Some family members I love from afar and others I am around often and spend time with by choice. I have learned that I love all family members; but, I love them in very different ways. I have grown to realize that I will always love my family. There are times I may not respect the decisions that family members make and I know that my family has not always respected the decisions I have made. One of those decisions was marrying my husband. Although I knew my family loved me, I also knew all but one did not respect…
As we move into the holiday season it is time to start thinking about the basics. What is the meaning of the season and why do we celebrate? Whatever holiday you are celebrating remember the true meaning of the season. Remembering why we celebrate helps ground us from all the extras going on around us. Some of us love the holidays others would rather blink and have it be January. For those of us who love the season, it is hard to imagine not loving the holidays. Sometimes our excitement is a bit overwhelming, but spreading love and joy is…
Have you ever been in line behind someone who used the wrong approach to resolve the situation? Painful, right? I find myself thinking, “Just be nice.” We watch people interact every day, noticing the way issues are resolved and forming opinions on what we would do in that situation. It is fairly easy to evaluate the situation, but much more difficult to do the right thing when a problem arises spontaneously. All things considered, being nice is usually the least stressful alternative. It is something that one would think would come easily, but often it takes great patience and prayer…
I find myself wondering why everything feels like it’s an emergency. In this world of social media, everything is instant. We are accustomed to getting things immediately and grow to expect that with the touch of a finger, we will have answers. There are many good things about quickly receiving answers, but doing something quickly does not always mean it is done most efficiently. Expectations are that things will be dropped in a second to accommodate every hiccup in life. Being flexible is a huge asset in life, but unnecessary chaos in life spells disaster. My children get…
We all have opinions on just about everything we do. Daily, we make judgments that are not necessarily based on facts. The key is how we use those opinions. There are many positive ways we can use opinions. We can compliment someone on their style of clothing, the design of their home, their work ethic, their knowledge or expertise, etc. We use opinions to formulate what team we are going to join, what school we choose, and countless other decisions we make. We take those opinions along with facts and statistics we have gathered and make a decision. Unfortunately, we…
Appreciation is something that I enjoy giving to those around me. I find that when appreciation is given it makes me feel like I have given a gift. The most amazing part of this gift is that it is free. It is something that all of us can give if we choose. It is something that can make someone feel very special and appreciated, yet sometimes we decide to withhold that appreciation. Why? When it comes to those closest to us, our family, appreciation is easy to give and easy to withhold. We know what our family members are proud…
Listening is a skill that can be finely tuned throughout your lifetime. Often it takes great patience to be a good listener. Most of the time people who are good listeners have intentionally worked at improving that skill. Listening is something most of us do regularly. We listen to others regarding things they are excited about, things they are worried about, things that make them happy, sad, mad, etc. We know that we do a great deal of listening, but do we hear what the other person is really saying? Are we genuinely listening? It is not easy to be…
Patience is something that has been very valuable to me. Having patience has saved me in so many avenues of my life; home, school, work, sports, friends, kids, etc. Being able to tolerate change, disruptions, and disagreements without becoming angry is a true blessing. Having patience for those we love is so important yet so difficult. One would think those we love would be the easiest for us to show patience toward. However, for most of us, we know that we have their unconditional love. Unfortunately, it is my family who is most likely to see me lose my patience…
I pray that moments, where I am not so proud of myself, diminish as the years go by, but in reality, I am continually striving to do the right thing. Continually working on making the right decision. Those are just the moments that I am aware of, I am sure there are many more moments where others think I have done or am doing the wrong thing. Sometimes those moments where I am not so proud of my decision I have an opportunity to make it right, or at least acknowledge that an error was made and apologize. Other times…
As I move through life I find myself wondering what it is that throws us off course. Why is it that we allow ourselves to let the unfortunate events in our lives take over and hide all the good? What makes us think of all the things we have not done instead of what we have accomplished? What makes us think about the “what ifs” instead of the here and now? Thus far in my life, I am fortunate to have been able to train myself to look for the good. I might not like something I am doing but…