https://youtu.be/AlTfYj7q5gQ?si=axoMOY3nTH8T4vdz

Me: Annie – what song should we send out for the Friday Morning Toe Tapper for Mom’s birthday?

Annie: “I’m Only Me When I’m With You” by Taylor Swift. Then you could write something like we’re ourselves when we are with Jesus.

Not really where I thought she was going with that, but a good idea.

Meaghan and I have been married for 21+ years now and I can say that she has seen all the good, the bad and the ugly versions of Jake.

And somehow she still loves me. She really is a special person.

Our best relationships are the ones where we are our most vulnerable.

Today is a day I’m thankful to have that with Meaghan.

I’m sure you have someone like that in your life too. Make sure to thank them today.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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We talked about the beatitudes in small group last night and it reminded me of this daily attitude from a few years ago…

In the Bible it says the meek shall inherit the earth.

It’s hard not to bristle a little when you hear that.

We hear words like meek and humble and think of the perennial doormat that doesn’t think enough of themself to stand up for what they believe in.

I went in search of something around the topic of humility and found this short excerpt:

One of the most powerful prayers in the midst of suffering I have read was uncovered from the horrors of Ravensbruck concentration camp. Ravensbruck was a concentration camp built in 1939 for women. Over 90,000 women and children perished in Ravensbruck, murdered by the Nazis. Corrie Ten Boom, who wrote The Hiding Place, was imprisoned there too. The prayer, found in the clothing of a dead child, says:

O Lord, remember not only the men and woman of good will, but also those of ill will. But do not remember all of the suffering they have inflicted upon us: Instead remember the fruits we have borne because of this suffering, our fellowship, our loyalty to one another, our humility, our courage, our generosity, the greatness of heart that has grown from this trouble. When our persecutors come to be judged by you, let all of these fruits that we have borne be their forgiveness.

I think that is the kind of behavior the Bible is talking about.

The kind of humility and meekness it takes to write something like that is hard to imagine.

It’s easy to read something like this and feel bad. Hard to live up to those kind of standards, so why even try?

Why try? Prayers like this one are proof that better is out there. We are capable of amazing things.

Use this as inspiration to get started on your own amazing thing.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories. – Sun Tzu

Know thy self. A constant battle as we can so easily fool ourselves.

We believe our self talk!

Monitor it closely.

Not so you can maximize your ability to obtain all your selfish desires.

Instead, so that you can have the maximum impact on others.

So that you can use your own unique qualities to make the difference for others that only you were created to make.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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All of us, at certain moments of our lives, need to take advice and to receive help from other people. – Alexis Carrel

Ask somebody!

Somebody, somewhere has faced the same challenge as you have. Ask them about it.

Read what they say about it.

Write down what they say. Think about it deeply.

And then take some kind of action.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The Bible is full of advice and warnings that seem to constantly suggest we need to find and follow God’s will if we desire to be happy and successful.

This is where I make things much harder than they need to be. I ponder, guess and flail around trying to figure out what God’s plan for me is.

I don’t need to guess or wonder what God wants from me.

Rejoice all the time.

Pray constantly.

Give thanks.

Not a bad plan.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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https://youtu.be/Xn676-fLq7I?si=5sw3J7K7CpLDNMW3

Winter storm time again today, followed by some cold temps.

An opportunity to get stronger.

Jim Rohn talks about winter and says winter is a time to get stronger and wiser.

When things get tough, it’s a great time to learn and grow.

Mother Nature reminds of this each time a storm comes through.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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“There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm.” — Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark

Jim Rohn talks about going to symphony – “you can’t just have the light, happy notes – you have to have the deep, sadder notes too”.

Life (apparently) is not always going to be calm, there will be some storm.

It’s part of the beauty, somehow and in it’s own way.

The light and the dark playing opposite roles in our lives.

Accept it. Embrace it. Find joy in both sides of the story.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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“If a person has ugly thoughts, it begins to show on the face. And when that person has ugly thoughts every day, every week, every year, the face gets uglier and uglier until you can hardly bear to look at it.

A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

― Roald Dahl, The Twits

New year – new you.

Maybe a good place to start is on our thoughts.

To crowd out all the ugly thoughts with good ones.

Thoughts of love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, self-control, faithfulness.

When you think about it – I’m guessing the people in your life that you have fond memories of and experiences with have those kinds of thoughts and it comes through. It was about how they made you feel – not about their looks, what they wore or how fit they were.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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Supposed to get some winter weather today so I thought I would send out this daily attitude email from a few years ago.

In spite of unseasonable wind, snow

and unexpected weather of all sorts –

a gardener still plants.

And tends what they have planted …

believing that Spring will come.

– Mary Anne Radmacher

On a cold, snowy and blowy morning this quote seemed appropriate.

Faith. We all must take certain things with faith.

That spring will come.

That our efforts will pay off.

That if we keep it up it will be worth it.

It’s easy to lose faith in something.

Any time we work towards something bigger for our lives, we must work in faith.

Faith that it will all work out in the end.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself. – Louis XIV

Most of those New Year’s resolutions start and end with the ability to discipline ourselves.

A lot of really smart people have written, recorded their stories and created videos to explain how to build discipline in our lives.

Go find them.

Start with that one. Finding the discipline to learn more about discipline.

Make it a great day.

Jake

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