Gifts from the heart bring great joy in both giving and receiving. I believe we do a decent job of gifting people at or below our perceived income. It is the people who have incomes above us that I believe we have a difficult time knowing how to gift. We worry if our gift is nice enough, expensive enough, or if it will be tossed aside by the receiver. What I have found is that people at all economic levels appreciate gifts from the heart. I had a mentor who lived on an income that was much higher than I…
Dealing with anger is something that takes discipline. The moment I feel anger I redirect myself to God. I intentionally put my issues in the hands of the best problem solver; I give it to God. There have been and probably will be many arguments in my life! For me, it is all about how you deal with those moments. Although for the most part, I am mild-tempered, the right topic at a weak moment can turn me into a “Hot Tamale.” The same was true with my spouse and is true with my children. One hot discussion with…
I believe in the power of love. The love that I am writing about is not the love between yourself and a partner, but the love of others around you. The importance of how you perceive those around you and how you react to issues that arise. For me, this is continually a work in progress. Just as I choose to give my worries to God. I continually have to remind myself when negative thoughts start to pop into my head to redirect my thoughts to Jesus. When issues arise or I feel I am treated unfairly, I give those…
Control is a very tricky thing. I do my best to follow my intended path and respond to things where I believe I can be helpful. Before responding to a situation, I pray that I will be given the words to say or the grace to say nothing! I don’t make decisions based on what I want but rather on what I believe is my next step through prayer and being alert and available to opportunities that arise. Once I feel confident that I am going down my intended path I am driven to do everything possible to achieve…
Death is never easy for those who are left behind. Selfishly we can all say that we were not ready, he/she was our life, was too young, too smart, too generous, too kind, too talented to be taken so soon. All of those things may be true, but I believe that those are things that we here on earth are mourning. If we think only in terms of the soul I believe that there is no more magnificent place to exist than in heaven. My parents never made a big deal about death when I was young. It is…
In a relationship, look for someone who makes you a better person and for whom you make a better person. #1. Contributing more than your share. Ideally, you are committed and giving 100% of yourself to the relationship. However, let’s use percentages and think in terms of strengthening and evaluating your role. Giving more than your share or more than 50% is imperative. Each partner must think that the other partner is making a positive contribution; ideally, more than 50%. If you are not sure that you are contributing your 50% to the relationship/family. Start to develop…
Why is it important to love? It is important because we have unconditional love from God. No matter what we do, God will forgive us and love us unconditionally. I believe an important part of allowing yourself to love is being able to love unconditionally. If you have felt the feeling of having unconditional love, you know that brings with it a sense of security. A feeling that no matter what you do you will still have that love. 1. Trust is essential for unconditional love. A willingness to trust in a relationship is not easy. It takes courage and…
I believe that God prepares us for whatever life events we encounter. For myself, I see very clearly how God has used every experience to better prepare me for what life has dealt. I was not able to see how these experiences would help me in the moment, it is hindsight that has allowed me to see how valuable each crazy step has been to my life thus far. There were countless times when I wanted to alter what I knew was my path. I stayed the course and have always believed that these crazy things that I did not…
I never allow myself to stay unhappy. Of course, there are moments, days or times that I have been unhappy. But in general, I don’t allow myself to think that way. I give myself a moment or a few hours, sometimes a day, but then I give it to God and move on. That is easier said than done. It is hard to say, “ok God, this issue is eating me alive and I can’t function with this bolder in front of me. I am sorry for whatever it is that I have done to contribute to the…
Always, always is the answer to the question, “when do I give thanks to God?” I live my life giving thanks to God. I get up thanking God for the day and for what we will discover. When I feel a sad or a negative thought come into my mind, I thank God for redirecting me. I thank God for helping me find misplaced items. When I see something good in the world, community or at an event, I give thanks to God. When something makes me smile, I quickly thank God for that moment. When I see someone with…