Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. I can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beattie

I'm sure we all know gratitude is good but do we give it the importance of top priority in our lives? When our thoughts are centered on gratefulness there is no room for negative thoughts. That is one major blessing of living in gratitude.

Another important element is the Law of Attraction. We attract into our lives by our thoughts, so when we are grateful, we open the way for more good to come to us! And we all want that!

When my mind is too active at times to go to sleep, I think of all the things I'm grateful for and in a few minutes I'm sleeping sound. It changes my focus and relaxes my mind and works every time.

Cultivating the attitude of gratitude is an extremely important habit to form. We do not know what lies in our future politically or financially. Days seem to be uncertain. Wars and rumors of wars continue. Also, there is talk of the end of the Mayan calendar being December 21, 2012 and other ancient culture's writings indicate the same thing. Cataclysmic occurrences have been considered as possible scientifically but no one really knows what all this means.

Since that is only two years away, let's make these two years be the best years possible. Gratitude is one way to start. Living each moment to the fullest, doing our best efforts at whatever we do and helping others when the opportunity arises. Getting our spiritual houses in order is top priority. We've always said "life goes on".... but what if it doesn't? Are we spiritually ready for whatever happens?

I am not writing this to instill fear, worry or doubt. But to encourage us to change our thinking to gratitude of what we currently have and the list is long. Our society always wants more. We all do. But let's develop our gratitude attitude and see what transpires!!

Rise Above the Blame Game

I thought the following was very good and decided to use it here and share it with everyone.


Blaming conflict-filled feelings on any condition, or person, outside of yourself is like getting angry at your shoes for being laced too tight.

So here is an effective inner life step designed to help you grow and develop greater spiritual strength: No matter what happens, never blame anyone -- or anything -- for the way you feel. Rising above the blame game is the same as learning how to be in total command of yourself.

Irritated inner states never seek solutions; they only seek reasons for why they have a right to exist! These states constantly feed you "good reasons" as to why you feel badly. The weakness that blames others blinds you to your real inner condition; which is going nowhere except around and down.

The next time you feel yourself starting to become frustrated, angry, or scared, do your best to confirm this next vital insight: Negative emotions cannot exist without having something to blame for their punishing presence.

Even if you have to remove yourself physically from a developing situation, then do it. Find some way to temporarily isolate yourself -- along with your smoldering emotional state. Please note: Isolate yourself along with your agitation.

Voluntarily isolating yourself along with your irritated thoughts and feelings doesn't mean cutting them off; nor does it mean that you should pretend that you're not on fire. Suppression of these weak inner states is just the opposite of angrily expressing them, and every bit as harmful. Don't express -- or suppress -- any negative state. Besides, either one of these opposite approaches always produces the same results; nothing changes except for what's being blamed. Choosing to not blame lifts you above both of these losing choices.

Your conscious non-action turns you into the objective witness of your own superheated emotions. And from the safety of this higher awareness you see about yourself what you couldn't see before because of all the inner fire and smoke. Your discoveries empower you to cancel the real cause of your inner combustibility. Not only is your self-command restored, but it's heightened. Each discovery of an unseen weakness heralds the coming of a greater spiritual strength. -- Guy Finley

A Great Recipe

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti- depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to __________ today. I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished _________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. You'll be smiling before you know it.

What are we thinking???

Have you ever stopped to think about your "default" thinking? Default thinking is simply the thoughts that we have that we aren't conscious of, those automatic thoughts that pop into our heads or our old ways of thinking about what we observe and do. Our thoughts become habit and unless we are aware of our thinking, we may be getting ourselves into trouble!

How many times have you heard, or even said, it's going to be a bad day, or I think I'm getting sick or making remarks about ourselves such as that was stupid, I'm not very smart, etc. Or how many people have had people say things about them that they aren't going to amount to anything or they're stupid or something about how they look? Sometimes we grow up with these negative inputs so our thoughts are just programmed to think negatively about ourselves.

The Bible states: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he". Prov. 23:7. We know that what comes out of our mouths is in our hearts. "What you say flows from what is in your heart". Luke 6:45. We need to reprogram our hearts. The more we read good positive materials, listen to good positive teaching series and use affirmations, the quicker we will get reprogrammed.

Think about these quotes: "There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge; both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought." Napoleon Hill. Someone on The Secret said "What you think about you bring about". And Mike Dooley (from The Secret) also says "Thoughts become things... choose the good ones! ®

This instruction is found in Phillippians 4:8 - "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." That is plain enough, but The New Living Translation states it a little more in our modern language: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." There will be no room for negative thoughts if we fill our minds with these good thoughts.

We have read many reports stating that stress is the cause of 95% of all sickness. If we take control of our thoughts (and we can!) and become aware of what we think and say, we can eliminate so much trouble for ourselves. Isn't it worth it???

Pictures from recent activities

Sunset at Ft. Gibson Lake

Love those friendly butterflies

Tour through Har-Ber Village
Karla and Rick at Har-Ber Village Spavinaw Spillway

The big catch at Spavinaw Creek

Christianese

J. B. Phillips version of the New Testament is my favorite. I only wish he had lived longer so he could have written a version of the Old Testament too. [Then we would have had "Phillips 66".] :-) This following devotional that I received is very good and definitely is one with which I totally agree. I thought I would share it.

The defenders of the jargon and phrases of the Church's traditions hold that there must of necessity be a specialized vocabulary, just as there is in any other specialized form of human activity, whether it is music, architecture, or electronic engineering. To me, at least, this is a thoroughly unsound argument, for Christ did not come into the world to bring men "specialized activity," but life, fuller and more satisfying than it had been ever before. If the churches have made Christianity appear to be some kind of specialized spiritual performance so much the worse for them. The real purpose of Christ, the real relevance of the Gospel, is surely to enable men to live together as sons of God. Human beings, like children, love to have secrets, love to be "in the know." But the Christian religion was never meant to be a secret recipe for living, held by a few. It is Good News for all mankind and, because it is that, the more clearly and intelligibly it can be presented, the more faithfully it is following its Master's purpose.... J.B. Phillips (1906-1982), Is God at Home?, London: Lutterworth Press, 1957, p. 8-9

Yes, there are certain words that apply to various occupations or group activities, sports, etc., but when a newcomer is around, does it make them feel excluded? Why can't Christians just be normal people, living in the world, living life to the fullest, without all the Christianese? Any language can be learned and people who "join" the church can learn this language too. Does it have any meaning or is it just the need to be like everyone else? Sometimes Jesus' ideas and teachings get lost in the shuffle as we focus on all the superficial things. And many words or phrases are repeated and become a habit more than an intentional statement.

Jesus meant for us to live a simple life (I Tim. 2:2b that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.) No facades, just being real. Many people have lived a life so "perfect" that they don't really know what being real is all about. To me being real is recognizing your mistakes and learning from it. To be real is to be yourself with all your flaws and yet having an intense desire to grow and learn and be that better person that we all want people to think we are. Being real to me is not following a set of rules which because you do, makes you better than others. Many people have lived a life that may appear to be perfect because all their ducks are in a row. They go to the right places, have the right friends, avoid all the wrong activities, say the right things, have the right upbringing, etc. Years ago as I was getting acquainted with a new friend, she said, "Now I'm getting to know the real you!". I answered that I would rather be real and growing than stuck in a facade that wasn't really me! I am thankful to her for that statement because it caused me to think.

Did Jesus emphasis doing the right thing (obeying a particular set of rules and we know the various denominations have different rules, from what to wear in clothes or jewelry, what activities you can or cannot do, etc) or did he empasize having a relationship with God through Him? Jesus' parable about the prodigal son shows that this son that squandered his money and did all the wrong things was welcomed back like he was royalty. Being real means admitting where we are in humility and the mistakes we have made and then growing from the experience.

I am not advocating doing wrong things so that we have some experiences or "reality" but to understand that although we may "act" perfect, we all have issues and baggage. However, sometimes our biggest problem is that we don't even know we have a problem. Let's not be too introspective but let God reveal to us our flaws and mistakes and show us how to live life to the fullest completely free from the bondage of having to be perfect.

Happy Times

Yesterday we had a combination birthday party for three people in our family, Chris, Bob and Andrea. It was at Larry's and was very enjoyable. Jason and Andrea provided homemade ice cream (and some desserts), Karla provided the birthday "cake" and other desserts, and the rest of us provided the remaining food for a wonderful meal. Here is a picture of the birthday "cake":


This looks like a hamburger and french fries but it really is dessert!! Cupcakes, brownies, frostings, and sugar cookie french fries. It was yummy!! and so cute.

What a blessing to have family gatherings and see our family grow as the grandchildren marry and add spouses to our number. And to have friends join with us is an added blessing.

It is great to have a 3-day weekend so some projects can get accomplished. We went to a llama farm yesterday to pick up some large fans for Warren to repair and there are many more that need repair. His electronic repair business is picking up. Word of mouth works!! The llama farm was very interesting and we learned about raising llamas. They do not like humidity and therefore need lots of large fans circulating the air in their barns. Their nature is more like a cat. They are curious but kind of standoffish in nature. They do spit but usually turn their heads and it is used as a warning much like a dog growling. It was very fascinating.

It is time to get ready for church so I leave you with this quote which is directly relating to our fun time at the birthday party: "Good humor is a tonic for mind and body. It is the best antidote for anxiety and depression. It is a business asset. It attracts and keeps friends. It lightens human burdens. It is the direct route to serenity and contentment." Grenville Kleiser 1868-1953, Author

Enjoy the long weekend.