those who live in close proximity to their basic values are apt to agonize over choices that other people, drifting over the surface of their lives, might never even see as problems. Sound values raise tough choices; and tough choices are never easy.

– Rushworth M. Kidder
How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living

Most people know how to resolve conflicts between right and wrong, however, right versus right choices are best understood as defining moments. There are small ones that come up weekly, bigger ones every few months and some that really are classic defining moments that come up every couple of years–and you’ve got to get these right.

– Joseph Badaracco
Defining Moments: When Managers Must Choose Between Right and Right (podcast)