No complaints for 21 days
Are ya kidding me?! No complaining for 21 days
One brave correspondent pledges to stop kvetching for three weeks
REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK
By George Lewis
NBC News correspondent
TODAY
Updated: 7:43 a.m. MT March 6, 2007
KANSAS CITY, MO. - We all complain, right? It’s just human nature. But a few
months ago, the pastor of a Kansas City church told the people in his
congregation he wanted them to break that habit.
“The one thing we can
agree on,” said the Reverend Will Bowen of Christ Church Unity, “is there’s too
much complaining.”
He said churchgoers were griping mainly about trivial
things, such as the choice of hymns at the Sunday service or the informal dress
code at the church’s Saturday night worship.
And so he asked his flock
to take a pledge: to swear off complaining, criticizing, gossiping or using
sarcasm for 21 days. The Rev. Bowen said the inspiration for the no-complaints
campaign came to him while taking a shower. And now, the idea has begun to
spread far beyond middle America.
People who join in are issued little
purple bracelets as a reminder of their pledge. If they catch themselves
complaining, they’re supposed to take off the bracelet, switch it to the
opposite wrist and start counting the days from scratch.
And now that
the church has been written up in several publications, the campaign has
mushroomed. On Saturdays, volunteers crowd the church basement filling orders
for the no-complaints bracelets, 126,000 so far. read the rest here.
Well as those of you who know me know...that ain't gonna happen here. Shoot I even admit to complaining (which I call gritching) in my blog title. I'm here to download. I probably complain 21 times a day or more. Life is tough, and griping about it makes me feel better. So sorry folks, I'm not even gonna try. And as far as I know there's no "Thou Shalt Not Complain" in the Bible, so I think I'm safe. hee hee
Wow.
ReplyDeleteI think I could give up complaining before I could give up sarcasm.
Lord help anyone who is even remotely near any of Rev. Bowen's congregation on that 22nd day. Can you imagine what will come out of these folks' mouths after 21 days of holding in all that complaining, griping, criticizing.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least you're honest about your limitations! LOL!
ReplyDeleteAn Island Life
http://islandlife808.com
That purple bracelet would be moving from wrist to wrist multiple times throughout the day...I'd need a stockpile of them for when they wore out...not that I'm complaining...
ReplyDeleteHhahah I don't think I could do it, I complain alllll the time!
ReplyDeleteTC: complaining & sarcasm are a way of life for me.
ReplyDeleteJoan: In the video they showed some people who had actually made it the entire 21 days...they got a certificate of happiness. ummmm yeah, that's incentive for me. NOT What got me was the kids said they were able to finish up sooner than the adults. I'm thinking that the kids don't realize how often they were complaining. LOL
Kailani: yup! I try to be honest with myself about this.
lynn: I would get a large size...who am I kidding, I wouldn't bother trying. ;o)
Goofy girl: you're in good company.
Oops. Just don't read Philippians 2:14 ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm with Traveling Chica. The sarcasm has been with me since I was a wee tyke and it refuses to leave. But I'm not complaining! (Good catch, Leigh!)
ReplyDeleteOprah had these folks on her show. It did get me thinking. I'm trying to WATCH the complaining, but STOPPING all together? The pressure! The pressure! Aieeeee!
ReplyDeleteLeigh: thanks...Phil 2:14-16 Do everything without complaining or arguing so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I didn not runor labor for nothing. Well shoot! I guess I am in trouble.
ReplyDeleteScone: I grew up with a complaining mom...I don't call home 'cuz she'll complain for 90 minutes about her life.
Carmen: I might be able to cut back some, but to quit? I don't know. And what about the technicalities? Does it count as complaining if we're just thinking about it? Or are we okay if we just don't voice it?
I'm glad "Thou shalt not complain" isn't ome of the 10 commandments either. Heaven would be a lonely place.
ReplyDelete