26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. – Matthew 6:26-34

Any time I feel the anxiousness creeping in, I try to remind myself of the verses above.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of worrying.

Our minds appear to have a natural tendency towards worry and anxiety.

But I believe God has a different plan for us.

Promises like joy and peace are there for us if we can renew our mind and put the right thoughts in.

If you’re feeling a lot of anxiety lately, read these versions again. Maybe every day. Renew your mind with these timeless truths.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/3wsf6eUdIVw?si=wHeUeCPhkCH7LPQD

Turn lemons into lemonade.

We get to choose our perspective.

Life will give us lemons.

We get to choose what to do with them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale

A mentor of mine used to say "If you’re going to kill time, you might as well work it to death".

Time passes at the same rate for all of us.

Whether you are the President of the United States or sitting on your couch eating Cheetos and watching re-runs (are re-runs still a thing?).

We get to choose what to do with that time.

Are we pursuing our goals and dreams?

Are we scrolling passively while others chase theirs?

Are we buying into the lie that it isn’t worth it to work hard?

Get going. Who cares how long it will take. Just stick with it and don’t quit.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Well begun is half done. – Aristotle

It’s easy to give up or lose steam on a project or plan if we haven’t made any progress or begun well.

The beginning is a great time for a little extra care and attention.

Write it out. Make a plan. Schedule some time. Get off to a good start.

Sometimes this work when you are stuck on something. Just start over. Begin again but do it better this time.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending this daily attitude email from a few years ago as a reminder to myself – it’s not about me!

The Ancient One : It’s precisely what’s kept you from greatness. Arrogance and fear still keep you from learning the simplest and most significant lesson of all.

Dr. Stephen Strange : Which is?

The Ancient One : It’s not about you!

I caught this line when watching Dr. Strange with Maggie the other night.

What a tough life lesson to learn – it’s not about you.

The sooner we learn this and make our peace with it, the better off we’ll be.

Life is not about us or our comfort.

Life is about service to others with love.

Not to get something in return but to become something in the process.

Our pride and our fear hold us back. We want to be in control and to make sure it turns out great – for us. When we let go and begin to pour ourselves out – every day – we begin to experience true joy and peace.

Where are you holding back giving and service to protect yourself?

Where are you letting fear and pride hold you back?

Find some small ways today to decrease pride and fear and add more service and love.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – This was probably much easier to write than it will be to read. It’s a real struggle for all of us. But it’s worth it.

There is no better opportunity to receive more than to be thankful for what you already have. Thanksgiving opens the windows of opportunity for ideas to flow your way. – Jim Rohn
Reminder – you have a lot to be thankful for.
Developing a habit of gratitude is a great step towards getting what you want out of life.
Be thankful today!
Make it a great day.
Jake

https://youtu.be/W-TE_Ys4iwM?si=heiSS1KLre4aYMhs

One good thing about the start of another school year is the clear distinction from one period to the next.

Like the ending of one chapter and the beginning of the next.

Time marches on. It’s helpful to have markers along the way to show you are making progress.

This goes for kindergartners and grown ups.

Since most of us are past the school stage of life we need to set our mile markers along the way.

Whether they are goals or just simple traditions at home to mark the changing of the seasons they show us whether we have grown or atrophied, succeeded or failed.

We are made for meaning and progress. Set yourself a direction and move towards it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears. – Marcus Aurelius

Some things in life I think of as “fool’s gold” – this quote hits on one of them.

Spending our time identifying whose fault it is and how they have not done right by us is fool’s gold.

It’s easy to find fault. To judge. To see how someone has wronged us.

We can focus on this and find plenty of material – there is no shortage of shortcomings.

If we can let it go though, we find out that it wasn’t really worth worrying about in the first place.

It all disappears. Fool’s gold. No real value after all that.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. – Maya Angelou

This feels like some solid dad advice.

Stop complaining.

Either do something about it or change your attitude about it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love. Why Bilbo Baggins? Perhaps because I am afraid, and he gives me courage. – The Hobbit

Tolkien did such a great job in this series of painting the picture of these epic battles of good and evil – all decided by the actions of a few people of genuine character.

Most of the battles between good and evil are fought in our day to day lives.

In traffic. Getting everyone out the door and to school on time. Customers that don’t listen. Coworkers who aren’t the person we’d like them to be.

All opportunities to choose good over evil. To move towards better instead of worse.

This is an opportunity, not a curse. We can and do effect the outcomes. We make a difference.

Make it a great day.

Jake