Got Faith

43 Seconds

-Faith is holding onto the unseen as if it is seen.

-Faith believes in a person even when they have yet to perform as expected.

-Faith believes that a bridge, a chair, or a building will stand even though you don’t know the architect.

We have faith in institutions, in products, and in individuals every day of our lives. 

We have to, for that is the way life is.  We either have faith or we stop doing, going and living our lives. 

It’s like this:

I believe in the sun, even though it doesn’t shine.

I believe in love, even when it isn’t shown.

I believe in God, even when he doesn’t speak.

(Written by eyes that chose to see the unseen)

And so … we ask again.

Got Faith?

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

One Word at a Time

Hunches

38 seconds

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a great book a few years ago called Blink.  In a nutshell it deals with hunches.  A hunch is a blink moment when one decides something or someone is true, trustworthy, authentic, right or wrong. 

                                                                                                            Buy Blink - Click Here

Hunches are also impressions we get that suggest to us where to turn, what to try, and thousands of other impulses.

We either act upon our hunches or we leave them alone.  And the only way one can determine this in any given situation is to reflect back on our past – past hunches, past decisions and past outcomes. 

Either you trust you hunches or you don’t, and nobody gets to make that decision for you but you.

How much do you trust your hunches?

P Michael Biggs

Offering Reflective Moments

One Moment at a Time

Top Five "Almost a Minute" (Revised)

Here are the top five blogs based on the number of hits each blog receives.  Thank you for reading.

1.  Sometimes We Just Have to Get Back Up

2,  What Could You Become

3.  Kind Words

4.  Are You Listening

5.  How Can We


Enjoy!

P Michael Biggs
Up-Words.net
Offering Hope
Encouragement Inspiration
One Word at a Time

A Bit of Hope at Christmas

36 Seconds

If you need a bit of hope this Christmas season, consider this.

In the Christmas carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” we find this line:

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

In a world where pockets of war rage on …

  In a world where we have higher prices than ever …

    In a world where peace and stability is threatened

The good news indeed is 

"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep”.

I have hope this Christmas season. 

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words.net

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Where the Road Leads

Where the 

Road Leads

I like road trips - the sights along the way, finding those quaint, local restaurants in out-of-the-way cities – all of that just adds to the whole experience.

 

I 

  like 

    road 

      trips. 

Mary and Joseph made a road trip.  Their road led to Bethlehem.  It was a long trip, especially with a pregnant wife and a slow donkey. 

The end of the trail for them was in a barn in back of a local inn.  That’s where their road led.

But even before that, the road to Bethlehem, and the manger was mapped out, thought out, planned for and told about. 

It involved generations of some righteous and some not so righteous ones.  But the family heritage of the Christ-child was in place nevertheless. 

It was in God’s mind from the beginning of time.  He knew the players who would appear on the stage, and he had them appear on time.   They knew their lines.  They knew how to act, what to say, and where to stand for this road trip leading to the manger.

We are all on that road now. 

     We are headed to Bethlehem. 

          We are in search of what the manger holds. 

Need peace.

                    It’s there in the manger.

Need healing.

                    It’s there.

Need hope.

                   It’s there.

Need (in) sight.

                   It’s there

Need reconciliation.   

                   It’s there.

Need forgiveness.

                   It’s there.

What do you need?

Are you on the road to the manger?

My prayer for you is that you’ll find your way to the manger this Christmas.  There may not have been any room in the inn, but there’s plenty of room at the manger. 

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words.net

Offering Hope

This Christmas

What Can I Give

What Can I Give?

55 seconds

Sometimes we want to change things.  We want to do Christmas a bit differently.  We often pledge to spend less, eat less, shop less, and keep our sanity more intact. 

That’s how we want it to be – but often, in the end, we do the same ole – same ole as we did last year.

We complain about the ‘true’ meaning of Christmas getting lost in the … well, you can finish my thoughts.

Now picture this …

In the middle of it all, we stumble upon a small girl, standing on the street corner.  She is dressed warmly, and her very clear soprano voice sings out these words:

“What can I give him

Poor as I am

If I were a shepherd

I would give a lamb.

If I were a wise man

I would do my part.

Yet what can I give him?

Give him my heart.”

(Christina G. Rossette - 1872) 

After hearing that, life just seems to get simple again.  Christmas calms down, and we hurry a bit less.  We come back to our center and see some things in a fresh light.  

What we most need to give to the one who started it all – Give Him Your Heart!

P Michael Biggs

Up-Words.net

Offering Hope

This Christmas

Your Best

25 seconds

In the Christmas song The Little Drummer Boy, we find this lyric:

I played my best for him

Pa rum pum pum pum

Rum pa pum pum

Gotta love that.  He gave his best.

His best!

What else is there to give? 

Size doesn’t matter.

     Cost doesn’t matter.

          Perfection doesn’t matter.

It’s the giving from the heart that matters.

Hold this thought close this Christmas season. 

Your best is good enough. 

Merry Christmas

P Michael Biggs

Offering Encouragement

One Word at a Time

Christmas Peace

41 Seconds

(Click Here to listen to a podcast of this blog.)

Worrisome tomorrows are the known cause of sleepless nights.  We fight demons in the night-time fearing the worst that can happen tomorrow. 

The word “Peace” comes to mind as we think about this.  Peace is stolen when we fight the demons of tomorrow. 

Ah, but look what is coming – Peace is being able to close your eyes in sleep without fear of tomorrow. 

Got peace? 

It’s a huge part of the Christmas story.  The angels proclaimed

“Peace on earth, 

good will to all men.”

Be at peace my friend.  God loved the world so much that he gave his very best – His Son - our Savior. 

Peace is breaking out.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

A Man for All Mankind

28 seconds

(Click Here  to listen to an MP3 Version of this blog. )

We are a universe with connections.

We all breathe the same air.

We all hold the same dreams for our children for health and happiness.

We are citizens of this world. 

At Christmas time, it is good to remember this …

"Christ was born 

in the first century,

yet He belongs to all centuries.

He was born a Jew,

yet He belongs to all races.

He was born in Bethlehem,

yet He belongs to all countries.

George W. Truett

He is a man for all seasons, all times, all circumstances, and all conditions.

He is God among us.

Merry Christmas

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

At Christmas

The Curious Ones of Christmas

38 seconds.

 It could be said that the shepherds in the Biblical story of the birth of Christ were curious.  The angels appeared and sang and proclaimed and announced.  What was their response?

Curiosity!

And it got the better of them.  They were invited, for sure.  However, they could have said – “No way.  That’s scary.  And who will watch the sheep?”

But they didn’t.  They went.  Their curiosity won.

And they earned a place in Biblical history as the first ones to witness the birth of the Christ child. 

May we rouse up our curiosity this season.  May we wonder and ponder, investigate and explore the joys, expressions and experiences of this great season.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

 Be sure and check out my other blog sites for Christmas posts.  I'll be posting on Monday and Friday through December. 

Now

16 Seconds

The importance of NOW is huge. 

Yesterday was perhaps too soon.

Tomorrow may be too late.

What needs to be done NOW?

Action is the birthplace of accomplishment.

Accomplishment is the starting gate for success.

Let us become the people of NOW!

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

P.S. Beginning Monday, Dec. 3 I'll start posting Christmas blogs.  I have a lot of new ones for this year and am anxious to share them.  A different one will post on each of my blog sites.  I'll post every Monday and Friday.  

Thank you for  being a loyal reader.  Almost every week I pick up a new country of readers - this week it has been Malta and Hong Kong.  

Tomorrow's Successes

25 seconds

In the spirit of one who only wants to encourage you, let me take another stab at a simple concept.

Today’s mistakes become tomorrow’s successes.

Some wise soul once said we learn more from mistakes than from successes. 

Mistakes can be a good thing, if we take the time to review them, reflect on them, and make notes for the future.

I’ve said it before – I’ll say it again:

The arrow that hits the bull’s eye

is the result of one-hundred misses.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

P.S. Christmas themed blogs begin on Monday, Dec. 3.  I'll be posting on Monday and Friday and each one for each of my blog sites will be different.  Thanks for tuning in - read as many as you wish - share them - be  blessed this Christmas season.

Fear

32 seconds

Fear constricts, restricts, stifles, stymies, and stops progress.

What an awful emotion fear is.  Before anything is ever accomplished, we first have to get over fear.

Fear of rejection

  Fear of ridicule

    Fear of rebuke

      Fear of laughter

        Fear of failure

          Fear of being made to look a fool

But the conquering of fear – ah, that is something else.  Sometimes you just have to start.  Sometimes we just have to do the thing and that is the beginning of the end for fear.

Want to bring something great into the world? Just start.  Just do it.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Thinking about Thinking

Thinking about Thinking

29 seconds

Here is a question for you –

Are you thinking about 

what you are thinking about?

I can so easily put my mind in neutral and have a real party of nasty, negative, self-defeating thoughts and this can go on for some time.  And then I wake up and stop the party. 

Our thoughts are what make us – old adage but true.

The Bible verse – “You reap what you sow” is even applicable to our thought life. 

We have to harness the power of our thoughts – our mind.  We rein in our thoughts.  Another Bible verse says “…take every thought captive.” 

I like that.

That is being an on-purpose thinker. 

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Remember This on Thanksgiving

50 Seconds

As you eat the green beans, remember the one who planted them.

As you roast the turkey, remember the workers who grew it from a chick to full adult-hood.

As you take the first bite of pumpkin pie, remember the farm workers who harvested this year’s crop.

As you take a bite of those delicious potatoes, remember the one who planted the seeds.

As you help with the clean-up, remember to thank all those who graciously prepared, cooked, stirred, baked, chopped, and seasoned so that your belly might be full and your memories might be long-lasting.

Happy Thanksgiving,

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

P.S.  I will resume posting on Friday, November 23.  Enjoy your special time with your friends, family and whatever Thanksgiving traditions you cherish.

Intentional Acts

36 seconds

Choices are intentional.

Running for a public office is intentional.

Winning an election is the epitome of intentionality.

Good health habits are intentional.

Training for a marathon is intentional.

The big question is this – are you an intentional person?

Growth and success don’t happen accidentally.  They happen because of on-purpose living.  We must be intentional in order to accomplish the important things in life.

You are an intentional person if …

  -You have good habits

    -You have good follow-through

  -You are a continual learner

    -You are a striving individual

      -You have focus on your goals

Intentional acts lead to good habits.

Good habits make legends.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement Inspiration

One Word at a Time

Wonderers

35 Seconds

Our world needs wonderers.  They wonder about things - about possibilities, about what-ifs and what could be.

Wonderers change the world. They do things that need to be done.

Wonderers invent the airplane.

They go to the moon.

They produce cures for what ails us.

Wonderers write books, produce movies, and tell stories.

They change circumstances.

They always seek a better way to improve gadgets.

Wonderers seek a clearer vision.

They see a need and fill it.

Wonderers always ask “what next”.

I hope you wonder, and then go out and make your wonderings happen.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Your Voice

43 Seconds

Sometimes we say what’s been said before just because we have a voice and we can say it differently.  Sometimes we say it because we have a following that the previous voices never touched. 

Your voice is your voice.  Just because something has been said before doesn’t matter at all.

Look at these examples:

Apple computers vs. DOS computers

Boeing vs. Lockheed vs. Piper vs. Raytheon and on-and on

American vs. Delta vs. TWA – and then along came Southwest, Jet Blue and others

You have a voice. 

Hope you find it and use it in your corner of the world.

Perhaps your perspective and your way of conducting business will become the catalyst for ten, or a thousand, even a million customers.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Guarantees

40 Seconds

Ideas are good to have.  But they don’t come with guarantees.  Nothing is for sure-especially in the beginning. 

But look what an idea might become.

Ideas are just the possibility of something great.  You will never know for sure that your idea will work.  Sometimes you just have to step out-launch it, build it, open the doors, push publish, or make the phone call.

Sometimes we just have to “Do”.  The best ideas are born from uncertainty.

Want a guarantee?  That comes from the confidence you have in your idea. 

Is it burning a hole in you? 

Is it constantly on your mind? 

If so, perhaps that is your guarantee that an idea is good, even worthy of having a life.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Vacation Time 2012

My Dear Reader:

Carolyn and I will be on vacation beginning Wednesday, October 31 - Thursday Nov 8.  We are going to Washington, DC.
I will resume posting on Friday Nov. 9.

If you wish to keep up with what we are seeing and doing, I'll post a daily DC Update blog on Up-Words Morning Notes so you can track with us.  This will begin Wednesday night, October 31.

Here is the link.
http://up-words.blogspot.com/2012/10/fall-vacation-2012.html


Be at peace.
Be encouraged.
Be gentle in all of your relationships.
Express the "I Love You" words often.

P Michael Biggs
Up-Words

The Birthplace for Innovation

43 Seconds

Where is the birthplace for innovation?

It is found in vulnerability. 

There are perhaps thousands of great ideas that have never seen the light of day simply because their creator failed to become vulnerable and show them to the world.  

Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly tells us this:

“Vulnerability is the birth place for innovation, creativity and change.”

Vulnerability is no fun.  People can say bad things about us and take cheap shots at our ideas. 

We do it anyway.

We stick our neck out, step over the line, press “publish”, draw, create, invent or any other act that screams “vulnerable” yet launches some new something that we dare to launch.

That is the way we get things done.  Sooner or later we have to give birth or let our ideas die.

 Order Daring Greatly-Click Here!

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Outscored But ...

36 Seconds

Sometimes the scoreboard time runs out before we've racked up sufficient points.  And if we find ourselves behind, it would appear that we lost.

But did we really?

We only lose when we fail to step up to the plate.

We only lose when we give half our heart.

We win when we put it all on the line.

We win when we ring the towel dry.

We win every time we reach for the unattainable.

We win when we've done everything possible.

Believe it or not, we win, regardless of the score, if we've done our best, given the most, pushed the hardest, and fought bravely for every inch of the battle field.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

One Word at a Time

First an Amateur

37 seconds

Michelangelo intrigues me.  I've read his biography by Irving Stone twice now and I’m still amazed at this man’s talent. 

But he wasn't always The Michelangelo.  He started as an apprentice in Florence just like other greats before and after him. 

…And he learned.

     …And he developed.

          …And he got better.

I could recount the stories of other “greats” who struggled, failed and rose again to greatness. 

Remember this –

Every artist was first an amateur.

 – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Are you an amateur?

Wonderful!

       -Learn your craft.

    -Borrow the best ideas from others.

  -Skate on the edge of your limits

-Make your talent your own

Maybe you too will become a great one someday.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Rise Again

22 Seconds

A wise person once noted:  “As long as you get back up more times than you fall, you’ll be okay.”

It’s the rising after a fall that is the critical piece.

-Mozart was told that his opera The Marriage of Figaro had “too many notes.”

-Thomas Edison was considered unteachable as a youngster.

-Albert Einstein was told by a Munich schoolmaster that he would “never amount to much.”

“Our greatest glory consists not in ever falling, but in rising every time we fall.”  

Oliver Goldsmith

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Imagination Takes Us Places

19 seconds

I love to be around imaginative people.  They think differently.  They do things differently. 

Where would our world be today without imagination?

Albert Einstein, a reasonably bright individual, once said this …

“Logic will get you from A to B.

Imagination will take you everywhere else.”

Where do you want to go?

What can you imagine?

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

Broken Wings Cause Crashes

27 seconds

Have you ever seen a bird try to fly with a broken wing?  “Try” is exactly what he does, and without much success.  Wings are made for flying, when they are in good repair. 

A broken wing …

                       Not much good.

Kind of like dreams –

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die,

life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”

Lanston Hughes

How can I encourage you to mend your broken dreams?

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time

The Idea Catcher

29 seconds

One never knows when the perfect idea will strike for the next widget, gadget, or whatever it is that stirs your imagination.

Many famous individuals were avid note-takers.  They include:

Leonardo da Vinci

  Beethoven

    Jerry Seinfeld

Thomas Edison

  Mark Twain

    George S Patton

      Thomas Jefferson

George Lucas

  Ernest Hemingway

   Ben Franklin

I rarely leave home without my Moleskin.

Kevin Hall, in Aspire, says this:  “The best time to nurse an idea is at the time of its birth.”

Ideas are fleeting things.  Capture them quickly.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Hope

Encouragement

Inspiration

Once Word at a Time

Follow this link to learn more about famous note takers.

http://artofmanliness.com/2010/09/13/the-pocket-notebooks-of-20-famous-men/

Kind Words

Kind Words

October 11, 2012

41 Seconds

Sometimes the best things come in small packages.  Like the gift of a few well-chosen words.  

John Wooden, the great UCLA basketball coach, was famous for coaching tips that were often less than five or six words per burst. 

Reminds me of this quote by Mother Theresa.

“Kind words can be short

and easy to speak,

but their echoes

are truly endless.”

Encouraging words have carried soldiers into and thru intensive battles.

Encouraging words have transformed men and women from a life of hopelessness to one of hope and stability.

I replay certain words that were said to me over thirty years ago.

Never underestimate the power 

of a well-spoken 

word of encouragement.

Words really can last an eternity.

P Michael Biggs

Offering Up-Moments

One Moment at a Time