Resending this daily attitude email from a while back….maybe because I needed to read it again.

God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. – Saint Augustine

The Bible tells that God has counted the hairs on our heads and has knitted us together in our mother’s womb.

God loves you as if you were the only one.

He was overjoyed with you when you got that A+ on that second grade spelling test.

His heart broke with yours when that friend you thought you could trust did that thing that hurt so bad.

He watched in disappointment when you cheated on that Algebra test in 9th grade.

His eyes filled with tears that time you turned your back on him in college because it wasn’t the “cool” thing to do.

His heart leapt with joy when your first baby was born and you became a mother.

He was there when the doctor gave you the news that changed things forever.

He fills your heart with conviction when you break that promise that “you’d never” for the 10th time in the last year.

He sat with you when you couldn’t believe that you would never see them again.

He is full of hope and pulls closer when you can’t see a way out.

He LOVES YOU with everything He has – every day, all day.

It’s not always fun. It’s heartbreaking one minute and full of joy the next, but he never stops. There is nothing you can do to get Him to stop – nothing.

He wants all of you, all of the time – for you. For your joy, your benefit and your eternal salvation.

How lucky are you? Let love pull you closer to your Creator. To the one who loves you no matter what.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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The way to get things done is not to mind who gets the credit for doing them. – Benjamin Jowett

What a great thought.

Just get it done.

Who cares who gets the credit.

Let’s get to work.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Reject your sense of injury and the injury itself disappears. – Marcus Aurelius

Some things in life I think of as “fool’s gold” – this quote hits on one of them.

Spending our time identifying whose fault it is and how they have not done right by us is fool’s gold.

It’s easy to find fault. To judge. To see how someone has wronged us.

We can focus on this and find plenty of material – there is no shortage of shortcomings.

If we can let it go though, we find out that it wasn’t really worth worrying about in the first place.

It all disappears. Fool’s gold. No real value after all that.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Veterans Day is today.

The last line of the “Band of Brothers” HBO series has always stuck with me.

They ended with interviews with the actual veterans.

The last one told the story of his grandson asking if he had been a hero in the war.

“No, but I served with some.”

Wow. It takes a lot of character to conduct yourself like that.

We should all be proud of the legacy left by the great men and women in our armed forces and those who are currently serving.

Thank a veteran today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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https://youtu.be/c5BL4RNFr58?si=sfRRElzT7N61pRVo

We had an election.

There appears to be a clear winner.

We can hopefully move forward together to make things better.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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"As we work to create light for others, we naturally light our own way." — Mary Anne Radmacher

One of the interesting little quirks of life is that we find our way when we get out of our own selfish desires.

When we are in service with love the path becomes clearer. The obstacles easier to avoid or overcome. The goals easier to obtain.

Focus on the service.

Service isn’t some once a year couple of hours at a charity thing kind of event.

It’s an all day every day kind of thing. Breakfast for the kids. Helping a client. Double checking that thing to make sure it was done right for a coworker. A kind word to the waitress at lunch. The dishes after dinner. Tucking the kiddos in tight.

Opportunities to server abound.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one moment to the next. – Mignon McLaughlin

CS Lewis describes courage as the testing ground for all our other virtue. Each virtue requires courage in its application.

I generally write these emails the night before and schedule them for the next morning. As I write this, the election has not been decided.

Regardless of how it turns out – my hope is that we will all have the courage to do the right thing in response to the results.

To have the courage to live out the virtues that matter most to us.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Resending this daily attitude email from election day 2020….

Election day today. I’ve been trying to think about what the proper response from a mature citizen should be regardless of the outcome and the best I can come up with is:

Love thy neighbor.

Jesus states this as the second of two great commandments when asked what is the highest and most important commandment.

Notice he also didn’t mention any exceptions….

Love thy neighbor….unless they are a Democrat.

Love thy neighbor….unless they voted for Trump.

Love thy neighbor….unless they shared a Black Lives Matter post on the FaceBox.

Love thy neighbor…..unless they are wearing a MAGA hat.

What does loving thy neighbor look like in this situation? What would it look like to live out Jesus’ command?

A few ideas to get you started:

Get to know and care about someone with different views than your own.

Bake a casserole and bring it over to that neighbor’s house with the signs in the yard you don’t agree with.

Offer to stay late for that co-worker that was crazy enough to vote for Joe/Trump so they can make it to their kid’s game.

Show some love. Take some kind of action.

The best part?!? You’ll be better off for it. You won’t lose some kind of political rightness or give in to the dark side. You’ll feel better. Your heart will be lighter.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Bonus point – the other commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart. Not a lot of room for hate or political anger if your heart is filled with love for God and your neighbor. Might be worth trying.

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A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:34-35

Big day tomorrow. Election day 2024.

My sincere hope is that we can put love first in this election.

Whichever candidate you choose – whichever candidate wins – love of our neighbor comes first.

We’re a lucky group – we get to vote. We get to have our voice heard. It’s not perfect. The system has flaws. But it sure seems better than most of history.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – For those of who are Christians I believe this election to be a unique opportunity. To be known as his disciples by the love we show. The love we show when our candidate wins. The love we show when our candidate loses. We can be a light in this troubled world. Our nation is looking for a light.

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https://youtu.be/YBcdt6DsLQA?si=T03ITn2FzJCc0YWE

More of a slow tapper, but the message sounded right to me.

Changing of the season feels official with the cool temps and Halloween behind us.

As each season changes we should be thankful for the season that has just passed.

Thankful for the good and bad experiences.

But also thankful for the opportunity to begin anew. To embrace different, change and the possibility of better.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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