Being Alone

Why is being alone so bad, so frightening, so intolerable that you would rather stay in a situation that is causing you pain or harm? When you think about being alone with yourself, what unbearable thought convinces you that it is okay to be unhappy, unfulfilled or dissatisfied with someone else? When you are alone, what do you see in yourself that makes it feel better to be treated wrongly by someone else? What you may not realize is that you can never fully be with anyone until you can be with yourself.

There is a very sacred sweetness about being alone that you will miss if you fear it so much. When you are alone with yourself, you become sensitive to and familiar with your own voice, your own touch, your own sense of being. You learn to appreciate quiet times with you; special things that you do for yourself. When you are alone, you can pamper yourself, be extravagant with yourself, you can even talk to yourself without being overheard. Being alone is an opportunity to examine your thoughts, explore your feelings and allow yourself to feel all the things you thought you could not feel because you were with someone else.

It is okay to desire a warm body in bed at night. It is perfectly fine to want someone to talk to or share with or stare at across the dinner table. It is human nature to congregate and communicate, to seek companionship and camaraderie. However, it is often detrimental to indulge your human nature to avoid the sacred nature of being alone.

Until today, you may have done everything in your power to avoid being alone. Just for today, allow yourself to explore the possibilities and opportunities that being alone offer you. If it feels frightening or sad, take a moment and ask God to show you how you can make it feel better.

Quote From "Third Watch"

Life's not about hanging on to someone because you care about them. Sometimes, if you care about someone, you have to let them go.

Little Boys and Girls

When a little boy doesn't have a father to show him the way, he can never be quite sure about the manhood things he needs to know. He's never quite sure about how strong is strong enough; how soft is too soft; or how much doing or giving is enough from a man's point of view. He's never quite sure how to push forward or when to pull back. When a little boy doesn't have a father to guide him, he's not sure when to speak up or when to shut up. A little boy who does not or did not have a father is never quite sure what other men will think about what he has to say.

Some little boys grow up never feeling quite sure about the things their fathers did not or could not teach them. Sometimes they figure things out on their own, by trial and error. Still, they are not quite sure about themselves, within themselves. They grieve silently in their hearts, which does not make them feel good about the man they are or are becoming. Many little boys grow up to be men who do not realize that they have a heavenly Father who loves and supports them unconditionally. This is the Father who knows them inside out and will always be in them and with them. Many little boys do not recognize that the wise, courageous, loving fatherly advise they need, they already have at the core of their being. They don't understand that the Father put it there for them to use when they thought they could not reach him, see him, or be with him. Like a good Father, the heavenly Father has given little boys everything they need to grown into men.

Until today, you may have been one of the earthly sons grieving the absence of an earthly father. You may have quietly, secretly yearned for the loving embrace of a father. Just for today, spend some time sharing your thoughts and needs with the heavenly Father who lives in your heart.

Little girls need a big, strong daddy to hold them, protect them and to let them know that they matter to him. They need a daddy who will talk to them, listen to them, who will speak up for them and teach them how to speak up for themselves. Little girls need a daddy that they can depend on and put their trust in. They need a daddy who will discipline them, instruct them and trust them to make decisions on their own. They need a daddy to tell them they are pretty, to demonstrate that they are valuable, to teach them that they are worthy and to acknowledge that they deserve respect. Little girls need a daddy to teach them what to expect from men.

Unfortunately, some daddies do not know how to give little girls what they need. They may want to, even try to, but somehow they never seem to get just what it is that little girls need from them. As a result, some little girls grow up searching for the daddy they believe they never had. Some little girls grow up full of regret, sadness, fear and sometimes anger, believing they will never get the things they need and wanted from daddy.

All little girls have a heavenly Father who understands them, loves them, values them and knows their every need. The heavenly Father has always protected, spoken to, listened to and spoken on behalf of his earthly daughters. The heavenly Father has always and will always be there to comfort, protect and provide for his little girls because he knows, sometimes better than they do, just how precious they are to Him and the world.

Until today, you may have believed that you missed out on a good relationship with your earthly father. Just for today, be devoted to spending some time and sharing your thoughts with your heavenly Father. If you do, you'll feel a lot better about the father you had here on earth.

Knowing How to Pack for the Wilderness

When God is taking us to a place we've never been before, we envision that it's going to be better than where we are. And ultimately, that's true. But often we have to go through a wilderness to get there.

God has a purpose for the wilderness, but it's hard to see it when we're in it. It can be frightening if we don't know what to expect. The most frightening thing about it is the thought that this may be our final destination.

It's not where we are in life that matters, but Who is with us.

The wilderness is where we are forced to leave behind the familiar, the comfortable, the past successes, the accomplishments, and the old bag of tricks that always worked before. He wants to separate us from all that we crave, so that all we crave is Him. He wants to get the lust for certain comforts out of our appetites, too. It's not that He doesn't want us to ever be comfortable. It's just that He doesn't want us to depend on the comfortable. He wants us to depend on Him. He doesn't want us to love the comforts more than we love Him. When God aims us in a new direction, we have to let go of what we've known, be willing to embrace the unfamiliar, and trust that He will sustain us on the journey.

We need to be walking so close to the Lord that we hear His voice in the midst of any upheaval in our lives. We have to trust Him so thoroughly that we will follow Him wherever He leads us. We must walk perfectly within the revealed light God has given us, not running ahead, not lagging behind, not striving to go somewhere else.

The reason God takes us through these wilderness times is because He wants us to learn a walk of faith whereby we trust Him for every step. We recognize that the wilderness is a place where God calls us to forsake what's comfortable and move into the unknown so He can guide us where we need to go.

We, too, have to daily gather the manna God has for us. We have to seek God's presence and find the strength, joy, peace, and rest that nourishes and feeds our souls. We have to understand that in a place where there appears to be nothing, God will provide everything we need. The knowledge that all this is there for us in the wilderness is liberating. It frees us from having to be discontent. It frees us from striving to get out of the wilderness before it's time to leave. It frees us from trying to make things different than they are. It liberates us to allow God to do a new thing in us as He wills.

He wants your attention, your trust, your mind, your soul, your body, and your obedience. In a word, He wants you. Don't deny Him that pleasure.

When traveling in the wilderness, learn to seek the abundance of the moment. Ask God to open your eyes to all the blessings He has for you there. As you see each one, let them become a refreshing spring. Soak them into the dry pores of your soul, drink them into the parched areas of your spirit, praise Him for every one, and feel that solid ground at the center of His will.

Standing in the Line of Fire

If we open ourselves up to the consequences of not living God's way, we shouldn't be surprised if enemy arrows pierce our lives. We've gotten out from the safety of God's covering.

No matter what your circumstances are, you can be sure that the Lord will be with you and help you successfully stand against whatever opposes you. When you walk with Him in the battle, you're never alone.

The hardest part about letting God fight your battle is that He sometimes waits until the eleventh hour so you will have no doubt of where the power is coming from. If that happens to you, hide yourself in Him and refuse to lose faith in His ability to come to your defense.

"Embracing the moment" is embracing God and finding Him in the moment. "Seeing what's right with this picture," on the other hand, is searching for the truth and seeing reality from
God's perspective. It's being willing to let go of our determination to see things through our own tunnel vision. See things from God's perspective and let Him show you the truth. That means finding the light in what seems to be a dark situation.

Often we pray for something and don't even recognize the answer to our own prayers when we receive it, because it does not happen the way we thought it would.

If your attitude is one of gratefully searching for God's truth and goodness in any situation, it will change your life. What we're really talking about here is an issue of trust. It's basically believing that God is good and He desires the best for you.

Paying Your Light Bill

Often we find ourselves walking in the dark simply because we are not willing to pay the price for having the light.

The price God requires for enjoying the fullness of His light is living His way.

Receiving God's salvation doesn't cost us anything. He paid the price for that. His love and grace, among other things, are free as well. But receiving all He has for us does not happen without meeting certain requirements on our part. In order to enjoy the fullness of His light, we have to walk in obedience to His ways.

The cares of the world, the influence of the ungodly, laziness, busyness, obsessions, ignorance of God's ways, or our own unsubmitted hearts, can be like a subtle riptide that carries us off course until one day we find that we are so far away from where we should be that we can't get back without help. Failure to be alert to the direction we are moving in is dangerous. And we don't have to be in open rebellion to get off course. All it takes is neglect in one small area of obedience and a subtle drift begins without our even noticing.

When we don't live the way He asks us to, we sacrifice much of the light we could enjoy. We don't experience the degree of His protection, guidance, and answers to prayer that we otherwise would. We forfeit certain blessings when we are not willing to do the things that must precede them.

When we love Him enough to obey what He asks, we come under the covering of His protection. When we don't, we come out from under it and drift further and further away from the shores of safety and blessing.

We can find ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time simply because we didn't do what God was telling us to do, or we neglected to ask Him what we were supposed to be doing before we made decisions. Or perhaps we asked Him, but we failed to wait for an answer before we went ahead and did what we wanted to do. So much grief can be avoided by living God's way.

The more we obey God, the clearer we hear Him speaking to our heart. The more we hear God speaking to our heart, the more we want to obey Him. The more we obey, the more He can teach us of His ways, His truth, and His nature.

God reveals Himself to us in greater dimensions when we are doing what He has asked us to do.

When we are walking in obedience, we don't miss God's direction for our lives.

There is a direct correlation between obedience and answered prayer.

Whatever we are passionately devoted to in our life will mold and control us.

God is not trying to be a dictator. He simply wants to show us how life works best. When we don't live His way, confusion enters in and disturbing things happen that otherwise wouldn't. In whatever area He is asking us to obey, we can be sure He is trying to teach us something that will be for our benefit.

God's grace says, "You need to do it to make your life better, but God will help you and pick you up if you fall."

Dancing in the Footlights

When we read God's Word, it lights our path and keeps us surefooted. We can't just read it once from cover to cover and then be finished like we can with any other book. The light we receive from God's Word must be renewed, revitalized, and solidly reestablished daily. As we look in the direction God is leading us, we are better able to see where we are going.

God can speak to you from any page of His Word.

There are no times so hopeless in our lives that God's Word will not shed light on the situation and bring us comfort.

If you find yourself struggling with hopelessness, loss, sickness, or temptation, make God's Word an ongoing presence in your life. Don't let yourself even consider constructing a life without using God's Word as a power tool. In fact, make it your very foundation.

Anytime you feel like you are in the dark or on shaky ground, ask God to shed the light of His Word in your heart. If you want to figure out how life works, read His instruction book. When you need to know where you're supposed to be going, His truth will aim you in the right direction, illuminate your way, and keep you from getting off the path.

Hunger for God's Word like food. Thirst for it like water. Soak in it like a jacuzzi. Put it on like a garment. Weave it into your soul so that it becomes part of the fabric of your life. When you do, you won't just be trudging up the trail. You will be dancing in the footlights.

Embracing the Moment

None of us like pain, uncertainty, strife, or frustration. We want things to run along smoothly. But the challenging and miserable times are not without their aspect of good. It is then that we have the opportunity to experience the Lord's presence in a deeper way. If we embrace the moment, we see Him in it.

Walking step by step with God requires embracing the moments for all it's worth. When you are tempted to become fearful, frustrated, uncertain, or panicked about what is happening in your life, stop and see that God is in it. And with Him, you have everything you need for this moment. Here and now.

It's amazing that when we open our eyes to the whole picture, we have a different perspective.

Regardless of what your situation is at this moment, God has an abundance of blessings for you. Right where you are, God is working powerfully in your life. He wants you to close your eyes, call out His name, and say, "Lord, show me Your hand in my life." He wants you to sense His presence. He wants you to trust that when you are afraid, you can turn to Him and find His peace. When you are weary, you will find His strength. When you are empty, you will find His fullness. When you are sad, you will find His joy. And when you are in the middle of a raging storm, you will find His shelter and provision.

God knows that too much light can be hard to take. It can blind and confuse us. He prefers to give us just enough to keep us dependent on Him. In that way, He can teach us to take bigger steps of faith in order to prepare for what He is calling us to in the future.

When we have a deep and personal relationship with the Lord, our difficult times are not the same as they are for people who don't have Him. For unbelievers, their dark and troubled times are without hope. Even for believers who don't understand all that God has for them, their difficult experiences are filled with fear and doubt instead of a sense of God's sustaining presence.

When you take the first step to embrace God in your circumstances, He will go the distance to embrace you.

No matter what is going on in your life, embrace the moment. Instead of becoming upset when things go wrong or something doesn't happen the way you planned, look for God in the situation. You'll see He hasn't forsaken you. You'll understand that you won't be suffering forever. When you embrace the heart of God in the nitty-gritty details of your life, you will find a oneness with Him you never dreamed possible. And you'll sense that He is in control and will not let you get off course. Whenever you feel angry, sad, depressed, or fearful, say, "God, reveal Yourself to me in this moment. What are You doing in my life that I am not seeing? If all things work together for good, then show me the good." When you're determined to see the good, you will find it.

Just because you can't see anything ahead doesn't mean He can't. He can and does. He knows where you've been. He knows where you're headed. He knows where you are supposed to be going. And He knows how to get you there. If you have light for just the moment in which you find yourself, it is enough. It must be enough. For you have Him, and He is all you need.

Refusing to be Afraid of the Dark

If we have the light in us that cannot be extinguished, then we can never be in total darkness.

There are different kinds of darkness, however, and we need to be able to discern one from the other. There is spiritual darkness that happens when we refuse to let God enter into our lives. There is the darkness of negative emotions like ignorance, pride, jealousy, anger, or hatred. There is the darkness we experience when we make selfish demands that satisfy our flesh at the expense of others. There is the darkness of living in disobedience to God's ways. All of these kinds of darkness come about because of our own choices.

Yet as damaging as our mistakes can be, God gives us a way out of the darkness we get ourselves into. When we return to Him, He restores us to the full light. Even if we foolishly create our own darkness, as long as we have a personal relationship with the Lord, His light in us cannot be put out.

He wants you to be so convinced of His presence in your life that even when you can't feel it, sense it, or see it, you know He is there. He wants you to be completely sure that the light of His Spirit in you will never be put out. You don't have to keep looking for it. You don't have to doubt it. No circumstance can dim it. It is there for now and all eternity.

One of the ways God makes us certain of His light is by allowing us to test it in the darkness. But this darkness is not to be dreaded. It is the darkness God created for His purposes. God sometimes allows things to get very dark in our lives in order to grow us up and teach us about Himself. And some things that we accomplish in darkness cannot happen in any other setting.

Think about what it's like when the power goes out in your home at night. You can barely function in the dark. You walk carefully, one step at a time, reaching out for familiar things to steady and guide you until you can find a flashlight. If someone is holding a source of light, you reach out and take their hand so you can move together. You don't take a step until you're certain that both of you are going in the same direction.

That's exactly how God uses darkness in our lives. We're in the dark until we see His light in it. He wants us to reach out for Him so we can walk together in the same direction. He desires that we draw close so that we sense His presence at all times.

This is not like the darkness of evil, which you can clearly sense. Or the darkness of our own disobedience, which we know in our hearts. This is a different kind of darkness, and God says there are treasures to be found there. The treasure we find in the darkness is Him.

Some things we only learn in the dark.

I'm not saying that God causes bad things to happen in our lives. He doesn't. We live in a fallen world, and bad things happen. But God works in the midst of even the deepest darkness. His presence and His light are there for those who open their eyes to see it, and He brings good out of every situation.

Even in the darkest times, we should never doubt God. Even when it may appear like our life is over and He has forgotten us, He is actually growing us into our future.

Sometimes what seems like the darkest step we've ever been on comes just before the brightest light we've ever experienced.

That's why we can't be angry about being in the dark. People who doubt God in the midst of darkness and blame Him for their discomfort don't really know Him. If they really knew Him, they would never feel that way.

Often when we find ourselves in the midst of a dark situation, we immediately believe we must be out of the will of God. That might be true, but if we've been living in obedience to the Lord to the best of our ability, we are more likely right in the center of God's will. In fact, God's will can lead us into some very dark circumstances.

When we find ourself in the dark, we must stop what we're doing, look for His light, and listen for His voice. We have to reach out to Him and He will give us a sense that He is there.

The unknown can be frightening, but when we immerse ourselves in the presence of the Lord, we can know Him in it. His love takes away our fear. When we take a step, His light is with us. When we take the next step, His light is with us still.

When we walk with the Lord, the dark is actually a place we can never fully be.

The unknown is not so frightening when we realize that our all-knowing God is in it. We know Him. And once we experience His light in the midst of darkness, our darkness will never be the same.

If you feel like you're in a dark place in your circumstances right now, know that God has not abandoned you. You are not wandering aimlessly. He sees the path you are on. He is there with you in great power and wants you to realize how much He loves you. If you're in darkness as a result of your own choices, confess that to Him and He will lead you out of it. If it is a darkness He has created to grow your faith, be joyful. There are awesome treasures of His presence ahead for you.

Don't be afraid of the dark. Instead of seeing the darkness as frightening, view it as a precious and wonderful place to be. When everything around you gets darker, the light inside you will grow brighter. God will speak to you and give you illumination right where you are. He wants you to reach up, take His hand, and walk every step with Him. He wants you to rest in the knowledge that the light He gives you, His light that is in you, is enough light to keep you securely on the path.

Beginning to See the Light

Although God is omnipresent, we must remember that there are degrees of the fullness of His presence we can enjoy and experience. He gives us as much of His presence as we are able to receive. Although His light never goes out, we sometimes do things that separate us from the fullness of His life and cause His light to appear dim in our lives.

King David always knew that the light on his path came from God. He was still God's anointed no matter how dark it got. Even when he made bad choices, he had a heart for the Lord. And God never allowed him to be destroyed.

It's the same with those of us who love God. His light is always available to us. No matter how badly we think we've blown it in our lives, we are never truly in darkness when we look to Him.

Our problem is that when we enter into a dark time, we don't always realize that we have a light within us which never goes out.

I have electricity in my home, but if I don't plug into it, I don't see the light. I have Jesus in my heart, but if I don't plug into Him daily, I won't see His light either, even though it is there. I have to connect with Him. Talk to Him. Worship Him. Spend time with Him.

Whenever we go through difficult times, we anticipate the coming moment when all the pressure is off, the worry has subsided, the healing has manifested, the sadness has lifted, and the pain is gone. We continuously look for God to take away the discomfort we are experiencing. But God wants us to know that even as we wait for those changes to happen, His light is there all the time shining into our darkness. He wants us to trust that, and open our eyes to see it.

No matter how dark things seem in your life, when you walk with God you will find an abundance of His light right where you are. You will never be without it because you have the source of true and everlasting life within you.

So don't worry about seeing or understanding what the future holds. God wants you to trust Him as He leads you, even though you can't see clearly ahead. And don't be overly concerned about fully comprehending the past. Only He knows the whole truth about it, anyway. You have Him now, He is your light. And that's all that matters.

Learning to Walk

Life is a walk. Each day we take steps. Our tomorrow is determined by the steps we take today.

Learning to walk with our Heavenly Father is somewhat different. He wants us to reach up and take His hand but He doesn't want us to ever let go. In fact, His desire is that we become more and more dependent upon Him for every step. That's because He wants to take us to places we've never been. To heights we can't even imagine.

We will never know the joy of true freedom until we understand we cannot take a single step without His help.

But it's up to us to take the first step. If we don't, we will never learn to walk with Him. We can be so afraid of taking a wrong step that we fail to take any step at all.

God always requires the first step to be ours.

Once you've taken that first step, God will show you other steps to take. He will teach you how to walk in the light of His truth, revelation, and love. You'll discover ways to avoid the things that separate you from Him and all He has for you. You'll learn to walk away from fear, depression, condemnation, loneliness, loss, unforgiveness, and disappointment. You'll understand what it means to walk through the dark times of your life with the comfort of His presence as your only light.

No matter how far away from God you've gone, when you surrender your life to the Lord, a path is carved from where you are to where you are supposed to be, and He puts you on it.

This is the miracle of His power. If the path you've been on is crooked, He will make it straight. If you are headed in the wrong direction, He will turn you around. If you have come to a standstill, He will get you moving. If you are going around in circles, He will correct your course and cause you to arrive at your destination. The simple act of giving your life to Him will immediately put you on the correct path and aim you in the right direction.

As you take one step at a time, holding God's hand and letting Him lead, He will get you where you need to go.

He doesn't want us to just depend on Him as a last resort when we have a medical emergency or a financial crisis. He wants us to depend on Him for every breath we take. And, quite opposite of the way it may seem, that kind of dependent life is not stifling. It's liberating!

Learning to walk with God is a process. And just when we think we have it all figured out, God leads us into a new place where our old tricks won't work. It may seem like we're learning how to walk all over again. And in a way we are. We enter unfamiliar territory and are soon reminded that, on our own, we stumble. Yet when we take His hand, we fly. God wants us to soar far above the limitations of our lives and ourselves. He wants to take us to a place we have never been before and can't get to from where we are without His help.

If you are at a place in your life where you feel like you can't take one step without the Lord's help, be glad. He has you where He wants you. If you're wondering, "Have I done something wrong?" the answer is most likely, "No, you've done something right." God has you on this path, no matter how difficult and impossible it may seem right now, because you are willing to follow Him. He wants to accomplish great things through you that can only come out of a life of faith. He wants your undivided attention because you can't do these things on your own. The path is not a punishment; it's a privilege. It's not a restriction; it's a reward.

God loves us so much that He allows us to get into difficult places in our lives so we will realize how dependent upon Him we must be.

Having God correct your course doesn't necessarily mean the one you were on was incorrect. But it does mean that something needs to change to get you headed in the direction God wants to take you. As long as you are breathing, God will have new paths for you to take and exciting things for you to do.

God doesn't often reveal the details of where He's taking you because He wants you to trust Him for every step. He wants you to pray and listen to Him directing your path for this day, this week, this season, this year, and this time.

The Point of No Return

I am willing to acknowledge...I am at the point of no return.

When you reach the point of no return in a particular situation, it means you have given all you can give, taken all you can take, learned all you can learn, taught all you can teach, been all you can be. You realize there is no hope of things getting any better, and you have done all you know how to turn things around. When you finally reach this point, please remember, this is not a bad thing. It is simply time to move on.

You will know when you have come to the point of no return when your joy is gone, your peace is at risk, you are groping for some meaning, you are looking for a reason. You are no longer mad. You can't even get angry.

When you come face to face with the point of no return, remember the good times, appreciate the joyful times, be grateful for any support, encouragement or contentment you experienced. Pack all of thos things in a corner of your heart and take them with you as you move forward. Acknowledge and accept that you may not be able to go back to what you had but that you have something to take with you on your new journey.

Until today, you may have resisted the need to move beyond the point of no return. You may have been looking for reasons to stay in an experience that no longer suits your needs. Just for today, acknowledge your needs and prepare yourself to pack and move on.

Random Thought

"You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind. But you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of."

Jim Rohn

After Awhile - Veronica A. Shoffstall

I found this poem on someone else's blog and it really spoke to me.

After awhile you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn't mean leaning,
And company doesn't mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts,
And presents aren't promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open;
With the grace of a woman, not the grief of a child.
And you learn to build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans
And future's have a way of falling down in midflight.
After awhile you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much.
So you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul,
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure,
That you really are strong,
And you really do have worth.
And you learn and learn.
With every goodbye, you learn.

Be In Harmony

Everything we do in life is experienced by our entire being -- that means mind, body, and spirit. What you know, you know on all three levels. What you desire, you must desire on all three levels. When you are trying to accomplish a task, all three levels of your being must be in harmony.

It is not enough to think about the good things you want; you must also feel good about what you want. It is not enough to try to forget unpleasant experiences; you must also work to change how you feel about them. In order to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings, you must shift what you think. When you shift what you think, you change how you feel and what you believe. This shift is called learning. When there is harmony among all levels of your inner being, then you have learned the lesson of the experience. Once you have learned a lesson, your behavior will change.

If you are working to eliminate negative thoughts and feelings, think before you act. Stop yourself from walking down the path of reaction. Examine your beliefs about yourself and your experiences. Be willing to release those things that are in conflict with your goal to release negative thoughts and feelings. Only when you participate on all three levels of your being can you break habitual responses that repeatedly produce unwanted experiences.

Until today, you may have tried to clear your mind and heal your heart in two separate steps. Just for today, treat your mind and heart as partners.

Staying Young

1. Try everything twice. On Madams tombstone (Of Whelan and Madam) she said she wanted this epitaph: Tried everything twice..loved it both times!

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (Keep this in mind if you are one of the grouches)

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and lots of time with him/her.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire lives is ourselves. Live while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love. Whether it's family, friends, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health. If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, but not to where guilt it.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them at every opportunity.

11. Forgive now those who made you cry, you might not get a second chance.





It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing. It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive....

Passage from "The Invitation" by ORIAH

Keep On Keeping On

I am willing to acknowledge...a good word supports and encourages good work!

Keep up the good work! Keep on putting one foot in front of the other, taking one step at a time, moving at a pace that may seem slow but is steady and sure. Keep on doing what you are doing to improve your life, to enhance your status, to improve your standing. Keep up with your vision, your goals, and your dreams. They are very important to you. You know that, don't you? Don't deny yourself the joy of your dreams. Don't doubt yourself or your ability to do what you are doing to reach your goals. Don't beat up on yourself for what may seem like a mistake or a waste of time. Keep on believing it was necessary for you to walk that path and to learn those lessons.

Keep on telling yourself that you can, you will, you are getting better, being better, making better choices that you once did. Keep on deciding for yourself who you are, what you desire to express and experience. Keep up the good work! Remember that you are doing just fine. Remind yourself right now that no matter what it looks like, you are doing the best you can. And getting better.

Until today, you may have doubted your progress, regretted your choices, put yourself down or ignored your progress, as minimal as it seemed. Just for today be devoted to encouraging yourself, supporting yourself and celebrating every little thing about yourself.