I was recently at a water aerobics class and we were asked to swim to the side of the pool to get our weights. I reached for mine and for another set of weights that were close to mine. I asked who they belonged to and handed them to a gentleman class member. He frowned slightly and stated, "I don't want to owe anyone." I was a little surprised as I did not know who they belonged to but wanted to get them for someone else to save them some time and effort. I was sad because this individual did not know how to accept a kindness graciously.
There was a quote I read from a church sign. "Kindness is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back! Two opposite viewpoints about kindness to think about! I believe I would err to the side of kindness because it is free, offered from the heart and makes us feel good inside. I remember one time I had given a neighbor a crib for her grandchildren that I no longer needed. About 10 years later, I was going to have my first grandchild. I heard a knock at the door and my neighbors were returning the crib to me with a new mattress because they no longer needed it. At the time, I was laid off my job and had no money to buy one. I had never asked for them to return it. Now I needed it and it was in better condition than when I gave it to them. I was so happy because I did not have to store it for 10 years and now I could use it for my granddaughter. What a blessing! Kindness always pays off when we give it time. God's time, not ours. Kindness is God's blessing reaching out to us throughout our day and our life. Let us begin to prioritize being kind to others and just watch the blessings flow back to us!
From the Author
Monday, April 25, 2016
Friday, April 15, 2016
Living Example of Faith
I have seen several versions of this thought. "Your deeds and example are the only sermon some people hear." Another book stated, "Sometimes the only bible people read is your life." This idea helps us realize that the best way to share your faith is to live it. Many people of many faiths talk, preach, evangelize and promote their faith using media, churches, sermons, sales of books and pamphlets, door to door encounters, theatrics, and confrontation. Others silently follow their own heart and beliefs and quietly live their lives with integrity, compassion, courage, and dignity. They refuse to compromise because of donations, power, superiority, political correctness, or out of fear of criticism. God and love of their "neighbor" (other human beings of any faith, culture, sexual orientation, country, economic level, skin color, disability, political party, etc) take the forefront in their decisions on how to behave. The example of courtesy, kindness, forgiveness, active listening, honesty, fairness, compromise, and inclusion create an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. Some people have lost their lives because of this focus on living faith rather than verbalizing faith without action and conviction. God loves us unconditionally. It is difficult for us to love others unconditionally but it is one of the most awesome ways to promote faith in God and bring hope to a world torn by anger, denial, vindictiveness, fear, war, gangs, suffering, hunger, pain which are all evidenced by the absence of love. Love is the only answer to give the world hope. Love with action is powerful. With the help of God, anything is possible!
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
Today is the first day of the rest of your life!
I was visiting with friends who have become entrenched with dieting. They have exercise monitors, diet guidelines, look up all foods for calorie content and worry about everything they eat. It was very frustrating for them to find they were not losing weight at all or very slowly. Due to disappointment, they decided to splurge and worry about dieting "next week." I can relate as I am trying to lose weight also.
Many times we have lofty expectations for ourselves and when the bar is extremely high, it is often impossible to achieve our goals. Sometimes we have to accept our limitations, regroup and begin again with more attainable goals. Today we can start with being less judgmental of ourselves and others and step forward to stop eating excessively, stop smoking or using addictive drugs, stop complaining and finding fault with ourselves and others, stop procrastination, stop excessive spending and shopping, stop gambling, stop hurting others with gossip, stop avoiding our lives. We can identify the addictions of others easily but it is more difficult to find our own.
Today, with God's help, support of our family and friends, church members, support systems, and our own inner resources, we can make today the first day of the rest of our lives! We just have to fight ourselves, our egos, our pride and our low self esteem. Today is the day to move forward, one step at a time, with courage and patience! There is nothing stopping us from winning the battle to become who we want to be!
Many times we have lofty expectations for ourselves and when the bar is extremely high, it is often impossible to achieve our goals. Sometimes we have to accept our limitations, regroup and begin again with more attainable goals. Today we can start with being less judgmental of ourselves and others and step forward to stop eating excessively, stop smoking or using addictive drugs, stop complaining and finding fault with ourselves and others, stop procrastination, stop excessive spending and shopping, stop gambling, stop hurting others with gossip, stop avoiding our lives. We can identify the addictions of others easily but it is more difficult to find our own.
Today, with God's help, support of our family and friends, church members, support systems, and our own inner resources, we can make today the first day of the rest of our lives! We just have to fight ourselves, our egos, our pride and our low self esteem. Today is the day to move forward, one step at a time, with courage and patience! There is nothing stopping us from winning the battle to become who we want to be!
Tuesday, March 22, 2016
One Person
Quote by Brandi Snyder:
To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.
When we as human beings are in trouble and need help, it may be one person who comes to our aid. To us, that person is the world to us because of their kindness, compassion and willingness to help. If we all had to walk in the shoes of the person who is a refugee, someone who is homeless and has nothing to eat or feed their family members, a war prisoner who is being tortured, individuals with no access to water, people who are suffering pain, or those who are dying. "But for the grace of God, go I." Why am I privileged to be comfortable and have adequate resources for my life? Our lives can change in an instant, with no warning. We can lose someone we love by death, lose our job, our home and our world as we know it in the blink of an eye. There is no guarantee. the kindness we do for others will come around and someone will be compassionate to us. Let us be the first one to reach out and care what happens to those we come in contact with. We don't have to "save the world." We can make a difference for those we know are hurting. We are only one person. To the person who needs us, we are the the representative of the world. We can empower each other to become a better person.
To the world you may be one person but to one person you may be the world.
When we as human beings are in trouble and need help, it may be one person who comes to our aid. To us, that person is the world to us because of their kindness, compassion and willingness to help. If we all had to walk in the shoes of the person who is a refugee, someone who is homeless and has nothing to eat or feed their family members, a war prisoner who is being tortured, individuals with no access to water, people who are suffering pain, or those who are dying. "But for the grace of God, go I." Why am I privileged to be comfortable and have adequate resources for my life? Our lives can change in an instant, with no warning. We can lose someone we love by death, lose our job, our home and our world as we know it in the blink of an eye. There is no guarantee. the kindness we do for others will come around and someone will be compassionate to us. Let us be the first one to reach out and care what happens to those we come in contact with. We don't have to "save the world." We can make a difference for those we know are hurting. We are only one person. To the person who needs us, we are the the representative of the world. We can empower each other to become a better person.
Power of Love
I recently saw a bumper sticker:
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will find peace.
A very simple statement with so much wisdom. I think about the political debates and world issues. It comes down to the difference between love and greed/power. If we can reach in our hearts and find love and acceptance of each other, we can make decisions based on love rather than power and dominion over others. The world is growing smaller with technology and limited resources. We are all in the world and need each other if we are all going to be able to survive. We need peaceful means to preserve our world by reducing pollution, waste, landfills, global warming, wars that take away needed resources for creative and sustainable endeavors, disease, and marginalized communities. We can begin to collaborate to solve world-wide issues such as renewable energy, adequate food and water for all, jobs, housing, education, medical advances, safety of our environment, peace, and provide hope. We have the resources and need to share them with each other. There is no room for hate and greed, selfishness and prejudice. Anger is the absence of love. Love can not co-exist with hate. With forgiveness and tolerance, we can begin to move forward to make this world a beautiful, safe and satisfying experience for each person. Life is so brief but we have the opportunity to make a difference. Choose love not hate. Peace instead of war. Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do! With God all things are possible!
When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will find peace.
A very simple statement with so much wisdom. I think about the political debates and world issues. It comes down to the difference between love and greed/power. If we can reach in our hearts and find love and acceptance of each other, we can make decisions based on love rather than power and dominion over others. The world is growing smaller with technology and limited resources. We are all in the world and need each other if we are all going to be able to survive. We need peaceful means to preserve our world by reducing pollution, waste, landfills, global warming, wars that take away needed resources for creative and sustainable endeavors, disease, and marginalized communities. We can begin to collaborate to solve world-wide issues such as renewable energy, adequate food and water for all, jobs, housing, education, medical advances, safety of our environment, peace, and provide hope. We have the resources and need to share them with each other. There is no room for hate and greed, selfishness and prejudice. Anger is the absence of love. Love can not co-exist with hate. With forgiveness and tolerance, we can begin to move forward to make this world a beautiful, safe and satisfying experience for each person. Life is so brief but we have the opportunity to make a difference. Choose love not hate. Peace instead of war. Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do! With God all things are possible!
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
voting with hope
I pray today that voters will choose candidates who will rise to the occasion and become true leaders with compassion, courage, honesty, honor, and diplomacy. It would be very sad to have a leader who promotes negativity, selfishness, anger, vindictiveness, prejudice, vulgarity and dishonors our country. We have a responsibility to elect representatives who bring us back to our roots to promote peace, respect for all, freedom of beliefs, rights to peace and happiness, and safety from prejudice and terror. Life is never perfect but in our country we can reach to the stars and have hope for the future.
We are a country founded on faith and a belief in the integrity of the individual and the country. We can't be bought by empty promises, money and rhetoric. We can be proud and proactive. Your vote counts! Your life and the lives of the world count. We are all human beings with the same basic needs and wants. If we help each other, we can make this a better world. Voting is powerful if we use it wisely. I pray that God helps us in our choices. I have a belief in the overall goodness in all of us. Lets find it today and fight the good fight of love triumphing over evil and negativity!
We are a country founded on faith and a belief in the integrity of the individual and the country. We can't be bought by empty promises, money and rhetoric. We can be proud and proactive. Your vote counts! Your life and the lives of the world count. We are all human beings with the same basic needs and wants. If we help each other, we can make this a better world. Voting is powerful if we use it wisely. I pray that God helps us in our choices. I have a belief in the overall goodness in all of us. Lets find it today and fight the good fight of love triumphing over evil and negativity!
Monday, March 14, 2016
Heroes, inspiration for the world
It is always fun and interesting to ask children who their heroes are. Sometimes they choose rock stars, movie stars, presidents, and other well known people. Some children name their parents or grandparents as their heroes. I have had the privilege to work with many people who are heroes simply because they didn't give up or run away when the going got tough. It is much easier to run away from responsibilities by using drugs, drinking alcoholic beverages excessively, by hiding from life by withdrawing mentally and refusing to do day-to-day routine tasks or consider suicide. It is much harder to face life crisis head on and to figure out how to make life better and easier for yourself and others.
Many of us face death of spouses, parents, children and friends and yet have to continue on with our jobs, our roles as parents, community members, church members, friends and caregivers. We face job losses or job stress, illnesses, pain, financial crisis, divorce, loss of homes to disasters or fire, war, gangs, violence, hatred and indifference. We face huge obstacles when we look the the future and begin the long journey of an education while we are family members and working. The heroes pick up the pieces and take one day at a time as they gather the courage to live. They learn to take adversity and make it into opportunity, When we can learn from our mistakes and press forward, we become a symbol of hope and an example of how to overcome negativity. True heroes are invincible with God's help and the love of family, neighbors and friends. True heroes make a positive difference with honesty and conviction!
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" The everyday heroes provide the true inspiration for the world.
Many of us face death of spouses, parents, children and friends and yet have to continue on with our jobs, our roles as parents, community members, church members, friends and caregivers. We face job losses or job stress, illnesses, pain, financial crisis, divorce, loss of homes to disasters or fire, war, gangs, violence, hatred and indifference. We face huge obstacles when we look the the future and begin the long journey of an education while we are family members and working. The heroes pick up the pieces and take one day at a time as they gather the courage to live. They learn to take adversity and make it into opportunity, When we can learn from our mistakes and press forward, we become a symbol of hope and an example of how to overcome negativity. True heroes are invincible with God's help and the love of family, neighbors and friends. True heroes make a positive difference with honesty and conviction!
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" The everyday heroes provide the true inspiration for the world.
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