The Pam Hastings Blog

“ Moms need to learn that their child does not want or need them to be their BFF.” – Pam Hastings

For the first time ever in my blog , my quote is one of my own. I certainly do not claim to be an expert on parenting but I do know one thing for certain…which is that I never cared one iota if my kids considered me to be their friend while they were growing up. It just didn’t matter. What did matter very much however is that I was their Mom…with a capital “M”. What that meant was ...

“ All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

The American poet and essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson surely has put his finger on a great truth with the above quote. So much of life that is right in front of us screams the existence of a creator, a master designer, a God.

One needs look no further than the human body itself to prove this. I can remember as a child my dad once said to me “ Isn’t it neat how peoples’ ears...

“ The art of living lies less in eliminating our troubles as in growing with them.” – Bernard M. Baruch

What life has no trouble?  Such a life does not exist. Human beings struggle with all kinds of areas of trouble…money woes, health issues, family hurts, friendship problems, parenting pain, you name it….the list is endless.

Our happiness and fulfillment in dealing with trouble really is not to escape it or wipe it out because that is impossible. Rather, the solution is to first...

“To his dog, every man is Napolean; hence the constant popularity of dogs.” – Aldous Huxley

“ There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” – Ben Williams

“ If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.” – Woodrow Wilson

The three quotes above all point to the same thought which is that humans are dog lovers. Let’s face it…we love the critters. Last May one of the very first ...

“ A Man Thinks That By Mouthing Hard Words, He Understands Hard Things” -  Herman Melville

Have you ever noticed how some of the harshest words seem to be uttered by very simple people? What I mean by simple is unwise, unstable, and extreme. Whether these words be stark profanity or vulgar slang or just coarse, rough language in general, more often that not, the folks speaking them are not known for their prudence or wisdom.

When I was young I used to mistake passion for being right. This c...

“ Call on God but row away from the rocks “ -  Hunter S. Thompson

I simply love this quote. So simple yet hits the target. As a Christian I sometimes get worn out by the over spiritualizing that is done in every day life.

What I mean by that is that there is just so much of life that is common sense that we do not need to pray about. For example, I don’t need to pray about whether or not I want to have creamy or crunchy peanut butter on a sandwich …I really don’t. I simply like ...

“ If the eye does not want to see, neither light nor glasses will help” – German proverb

   Let’s just be honest; the above quote packs a mighty powerful punch. Lots of wisdom and truth in this German saying. Although it specifically talks about the eye, it is really dealing with the broader issue of every man’s heart and spirit. The crux of the issue is that until someone really desires to change something about themselves or in their own life, progress or change rarely happens.

 Tak...

“It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand” – Apache

  There exists many wise sayings by native Americans and this is certainly one of them.  We have similar clichés that we are more familiar with but basically mean the same thing- “Actions speak louder than words”, and “Practice what you preach” and “Walk the talk” to name just a few. Somehow though, I prefer the Apache quote over the rest.

Perhaps it is because the phrase “thunder ...

" I don’t need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better” – Plutarch

 Friendship is a great but tricky thing. It is often sought after but perhaps not enjoyed by a lot of folks. How many pairs of people have you known who were once great friends but no longer are?  Scores of folks find themselves in this category, myse...