A bit of planning, a lot of work, and the result! From Seth Godin You don’t get to just do the good parts. Of course. In fact, you probably wouldn’t have chosen this path if it was guaranteed to work every time. The implication of this might surprise you, though: when the tough parts come…continue reading

A Scoutmaster minute about discouragement: If a bird landed on your head what would you do? Run? Brush it off? Maybe both? Nobody can keep birds from flying over their head but we can keep them from making a nest in our hair. Everyone encounters discouragement. We all come up against situations that seem like…continue reading

Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – Sometimes we need to slow down and concentrate on what we are doing.  Sometimes we rush because we want to save time and we actually end up spending more time. What’s interesting is that taking more time to begin with  actually saves time in the long run. Have you…continue reading

Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas How do you put out a fire? Adding more fuel is not the answer. How do you deal with anger, resentment, misunderstandings, conflicts and arguments? These are natural reactions that everyone feels some time or another. It’s…continue reading

The heart of the Scout Law is Helpful, Friendly, Courteous and Kind. All the points of the Law are equally important and vitally important to Scouting. These four points, however, define the basics of how we interact with each other in the Scout Troop. Scouts who live by these four points of the Law will…continue reading

I’m a preacher’s kid, so I’ve sat through a lot of sermons, pretty much all of them longer than a minute. When it became my turn to talk at the close of the troop meeting, I tried to use some of what I’d learned in all that time. My dad was a really good preacher,…continue reading

EDITORS NOTE: This is an excellent example of carpe minutea or ‘seizing the minute’ from contributor Larry Gieger. It also gives us all a look into the thought processes and keen observational skills of a veteran Scouter. What are you seeing when you are out camping with your Scouts? I, for one, am anxious to hear exactly how far…continue reading

The Scoutmaster minute is a tradition for sharing a thought or idea at every troop meeting. There are books and websites replete with lots and lots of minutes (here’s mine) but I have never really used them all that much. Many years ago I tried to have a formal  Scoutmaster minute prepared for each meeting. I soon sensed that my…continue reading

Here’s a Scoutmaster’s Minute on the subject of experience: You don’t lack intelligence, fortitude, motivation or common sense; you lack experience. You get experience from trying things out, from EXPER-imenting , from experiencing the results of your actions. How do you think the wild mushroom called the Death’s Cap got it’s name? Experience. Somebody told me that orange and…continue reading

Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas A Scout is reverent. A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others. Scouting’s founders recognized spirituality as an central element of the movement. As scouting expanded throughout  the world so did…continue reading

Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas  Scout is clean. A Scout keeps his body and mind fit. He chooses the company of those who live by high standards. He helps keep his home and community clean. Body In the 14th century the King of France asked…continue reading

Here’s a Scoutmaster minute idea – See Preaching the Scoutmaster Minute and Seizing the Scoutmaster Minute and other Scoutmaster Minute ideas A Scout is brave. A Scout can face danger although he is afraid. He has the courage to stand for what he thinks is right even if others laugh at him or threaten him. Chutzpa is a great old Yiddish word that…continue reading