Scott and I went to Toy Story 3 this weekend and loved it!

Even today… three days after viewing I find myself remembering movie moments that tug at my heart… moments that reminded me of days gone by when my little boys wouldn’t leave the house without a cape (bath towel) tied around their necks and a Batman, T-Rex or Power Ranger grasped tightly in one hand while the other hand held mine.

“ It seems like that was yesterday” I found myself telling my nephew and niece after the movie (they happened to be at that same viewing) as I nodded at their little ones holding on to their favorite toys. Where are your boys?” they asked. “Not with us” I responded longingly “Not with us”... and I missed them.

It’s not like they were far away… one with friends and the other at work just a few miles away… but I missed them none the less.

I missed the “little boys” and their capes and their toys and most of all I missed the gift of a time when there wasn’t anywhere else they would rather be... except with me.

I was reminded of a passage by Khalil Gibran in Chapter 3 of The Prophet that I share below as tonights food for thought & inspiration...

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,

- Speak To Us of Children!

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you, and though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You give them your love but not your thoughts, for they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness:

For even as He loves the arrow that flies so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Khalil Gibran, The Prophet

Hmmm... From Toy Story 3 to The Prophet Chapter 3... only on the Butcher Block Exchange :) !

Sunday Night Week in Review...

As I close out this evening I thought I would share the story that inspired me the most this week. The stand out quote that touched me more than any other.

Let me begin by giving you a little background...

My friend Brant is in the midst of battling brain cancer. As you can imagine the effects of surgery to remove most of the tumor in his brain and the follow up chemo & radiation has been hard on him, his family and all those who care about him.

Brant's wife Lucy posts frequent updates to his "Care Page" and her message below inspired me more than anything else I read this week.

Lucy shared:

"Yesterday one of our ministers, Meg, visited with us. One of the questions she asked us was what is sustaining us during this time. I told her that I felt that my answer should be constant prayers, deep faith and reliance on God. I told her that honestly what is sustaining us are the people around us, our community. She offered the perspective that perhaps it is God, in people clothing, sustaining us. We indeed feel that we are being carried through these circumstances in ways we could not have imagined. There are so many different ways that we have been carried--reflective of the variety, character and personalities of those around us. Incredible...."

I could not possibly add anything to her comments except to ask all of you following this blog to keep Brant, Lucy and their son's Foster & Calvin in your prayers.

I thank you all for joining me here at this "community" we are creating together at the Butcher Block Exchange. I look forward to what this next week will bring and to sharing more food for thought & inspiration with all "the people around us".

My BEST!

Mary B. Lucas, B.D.

Example... here's a pic of the Brennan sisters courtesy of my pal Patti on a weekend getaway all curled up with one of their favorite books (actually it is one of mine as well).

And now... I am looking for a good good book to take on my weekend getaway and I am hoping some of you may have an idea or two to share!

Please post a comment here on this blogspot... or on the Butcher Block Exchange Facebook page... or if you prefer send me an email at: mary@maryblucas.com sharing the title/s of the last good book/s that you read and I will consolidate all responses and post a summary list for all our readers.

In the meantime... check out the video link below in order to inspire yourself to get off your duff and dance to the tune of a good good book!

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY9goJVX32I

ENJOY!!!

Hello blogger followers… isn't this fun?

Today's food for thought & inspiration comes courtesy of Dan Bolen. Dan is the founder of the Bank of Prairie Village here in my home state of Kansas.

I was so inspired by his recent Chairman’s letter I am sharing some excerpts below...

Thirty some years ago I remember a beautiful Autumn late Sunday morning, sitting on the front porch of my fraternity house nursing a rather large cup of coffee. I vaguely recollect thinking that if I stared at the coffee cup long enough, it would reveal the mystery of where I had left my car the night before.

Up the fraternity circular driveway came one of those enormously long luxury cars of the late 1970's. It was of the old Detroit variety -the type that had both a hood and trunk roughly equal to the size of a formal dining room table. I can't remember if it was a Cadillac El Dorado or a Lincoln Continental -but I did know it was not the type of car a college student could afford.

I was surprised as the driver stepped out. Instead of the expected sports coat or business suit, the 50s something hard looking man was wearing a cowboy hat, western cut coat, and boots. The face was wind burned and weather lined. Even with a pounding brain, I summoned the manners~(reinforced by the prior year's pledge training) to stand up and welcome him.

The visitor looked at me and my coffee cup. Nodding in my direction, he simultaneously pulled a cigarette and Zippo flip-top lighter from his pockets, lit up and repocketed the lighter in one swift, practiced motion.

He took a long drag and while exhaling said, "Son, you can sit there all day staring at the coffee cup. I suggest you find some of the dog that bit you, take a long slug and start doing something useful." With that he turned, looked at the front door of the fraternity and requested I "go rouse up" his son and "bring him out to daylight."

I found his son buried deep under the covers of his third floor rack. With much shaking and cajoling, I managed to convey that his dad was on the front porch.

It was then that I witnessed one of the fastest adrenaline fused sobriety recoveries of my collegiate career. In an instant the previously prone young man jumped from the bunk bed, grabbed his clothes and managed to completely dress himself while rushing down three flights of stairs.

By the time I stumbled back down to the front porch for my coffee, the cowboy dad and his son had more or less finished their conversation. Placing his arm on his boy's shoulder and in a deep tobacco cured voice, the cowboy Dad commented loud enough for me to hear, "Now remember son, don't let your schooling get in the way of your education."

I spent the rest of the morning sipping my coffee---contemplating the cowboy dad's remark, (and still trying to remember where I left my car). I later learned the cowboy dad was one of the largest ranchers and among the most astute businessmen in the state of Kansas.

Years later I cannot tell you what classes I took that Fall semester or whether I have ever utilized anything from them in my professional career. However, I do know the rancher's admonishment to recognize the difference between schooling and education has both stuck to and served me well.

Dad used to say... “Learn something from everyone you meet” and I think this story is a great reminder of that as well as:

Hi there...

As promised this post will be short & sweet.

Sharing below a link filled with food for both thought & inspiration.

I now know what I want to be when I grow up… a “polymath” … or maybe I already AM one… YOU be the judge. Are YOU? Check out the link below to a speech I heard while attending my God Son's graduation from Carnegie Mellon this past month. I especially love the whole idea of  "Lifelong Ascent".

You Tube Video: Lifelong Ascent

Hope you find this as INSPIRING as I did.

Enjoy!