“When he thought of his history, what resonated with him now was not all that he had suffered but the divine love that he believed had intervened to save him.”

― Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption

We watched the movie version of Unbroken over the last couple of nights. It’s hard to watch and imagine a human being having survived something like that.

The craziest part though is the end.

(spoiler alert)

After being tortured physically, Louis comes home and finds himself tortured psychologically. To the point where he can’t seem to live a normal life.

Until he encounters Christ at a Billy Graham revival event.

At this point, he finds the divine love that he believed had intervened to save him.

His relationship with Christ then allows him to not only live and be “normal” again, it allows him to forgive those who tortured and mistreated him.

I don’t know about you, but this sure convinces me that there is a higher power. I can’t imagine anything else that could create such a transformation in a human being.

Our hurts, trials and daily difficulties probably don’t equal that of a Japanese POW camp during WWII, but if we allow them, they torture us just the same. They can rob us of the life of joy and fulfillment that is possible for us.

I’m pretty sure that every day after that first encounter at the Billy Graham tent wasn’t perfect for Louis. I’m sure he had at least one or two rough days after that. But, on the whole, and in the long run, he was able to find peace, joy and fulfillment. The same will be true for us. Life will continue to be difficult whether we’ve found Christ or not. But if we accept His invitation, we too can find peace, joy and fulfillment in spite of and in the face of those difficulties.

Make it a great day.

Jake

With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts. – Eleanor Roosevelt

A great thought to begin the week off.

New strength and new thoughts are available and possible for us.

It doesn’t have to be like it’s been.

Things can and will be different – if you choose it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/6Z66wVo7uNw

Lots of positive thoughts in this one.

Make it a great day.

Jake

A good husband makes a good wife. – John Florio

Meaghan is soooo lucky, isn’t she?

Probably a better version – a good wife makes a good husband.

The important relationships in our lives all work this way.

Our job is to be the best coworker, husband, wife, partner, vendor, customer, etc. that we can be. In doing so we create the opportunity for the other side to be their best as well.

Our part is to do our part. No one else’s. To play our role the best we can.

If we do, others tend to mostly do the same.

Not all the time. Not even close to perfectly.

They still mess up. They fall short. They disappoint. Our hearts get broken.

If we stick with it. If we play our part with all we’ve got. It tends to work out.

I can’t promise you won’t get taken advantage of. I can’t promise that if you’re a good wife your husband will turn good.

I am willing to bet that you’ll be better off if you do your best to play your part.

Make it a great day.

Jake

PS – Meaghan is the best wife.

Today marks the 12th anniversary of the daily attitude email.

A lot of life has happened in the last 12 years.

People have come on and off the list.

A pandemic happened.

Life has changed for so many of us.

But the idea of adding a little positivity to start your day seems more relevant to me and my life than it did all those years ago.

Building a daily discipline of at least trying to be positive and thoughtful about others isn’t easy, but it was worth it.

My sincere hope is that sometimes this email helps you. That your life is at least marginally better for having read it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart. – Helen Keller

Any quote from Helen Keller reminds me of the miracle it was for anyone to have been able to communicate with her at all.

The amount of diligence and perseverance required to get to that point was simply astounding.

It sure puts my everyday struggles into perspective.

Take inspiration in what is possible for you.

Take heart and know that better is available.

Take action and begin to make it true.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Because too many times in life there’s just one person that I met, just one thing that I heard, one movie that I saw, one song that was sung, that changed my life. So I’m always trying to stay awake to be in the moment, and capture the moments when they come, because they come and go all the time. – Mike Singletary

Last night I was lucky enough to get to see Mike Singletary speak at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes event.

He shared a few thoughts that I’m glad I was there to here and hopefully awake enough in the moment to remember and apply.

Don’t hide. Don’t let your talents and life go by hidden away and not shared with the world.

Have fun. Joy should be a central theme in our lives (especially for those of us who are Christians).

Be consistent. Walk the line of the path for your life. Don’t get distracted or give up.

Be authentic and real in your relationships and interactions with those in your life.

I’m sure there was more that I missed, but it was meaningful that he made the time to come and speak to us and I’m thankful for him and his contribution to my life.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/z-gjywJN6tA

I can tell that we are gonna be friends.

What a good and positive thought as we start the day.

If we start the day looking for friends, we are sure to find them.

Make it a great day.

Jake

A coward is incapable of exhibiting love; it is the prerogative of the brave. – Mahatma Gandhi

Part of exhibiting love is taking some risk.

We can’t really love without putting our heart on the line.

We have to risk the breaking of that heart in order to love the way we were meant to.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Busy is the new stupid.” – Ed Baldwin

Over the years I have become more and more convinced how “busy” has become a meaningless throw away word.

Something that just gets put in the place where another word should be instead, like good or nice or stuff or like or …..

The interesting thing about this one though is that at some point a lot of us bought into it. We bought into the idea that more busy equals more better.

We fill our time (and our homes and our cars and our….) with more and more busy until we feel like we are “winning” the busy contest.

Only to find out later that we are all the same amount of busy. 24 hours passes at exactly the same rate for us as it does Bono (or someone else who you think is really important).

Today I give you permission (ignore the fact that I have no actual power over you) to let go of busy. Let go of trying to cram it all in. Decide on what is important and do that. Make a top 5 list for the day (or a top 1 list to start).

And then do it again tomorrow.

Do it enough days in a row to build a habit.

Make it a way of life.

On second thought, maybe there is a way to win the “busy” game. Stop playing it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/busy-new-stupid-ed-baldwin-sphr-gphr?trk=hp-feed-article-title-like