A Picture on the Dresser

There are times when you feel inadequate. You feel like You
have done some bad things and now You are condemned. There’s no hope to repair the
damage. There’s no salvation. You think that society, and even your friends and
family will reject You if they knew who You really are. Your mistakes, your
thoughts and actions… So many things done wrong… And God… what is God going to
say? You are definitely not worthy of God’s forgiveness, attention, and your
share of abundance, happiness and peace… You have decided that Your life is
hard and that You must go through life suffering and paying penance for sins
from the past, and even from future ones. Is this how You have been thinking?
Did I exaggerate? Is Your heart feeling heavy with burdens from the past? Is it
even heavier with so many worries about the future? I’d like to share a story
with You. I think You will find it interesting and maybe even enlightening. Let’s
see…

A woman is dying of Aids. A minister is summoned. He attempts to comfort her, but to no avail.



"I am lost," she said. "I have ruined my life and every life
around me. Now I'm going painfully to hell. There is no hope for me."



The minister saw a framed picture of a pretty girl on the dresser. "Who is
this?" he asked.



The woman brightened. "She is my daughter, the one beautiful thing in my
life."



"And would you help her if she was in trouble, or made a mistake? Would
you forgive her? Would you still love her?" the minister asked.



"Of course I would!" cried the woman, "I would do anything for
her! Why do you ask such a question?"



"Because I want you to know," said the minister, "that God has a
picture of you on His dresser."

Have You given God a chance to love and accept You? Contrary to what you’ve been let to believe, He is not a God of punishment and anger. Those “tales” that you have been taught are all lies. God is love and peace. God has forgiven You and He loves You more than ever. Isn’t it time for You to forgive yourself? Accept & love yourself? Restore your self-worth? How about if You start living the best version of yourself, knowing that God is always loving you, accepting you, and guiding you?

 
God knows that YOU are the miracle he created. He loves and accepts you just the way you are, because to him, You are perfect. Accepting this truth will set You free from the bondage of feeling guilty, inadequate, not good enough, etc, etc…
From this day forward, know that God is love, just like You are love… And never ever forget that God ALWAYS has a picture of you on his dresser…

Now go, and Step into Your Greatness…

The Wisdom of Water

I was thinking today about water. I was contemplating how I could be more like water. I am not a good swimmer and every time I tried to swim fast I always tried to “muscle” my way through. Needless to say, this is why I am not a good swimmer.  Have you noticed that the great swimmers seem to just glide on top of the water? It seems as if there is no effort in what they’re doing. They become one with the water. They accept it and welcome it instead of trying to muscle it or fight it.

I remember about 5-6 years ago, Jay was doing the Racine ½ Ironman Triathlon. That morning Lake Michigan was angry and there were huge waves everywhere. The swim looked insane, just like a washing machine. Grown men were holding on to the buoys literally crying. Jay on the other hand, had one of the fastest swims. Instead of fighting the current and the waves, he just relaxed and let the waves take him… When the water went up, he went up, when the water went down, he went down… Do you see a pattern here that we can all apply to our lives? Why do we have to try to be so much in control? Why do we have to muscle our way through things? “I want this now!” the more we try to get it and muscle our way through, the harder it is to get what we want. We make life a struggle when it doesn’t have to be.

The great teacher Lao Tzu said "the highest good is like water." What exactly did he mean by that? Let’s see…

Water is soft, flexible, and shapeless, yet can be shaped by any holder. It is light and weak, yet it can wear away rock. It’s peaceful and tranquil, but it can be strong and powerful if it wants to. Even if water cannot go through obstacles, it goes around them. There’s absolutely no place that water cannot go… (Reminds me of the presence of God.) And what happens to us? The harder to we try to get a hold of it and grab it, the less we manage to obtain it. Yet, the moment we relax and let it flow, this water is ours for the taking…

Yes, today I was learning from the wisdom of the water and reminding myself to let go of my control, to be flexible, and to believe that like water, I have all the strength that I need to get through anything… To reach my highest good I need the love and peace within me to come out and seep through anything and everything in my life.  I just need to trust that the more I let go and flow, the more I can be of service and I can truly enjoy life. Who knows???Maybe swimming is in my future. Can you too be more like water?

True Love

We say the word "Love" so much in our language today. "I love this- I love that.." I love him;" "I love her." Like other words used in our daily lives, sometimes we don't really think before we speak. We love many things and love many people, but I just want you to think, is this love conditional? "I love you if you …." Or better yet, "If you love me, you would…"

I just want to share one of my favorite Bible verses with you- don't worry- I won't preach… This is from the 1^st Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 13-

If I speak with the languages of men and of angels, but don't have love, I have become sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal.

If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but don't have love, I am nothing.

If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don't have love, it profits me nothing.

Love is patient and is kind; love doesn't envy. Love doesn't brag, is not proud,

Love doesn't behave itself inappropriately, doesn't seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil;

Love doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.

For we know in part, and we prophesy in part;
but when that which is complete has come, then that which is partial will be done away with.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child. Now that I have become a man, I have put away childish things.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known.

But now faith, hope, and love remain--these three. The greatest of these is love.

At least for today, let's try to truly love more. Let's love unconditionally. Just because... We don't need a reason... Let's give love, show love, and really mean it when we say "I love you." After all, Love is the greatest emotion and the greatest power in this World; let's use it to change our lives…

Spring is the Season for Positive Change and Renewal-

Time to do some Spring Cleaning! Nature is ready to bring about flowers, green grass and beautiful, enjoyable weather. Nature has so much to do, yet, when it happens, it seems effortless. One day you look out the window and realize that the grass is green, there are leaves on the trees, and flowers are blooming. When did it happen? Overnight? Certainly not… This is the way we should approach our purpose and our potential. We need to decide what we want first, and then we can just start working on it a little every day. Our potential is full and is waiting to be birthed, just like the green grass is waiting to sprout in a few weeks. Potential is your seed of greatness, the incredible gifts that have been given to you to share with the world. Your purpose is what you do with them. How will you share your gifts and how will they serve others? You are able to change peoples’ lives. It’s truly the most magical experience, to know that you can help someone and make a difference in this world. It is how the can get past obstacles. The more we share our gifts, the more we find those forgotten connections, and the more we are able to change our destinies together. World peace, ending hunger, persecution, and war, are all possible tasks, if we believe in our purpose and our potential. Starting with the change in ourselves, and then sharing and spreading it, we could really be the change we want to see in the world. We can’t give what we don’t have. So today, let’s start our spring cleaning, bringing positive change and renewal in our lives first. Let’s start our planting and let’s start our sharing. Nature is our guide and God is our strength. What more do we need?

I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
       –Henry David Thoreau

Are You the Thief?

The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, 

with several long hours before her flight. 

She hunted for a book in the airport shops, 

bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,

that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .

grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, 

which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, 

as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. 

She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, 

thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye."

With each cookie she took, he took one too, 

when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. 

With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, 

he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,

she snatched it from him and thought... oooh, brother. 

This guy has some nerve and he's also rude, 

why he didn't even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, 

and sighed with relief when her flight was called. 

She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, 

refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,

then she sought her book, which was almost complete. 

As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, 

there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, 

the others were his, and he tried to share. 

Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, 

that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.  

Author: Valerie Cox

So many times in our lives we are absolutely certain that a situation is this way... only to find out later on that we were completely wrong. How many times have you been the Cookie Thief? I know I have been the Cookie Thief many times. Even when is hard to apologize, is better to first accept that yes, we can be wrong sometimes. Recognizing that nothing in life is certain except death, we should also slow down sometimes before making a big deal out of small situations. Sharing, loving, forgiving, and moving on are four of the best things we can do in our lives right now... Let's try to be the Cookie Thief less often, judging less and accepting more.

Have you shared your cookies today?

Referencce: Chicken Soup for the Soul, (c) 1996 by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen http://www.chickensoup.com   Author: Valerie Cox

What Makes That 100%

This is pretty great & I just wanted to share....

This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint...it goes like this:

  

What Makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you

answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

  

is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

          Then:

          H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K

          8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

          and

          K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

          11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

          But,

          A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

          1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

         One can conclude with mathematical certainty that

         While Hard work and Knowledge will get you close,   

Attitude will get you to the top.

Now I have to find out what gets you 103%...

Any ideas?