More or Less?

“We have not passed that subtle line between childhood and adulthood… until we have stop saying, "it got lost", and say, "I lost it."”

-- Sydney Harris

***

How come when things seem to go bad for us we have a tendency to place the blame on God and when good things happen to us we have a tendency to forget about God and take the credit.  How about a little change of perspective?  Instead, when things go bad, try accepting responsibility and when good things happen, try giving thanks to God.  Changing your perspective just might mean you’ll experience more of the good things in life and less of the bad things.   

Bad things happen to all us.  No one is immune!  Some negative events are well beyond our control.  In those situations, it’s not the event that really matters (because we lack control), but they way we respond to the event that counts.   However, most negative events that take place in our lives are by our own doing; it’s our errors and omissions, resulting from poor judgment.  Often times, our reaction is, “Why me God, why me?”  If you look to place the blame on God or anyone else for that matter, you’re not in a position to change your circumstances.  Consequently, bad things will continue to happen to you because you’ve come to believe that you lack control.   In order to make a change, you must accept responsibility for your decisions and the consequences thereof. 

Once you learn to accept responsibility for a negative event that you’ve created, the next step is to forgive yourself.  You are human!  And yes, all humans make mistakes.  The Good Lord gave us free will; the ability to choose so that we are not bound solely by a genetic pattern.  With free will comes mistakes – mistakes in judgment.  Mistakes are actually lessons; lessons to be learned!  So by instilling in us free will, the Good Lord allows us to grow, although sometimes painfully, through our mistakes.  Just think, if you did not make mistakes and learn the lesson(s) therein,  there really would not be much growth - now would there?

The Good Lord wants us to prosper.  Although, he is not going to do it for us – remember, “free will.”   We serve a loving, good, and abundant God.  Being an abundant God, God sets many of opportunities before us.  It is up to us to be vigilant to recognize these opportunities and use the talents God has given to us to make the most of any opportunity.   So when good things happen to you remember the one who set the stage for you!  When good things happen and you practice gratitude, you actually begin to attract more positive things in your life.  Gratitude is positive energy.  Positive energy produces positive results. 

There you have it - a change in perspective means a change in outcomes.  Accept responsibility and learn from the negative events you have created and you’ll experience less negative events.  When good things happen to you, practice gratitude and praise God for his abundance and you’ll experience more abundance.   So, if you want more of what you want and less of what you don’t want, try changing the way you think about things. 

Now, that’s really something to think about!    

It’s your life:  live it, love it & celebrate it!

MJD

Donations Please!

“The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation."

~Corrie Boom

POINT TO PONDER:  What you get out of life is in direct proportion to what you put into life.   You do not have control over the duration of your life, but you do have control over what you donate to life.   Once a person fully understands that they are where they are at in their  life because of their own doing, they begin to harness the power to create the life they wish to attain.   The theory is pretty simplistic, yet it can be life-changing:  Donate positive, get positive; donate negative, get negative; donate much, get much; donate little, get little! 

So my question to you is:  What type of donation will you make today?

It’s your life: live it, love it, & celebrate it!
MJD

You Just Might Be The Answer

“In the end, the number of prayers we say may contribute to our happiness, but the number of prayers we answer may be of even greater importance.”

 - Dieter F. Uchtdorf

***

POINT TO PONDER:  Whose prayer will you answer?

There is no doubt that there is power in prayer.  The Good Book tells us, "And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matthew 21:22)  Often times, the Good Lord will answers our prayers through the acts of others.   Always remember, in the end, the Good Lord just might say to us, “ I did my part in answering your prayers;  now, tell me how many prayers did you help me answer?” 

Today is the day to begin going to work on answering the prayers of others.  There are people in need all around us.  People who need financial support, emotional support, physical support, and social support.  They may even need something as small as a friendly smile.  Now is the time to take off our proverbial “blinders” and begin looking to those in need.  

Today is the day to be the answer to someone’s prayer.  Can I get a big AMEN?

It's your life: live it, love it, & celebrate it!
MJD

Burn Baby Burn!

Whenever you see darkness, there is extraordinary opportunity for the light to burn brighter."

- Bono

***

POINT TO PONDER:  Look about you and determine where your light should burn a little brighter.   

When one candle lights another, instantaneously the light becomes brighter.  Two lit candles produce more light and more energy than one.  Today, look for someone in need and light their candle with your light.  Remember a candle does not lose its light by lighting another candle.

Keep your light burning brightly!

It's your life: live it, love it, & celebrate it!
MJD

The Extra Mile

“There are no traffic jams along the extra mile.”

- Roger Staubach

Just how come there are no traffic jams along the extra mile?  It’s because not many people are traveling the extra mile.  They’re not traveling the extra mile because they’re not willing to put forth the extra time and effort to travel the extra mile.  Instead, they settle for taking the same old route everyday, yet complain about the traffic jams they encounter.   Just like getting stuck in a traffic jam, they get stuck in life.  Getting stuck in a traffic jam is no fun and getting stuck in life is even worse. 

If you’re willing to travel the extra mile, keep in mind that initially you’ll likely discover adversity, fear, and disappointment.  However, if you continue with your course, adversity will give way to opportunity, fear will give way to faith, and disappointment will give way to satisfaction.  Keep in mind, when you arrive at the end of the extra mile you’ll find success.  You can’t travel the extra mile and not arrive at: Destination Success!  Remember, regardless of your outcome(s), when you arrive you’ll be successful.  True success is not measured by outcomes; it’s measured by the person one becomes because of the process.  

There is a reason why there are no traffic jams along the extra mile.  There just aren’t enough people willing to travel it.  When someone is willing to travel the extra mile while others are not, it says something about that person.  It tells me that they are in the process of becoming a better person.  You can’t come face to face with fear and overcome adversity and disappointment and not become a better person in the process.  So remember this as you embark upon the extra mile, you can’t travel its course and not end up in a better place! 

Destination Success – Here We Come!  Hope to see you on the Extra Mile!

It’s your life: live it, love it and celebrate it!
MJD

The Right Ingredient

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."

-- William Arthur Ward

***

POINT TO PONDER:  Just as a dish can go from bland to delectable by adding the right ingredient, your life can be transformed by adding the right ingredient too.  The right ingredient is gratitude.   So, if you want to make a common, routine and ordinary life something special, just try adding a little gratitude. 

Mm-Mm Good!

It's your life: live it, love it, & celebrate it!
MJD  

A Firm Foundation

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.”
- David Brinkley 

 ***
Unfortunately, people like to throw bricks. No matter what you do or say, or don’t do or say for that matter, people will hurl bricks at you. There will always be people who will complain about you, criticize you, and condemn you. I encourage you to resist the urge to throw bricks back at the “brick throwers.” A counter-attack by you, makes you no better than those who throw bricks at you.

Brinkley tells us that bricks can be used to build a firm foundation. By not throwing bricks back at the “brick throwers”, you’re demonstrating good character. You’re exemplifying poise, self-confidence, discipline and tolerance. These qualities are key traits in developing and maintaining good character. Remember, a truly successful person is grounded (foundation) in good character. Don’t be a “brick thrower.” Use the bricks thrown at you to build a firm foundation. And, if you struggle from time to time with your foundation, you can always call on the Master Architect – He created the universe, just think what he can do for you!

It’s your life: live it, love it and celebrate it!
MJD