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

I’m not sure it’s “everything”, but this is true more than we probably care to admit.

We fall short of our own expectations and take it out on others.

We pick out their shortcomings in order to hide our own.

We snap at them quickly so they don’t have time to find the flaw in us.

The Bible talks of removing the log in our own eye before first helping others with the speck in theirs.

Good advice.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/lSD_L-xic9o?si=whx7GqXCOsdSf9aD

This probably comes as a major surprise to most of you….but I’m not very “hip” or “with it”. So when it comes time to send out a Friday Morning Toe Tapper I often ask the family for ideas.

Annie suggested this one and said “and then write a note about how Jesus has loved you from the start”.

Probably not the real message of the song, but I can get behind that idea.

Jesus loves you. From the start.

From the time before time when there was nothing.

From the time you were born.

From the time you made that mistake that time when you were a kid that you are still kind of ashamed of.

From the time you fell in love.

From the time you lost a loved one.

From the time your heart was so full you thought it might burst.

He has and always will….love….you.

Not philosophically. Specifically….you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

I have for many years endeavored to make this vital truth clear; and still people marvel when I tell them that I am happy.

They imagine that my limitations weigh heavily upon my spirit, and chain me to the rock of despair.

Yet, it seems to me, happiness has very little to do with the senses. If we make up our minds that this is a drab and purposeless universe, it will be that, and nothing else.

On the other hand, if we believe that the earth is ours, and that the sun and moon hang in the sky for our delight, there will be joy upon the hills and gladness in the fields because the Artist in our souls glorifies creation.

Surely, it gives dignity to life to believe that we are born into this world for noble ends, and that we have a higher destiny than can be accomplished within the narrow limits of this physical life.

~ Helen Keller

Wow.

Born for noble ends with a higher destiny.

Take these words to heart today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Resending this email from a few years ago (a little late) for Groundhog Day….

"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

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/798717945218588

Lots of truth in this one.

Spend a minute to watch it and reflect.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it. – Winston Churchill

I’ve never been able to come up with a great answer to the question “why do bad things happen to good people?”

It seems to me that bad things happen to everyone. Trying circumstances seem to be a certainty in this life.

We get to choose how we respond to them.

We get to choose how high our kite flies against the wind.

It doesn’t make the bad times better. They might not even be worth how high you fly in response.

But a positive response is better than a negative one.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

The happiest people seem to be those who have no particular cause for being happy except that they are so. – William Inge

Happiness does not come from happenings.

It is not a result of externalities.

It is something to cultivate inside ourselves.

As a part of our character.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

It didn’t matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it. – Peter Buffet

Short reminder for today – stuff is not important.

Love and relationships are.

Don’t get them mixed up.

Don’t buy so much stuff it puts pressure on the more important things.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Happiness and moral duty are inseparably connected. – George Washington

Doing the right thing is instrumental to our happiness.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

Man is what he reads. – Joseph Brodsky

Read anything good lately?

If you haven’t, pick up something good and get started.

If you have – keep it up!

Make it a great day.

Jake

The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.