We can decide to choose our attitudes every day, one of the most important decisions we will make...

Good morning and happy Tuesday, I pray your day is off to a good start and that it just gets better and better as the day goes by. It is a hazy, lazy day today...we have a chance of rain and snow later in the day so am asking all of my friends to be safe on the roadways.

In prayer this morning I said my normal, usual prayers asking God to bless each of you with his kindness and compassion. I asked him to continue to bless those who are battling disease and sickness, who are struggling through the pain of broken ness and who are now begin the long and painful process of rehabilitation. I asked God to continue to hold each of the storm victims in his loving arms providing them with their needs to get through and begin rebuilding. I prayed for each of you for peace in your hearts, calm in your minds, comfort in your hearts and an abundance of love. I prayed that each of us would choose the right today as an honor to God. In the name of Jesus Christ I ask for these mercies and graces. Amen.

We all have the right to choose how our attitudes will be, are we going to sort and file or are we going to let the junk in our lives pile up until we explode....I pray your day is filled with good choices and that you receive the blessings you deserve for those choices. God bless each of you. 

A Choice To Make

I believe that, at least to some degree, we can each exercise control over our outlook and attitudes. And the problem is - if we don't control our attitudes, they will surely control us. 

One farmer took charge of his outlook. He did it by filling his mind with awe and gratitude. He found that doing this gave him more energy to work on problems and to tackle those things that needed his attention. His neighbor's outlook could not have been more different. 

One summer morning he exclaimed, "Look at the beautiful sky. Did you ever see such a glorious sunrise?" 

She countered. "It'll probably get so hot the crops will scorch." 

During an afternoon shower, he commented, "Isn't this wonderful? Mother Nature is giving the corn a drink today." 

"And if it doesn't stop before too long," came the sour reply, "we'll wish we'd taken out flood insurance on the crops." And so it went. 

Convinced that he could instill some awe and wonder in this hardened woman, he bought a remarkable dog. Not just any mutt, but the most expensive, highly trained and gifted dog he could find. The animal was exquisite. It could perform remarkable and impossible feats that, the farmer thought, would surely amaze even his neighbor. So he invited her to watch his dog perform. 

"Fetch!" he commanded, as he tossed a stick into a lake, where it bobbed up and down in the rippling water. The dog bounded after the stick, walked ON the water, and retrieved it. "What do you think of that?" he smirked. 

Her brow wrinkled. "Hmmm. Can't swim, can he?" 

Not to sound too Pollyanna, but I agree with newscaster Paul Harvey when he said that he has never seen a monument erected for a pessimist. A stubbornly positive attitude can often make the difference between happiness and misery, between health and illness and even between life and death. 

Viktor Frankl would have agreed. Dr. Frankl chronicled his experiences as a Holocaust and concentration camp survivor in his book MAN'S SEARCH FOR MEANING. In it he asserts something really quite remarkable. He says that everything can be taken from a person except one thing. What can never be taken away is the power to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances. 

We can decide to choose our attitudes every day. That may be one of the most important decisions we will make. I don't want to neglect making that choice. 

Which wolf are you going to feed?

Good morning and happy Tuesday, I pray your morning is going well and that no matter what comes your way...good or bad...that you are prepared and are not willing to accept any negative..I pray you are ready to stand your ground and that you are willing only to let the positive affect you! 

In prayer this morning I sat outside for a little while, just me and my big old golden retriever watching the world wake up...what a blessing of beauty!!! As I sat there listening to the birds sing from high in the tree top, I wondered if they were singing because they know happiness and joy or if they were singing to alert others that they were not alone and to be careful when they left their safe haven in the branches. I sat as the rain/snow began to fall and watched the clouds all come together to form a dull blanket in the sky...I sat and thanked God for allowing me to be a part of such wonder. I asked God to continue to bless each of you with love and joy, to give you reason to stop and stand witness to his love at some point today and to allow you time to share with him your thanksgivings and your fears. I asked him to continue to bless my sweet friend who is standing in wait watching her sweet mother slip closer and closer to the veil. I prayed for a blanket of protection to be placed around you, that you might be shielded from harm. I asked God to bless those who are battling disease that today might be a day when there is no pain, no suffering, no fear, no worry...that today be a day of memories of old and making memories of the new. I asked God to continue to bless my sweet friend who is struggling with addiction, to allow him to know that day by day is the only way he will beat it, praise the Lord that he has found the will to overcome and walk the straight and narrow path. I asked God to bless someone very special to me with the wonderful news through testing that he remains cancer free and that his fears should be cast aside and his faith carry him through. I asked God to bless each of us with our needs, to take the strain from us replacing it with joy. I prayed for peace in our hearts, for calm in our minds, for comfort in our bodies and abundant love in our beings. In the name of Jesus Christ, our savior, I asked for favor and healing miracles. Amen. 

The following writing is a great one to me, simply put...we need to be responsible for our choices...which wolf will win in your life today? Which wolf will you be feeding?

All Filled Up

I recall reading that a man from Virginia Beach (Virginia, USA) filed a law suit against his hospital. He opted to have surgery in order to lose weight. So he had his stomach stapled -- a procedure that reduced the size of his stomach so he couldn't eat as much. 

A couple of days after surgery he sneaked down the hospital corridors to the kitchen. There he raided the refrigerator and ate so much that his staples burst. 

The law suit? He claimed it was the hospital's fault. They should have locked the refrigerator. 

And no - I don't know how the suit came out. Just the staples. 

He wanted to make other people responsible for what he put into his mouth. Which raises the question: who decides what we bring into our lives? 

One man told me, "I'm not a garbage truck." 

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him. 

"I mean that sometimes other people want to dump their garbage on me," he said. "They fill themselves up with negativity and complaints and want to dump all of that garbage on me. I'm not going to take all of their garbage. They may need to get rid of it, but not all over me." 

He believes people need to be responsible for the garbage in their lives. And that's probably true for the good stuff, too. For me, that includes just about everything. It means I am responsible for everything I put into my mouth, but also for everything I choose to watch and hear. Some of it's good and some of it's garbage. It even means everything that comes into my head through my eyes and ears. It's also about everything that fills up my time. Everything. 

And to be honest, I don't always do a great job with everything that comes into my life. But I am clear that what I allow in is up to me, not somebody else. 

When we fill our bodies with the right foods, they perform well. 

When we fill our heads with learning, they won't easily stagnate. 

When we fill our minds with healthier attitudes, we will have a better outlook. 

When we fill our hearts with a little more courage, we will be able to face life with confidence. 

When we fill our talk with more gratitude, we will be happier. 

When we fill our lives with more love, we will never be alone. 

Only we can decide how to fill ourselves up. 

Have you heard the story of the two wolves? A common version of it goes like this: 

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life... 

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. 

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt and ego. 

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. 

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." 

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" 

The old chief simply replied, "The one you feed." 

Only I can choose what should come into my life. Only I can choose which wolf to feed. And only I can choose what to do about it today. 

   

 Good morning and Happy Saturday, it is a cold rainy morning her in Utah, 43 degree and windy...thanking God that my joints and bones are not aching as badly as they did before the storm, with my body we do not need a meteorologist, it lets us know at least 5 days before the weather is going to change, I am sure many of you can relate.
       In prayer this morning  I prayed my usual morning prayers, asking our Father in heaven, to bless each of you with peace, calm and comfort this day, to take the stresses of the day so that you may spend it with a smile on your face and laughter in your heart. Please look around and see the needs of others and pray for them today! Be mindful of others today and remember that everything you do is a choice! Think before you "do" and alway ask yourself "what would Jesus do?" May blessing be in abundance for you and yours this day.
     I came across this little writing this morning and after reading it was like "wow" I pray that it has impact on you as it has me this day!


You Are Free to Choose!!!

My beloved child, I love you so dearly. I have watched you grow from a baby until now, and now, my child, the world is yours. I have frantically and lovingly tried to Protect you, my child, from this world that we have created for you, forbidding you your choice of friendships, watching you, guarding you, from this world that we have given you. AND IT DOES NOT WORK! This is your world and your life to live.

I love you my child and I will always love you. I will always be there whenever you need me or to advise you if you desire. I gave you life. You were born! Now, I give you your life to live as a free being as it was meant to be. I forbid you nothing; I deny you nothing in this entire world. You are free to do whatever you must do - not what I choose for you to do. You are free to make your own decisions. You have your morals. You are free to use them or not to use them. You are very wise, and I trust you, to do what you know is right or to do what you know is wrong, because there is no right or wrong except what you think and create in your mind.

This world that we have created for you today is not pretty. There is war, hate, and greed. There is dope, free love, unhappiness, BUT! There is also beauty! And it is your choice to choose or see whatever you want because you create and make your own world. Improve it if you wish. I will never spy on you or look through your personal belongings, trying to find evidence of wrong doings, of pot or sex. They are all there if you wish to try them. You are free, my child. It is your choice.

You do not have to hide things from me, to lie to me, to fear me because you are free to choose, and I know only that which is forbidden, must be had. I could give you the whole world, my child, and forbid you just one small thing. How you would waste you're life, your talent, your ambitions, and your gift to the world, to obtain that one unimportant thing. So I give you everything, my beloved child, even though it is not mine to give. It is rightfully yours. In this beautiful world. In this Garden of Eden.

     

Left or Right????? YOU CHOOSE!!!

Good morning and happy Wednesday, 45 degrees, cotton ball clouds are lazily drifting across the backdrop of the indescribable blue sky, the sun is just beginning to peak atop the mountain, a mild breeze is brushing against my skin, the birds are chirping in harmony...a perfect morning for me with one exception...I forgot to buy coffee yesterday so my pot sits empty this morning:) I have choices, am I going to go inside, get dressed (out of my sweats, no I am not sitting naked), back the car from the garage, drive to the market and purchase coffee or am I going to go to the fridge, and get my second choice, diet pepsi, and resume in the yard where each morning I sit and enjoy the world awaking? Am I going to put off the things I get most pleasure from to accommodate my need for coffee, am I going to say it is a horrible morning because one thing out of the rest is askew? How many times have I said..."it would have been perfect, BUT"...."IF only..., it would have been perfect" If we lived in a perfect world, why would we have need to desire our final resting place to be in heaven, why would we try and live Christ like if things were so perfect here? As long as we are here on earth, there will be circumstances that will be less than perfect, there will be times when nothing seems to go right, there will be days when the covers over your head will be much more appealing than the alternative of getting up and facing the day! We will run into brick walls, we will be deterred by road blocks, we will come to  mountains that we will have to climb to continue on our way. No one is exempt from these things, no one was given the "perfect" pass, we are here to learn, we are here to make choices, we are here to figure it out, we are here to validate ourselves in God's eyes. He needs to see how we are going to handle adversity, he needs to see how tough we are, he needs to see who we are! So instead of allowing myself to become upset this morning, I took my second choice, I am now sitting, writing this message with my diet pepsi by my side and am still enjoying the wonderful morning that He has made for me! The way I look at it, satan wanted me to become upset, he wanted my love for the morning cup to overpower my prayer time, he wanted to deter me from my morning chat with my Father in Heaven, why???? firstly he does not like me chatting with him as I do, secondly, each day I depend upon God to give me a message that will touch a heart in need, if satan could deter me this morning, he may have stopped me from doing this! How many times do you get up on Sunday morning intent on going to church only to be hit from all directions with reasons not to go???? How many times have you bowed your head to pray and found that your mind was running so fast there was no way you could quiet it long enough to chat with God? How many times have you sat down to read the bible only to find that there are a thousand things that need to be done right then and the bible gets closed and pushed to the side until "later" how often are you prompted to call and check on someone, or to stop by to see someone and other things come up and you put it off? I cannot tell you how many times in the day these things happen to me, but when they do happen, I just laugh because I know that I am heading in the right direction and satan is going to throw anything he can find out there to stop me. So I continue on my way, I literally will stop what I am doing and ask satan to get away from me, to leave me alone, I profess to him, I am not interested in you, I do not want you in my life, I will not allow you to take me away from God so your time around me is in vane! After I do this, I find that my time gets quiet, that I am able to concentrate on my desires and I am able to hear the still quiet voice. Everyday we will be faced with pushes and pulls, we will have to decide how we are going to handle interruptions, we will be tested as to how we react when things are not "perfect" Negative and Positive will be within our reaches and we will have to choose which one we will use. If the negative always had an electrical shock waiting at the end of it and you knew it was going to knock you to the floor, would you continue to grab it? If there were definitive roads signs one pointing to heaven the other to hell, would you have to stop and think?  In the mormon faith, there is a symbol CTR, which stands for" choose the right", if we choose the right, good things will come of it, and naturally if we choose the wrong, well we all know how that ends up! This day I pray that we are all given a strong sense of right and wrong, of positive and negative, of attitude! Today I pray that we will be faced with the same challenges that we always are but that our attitudes are focused on the good and not the bad, that when satan comes calling God will be the one that answers the door, I pray that we are mindful of the fact that unless satan is allowed in by us, he cannot penetrate our "bubble" I pray that you recognize when he is working his hardest on you and that you deny him entrance into your life. God is amazing, he will never guide us down the wrong road, he will never leave us on the wrong side of the tracks, he will never turn his back on us and he will never ever give us anything but love. May this day be the day we are all aware that if we choose the right, when we get to heaven's gate it will swing wide open and we will be welcomed with open arms. Love to you in the name of our savior Jesus Christ:)