After seeing the author on the 700 Club, I had to have his book, On Fire. Surprisingly, it wasn't at Lifeway. I started on Wednesday night and finished Saturday, not reading Thursday or Friday night. It's in my top ten favorites and I read a lot. I made highlights on 111 of 272 pages.
Trust me, you don't want to be in a fire. Or do you? Fire is a source of heat, cooks our food, warms our homes, strengthens steel, forms glass, powers engines and clears deadwood. It removes old vegetation, fertilizes the land with life-giving nutrients, breaks open seeds and triggers new growth. Some seeds require fire to soften their outer shell after the seed falls to the earth, so it can take root and grow.
At 9, author John O'Leary lit a piece of cardboard on fire, walked over to a five-gallon can of gasoline and tilted it. He was burned on 100 percent of his body; 87 percent were third degree. Burned skin will never grow back without donor skin; donor skin must come from the recipient's body. The mortality rate for burn patients is calculated by taking the percentage of the body burned and adding the age of the patient.
Yet O'Leary has no regrets. He said it would destroy all the gifts galvanized because of what happened to him. He would have denied the world the chance to hear of his miracle of survival, the wonder of his life and the magnificent potential of theirs. His experiences shaped him, character drove him and faith guided him.
What if he had stayed in a fearful, self-focused mindset? Thankfully, he decided no more sleepwalking; no more accidental living.
His mother's face was an inflection point, a moment in time that changes everything that follows. In the hospital, she said, "Own your life. Fight for it yourself. Choose not to die. Take the hand of God." She forced him to pick up his fork to feed himself. His doctor told the janitor he was keeping him alive. By keeping the room clean to stop infection.
He tells of a story between two Roger Staubach employees fighting over commission. They could not work it out and Staubach donated the commission to charity. They should be responsible for succeeding together or for failing together. Their choice.
He says to erase it's not my fault from your vocabulary. Say, "It's my life and I'm responsible for it."
The O'Leary family lost their house and his siblings lost time with their parents during his five-month hospitalization. They were ages 18 months to 17. Neighbors opened their homes. His sisters were prescribed sleeping pills because of witnessing the event. One sister likely saved his scalp and face by running in and out to pour cups of water on him. Another spoke assurances to him. His older brother swung the flames and urged, "Wake up. Stay awake. Don't go to sleep." The community raised money, donated blood and offered prayers. It was all a gift. Staff, siblings, parents, celebrities, family, friends and strangers. A little boy fought. God had orchestrated it. Love had fueled it.
O'Leary lost his fingers, the ability to walk initially and was scarred from his neck to toes. He was sedated, mummified and strapped down. We pluck, smear foundation, wax, curl eyelashes and whiten teeth. Ads make us wonder if we keep up. We are not afraid of who we think we are, but who we think we're not. He tells the story of Phra Phuttha Maha Suwana Patimakon. Chip away the plaster, pull down the mask, peel off the bandages and allow the miracle of your life to shine brightly.
Know your story, what you've been through and what matters most to you. One person told him, "John, if you really knew me, you'd know that when I was seven, my father was murdered and my mother and I were both grateful."
O'Leary's dad now has Parkinson's and he had never missed day of school, college, law school or work. O'Leary spoke with his dad who said he was grateful it was not a more serious disease; he had time to reflect; on days he can't speak or walk he is grateful for the ones he can; and is thankful for handicapped parking spots. Instead of looking for what he is lacking, he looks for what he is blessed with. We know people who have everything and are grateful for nothing and those who have nothing and are grateful for everything.
What is a victim's favorite question? Why me? Victors see the past as a powerful teacher and view the future as bright, O'Leary said. They consider challenges a gift. They look at what they have, not what they lack. They escape from chains that bind and walls that trap them into a life that is on fire and a party that is raging. They unlock vitality, optimism and longevity.
In the famous nun study, 34 percent of those who were least cheerful in journaling were alive at 85. Ninety percent who were most cheerful were still alive at 85. A decade later, 54 percent of the most cheerful were alive at 94, compared to 11 percent of the least cheerful.
O'Leary says you can't have joy without gratitude. A man in jail listed 31 things he was thankful for--heat, air, library, warm bed, laundry service, chance for redemption, new friends, leaving behind old circumstances, three square meals daily, pillow, blanket and life.
O'Leary's doctor said perhaps he couldn't be a court reporter, but could be a lawyer or judge. He may not play baseball again, but he could manage a team. He may not be a carpenter, but could be a general contractor.
Glenn Cunningham, silver medalist in the 1936 Olympics, came to see him. Cunningham had been in a fire in which his brother died. He knew he wasn't going to live his life sitting down, so he got up. He died two weeks after visiting O'Leary at 78. Cunningham and Roy, his nurse, showed him the power of looking up. Whether we are too injured, scarred, filled with excuses because we have been trained to keep our eyes down making sure we don't trip, know that looking down is practical. But you must look ahead or you will miss the beauty of what is possible. Cunningham over four decades served, raised, fostered and encouraged more than 9,000 children at his ranch. The world celebrates status, the medal, the house, the beautiful face, but the medals deteriorate. The house ages. The face sags. The victories we clamor for often end up feeling hollow. But what Cunningham did after the fire burns long after he is gone. It's a ripple effect.
Therapists took O'Leary to the broom closet for his painful treatments out of respect for him and other patients. He had hernias, broken bones, burns, bandage changes, infected abscesses and cellulitis. His joints were stretched, blood was drawn from his toes and skin grafted from his head. He now says to intentionally stretch every area of your life.
When a couple stop pursuing one another, stop choosing to really love, stop choosing to grow together, stop forgiving, they begin to die. They donn't fall out of love. They stop growing in love. Death seldom occurs overnight. It's a slow fade. The changes can be subtle, but make no mistake; in choosing not to grow, we choose to die, O'Leary says.
O'Leary now gives presentations that educate, inspire, engage, motivate and transform audiences. Owning your own story can be hard, but not nearly as difficult as spending our lives running from it is an appropriate Brene Brown quote. O'Leary threw up before speaking to four Girl Scouts on his first attempt to tell his story. Now he speaks at 120 events annually held by organizations in healthcare, sales, marketing, financial services, education, spirituality and safety. Southwest Airlines, LEGO and Enterprise Rent-A-Car are clients.
At one presentation 24 years after the incident, nurse Roy appeared as a surprise. He said, "John, I did my job. I mattered." Roy realized it that day. Roy was always saying, "You are going to walk!"
Jack Buck, voice of the St. Louis Cardinals and Hall of Fame announcer, was someone O'Leary idolized. He, too, visited, saying, "Kid, wake up, you are going to live." He promised John O'Leary Day at the ballpark. He scrubbed up, gowned up, walked into O'Leary's room and into his life as a stranger. Buck sent other athletes. A hockey player said he would score a goal for him. The team and the mascot brought pizza after one game.
A next door neighbor told a friend who told a friend who shared the initial burn news with her neighbor whose dad sat next to Buck one night. The impact of a single spark is profound. Buck sent a baseball from All-Star shortstop Ozzie Smith. "Kid, if you want a second baseball, you have to write a thank you note to the man who signed it first," wrote Buck. This made fingerless O'Leary write again. By the time the Cardinals played in the World Series that October, a little boy in St. Louis had received 60 baseballs and sent 60 notes.
Years later, O'Leary spoke three different times in different cities in a matter of days. People lined up to share their stories about someone who impacted them. Three times it was about Mr. Buck. In New York, Buck bought someone's lunch. In Missouri, it was a starving artist who was painting Buck's house. Buck invited him to create a painting of Cardinals Hall of Famers. They sold 250 for charity. It raised $500,000 and launched the guy's career. In Illinois, a man was to open a sales meeting and could not speak due to nerves. A man walked up and put his arm around him, read the first line on his notes and said, "OK, kid, I think you can take it from here." Buck again. Buck sought significance over success. Significance attracts success.
Buck gave O'Leary his Baseball Hall of Fame crystal baseball from 1987, the year of the burn, for graduation. One person can make a difference. O'Leary named his oldest son Jack after Buck.
O'Leary once was a hospital chaplain. He discovered that saying nothing during times of great emotion is often the best form of communication. Strolling in the park, sitting with a child on the beach and rocking on a porch are OK. We just want someone to be fully present.
O'Leary marries. The principal told O'Leary his boys were the only ones who pushed kids' wheelchairs and sat at lunch with those with special needs.
While fear suffocates, love liberates, O'Leary said. When he was discharged, his dad had a wheelbarrow with champagne and Life Savers. O'Leary thought his dad would kill him for what he had done. He was once in trouble for having grass stains covering his church clothes when he was told to change.
Pedro Arrupe said what you are in love with will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed, how you spend your weekends, what you read, what breaks your heart and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, it will decide everything. Or replace love with the word fear. When you let go of fear, your hands can finally grasp the love and joy that have been waiting all along.
Nothing worthy is easy. Get the kids tucked in, prayed up and in bed. Instead of I do, we say I have to. Say I want to. Love is not just reserved for our inner circle. It is intended to be the currency of our world.
What if you could walk into every interaction expecting a smile, new friend and true connection? What if every moment was a miracle? What if every interaction was seen not from the perspective of what might go wrong next time, but from one certain that the best is yet to come? Perhaps Mark Twain said it best: I have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.
O'Leary also quotes Og Mandino, my father's favorite: I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.
O'Leary stresses don't confuse getting out of bed with being fully awake. Every great spiritual teacher discusses the importance of staying awake, learning to live in the present moment and not being fixated on when things might get better in the future. The name Buddha means awakened or I am awake. Jesus often told his followers to wake up, to keep watch, to be alert, to be on the ready. My favorite verse is Mark 31:13. Take heed, be vigilant and pray. For you do not know when the time may be.
O'Leary adds don't be mired in regret or defeat.
Unbelievably, O'Leary's parents' house caught fire a second time. It was something in the toaster that lodged while they were outside. Being a contractor, which O'Leary had become, he could rebuild the same house burned two decades earlier. There is always a chance for redemption, to rebuild, to await a miracle, O'Leary said.
He said the most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire.
This book is an invitation to start living your life again. You can lead a radically inspired life.
Remember, “The tongue is like a fire, comprising all iniquity.” (James 3:6)
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Thursday, December 15, 2016
My Top Miscellaneous Tweets of 2016
I narrowed my many 2016 Tweets down to about 575 favorites. I usually put them in my Chritmas Treebune, but they would not fit. I broke them down in categories and blogged them this year. See more categories below.
Here's Miscellaneous:
I found a Nerd in my shoe. Also weird to find half of a pen
in your boot.
Top Religious Posts 2016
RELIGIOUS: JOEL, JEREMIAH,
LUCADO, WAR ROOM , JOYCE, KLOVE, 700 CLUB
#soonerthanexpected #joelosteen
You will reap from what people in your family line did
correctly. #joelosteen
God balances the books. #joelosteen speaking a math sermon
today
Is your laugher rusted ? #joelosteen
I'm going to go before you and clear the path. #joelosteen
Don't stay focused on the burden and miss the blessing. #joelosteen
God will either marvel at your faith or unbelief.
#joelosteen
Praise is invisible vapor that when it fills a cloud, rain
of blessings come down. #joelosteen
God goes to the stinky places. #joelosteen
God, I turn it over to you. #joelosteen
Bad things are not going to finish me off. #joelosteen
nowhere in the bible does it dwell on bad things
#joelosteen #itsontheway God is the author and finisher.
Don't look around. Look UP. #joelosteen
Be in the valley of wholeness, victory, breakthrough.
#joelosteen
Rams don't normally go that high up the mountain. #abraham
#joelosteen
The healing was in the obedience. #naaman #joelosteen
God will give you inside information. #joelosteen
God will suggest. It's up to you to respond. Obey.
#joelosteen
You'll never be good to someone else without God giving back
to you. #joelosteen
God knows dead ends, shortcuts and bumpy roads. He closes a
door because you might not be ready for it to open. #joelosteen
Keep your lid when someone tries to dump their garbage on
you. #joelosteen
One word can start a problem or a blessing. #joelosteen
Some people bait you into conflict. #joelosteen
U should have secret place/inner sanctuary 4 peace. Negative
doesn't go there. Worry doesn't give up ez. It will try 2 get in. #joelosteen
Quit asking can God and say God can. #joelosteen
Praise precedes the victory. #joelosteen
Your character will never develop without a test.
#joelosteen
Create your own finish line. #joelosteen
You let go by grabbing hold of God. #joelosteen
Thrust me to a larger platform. #joelosteen
God inhabits the praises of his people. #joelosteen
Spring up, oh healing #joelosteen (finances, spouse,
offspring) #singtothepromise
I never tire of #joelosteen. Record is probably 5 hrs.
God works where there is faith. #settime #joelosteen
Set your alarm. It's victory, abundance, favor, acceleration,
healing time. #joelosteen
When God gets up, the enemy trembles. #joelosteen
I never meet with a person before I meet with God. #joelosteen
Threat canceled. Solution en route. #joelosteen
U can miss your destiny caught up in someone else's life.
#joelosteen
God can use your enemies to push you up. #joelosteen
Deals are finding me. #Supplyline #joelosteen
God has a hedge of protection around me. #joelosteen
I have never felt like God said, "Joel, you have a lot
of nerve to ask for that."
Reprogram your mind. #joelosteen
God pulled you back to shoot you further. #joelosteen
If the sun goes down in bitterness, it comes up in
bitterness. #joelosteen
Pray for fame but use your influence to help others. #joelosteen
When you pray, act like it's your birthday. #joelosteen
The enemy will not wear me down. No battle fatigue for me.
My time is coming. #joelosteen #noweariness
Goliath was sent to promote David. #joelosteen
God has allowed u to be pulled back because he is going to
shoot you further. #joelosteen #bowandarrow
God wants to do things in your life that are mountable.
#joelosteen
Fire, poverty, divorce, high blood pressure could not finish
his father off. #joelosteen
Go back over the major victories in your life. Healing,
jobs, spouse. #joelosteen
U r a miracle waiting to happen for someone. #joelosteen
Am I going to live to please people or God? #joelosteen
What if you were only 19 no's away from your yes.
#joelosteen
Look up thru ur eyes of faith and your Heavenly Father will
be nodding yes. #joelosteen
They were in the valley, but they didn't make the valley
their home. #joelosteen
That trouble has an expiration date. #joelosteen
Great heroes have #faithinthemiddle #joelosteen
Geronimo Bernstein, but my friends call me Bubba.
#joelosteen
You're not at risk. You are at possibility. #joelosteen
Don't forget what God has done. #joelosteen you have a
history with God #getfuelfromit
U can run but not hide from God. #joelosteen THIS IS THE ONE HE LIKED.
Bills? Loneliness? Hurting? Help another. #joelosteen
#tameyourtongue #joelosteen
Live not need-minded but seed-minded. #joelosteen
David referred to hurtful words as scars. #joelosteen speak
words of life, faith, encouragement. Never say you are a bad boy.
Bad words take up space for the good words. #joelosteen
#acceleration #joelosteen it can happen. Water to wine did.
We say to part the river, then we will go. Go, then He will
part the river. #joelosteen
No more. That's enough. That's what u would say to a thief
who came every day. Why not do the same w worry? #joelosteen
Sheep rely on the shepherd. #joelosteen
Good thinking @JoelOsteen on putting up the bush to avoid
the sign. "I'm not putting up another worry tree."
Your life is going to follow your thoughts. #joelosteen
God knows how to catapult you. #joelosteen
Ships don't sink when the water is around them. They sink
when the water is in them. #joelosteen
Switch over to things that are of a good report. #joelosteen
God is not limited by your medical report. #joelosteen
Your mind needs a break. It wasn't designed to carry loads
all the time. #joelosteen
You're en route. #joelosteen
He anoints your starts and stops. #joelosteen
#MikeIlitch what a story. Injured #Detroittiger starts
#littlecaesars and now owns team. #joelosteen
That prayer has the flu. #joelosteen don't do weak prayers.
Don't become what happened to you instead of what God
created you to be. #joelosteen
Pebble or boulder? Check your roots. Have a report of
victory. #joelosteen
You will be a mogul, a magnate #husbandsayings I immediately
say thank you, #joelosteen
What do u know? Jesus did it again. Good one, @JoelOsteen
God is a running over God. Not a get by God. He is thinking
overflow. #joelosteen
Crippled man was expecting the ordinary. Alas. Read Acts 3.
One bit of favor can thrust you to a new level. #joelosteen
Thank you for the glory I am in right now. #joelosteen
Being down on yourself keeps you from improving. #joelosteen
U r the only person you can never get away from. #joelosteen
I'm going to take the punishment you deserve. #savior
#davidjeremiah
Savior is the name of our Lord's purpose. He has more than
300 names. #davidjeremiah
If you want to call it holiday, it's derived from holy day.
#davidjeremiah #merryCHRISTmas
It's important when you start saying us and our and we. Stop
talking about I and you and me. #davidjeremiah
The closer you get to Him, the closer you get to each other.
#Godlymarriage #davidjeremiah
The bible is God's owner's manual. #davidjeremiah
May the bible rule your heart and guide your feet.
#davidjeremiah
1 + 1 equals 2, 3 or 4 in marriage because u r powerful.
#davidjeremiah
Now that is a cool idea. Bible conference on a cruise.
#davidjeremiah
We take the blush off marriage. #davidjeremiah
Live every day unto itself. #davidjeremiah
He is a creator and sustainer God. #davidjeremiah
Worry pulls today's cloud over tomorrow's sunshine.
#davidjeremiah
Fix your eyes on the master's face. #davidjeremiah
Decide what you believe before the temptation comes.
#davidjeremiah
Worry pulls today's cloud over tomorrow's sunshine.
#davidjeremiah
Forgiveness is always your turn. #davidjeremiah
Trying to forgive yourself is like shaking your own hand.
#davidjeremiah
Sin is an insult to the one who sustains us. #davidjeremiah
God's forgiveness is connective. It gets you right w others.
#davidjeremiah
If the request is right, timing is right and you are right,
God says go. #davidjeremiah
Don't pray thy will be changed. Do you instruct God or show
up for duty? #davidjeremiah
Don't harbor something sinful and try to pray.
#davidjeremiah
Not because I but because He. #davidjeremiah
While the rest of the world is going that way, I'm going
God's way. #davidjeremiah
The existence of a creator implies he is in charge.
#davidjeremiah
If there is no God to whom you report, the culture goes
astray. #davidjeremiah
You cannot sin away the grace of God. #davidjeremiah
Christ saved us from eternal doom. #davidjeremiah
Lord, I would like for you to be the president of my heart,
not the resident. #davidjeremiah is on fire today
Thanksgiving is not situational. It is a spiritual attitude.
#davidjeremiah
Factory fire of $2 mill. Next am,
Edison looked at ruins & said, There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes r burned up. Thank
God we can start anew. #davidjeremiah
If you are laying in a hospital bed and the only place to
look is up, up is where the help comes from. #addingtomybook #davidjeremiah
Israel is a center of innovation. #davidjeremiah
16,000 babies born at parkland, 70 percent illegal.
#davidjeremiah
The mere shepherds graced the guest list for when the Bible
was first presented. #davidjeremiah
God isn't finished w America. The main ? is is America
finished w God? #davidjeremiah #revival
His blessings outnumbered his needs. Man w MS. #maxlucado
David has written the 23rd Psalm. Where discontent goes to
die. #maxlucado
Bing's tunes, mistletoe kisses, the clatter and seeing what
was the matter. Love @MaxLucado
He tests us where we are to make sure we can handle it
later. #joycemeyer
The moment u r confused is a signal u went too far. Give it to
God. #joycemeyer
Yes I'm _____, but God ... #joycemeyer
Fear and pity don't move God. Only faith moves God.
#joycemeyer
Read the chapter of Proverbs that corresponds to the day.
Have one takeaway. #joycemeyer
We don't have time NOT to spend time with God. Nothing is
wasted. Don't just spend time when u want something. #joycemeyer
The word of God is like taking a happy pill. #joycemeyer
If u don't have time to do it right, when will u have time
to do it? #klove
You might be the only #Jesus somebody sees today. #klove
It's amazing what happens when u only do God. #klove
#30daychallenge listener mentioned
#Rupturedappendix scary. I know. Bless this woman. #700club
Introvert forced to live life of extrovert. #700club I'm a
treasured dearly loved child walking into the room. #author of #uninvited
Armies of the Lord were encamped around us. #700club major
#hallelujah moment. God did this 4 me.
#thismomentbrought2youbythelordjesuschrist
Interesting that #patrobertson met his wife when her hair
was on fire from lighting candles.
Desperate, specific, unified prayers. #700club coma scale of
3, breaks were gone #miraculous you already have God's love.
God, this is yours. We are powerless. #700club He walks
after being crushed and will impact others.
#miraculous
God has put his hand on this nation and we are turning away
from that. #700club
God downloaded the depths of the gospel in her heart.
#moisom #700club #wreckmylife book by #moisom #lsu Dad committed suicide, had a
God-sized hole within. Retired paramedic on rd. saved her.
Prayer doesn't have to be flowery words. Hithers and thous.
#warroom #missclara speaking locally
Never go to bed mad. Stay up and fight. Phyllis Diller or Do
your fighting in prayer. #warroom
It hit me in church. What if we gave 10% to govt and 28% or
whatever to churches?
Don't demagnetize the attraction.
From a scar to a star #afterthis
Appropriate what He has provided.
Divine Standard Time. We live in this zone by not encircling
the sun but by embracing the Son.
Take up your cross daily. Don't ask for it to be taken away.
U would pick ur own cross if everyone's was put down on the floor. Carry it.
We expect terra firma & air. #bishop column in
unsettling times. We experience anger, revenge, fear, sadness. In Christ we
find answers.
Do not let the devil get a foothold.
The shout activates God's power, but he hears whispers, too.
Partial victory will lead to total victory.
Driving while drowsy can cause eternal sleep. #sermon
Absence actually makes God's heart grow fonder.
Lost stories in bible : they were really all sought. Lost
coin, lost sheep, prodigal son.
The heart is mentioned 1,000x in scripture as the place from
which we pray. #relic #stjohnberchman
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