Miscellany

• Have you ever wondered why there are so many apparently abandoned cars at auto repair shops? There are garages near me that have cars parked in every available space and they’ve been there for a long time.

  I wonder why.

  Are they left there so the mechanics can strip them for parts? Maybe the owners didn’t pay their repair bill so the shop kept the car? Perhaps the mechanic couldn’t figure out the problem or the repairs were so expensive the owner just said, “forget it.” Or maybe they’re just looking for the keys? This is a great mystery to me.

• Maybe you’ve been following the headlines this week about the “Big Beautiful Bill”. For those who only read the headlines, but don’t read the article, let me clarify that this has nothing to do with me.

• Did you hear about the drummer who got kicked out of the band because he had horrible timing? He was so upset he threw himself behind a bus.

• The longer we're around someone, the more we tend to notice their faults. But what if we chose to notice their strengths instead? Faults are easy to identify for some reason. They stand out. Strengths, on the other hand, sometimes blend into the background because we become used to them. They become the standard. You’ve probably heard the saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

  What if we made it a habit to look for strengths instead of shortcomings? Try it today: intentionally notice the good in someone close to you. Point it out. Thank God for it. Let appreciation replace criticism.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8 (NIV)