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

"This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather."

– Phil Connors, Groundhog Day

Every year on Groundhog Day I think of the movie.

Phil Connors gets stuck in a loop and has to live the same day every day.

Given this new situation he tries a bunch of different versions of “how to live”.

He tries taking it easy, he tries cramming it full of doing whatever he wants, he lies, he cheats, he steals.

Only when he spends his time in service with love does the day and his time take on true meaning.

We have that same opportunity with each of our days.

Make it a great day.

Jake

If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. – Vince Lombardi

I didn’t know Mr. Lombardi has such a good sense of humor.

Be fired with enthusiasm today!

Make it a great day.

Jake

Resending this daily attitude from a few years ago (before Oliver, even).

Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.

Helen Keller

For those of you that don’t know, Meaghan and I are blessed with two of the most joyful children in the world (I might be a little partial on this one).

On Sunday, Maggie and I sat down for a minute to watch a little football. We stopped on the Green Bay and St. Louis game. Maggie immediately decided to cheer for the Packers because they were already winning (she’s smart like her mom, but apparently not as much of a Bears fan as her mom).

A minute later I heard a "whoohoo!" from the other room. Maggie came into the kitchen and said "I cheered just that once for the St. Louis team. I didn’t want them to feel bad that we weren’t cheering them on."

All of this was said while jumping, skipping and smiling her way to the kitchen and back.

In that moment I got a little glimpse of true joy. Forget about who is winning or losing, let’s just cheer because it is fun to cheer.

So, why did I share this little story and the quote above in a daily attitude email?

Just to brag on our little Maggie and Annie? No, but that was a pleasant side effect.

The point was to remind us. Remind all of us of that joy of childhood. To remind us of how good for our souls a little joy is. Remind us that with joy we can "form an invincible host against difficulties".

Make it a great day.

Jake

Bonus thought for us "God people" that get this email. All of this reminded me of one of my favorite little pick me up thoughts:

This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This Toe Tapper from a few years ago is a great reminder to find joy in the ordinary miracles around us every day.

When Jake asked me for a suggestion to use as this Friday morning’s toe tapper, I jokingly mentioned this song because it has been playing in my head lately. Little did I know I would get roped into sending this out. 😉

I hope some of you will enjoy it, regardless of its lack of toe tapping quality. The video is full of clips from the latest movie version of Charlotte’s Web, which is one of my all time favorite books about friendship and ordinary miracles. The song has been an inspiration to me to look for joy in the every day. When I am feeling down or having a bad day, all I have to do is look at the colors of fall against a bright blue sky, think about the uniqueness of each and every snowflake falling (a little too early last week, in my opinion), watch my little girl form something out of play-doh with her little fingers, or call a friend whom I love with all of my heart. Noticing the little miracles in my daily life keeps my focus on the good in the world, in others, and in myself.

https://youtu.be/rweU-FFE6Ww

If you remember to take a look, you too can find ordinary miracles as you go about your normal day. When you find those little bits of beauty, joy, and love in your life, you may also find a little "tap" in your toes (and your heart, since I am going with the sappy theme here). Then you can "open up and find a way to give some of your own."

Happy Friday, Toe Tappers!

Meaghan Davis