Monday   Morning Coffee

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Between stimulus and response, there is a space.
In that space lies our freedom and power to choose our
response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
~ Stephen Covey

WHEN THE WIND BLOWS!

From the book "Wellsprings of Wisdom" comes this story:

A sturdy but diffident young man asked a farmer for a job as a farm hand. "What can you do?" inquired the farmer. "I can do whatever needs to be done, and I can sleep when the wind blows," replied the applicant. Although mystified by the phrase "sleep when the wind blows," the farmer did not press the question but hired the young man.

Some nights later a violent storm awoke the farmer. He got up and tried unsuccessfully to arouse the farm hand, then with considerable annoyance went out himself to see if all was well. He found the barn locked, the chicken coop properly closed up, a wagonload of hay covered with a tarpaulin that was securely battened down, and all else in a condition of safety from the elements. Then the farmer realized what his new farm hand meant when he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows."

Think how often the storms of life give us a wakeup call. How many times have those storms caught us with our guard down and our barn unlocked? The hired hand knew that simple precautions practiced on a daily basis could render impotent the howling winds of uncertainty in life.

Stephen Covey, in his "Seven Habits," talks about being proactive - heading off problems before they arise. While the hired hand never read the book, he understood the practice of closing up the chicken coop every evening. So, how are YOU sleeping when the wind blows?