Thoughts

Do I let my negative thinking run away with me? I try not to, but sometimes it gets the best of me. The person I'm hardest on is always myself. If I can be kind to myself, it's easier to be kind to others.

Thinking

Do I think before I talk? Sometimes that's so very hard to do - especially if emotions are running high. When that happens to me I have to take a time out. What about you?

Than I can come back whenn I am calm and think before I talk.

Freedom

Man is not fully free unless he is master of himself.
Epictetus

I often wonder about this concept and hope I am master of myself, but sometimes, I don't know. Let's explore this concept over the next few days.

Gratitude Journal

When I am feeling down, I like to keep a gratitude journal. It brings me out of my funk. Try it.

You may decide to keep a journal all the time.

Service and Gratitude

The depth and willingness which with we serve is a direct reflection of our gratitude. Gordon T. Watts

Gratitude

Gratitude is the heart's memory.

Sometimes my heart is overflowing with gratitude.

Kindness

Act with kindness but do not expect gratitude. Proverb

Praise the Lord

I love this scripture.

Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Revelations 7:12
 

Burdens

Sometimes when I have a hard day I like to remember this scripture.

the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. Mosiah 24:15

Thankfulness

And he who receiveth all things with thankfulness shall be made glorious; and the things of this earth shall be added unto him, even an hundred fold, yea, more. D&C 78:19

Abundance

How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God!  therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. They shall be abundantly satisfied . Psalms 36:7 - 8

I struggle to know my purpose. Under God's protection I can find my purpose and know its abundance.

Power

Even for this . . . purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee. Romans 9:17

Season

TO every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Ecclesiastes 3:1

What is my season?
 

Purpose

We are in the world for a purpose. Lorenzo Snow.

Today I will ask myself what my purpose is? Do I know? Each day it changes a little. It is becoming more focused.

Knowledge

I just finished a good book, "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett. It was wonderful. Read it if you get a chance.

"Be curious always! For knowledge will not acquire you: you must acquire it."
-Sudie Back

Taking Life as It Comes

My little 97-year-old neighbor had a dizzy spell and couldn't get out of bed. I fed her chicken soup. She wanted to sleep until her daughter brought some new medicine. I wanted to fix her right then - go get her medicine and care for her, but it wasn't my call.

Sometimes we're not in charge.

Life's not about waiting for the storms to pass..

It's about learning to dance in the rain.

~Vivian Greene

Positive Attitude

My little granddaughter split her lip open and had to have a couple of stitches. When I talked to her, she was happy and upbeat. She said she was getting better. What a great positive attitude.

Sometimes children are great teachers.

We cannot stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Thankfulness

Oh Lord, who lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness. Shakespeare

Feelings

Your feelings create the energy around you. Have you ever been around a happy, bubbly person? The optimism is catching. By the same token, a depressed person pulls me down. I hope I add positive energy to the universe.

Small Stones

The man who moved the mountain began by carrying away small stones. A Chinese proverb

I love this quote because perseverance is something I desire. I am learning to move the mountain - only because it takes me a long time to learn the skills I am working on. I feel like the slow turtle that eventually gets there, but only through perseverance.

Goals

People with goals succeed because they know where they’re going. Earl Nightengale

Do I know where I am going? Sometimes I wonder about myself. I continue on the path I have chosen because it is what I want to do. What a blessed freedom to have this opportunity.

Thoughts

We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think. Buddha

What am I going to think about today? I want to be proactive in shaping my life, and that wiill take a little bit of planning on my part. I don't want to be blown this way and that.

Our Birth

William Wordsworth - “Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar. Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory, do we come From God, who is our home: Heaven lies about us in our infancy.”

I love this quote. It's one of my favorites. I don't exactly know why, except that it connects me to God, and I like that.

Happiness

My son posted this quote on his Facebook. I love it. I've put it in my mantra folder. Some days I have this attitude and some days I don't. It's my goal, though.

Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.

Lao Tzu

Awakening

Is death the last step? No it is the final awakening. Sir Walter Scott

Here's to you Bill. You are close to your final awakening. I hope it's wonderful. You deserve it.

Our Deeds

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. I John 3:18

Do I love in deed? Bill did. I will try to be like him.

The Least

Bill died this week. I really miss him. I love that I got to see him one last time. He is in my heart. Sometimes a memory is just enough to lighten my spirits and inspire my actions.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40

Who are 'the least of these' in my life? My children? My friends? My neighbor? The old lady on the street corner? My coworkers? The people I serve?

Maybe all of them.

Good Words

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:16

I daily try to be involved in good works. Some days are better than others.