Attitude Determines Attitude

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. -John Wooden   I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have. Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free. Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste. Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive. Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born. Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses. Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships. Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do. Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge. Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul. Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping. What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have! - Author Unknown Philippians 1:27 (ESV)  Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Attitude Determines Attitude

I woke up early today, excited over all I get to do before the clock strikes midnight. I have responsibilities to fulfill today. I am important. My job is to choose what kind of day I am going to have.

Today I can complain because the weather is rainy or I can be thankful that the grass is getting watered for free.

Today I can feel sad that I don't have more money or I can be glad that my finances encourage me to plan my purchases wisely and guide me away from waste.

Today I can grumble about my health or I can rejoice that I am alive.

Today I can lament over all that my parents didn't give me when I was growing up or I can feel grateful that they allowed me to be born.

Today I can cry because roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.

Today I can mourn my lack of friends or I can excitedly embark upon a quest to discover new relationships.

Today I can whine because I have to go to work or I can shout for joy because I have a job to do.

Today I can complain because I have to go to school or eagerly open my mind and fill it with rich new tidbits of knowledge.

Today I can murmur dejectedly because I have to do housework or I can feel honored because the Lord has provided shelter for my mind, body and soul.

Today stretches ahead of me, waiting to be shaped. And here I am, the sculptor who gets to do the shaping.

What today will be like is up to me. I get to choose what kind of day I will have!

- Author Unknown

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men."
Philippians 2:5-7

Words Of Great Wisdom



1. Rise with the sun to pray. Pray alone. Pray often. The Great Spirit will listen, if you only speak.

2. Be tolerant of those who are lost on their path. Ignorance, conceit, anger, jealousy and greed stem from a lost soul. Pray that they will find guidance.

3. Search for yourself, by yourself. Do not allow others to make your path for you. It is your road, and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.

4. Treat the guests in your home with much consideration. Serve them the best food, give them the best bed and treat them with respect and honor.

5. Do not take what is not yours whether from a person, a community, the wilderness or from a culture. If it was not earned or given, it is not yours.

6. Respect all things that are placed upon this earth - whether it be people or plant.

7. Honor other people's thoughts, wishes and words. Never interrupt another or mock or rudely mimic them. Allow each person the right to personal expression.

8. Never speak of others in a bad way. The negative energy that you put out into the universe will multiply when it returns to you.

9. All persons make mistakes. And all mistakes can be forgiven.

10. Bad thoughts cause illness of the mind, body and spirit. Practice optimism.

11. Nature is not FOR us, it is a PART of us. They are part of your worldly family.

12. Children are the seeds of our future. Plant love in their hearts and water them with wisdom and life's lessons. When they are grown, give them space to grow.

13. Avoid hurting the hearts of others. The poison of your pain will return to you.

14. Be truthful at all times. Honesty is the test of ones will within this universe.

15. Keep yourself balanced. Your Mental self, Spiritual self, Emotional self, and Physical self - all need to be strong, pure and healthy. Work out the body to strengthen the mind. Grow rich in spirit to cure emotional ails.

16. Make conscious decisions as to who you will be and how you will react. Be responsible for your own actions.

17. Respect the privacy and personal space of others. Do not touch the personal property of others - especially sacred and religious objects. This is forbidden.

18. Be true to yourself first. You cannot nurture and help others if you cannot nurture and help yourself first.

19. Respect others religious beliefs. Do not force your belief on others.

20. Share your good fortune with others. Participate in charity.

The Native American Code Of Ethics

Love, Wealth and Success



A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."

"Is the man of the house home?" they asked. "No," she said. "He's out."

"Then we cannot come in," they replied.

In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. "Go tell them I am home and invite them in," he said.

The woman went out and invited the men in. "We do not go into a house together," they replied. "Why is that?" she wanted to know. One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!" he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"

His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?" Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"

"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest."

The woman went out and asked the three old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest." Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him.

Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, why are you coming in?" The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!"

by Author Unknown

Love one another with brotherly affection, giving precedence and showing honor to one another.

Romans 12:10

To Earn Honor is Better Than Earning Honors



Tension hung in the air.  Rosalie Elliott had spelled her way to the fourth round of a national spelling bee in Washington, D.C.  The eleven year old from South Carolina now faced the task of spelling the word "avowal."  In her soft southern drawl, she began to recite the letters.

However, when she reached the next to last letter, the judges couldn't discern whether she said "a" or "e."  They debated among themselves for several minutes, listening to a tape of Rosalie's effort.  The crucial letter, though, was simply too accent-distorted to decipher.  Finally, the lead judge sought input from the only person who could provide the answer.

"Was that second to last letter an'a' or an 'e?" he asked Rosalie.  By this time, thanks to the whispering of her near-by competitors Rosalie knew the correct spelling.  Still, without hesitating, she replied that she had misspelled the word and walked from the stage.

The entire audience--including some fifty newspaper reporters--stood and applauded.  The moment was especially proud for her parents.  Out of defeat, Rosalie had emerged a victor.  And much more was written about her than the child who ultimately won the spelling bee.

Being a person of truth, even when the truth hurts, brings the greatest and most lasting rewards.

Them that honor me, I will honor.

1 Samuel 2:30



My Favorite Veteran--My Dad

This is a piece I wrote originally for Memorial Day. I wanted to share it again on this Veteran's Day, for my favorite veteran. To all of my family--uncles, cousins, and friends-- who have served our country, THANK YOU!


On this Veteran's Day, I'd like to remember all of my family members who have served in the armed forces, starting with my dad. He never talks much about his time in Korea. It was before me and my brothers and sister were thought of. It was before he met my mother. He was a young man, the oldest still living at home (seven before him were grown and married, four still at home). His father had died from a heart attack while he was driving home from town and was killed instantly. He had started college. He wanted to be a coach. He was an athlete, a good one. Then he was called to Korea.

I have heard him talk about the trip over...not the way most of us want to travel. I have heard him talk about the cold (he's never been so cold as he was there), and hot (you just can't imagine--and he grew up in the plains of Kansas). I've heard him talk about building roads--spending days building roads for the troops to use and finally getting them done, only to have them blown up overnight, so they built the roads again. I've heard him talk, once, about standing watching a ship unloading all the men -- thousands and thousands of men, when a tidal wave came in and they were all gone. All of them, just like that. There one minute, gone the next.

He is beginning to share more of his time in Korea with us but only in bits and pieces. For most of my life, we've seen the uniform hanging in the closet. We've seen a few pictures. When I was younger he still kept in touch with some friends from the army who lived in Arizona. I don't know whatever happened to them.

Several years ago, my son and I visited Washington, D.C. and while we were there we visited the Korean War Memorial, along with all the other memorials. Instantly, both my son and I knew this was something my dad had to see, in person. Fortunately, a couple of years ago, my brother and his son took my parents to see it. It moved my dad to tears. They went back again, at night. He said it looked just like it was...dark, rainy, and cold.

He has spent the majority of his time, the last 30 years, as commander of the American Legion post in his community. He has made it his job to make certain the flags are flying at every cemetery in the county on this and every Memorial Day. He has performed military ceremonies at funerals for countless veterans and handed flags to wives, children and family members for years.

To say that I am proud of this man, my father, is a vast understatement. Of course, there is much more to my father than just this piece, but today, on Veteran's Day, I want to honor this piece. I'm proud to tell people that my father is who he is...proud, strong, brave, true, and loving. He's my dad.

Thanks, Dad, for all that you do and have done for our family, our town, our state, and our nation!
I love you!

Everyone Has An Invisible Sign Hanging From His Neck

Saying, "Make me feel important!"

It isn't enough to say in our hearts

That we like a man for his ways,

It isn't enough that we fill our minds

With paeans of silent praise;

Nor is it enough that we honor a man

As our confidence upward mounts,

It's going right up to the man himself,

And telling him so that counts!

If a man does a work you really admire,

Don't leave a kind word unsaid,

In fear that to do so might make him vain

And cause him to "lose his head."

But reach out your hand and tell him,

"Well done," and see how his gratitude swells;

It isn't the flowers we strew on the grave,

It's the work to the living that tells.

Anonymous

For lack of praise, many think others draw negative conclusions about them.  We can actually wound people by withholding our praise.  Let someone know you think well of him or her today.  What a difference your words will make!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Valentine's Day--Really?

Well, here it is!  Another Valentine's Day.  I don't know how anyone could have not been aware of it with all the commercials and advertising.  I'd just like to think about it for a minute.  No one really knows when Valentine's Day began and exactly why, but one story says that Valentine was a  priest who married people in secret during a time when marriage was forbidden in Rome.  Eventually, he was found out, imprisoned, and after a time in prison was put to death for refusing to renounce his religion.  The Pope created a religious holiday to commemorate this man.  From this, our present day Valentine's Day has come.


I agree, that remembering our loved ones is very important.  But I wonder if St. Valentine would be happy with what has been done in his honor.  Surely he would be pleased with the love and affection to friends, family, wives, husbands, children that is shown on this day, but what would he say about the commercialization of the day?  Wouldn't he tell us that we should be showing this love and honor EVERY day?  I have a friend who is boycotting Valentine's Day as a way of reminding all of us that perhaps we should shift our focus from one day to 365 days.  Maybe instead of buying expensive presents we should get up each day and look for ways to tell our special someone(s) how much they mean to us. 


I'm not boycotting Valentine's Day.  I love this day and I try to use it as a check-point.  How have I done over the past year in showing the people closest to me that they are important in my life?  As Garth Brooks says, "If tomorrow never comes, will they know just how much I loved them?"  I don't think you can do that in one day a year. 


I hope that you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day!  I hope that it is full of love and honor and respect for you and all of your loved ones!  I wish the same thing for you and yours tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day.....

                                                Happy Valentine's Day!