Organization removes obstacles.

Listening to the podcast about the lady who lost her sight and this point from her really struck me.

She explained how she realized this after being blind. Everything having (and being in) its place becomes very important when you can’t see while you are walking around the house.

If it wasn’t, you would spend all your time carefully bumping into things and adjusting back to where you were trying to go.

I think this is how our brains work with all the clutter, stuff and to dos that are unorganized in our lives.

Without a place for everything and everything in its place we stumble from thing to thing, never picking up the head of steam we need to break through those barriers in our lives.

Is there an area of your life where more organization could make the difference?

All the stuff of life getting in the way of your life?

Email running your day for you?

Is today the day you are going to start the change that gets you over the hump?

Make it a great day.

Jake

Childhood is a short season. – Helen Hayes

With the kids home for the summer, this quote is a great reminder for me.

The same goes for other areas of life….

Being newlyweds is a short season.

Being empty nesters is a short season.

Being new at your job is a short season.

Being the seasoned team member is a short season.

Having kids at home is a short season.

Life sure does seem to move quickly. Before you know it you wake up and your 42 years old….

Make the most of it. Don’t let worry and anxiety steal another day. Take care of yourself so you can increase the chances of having more days.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Choose your love, Love your choice. – Thomas S. Monson

Sorry to continue on with the “Meaghan is the best” love fest, but another important lesson learned in the last 19 years is that of choosing love.

I’m sure there have been many days when it would have been easier for Meaghan to choose something other than love.

I’m sure there have been many days I didn’t deserve it.

But it was there. She made the choice.

It’s not always easy, but it is always the right one.

Make that choice today in your relationships.

Ask “What does love require of me?” and then make the choice to do it.

Make it a great day.

Jake

“Grace is something you can never get but can only be given. There’s no way to earn it or deserve it or bring about any more than you can deserve the taste of raspberries and cream or earn good looks.” – Frederick Buechner

Today marks Meaghan and I’s 19th wedding anniversary.

We’re getting up in years enough that sometimes people will ask questions along the “how’d you do it?” line of thinking.

While I’m busy pondering and over-analyzing things Meaghan usually answers with some form of “grace”.

Thinking the best of the other person even when they don’t deserve it.

It is great advice for all of our relationships and interpersonal interactions – from the waitress to our spouse our lives will be more full of joy if we choose to respond with grace as frequently as possible.

Grace is a great area to practice giving and generosity. The more you give and the more generous you are the more joy you will experience. It’s not an equation I can document or fully explain, but I’m convinced it is just how life works on this planet.

Thank you to Meaghan for being a great example in my life of showing grace (maybe it is because I give her so much practice?).

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/cJqjlFGZxtE

The best thing about the summer is all the beautiful mornings.

Spend a few minutes outside in the morning.

Sit outside with your cup of coffee.

Go for a walk.

Go for a run.

Take up smoking (just seeing if you’re paying attention).

Make it a great day.

Jake

First week of summer break at the Davis house this week, this email from a few years back reminded me again that school is never really out.

Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it. – Charles Dudley Warner

I thought this one was pretty funny….

We do tend to spend a lot of our time in life talking and worrying about things over which we have no control.

Next time you are tempted to complain or become anxious over the uncontrollables in life, think twice.

Think of this funny quote.

If you are not (or can’t) do anything about it, stop worrying and complaining. Start planning and doing the hard work to turn it into a positive.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

to be consoled as to console,

to be understood as to understand,

to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Prayer of St. Francis

Wow. The world sure needs this right now.

The level of maturity required to live this out is beyond me most days, but it’s still worth trying.

Even if we just got one or two of these right today the world would be a better place.

Pick a couple to work on this week. Watch what God does with your step of faith.

Make it a great day.

Jake

Found this DAE from 2012 and wanted to send it again.

I finally became technologically savvy to get some podcast subscriptions set up on phone so I could listen to them in the car.

Last night I was listening to a sermon series and the pastor told a story that I thought I would share.

He talked about his plan for when he gets to heaven. He is planning on figuring out who paid for the gas for the preacher’s car on the day that the preacher came over to meet with him when he became a Christian.

He said he was going to go thank whoever that was because of all the good that had come in his life and his family’s life because of that pastor and whoever enabled him to come meet with him that day.

I thought two aspects of the story were particularly relevant for the daily attitude email.

First, little things matter. The people that gave money that allowed the pastor to fill up his gas tank probably didn’t think that much of it. Not a big deal to give a couple of dollars to a young pastor trying to make a difference. But it did make a difference. A huge difference.

So, remember that the little things matter.

It matters how you treat your coworkers, you never know when someone just needs a little extra help or a smile.

It matters whether or not you bend down to pick up that piece of trash, you never know when someone is watching.

It matters whether you smile and chat with the gas station clerk, you never know when someone has just endured some kind of tragedy.

The second thing that struck me was that he was thankful and recognized what had been done for him. He realized that someone else had sacrificed something (even if it was just a little bit of gas money) and was appreciative.

Noticing others and their generosity and being thankful for it is a great place to start when putting things into perspective.

This reminded me of how thankful I am for the generations that have come previously and this Ronald Reagan quote:

Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation. You will have opportunities beyond anything we’ve ever known.

Remember to do the little things in life that matter while being thankful and noticing the little things that others do for you.

Make it a great day.

Jake

https://youtu.be/ru0K8uYEZWw

Watching all of the people dancing in this video should put a smile on your face.

Even if you aren’t the dancing type, find something fun to do today.

Enjoy yourself.

Let go of your worries for at least a few minutes.

And if your version is breaking out some sweet dance moves, please video tape them and share.

Make it a great day.

Jake