Work-based EMails Google Group

Being & doing

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 12 Dec 2009 15:13:15 UT

Being and doing

"The value of our activity depends almost entirely on the humility to accept ourselves as we are. The reason why we do things so badly is that we are not content to do what we can.
We insist on doing what is not asked of us, because we want to taste the success that belongs to someone else.

A heart at peace

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Wed, 12 Dec 2009 08:07:04 UT

A heart at peace

'A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.' Proverbs 14: 30

To nurse resentment is bad for the body as well as the soul: it is no sacrifice when we face up to it and renounce it.

(Taken from Solomon's Thought for the Day: A daily reminder of God's values in public and private life, The Jubilee Centre - [link])

Qualities for which to reach out

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:59:41 UT

Qualities for which to reach out

The Rule of Benedict became, by the ninth century, "the dominant guide to religious life" and is still "followed by men and women throughout the world, in a huge variety of different cultures". "There is something about the Rule of Benedict that works." "Benedict is trying ... to offer an understanding of how a community composed of real people can live and work and pray together, sharing a common search for God."

Nothing lasts

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 11 Nov 2009 08:10:24 UT

Nothing lasts

I’m currently reading Ann Rice’s novel Out of Egypt, an imaginary account of Jesus’ childhood. It is fascinating to think how he might have viewed the Temple in Jerusalem when he saw it as a young child. It would probably have appeared as huge and unchanging yet several years later, as a young man speaking to his disciples, he knows that nothing human beings build is unchanging and permanent.

Heeding correction

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:05:52 UT

Heeding correction

"He who ignores discipline despises himself, but whoever heeds correction gains understanding." Proverbs 15.32

Complacency is punctured by pointing out whom the unteacheable person is despising: himself.

(Taken from Solomon's Thought for the Day: A daily reminder of God's values in public and private life, The Jubilee Centre - [link])

The gift of an ear

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Tue, 11 Nov 2009 08:31:47 UT

The Gift of an Ear

Listening - truly listening - to the people we work with means more than cocking an ear for the sounds and syllables of speech. It means listening in a deeper way for what a person is feeling and experiencing. This kind of listening with the 'third ear', as someone has called it, can allow us to be sensitive to currents that run under the words that people speak aloud. Cultivating such sensitivity can go a long way in creating a good atmosphere in our places of work.

Zeal without knowledge

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Tue, 10 Oct 2009 13:04:08 UT

God's values in daily life

"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way." Proverbs 19.2

The chief danger for a hard-working executive is that his/her life and energies point in no clear direction. Is s/he going fast, nowhere?

(Taken from Solomon's Thought for the Day: A daily reminder of God's values in public and private life, The Jubilee Centre - [link])

Christophe R Burgess/EUZ/ChubbMail is out of the office.

cburg...@chubb.com — Mon, 10 Oct 2009 08:04:18 UT

I will be out of the office starting 12/10/2009 and will not return until
14/10/2009.
In my absence please call Simon Davis on 3146
Christopher Burgess | Credit Management UK & Ireland | Chubb Insurance
Company of Europe SE
Cottons Centre, Hays Lane, London, SE1 2QP UK | Direct Line: +44 (0)20 7895

Mistakes

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 10 Oct 2009 07:24:47 UT

Mistakes

"We cannot be happy if we expect to live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony.

Music is pleasing not only because of the sound but because of the silence that is in it: without the alternation of sound and silence there would be no rhythm. If we strive to be happy by filling all the silences of life with sound, productive by turning all life's leisure into work, and real by turning all our being into doing, we will only succeed in producing a hell on earth.

Testing the heart

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 10 Oct 2009 07:26:32 UT

Testing the heart

"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart." Proverbs 19.2

God's trials are constructive: not for finding a person out but for sorting him out.

(Taken from Solomon's Thought for the Day: A daily reminder of God's values in public and private life, The Jubilee Centre - [link])

Gospel Reflection: Mark 9. 38-end

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 09 Sep 2009 07:00:14 UT

Gospel Reflection: Mark 9. 38-end

What does it mean to be a Christian at work or in society? For many of us this is the question with which we struggle most within our faith. Often we have been taught in our churches (where there has been teaching on this theme) that what we have to do is be a public witness to our faith. Yet that is not all or even primarily what is being taught here.

The Glory of Little Things

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 09 Sep 2009 08:16:13 UT

The Glory of Little Things

'Do small things with great love.' Mother Teresa

Pray

Lord, I feel tempted to assign significance to the famous person and the public figure. Greatness seems reserved for the missionary or the priest or the political leader. But then you remind me that everything done for you carries weight. No one's life lacks importance, not when we can do deeds, offer gestures, and say words that bring kindness to others. Keep me from staying unimpressed by the small thing, but rather assist me to seize each opportunity, large or small, to do good and show love.

The state of your relationship

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Tue, 09 Sep 2009 07:10:55 UT

The state of your relationship

"He who is estranged seeks pretexts to break out against all sound judgement." Proverbs 18.1

Look out for the reasons behind a friend's harsh words not in the force of his argument but in the state of your relationship.

(Taken from Solomon's Thought for the Day: A daily reminder of God's values in public and private life, The Jubilee Centre - [link])

God in the details

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Mon, 09 Sep 2009 07:54:48 UT

God in the Details

So much of life happens in our daily arenas - factory, office, shopping centre, school, home. God is present in these little moments, too: when we kiss the loved one goodbye in the morning, browse through magazines while we wait for a doctor's appointment, stand at a sink doing dishes. God works in moments, says a French proverb.

An appetite to learn

jonathan.ev...@btinternet.com (Jonathan Evens) — Thu, 09 Sep 2009 07:57:25 UT

An appetite to learn

"An intelligent mind acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." Proverbs 18.15

Those who know much know best how little they know. We can always discover more if we have an appetite to learn.

(Taken from Solomon's Thought for the Day: A daily reminder of God's values in public and private life, The Jubilee Centre - [link])