History without tears

In a car a rear view mirror may be nearly as important as a windscreen! A backward glance can help to avoid past mistakes catching up on us. For a few years I have been involved in the Salvation Army Historical Society and we have been seeking to review the Army's past in order to improve its future. By innovative presentations we have sought to teach 'history without tears' and last evening saw a good crowd gather for such an event.
In our personal lives it may sometimes be good to look back before we go forward. That way we may avoid repeating past errors. To make a mistake once is human but to go on making the same mistake may be just plain daft!

An overload of news

We seem to suffer from an overload of news in these days. There are the recurring themes of the financial crisis, the flu epidemic, attacks by pirates, explosions in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan and so on. Good news rarely makes the front pages of the papers or the headlines on the telly and yet it is present in abundance and to keep a balanced view of life we should keep it in mind. In western countries most of us have plenty to eat and can sleep peacefully in our beds. There are plenty of people ready to do us good turns. The sun comes up each morning. God is good. When I take my morning walk I often make a resolve that until I get home again I will count the blessings which are mine - all manner of things for which I am grateful. I never run out of things for which to give thanks and always feel better for exercising both body and soul. Try it and see!