Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! – Dr. Seuss

I know I have sent this out before but I wanted to send out the reminder again.

You are awesome.

There is no one that is more you than you.

You were purpose built and are capable of great things.

Don’t ever forget it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

When you are curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. – Walt Disney

There is no such thing as boredom, only boring people. (Can’t remember the author on that one)

Curiosity is one of those characteristics that influences so much in our lives.

It influences our relationships, our growth, our careers, and so much more.

Keeping up a healthy curiosity is essential to having a great life.

Spark your curiosity by finding out something you didn’t already know about.

Ask your spouse questions until you get to something you didn’t know.

Ask a coworker a few questions until you find out something new.

Do a little research into a new topic that interests you.

There are always new and interesting things to do, as long as you are curious enough to look for them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JD – Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. – Robert Bloch

EB – It’s all about how you fill out a t-shirt. (That one is an original!)

JW* – My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far I’ve finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already. – Dave Barry

MS* – If at first you don’t succeed . . . so much for skydiving. – Henny Youngman

A little humor for everyone today.

If these didn’t do it for you, go find something that makes you laugh.

Make it a point to laugh today.

Life’s too short to not laugh (almost) every day.

Sure, life has those moments when laughter isn’t possible, but those are the exceptions, not the rule. We are built to laugh and smile and be joyful.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It’s been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt, and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." – James Earl Jones in Field of Dreams

Major League Baseball started over the weekend.

Even if you aren’t that into sportsing, I think we can all appreciate the sentiment in the quote above.

As time and change roll through, it is great to have something constant through it all.

Something to remind us of where we came from and of a simpler time.

Something to remind us of what is really important.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Yesterday’s sermon at church was about the story of “Doubting Thomas”.

Thomas was one of the 12 apostles who refused to believe that Christ had risen until he could see and feel the wounds himself.

Christ showed Thomas the wounds and let him feel them and afterward tells Thomas the importance of faith. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.

Faith is belief in what we have not yet seen.

Our success lies partially in our ability to believe in the future we would like to see.

Our unshakeable belief that everything will work out ensures that everything works out.

If we can build up our faith, we can build up our future.

Make it a great day.

Jake

JW* – "I have great faith in fools – self-confidence, my friends call it." – Edgar Allan Poe

EB* – "We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance." – Japanese Proverb

MS* – "The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being, but to remind him that he is already degraded." – George Orwell

JD – "I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it." – Jack Handey

April Fool’s Day is here.

Hopefully you have some kind of funny prank set up.

Remind yourself to laugh a little today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/wa2nLEhUcZ0

Meaghan has been singing this one this week and so it has been stuck in my head.

Enjoy your Friday today.

Play an April Fool’s joke on someone.

Laugh and have fun.

Tell someone you love them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread. Mother Teresa

Imagining how she spent her life and then thinking of this quote shows how much we need love.

How can you show love to someone today?

Is there a relationship you are struggling with right now?

How could you step into that with love?

Find something small, and get started.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"There are some things you don’t have to know how it works—only that it works. While some people are studying the roots, others are picking the fruit. It just depends on which end of this you want to get in on." — Jim Rohn

Felt like this quote was aimed at me.

I have always been overly curious and a little too analytical at times.

Sometimes in life we just need to focus on what works. Understanding it all and getting into the details of it doesn’t really add value.

Things like love, service, character, humility, honor and other core values just work.

Understanding how they work helps a little, but focusing on growing them in ourselves is the better place to spend our efforts.

Is there something on your worry or “to figure out list” that you need to cross a line through?

Maybe it’s time to take a leap of faith into something you have seen work for others but you are being too cautious to get started.

Or maybe this is just a reminder to keep up the good work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

"The Shortcut to Contentment"

Comparison drops you at the dead-end of discontentment every single time. Whether you come out on top and feel guilty, or don’t measure up and feel short-changed, comparison always leaves you dissatisfied.

But there’s a secret to overcoming it: gratitude. The shortcut to contentment is thanking God, and it works no matter which side of comparison you’re on.

How? It’s an instant perspective adjustment. When comparison makes you feel short-changed, gratitude can shift your focus to all the blessings you do have. And when you’ve been blessed with a lot, thanking God puts you in the humble posture needed to use those gifts well.

Comparison is out to steal your contentment. But the habit of expressing gratitude is an easy way out of its trap. – Andy Stanley

Comparison is such a dangerous road to travel. Andy’s suggestion above is that the road is too narrow and isn’t worth the trip.

He suggests we skip it and instead take the road of gratitude.

We all have something to be thankful for.

In our darkest hour, there is a light shining somewhere.

Something to maybe add to Andy’s suggestion about being thankful. Tell someone.

Tell someone today that you are thankful for them, or even just tell them something you are thankful for.

Just tell someone.

Make it a great day.

Jake