Be Yourself

"Jesus does not want masks.  He does not want projections of our superficial selves that bear no resemblance to who we really are.  When he calls us to follow after him, he does not want the person we wish we were or the person we pretend to be.  No, when he calls us, he wants the person he created, the person we are becoming in his love, our truest selves.  If we want to follow after him, we must strip ourselves of everything that is superficial, inauthentic, forced, or pretend.  We need to let go of all those partial and superficial selves.  They just get in the way." 
---from the book "Let go:  Sever Stumbling Blocks to Christian Discipleship by Casey Cole, OFM

This quote can make us think about the kind of person we try to project, placing the best foot forward, attempting to become what we are not, following rules to the exclusion of communicating and loving others, and missing out on the reason why we are here. The gift of who we are is the best gift of all because we are sharing ourselves.  We are all special and unique and we all have something to give that no other person can duplicate.  Remember that God loves you just the way you are and is assisting you in what you are becoming if you ask! 

Thank you for the loving kindness, smiles, encouragement, and prayers you offer everyday! Check out my book, ebook and audio book, "The Dying Teach Us How to Live", my art gallery and vinyl prints

Life is Precious

I recently attended a funeral for a friend from my church.  He was relatively young and was a life-long volunteer along with his wife and soulmate. He died suddenly, quietly and unexpectedly. Another man died quietly also. Their lives were completely different, although they shared the same name and faith. Their funerals reflected their lives and were notably contrasting. In one funeral the love flowed in the standing room only crowd. The other was muted and void of emotion among the sparse family and participants. 

We all have to choose what kind of life we live and to choose to make a positive difference in the lives of others. Sometimes our contributions are not known or appreciated until we die or maybe never!  We know! We can live and die peacefully or with regret and conflict.

Our attitude can make a huge difference! 

Attitude

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of Attitude on life.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, that what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill.  It will make or break a company...a church...a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the Attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only this we can do is play the one string that we have, and that is our Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it.  And so it is with you...we are in charge of our Attitude. 

Charles R. Swindoll

It is never too late to make a decisive Attitude change, starting now, today.  Life is too short to waste the time we have with our family, friends, neighbors and society. We can change the world with one attitude at a time!  

Check out my book, E book and audio book, "The Dying Teach Us How to Live", my art gallery and vinyl prints