"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time."

- Laura Ingalls Wilder

"At the end of life, it's the laughter, the tears, the shared joys and the shared heartaches we remember. The wealth, the work, the trials and problems are as nothing. It's the quality of our days and the people we share them with that makes the difference."

-- Margaret James

Blessings

"Perhaps it takes a purer faith to praise God for unrealized blessings than for those we once enjoyed or those we enjoy now."

- A. W. Tozer

"Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time"
--Joel Barker

"I'm not what I can be, I'm not what I should be, I'm not what I want to be, but thank God I'm not what I used to be." -- John Wooden

One thing leads to another

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."

-- Anonymous

"Evermore people today have the means to live, but no meaning to live for."

-- Viktor Frankl

What's really important anyway?

"The work will wait while you show a child the rainbow, but the rainbow won't wait while you finish the work." -- Patricia Clafford

Silence is golden

"True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment."

-- William Penn

What is age anyway?

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals." -- Samuel Ullman

Can't sleep?

At times the pressures of the workday follow me to bed. In this "hurry up" world, that's a common issue. Here's what works for me:

1. Pray - It's the most still I'll ever be, so what better time to get down to business with God?

2. Say scripture verses - Quietly meditate on Bible verses you've memorized. Haven't memorized any? Now's a great time to start.

3. Think about a hymn or Christian song. For me, the old hymns bring tranquility like nothing else. "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" are great hymns full of words that encourage us that with a simple Christian faith, there's no good reason to worry.

4. If none of the above mean anything, ask Jesus into your heart, and He will come in. Read John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have life everlasting. Please read this.

Written by a 90 year old

This is something we should all read at least once a week!!!!! Make sure you read to the end!!!!!! Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio . "To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks. 16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 27. Always choose life. 28. Forgive everyone everything. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 37. Your children get only one childhood. 38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 42. The best is yet to come... 43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 44. Yield. 45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift." Its estimated 93% won't forward this. If you are one of the 7% who will, forward this with the title '7%'. I'm in the 7%. Friends are the family that we choose.

"Empty pocketbooks never held anyone back; only empty heads and hearts can do that." -- Norman Vincent Peale

I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not so sure

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing."

-- Theodore Roosevelt

Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so ... Love the people who treat you right.

Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Tough love from Ike

"If you want total security, go to prison. There you're fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking... is freedom." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

"A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing."

- George Bernard Shaw

"Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America. If I'm not there, I go to work."

- Robert Orben

Attitude

“I believe the single most significant decision I can make on a day-to-day basis is my choice of attitude. It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position. Attitude keeps me going or cripples my progress."

- Anonymous

Finding your place

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet."
— Frederick Buechner (Wishful Thinking: A Seeker's ABC)

"A long, healthy and happy life is the result of making contributions, of having meaningful projects that are personally exciting and contribute to and bless the lives of others."

- Hans Selye

Disconnect

When re-evaluating how to find balance in life, I often look back at technology and how to curb the number of hours it encroaches into my life. I resolve to spend a little less time on Facebook and decide that I don't need to be an early adopter of the latest i-gadget. At this point, you might be saying, “this is a blog and you're talking about LESS technology?”

Humans need rest – full rest from the hectic pace of the day. Surfing the Web in the wee hours actually becomes counterproductive to achieving balance and rest. Set a reasonable schedule for online activity. This is especially important for those like me who spend the workday on a computer.

Consider these tips -

• Two hours before bed, shut down your computer and resolve not to use your smartphone for Web surfing.

• During vacation time, take a vacation from your e-mails, tweets and Facebook. At the hotel, avoid the computers in the lobby set aside for guests.

• Don't forsake in-person human interaction – there's no substitute for friends, family, and the type of interaction you get at church or volunteer work.

The bottom line is to make more choices in favor of the real world – not the virtual world.

What's your dream?

"If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours."

- Henry David Thoreau

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely to be the one who dropped it." -- Lou Holtz

It's gonna be a great day

I've listened to talk radio for years. Recently I read a book from career expert Dan Miller where he talked about the morning being the rudder of the day. It made me think about the talk show hosts I spent my morning drive with. Now, instead of listening to snarky, cynical talk radio hosts and argumentative callers, I sutstitute their shows for podcasts of more positive content, uploaded from iTunes or various websites. Among my favorites are Focus on the Family and Key Life, with Scott Brown. I also get a chuckle from Garrison Keillor recounting the latest "News from Lake Wobegon." It's not hard to find these gems for free on the Internet. I just fill up my mp3 player and take it along in the car.

I can always catch the latest news later on, but I've found that, in the morning, when facing a challenging day of work, it's best to start with something inspirational, or to have a laugh at a lighthearted story. It gets me off to a great start!

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other one thing.” - Abraham Lincoln

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given.” -- Mother Teresa

"You can do anything if you have enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes rise to the stars. Enthusiasm is the spark in your eye, the swing in your gait, the grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of your will and your energy to execute your ideas. Enthusiasts are fighters, they have fortitude, they have staying qualities. Enthusiasm is at the bottom of all progress! With it, there is accomplishment. Without it, there are only alibis."

- Henry Ford

Keeping up with who?

One day I was riding along in my van and a message on a Christian radio program hit me with a really profound thought.

"Comparison destroys contentment."

- John McArthur

Have you counted your blessings today?

Where the gulls are

Troubled?

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change. And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

- Psalm 46: 1-7

It's not about you

"It is more noble to give yourself completely to one individual than to labor diligently for the salvation of the masses."

- Dag Hammarskjold

"There are two great days in a person’s life – the day we were born and the day we discover why."

-- William Barclay

"Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." -- Mark Twain

Pause and drink in the world around you

I feel the most alive whenever I'm out in nature. I often take my camera along to capture sights worth remembering. This is a stream in the Mountain Bridge Wilderness Area near Caesar's Head in Upstate South Carolina. A solitary campsite sits along the stream bank this day. I can imagine sleeping to the soothing sound of the water.

"Positive people give energy - negative people take energy."

Words to live by

"Nobody can make you inferior without your consent."

- Eleanor Roosevelt