“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”

“I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear”

“Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”

“Those who are not looking for happiness are the most likely to find it, because those who are searching forget that the surest way to be happy is to seek happiness for others.”

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to mankind.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

I went in search of a quote to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and found too many good ones.

The twin themes of service and love stuck out to me.

So many of society’s ills could be improved drastically through service with love.

This is why we all matter. We have the opportunity to serve with love.

Let’s remember today a great example of service with love.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/Wl8yDRJSiHs

I’m sure it wouldn’t work lyrically but I would change the sentiment of this song, just a little.

I would change it to “Don’t stop believing the future can be better”.

I wouldn’t make it in the music biz.

All of us need hope and faith.

Hope that tomorrow can be better.

Faith that it will all work out in the end.

Tomorrow can be such a source of anxiety and worry. Living in the present is the key.

We must learn to live in the present with faith and hope for our future.

It’s a balance to be sure, but one worth seeking.

Make it a great day.

Jake

We cannot put off living until we are ready. – Jose Ortega y Gasset

Another day is here.

Whether we are ready for it or not time rolls on.

Let’s make the most of it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It may be that the deep necessity of art is the examination of self-deception. – Robert Motherwell

We all have our blind spots.

As I get older (and hopefully wiser) I realize more and more how true the word “blind” is in the description.

We all have areas where we literally “can’t see”.

This quote to me means that art is a medium through which our blind spots can be revealed.

I believe that deep, meaningful relationships are great for this as well.

On one side of the coin our loved ones look past our blind spots and faults. They love us in spite of our blindness.

And they can show us our blind spots. They can gently (or not so gently if that is what is needed) point out something we didn’t even see.

Look for the blind spots in your life. Be aware of your own self-deceptions. Don’t convince yourself that you have it all figured out. You don’t. You need help. We all do.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you do, and you will presently come to love him." – CS Lewis “Mere Christianity”

Love is a verb.

It builds upon activity.

It requires action.

Consistent, positive action that puts another before ourselves.

Find a way to show love today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23

All have “failed”.

We spend much of our lives avoiding failure. Obsessing over what people might think if we were to come up short.

This verse is a reminder that ALL of us are going to fail.

We are all going to come up short.

If we’re lucky it will be something small. If we’re a little less lucky it will be something big.

Either way, it’s coming.

Isn’t this supposed to be a positive email?

It is.

We have the power to respond to the failure. The bigger the failure the more power in the response.

AND the God of the universe loves us so much He sent His son to die so that we can be forgiven all of failures, large and small.

Don’t be afraid of the failures. Embrace it when you have a chance to respond to a failure in your life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – I know this is easier said than done and that I don’t know your situation. God does and He still loves you so that is good enough for me.

PSS – I don’t think this means we should seek out failure or give a lack of effort or care in our lives. We must do our best.

https://youtu.be/U9t-slLl30E

This one has got lot of giggles at our house.

I have been introducing the girls to some Star Wars. Movies and stories can be a great way to understand life’s important lessons.

Friendships matter and are worth prioritizing.

Evil must be defeated by someone willing to risk it all for the greater good.

We must stand up for what is right even when it is hard.

Temptations to do what we know is wrong are strong but must be faced in order to become who we are meant to be.

Love can and will conquer hate.

Purpose and meaning require making difficult choices.

Pull out your favorite novel/movie series and look for the important lessons. Write them down. Think about how they apply to your life. Write a daily attitude email about them and send it to me and I’ll send it out to everyone.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common things. – Henry Ward Beecher

The balancing act of setting new goals is that we must also be happy with the common things around us.

We can become obsessed with how our current situation isn’t what we want and focus too much on what we would like to be different.

Find something common to be happy about today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"Some people plant in the spring and leave in the summer. If you’ve signed up for a season, see it through. You don’t have to stay forever, but at least stay until you see it through." — Jim Rohn

The first of the year is a time to sign up for new things. To begin a new season.

Jim’s reminder is that when you sign up for something, at least see it through one season.

At least see it through the first month of that new diet program.

At least see it through the first quarter with your new budget.

At least see it through January 31st with your new exercise plan.

Already fallen off the wagon? Quick! Get back on. See it through.

Make it a great day.

Jake

It’s easier to resist at the beginning than at the end. – Leonardo da Vinci

Don’t forget about this as you get started on your new goals for the year.

It will get easier as it becomes a habit.

Resistance to a new habit or new direction is easiest at the beginning, before momentum takes over.

Push through. Get the snowball heading down the hill.

Make it a great day.

Jake