Yesterday’s email ended with the recommendation to use wisdom in deciding which season you are in and what to do about it.

How do we obtain wisdom?

Seek it.

Don’t have experience in something? Seek out someone who does.

Not sure about all the facts? Find and read the books.

Not sure where to get started? Google it.

Andy Stanley recommends asking ourselves – What would a wise person do?

Once you start finding information – start filtering it through that question – what would a wise person do? If you’re not sure what a wise person would do – ask one. Don’t know any wise people – seek them out. They are all over the history books and in books like the Bible.

If you seek, you will find.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – For those of us who are Christians – this is why a daily walk with the Holy Spirit is so important. The closer you are to having the Holy Spirit abiding in you, the closer you are to having wisdom live in you and your actions.

There are years that ask questions and years that answer. – Zora Neale Hurston

Life is full of different seasons.

Some are long, some are short.

Some go well.

Some go sideways.

Some require reserve and patience.

Some require massive and immediate action.

Some years ask questions, some years have answers.

These platitudes are easy to repeat and may even seem wise.

Real wisdom is knowing the difference. Knowing yourself. Knowing what to do next. Knowing who to ask if you don’t know.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending last year’s daily attitude email from Valentine’s Day.

Lauren Daigle – You Say (Official Music Video)

Monday morning slow tapper to remind you of something after Valentine’s Day – God loves you.

He loves you so very much.

He’s counted every hair on your head.

He’s got the whole universe in His hands and He thinks about you all the time.

He’s excited when you do well. His heart breaks when you miss the mark. He loves you the same either way.

He created this whole big thing we call life just to love you.

Not sure who needed to hear this today, but I’m sure it was at least one of you (or maybe I’m the one who really needs these emails…..)

The world can be dark and scary. People can and will hurt your feelings and leave you feeling unloved.

God won’t.

He never stops loving each and every one of us.

He and His love are enough.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – As I get older I’ve become convinced this should be my first wish if I were ever granted 3 wishes or the fame and fortune to make a major impact on the world – that each and every person knows (really knows) that God loves them. I believe so much would change for the better if we could all get this idea stuck in our hearts and heads.

https://youtu.be/8O6GCHz7lMA

Super Bowl Shuffle – this should get you prepped and ready for Super Bowl weekend.

Every year when we watch the Super Bowl I think about how many other people are watching it at the same time.

We create this shared, collective experience with so many people every year.

There is something very powerful about shared experiences. The power comes in the combination of the number of people, the intensity of the experience and the depth of the relationships.

We were made to seek out powerful shared experiences – from the embrace of a loved one to the packed concert – we are moved by these experiences.

So what?

I encourage all of us to seek these out and create more – on purpose and with purpose. Use these opportunities to deepen important relationships and to build new ones.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. – Carl Jung

The hardest part of parenting might just be the realization that they are acting just how you trained them to….whether you meant to or not.

It’s so very tempting to get irritated by those around us who fall short of our expectations.

To declare their sins and shortcomings to be personal character flaws that require our disdain and correction.

It’s also very tempting to be hard on ourselves. Heaping disappointment on ourselves for our own perceived sins and shortcomings.

I’d like to suggest that there should be a balance here.

Forgiveness and grace for the sins and shortcomings.

Distance and disconnect from those people and habits that cause too much damage and despair.

Where should the line be drawn?

Well, that’s up to you. Choose wisely.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Reminder/daily attitude email from a few years ago….

Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me. – Fred Rogers

Last night I was walking out of Wal-Mart and saw a guy walking in holding a little girl in his arms and they both had smiles so wide they could eat a banana sidewise (stole that one from good ol’ Zig Ziglar).

It struck me just how special the smiles, laughter and happiness of children really is.

My happiness thought for all of us today….spend a little time with someone under 10.

Ask them questions.

Let them ask you questions.

Do whatever they want to do.

Embrace the silliness.

And never forget that no matter how mean or nasty someone is to you, they were a silly little kid at one point. They just lost that part of themselves.

Let’s help each other find this part. Let’s laugh and be silly.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://seths.blog/2019/03/busy-is-not-the-point/

Saw this great post from Seth Godin the other day and a few things stood out. In particular:

“No points for busy.

Points for successful prioritization. Points for efficiency and productivity. Points for doing work that matters.

No points for busy.”

Busy doing what? That’s a question I try to ask myself frequently.

What really ate up your day?

What are you really spending your time on?

When I look hard at answering these questions two things stand out:

I waste more time than I would care to admit and using time as the excuse for not doing something meaningful is just that – an excuse.

And that I spend a lot of time doing “ordinary” things.

Driving to work.

Taking a shower.

Doing the dishes.

Instructing (sometimes too loudly) the children.

I end up feeling challenged to add meaning to the little stuff of life.

The Bible says “rejoice always, pray continuously and give thanks in all circumstances”.

Always, continuously and all seem pretty inclusive to me – this means I need to find it in me to find joy, pray and be thankful even when brushing my teeth or taking out the trash.

Busy doing what? Hopefully being joyful, praying and being thankful.

What are you busy doing?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Participate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy. – Joseph Campbell

The Bible talks about “rejoicing in all circumstances”.

It’s the word “all” that makes it sound difficult.

Some? Most? Half? All of those might seem possible, but all seems to far out of reach.

I don’t have this one figured out, but the older I get the more I think that it is possible to find joy in all circumstances.

Would that require you to become an exceptional human being? Yep.

Is that what I (and others who love you) want for you? Yep.

Maybe all is a tough place to start for you. Maybe you need to start with more. Rejoicing in more of your circumstances. More of the ones you don’t like.

Start there and see how it goes. Is your life better or worse? Was your day better or worse? Does the future look better or worse if you kept going?

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/aQUlA8Hcv4s

Sometimes we just need to think about blue skies and summer time.

Make it a great day.

Jake

In spite of unseasonable wind, snow

and unexpected weather of all sorts –

a gardener still plants.

And tends what they have planted …

believing that Spring will come.

– Mary Anne Radmacher

On a cold, snowy and blowy morning this quote seemed appropriate.

Faith. We all must take certain things with faith.

That spring will come.

That our efforts will pay off.

That if we keep it up it will be worth it.

It’s easy to lose faith in something.

Any time we work towards something bigger for our lives, we must work in faith.

Faith that it will all work out in the end.

Make it a great day.

Jake