Buying the Lumber

"Do not count your chickens before they are hatched." - Aesop; 570 BC

The Story behind It: This saying occurs in the fable "The Milkmaid and Her Pail." Patty, a farmer's daughter, is daydreaming as she walks to town with a pail of milk balanced on her head. Her thoughts: "The milk in this pail will provide me with cream, which I will make into butter, which I will sell in the market, and buy a dozen eggs, which will hatch into chickens, which will lay more eggs, and soon I shall have a large poultry yard. I'll sell some of the fowls and buy myself a handsome new gown and go to the fair, and when the young fellows try to make love to me, I'll toss my head and pass them by." At that moment, Patty tossed her head and lost the pail full of milk. Her mother admonished, "Do not count your chickens before they are hatched."

It gives me a sense of normalcy when I read that 570 before Christ there were dreamers!

"Do not count your chickens before they are hatched."

My library is filled with positive mental attitude books. The Magic of Believing – Claude M. Bristol; How To Stop Worrying And Start Living – Dale Carnegie; You Can Work Your Own Miracles – Napoleon Hill; As A Man Thinketh – James Allen; Success! The Glenn Bland Method; The Magic of Thinking Big – Dr. David J. Schwartz; Hung by the Tongue – Francis P. Martin; Acres of Diamonds – Russell H. Conwell; The Greatest Miracle in the World, The Greatest Secret in the World, The University of Success – Og Mandino. This is just to name a few on the top shelf!

Dreamer you’re Honor? Guilty as charged!

The greatest book that sits upon my shelf is my Bible. There is no original thought of value that was not first given by God. We may rearrange the words, make practical-timely applications, include pithy statements or word pictures to better communicate a thought, but if it is good for the mind and soul, its origin is with the Creator.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it (the heart) are found the issues of life. For as a man thinketh in his heart so is he." - Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 23:7

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." - Matthew 5:16

A positive attitude is not fearful because it will help us to trust in the living God. For an illustrate, the disciples were fearful upon the sea of Galilee.

"And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him. And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the wavers: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord we perish. And he saith unto them, Why are fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuke the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marveled, saying What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him". - Matthew 8:23-27

A positive attitude is not skeptical because it will help us to rely upon God. For instance, Paul was not skeptical of those things which he believed.

"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." - 2 Timothy 1:11-12

James Allen concludes his book, “As A Man Thinketh” as follows:

“Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him. Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be, under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know this – in the ocean of life the isles of Blessedness are smiling, and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming. Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. In the bark of your soul reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power. Say unto your heart, ‘Peace, be still!’”

When within your heart lays the unquenchable burning desire to accomplish some great task, though others call you a fool - and circumstances would sound “retreat”, when you feel alone and misunderstood and are humbled by the enormity of your dreams, PRESS ON! If your heart burns with an unselfish desire to be all that God has intended you to be, PRESS ON! Dream, believe, become!

I may not count my chickens before they are hatched – but by God’s grace, I’m buying the lumber to build the coop!

God bless!