Added Christmas music to my Pandora station this week and Sir Elton implored me to “step into Christmas.”
Step into Christmas.
Do your best to get into it this year.
And not just the gifts and gift giving.
The love and joy part.
The service and caring part.
The forgive and forget part.
Make it a great day and Merry Christmas.
Jake
JW: Cast all of your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
JD – A little kingdom I possess, where thoughts and feelings dwell; And very hard the task I find of governing it well. – Louisa May Alcott
EB* – Christmas is the perfect time to celebrate the love of God and family and to create memories that will last forever. Jesus is God’s perfect, indescribable gift. The amazing thing is that not only are we able to receive this gift, but we are able to share it with others on Christmas and every other day of the year. – Joel Osteen
MS* – Christmas is the spirit of giving without a thought of getting. It is happiness because we see joy in people. It is forgetting self and finding time for others. It is discarding the meaningless and stressing the true values. – Thomas S. Monson
The other day was Louisa May Alcott’s birthday and so Google did their “doodle” thing and recognized the day.
After a brief fit of ADD that led me to a page with quotes from her, I found the quote above.
We are all in possession of our own little kingdom.
And most days it does seem really hard to govern.
The best advice that I have heard in the management of our little kingdoms is to submit it.
When we are running our little kingdoms solely with the purpose of serving and loving others it seems to just run better.
If you are struggling in the role of governor, maybe you can try submission.
Make it a great day.
Jake
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.”
― Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Our moods and attitudes are contagious. Some moods and attitudes more so than others.
Take a quick inventory.
What moods or attitudes are others catching from you?
What moods or attitudes are you catching from those around you?
With a little bit of awareness comes the best part – the ability to choose moving forward.
If there is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor, that might be a good place to start.
Make it a great day.
Jake
With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. – Eleanor Roosevelt
This quote reminded me of playing video games when I was younger. The moment when you are “reset” and you are given new life (or lives) to start over with.
It’s the moment when the past failures are moved on from and you begin again anew.
It’s a new day. You have been given 24 more hours to work with. Let’s get started.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life. – Buddha
Our lives are full.
Our days fill quickly.
24 hours passes each day whether we like it or not.
Too often our spiritual lives are one of the areas neglected.
Living a fulfilled and happy life requires cultivating our spiritual side.
Finding quiet time for prayer and reflection are important and must not be neglected.
Christmas time is a great time to create some quiet space to be thoughtful and reflective.
Make it a great day and Merry Christmas.
Jake
It’s officially the Christmas season. This song was one of the first ones I heard this year.
In a few of the stories and books I have read about WWI and WWII there were Christmas cease fires on the line at various points. Soldiers told stories of songs being sung and special meals for all. In that moment each side forgot about war and remembered their loved ones.
With the elections season we just had and the continued unease around our nation, Christmas seems just a little more important this year.
I sincerely hope that all sides of every fight can take a breather, at least for Christmas. That the war can be over for at least a little while.
But as we think about the grander hopes for human kind, we must also remember our role in the whole thing.
It’s easy to point our fingers and shake our heads at those big meanies talking about each other on TV.
It’s much harder to forgive and love our neighbors.
I would like each of us to consider taking a break for Christmas.
To exchange love for hate.
To exchange patience and kindness for impatience and greed.
To put others first and let ourselves fall into the background.
I’m not naïve enough to think that we can keep this up forever. Wars will continue (some things are worth fighting for), we won’t magically become perfect people for good.
But it sure seems like we could use a push towards the good side of the ledger, just for Christmas at least.
Make it a great day and Merry Christmas.
Jake
Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light. – Helen Keller
The holiday season is a great reminder of the quote above.
It is a season in which we foster faith.
Our faith in our loved ones grows.
Our faith in the charity of others grows.
Our faith in future prosperity grows.
Our faith in our God grows.
We grow stronger as our faith grows.
Maybe this is a sappy version of what happens during the holidays. Maybe you see them as a hectic time of family conflict and over commercialization.
And maybe this is true.
But it’s also a time of growing faith. And this faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light (man, that’s a good quote).
Make it a great day.
Jake
Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?
Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.
Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.
Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.
Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.
It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.
GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.
Author Unknown
Meaghan came across this and shared with me after yesterday’s daily attitude email.
Obviously this Author Unknown person is a better writer than I am so I figured I would share it.
Be thankful today.
Make it a great day.
Jake
Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. – William Arthur Ward
Being thankful is the beginning of a better and more full life.
When we are thankful for what we have we transform our attitude and prepare ourselves for more of the same.
Think of an area of your life where you want to see a change.
Find something in that area to be thankful for.
Maybe an example would help.
Let’s say you wanted to save some money.
First, be thankful for whatever money you do have.
Treat that little bit as if it were a blessing.
And then you will have the attitude it will take to start adding more.
Make it a great day.
Jakeu
Figured we should end the week with a funky thank you right before Thanksgiving week.
“Thank you for letting me be myself.”
I sure am thankful for the people in my life that do this for me.
I know that “myself” has a lot of room for improvement but some of you love me anyway.
We all have people in our lives like this.
Don’t forget to tell them you are thankful for their love and appreciation.
Make it a great day.
Jake
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