With all things that are tempting, whether a bad habit or vice…you’ve got to want something more than whatever that thing is…in order to have the power to recognize it and overcome it.  Then…you’ve got to acknowledge and call upon Something bigger than yourself for the power to help you.  .It will never be enough to utilize your own strength and willpower to defeat all your demons.  To step forward and walk away from whatever you’re battling…you’ve got to access God’s power.  Truth is truth is truth…no matter what you label it…and it always bears out.  The beauty about truth is…we always have a choice whether to apply it to our thoughts and actions… or not.  God doesn’t impose His truths on us…rather He waits for us to ask and embrace it.  When you grab a hold of the Power bigger than yourself…you have the very Power of Creation in your hands to apply to everything you need!!

You know how that little thing inside of you sets off an alarm when your word choices fall below the bar of  ”better?”  And, you know how sometimes you slash away with your tongue only to find you were lacking information that would have been nice to know up front…and would have kept your tongue in a better conversational position originally?   Don’t you love justifying your cactus-like behavior because the “other person” couldn’t ever possibly feel or know what’s going on inside of you…and it’s easier to be impatient or mean than to try to explain yourself?   The better behavior bar is there for a reason.  It’s to help promote a better quality of life for yourself and with everyone you connect with.  The more you ignore the warning bells of the “better behavior bar”…the less you notice it exists…and the less desirable the quality of your life becomes.   It takes just as much effort to be pleasant as it does to be a cactus…so it all boils down to a choice.  Not many of us would willingly choose to hang with a cactus.  If you want to mingle with better behaved people…you ought to be paying attention to your better behavior bar!!

As soon as you decide you want something… you begin to see it everywhere.  You dream of a nice yellow dress that would be perfect for spring and summer and then you notice women wearing sunny yellow dresses seem to pop up all over town.  You’ve been planning on buying a certain model of car and now you see them everywhere on the road.   A trip to Greece has been on your mind and suddenly you find yourself listening to several people share about their Greek vacations as if on cue.  And to top it off…a travel magazine arrives in the mail with a special feature on Greek vacations.  You’ve been told of a healthy remedy that would be great to go along with the medicine you were prescribed.  Then a tv show just happens to come on which highlights the effects of that particular herb or vitamin you were just thinking about.  It’s funny to think that when we are ready for something… it is ready for us.  That’s a good axiom to remember when we are deciding how to arrange our thoughts and desires.  Because everywhere you go…you’ll see whatever has been on your mind!!

Even when life gets complicated, a friend is a valuable treasure.  They are great listeners, givers, and cheerleaders.  They have a good perspective, tuned in advice, and your best intentions at heart.  They are always there, willing to sacrifice, and very understanding.  In most situations which you find yourself in…your friend has already been there, and done that…which makes their input invaluable.  Imagine life for a moment without their rich influence.  That’s not a place any of us would choose to live.  Give thanks for the priceless gift of the friendships you share…sometimes as the giver and sometimes as the receiver…but always as a treasure!!

It hurts, you’re bleeding, you’re disappointed, you’re exhausted…and you want to give up.  You doubt your ability, your dream, your worthiness.  Success seems to be skirting you and almost flaunts itself in your face.  Looking around, others have what you’re striving for, longing for, and dreaming of.  What is the veil that hides the door to achieving the goal?  It seems paper-thin.  It feels like you’re just a breath away from reaching the destination point…but something is hindering you.  You try in vain to discover what the veil is because you know you can overcome it.  Is it me or is it truly being kept hidden?  Something keeps pressing you inside to keep on going…to give a little more…that somehow it will be worth it down the road.  So, you dig a little deeper.  You find the reservoir of  “want to” is as full as you need it to be.  You begin to see glimpses of what you have been seeking.  Your confidence needed an ever so slight boost…and now you are getting it incrementally.  You’re still not there…but definitely on your way.  Give up?  No way!  Just give a little more!!

What keeps your head in the game…what gives you staying power for life?  Surely you have a re-focusing tool that helps you get back on track when life seems to want to pull you off the rails.  Something tried and true for you may not work for your friend or family member…but, whatever it is…keep applying it.  You may be able to re-align yourself from a small ambush in your day by listening to music, or taking a walk.  The bigger issues you grapple with take more of a concerted effort to deal with and overcome.  In these situations, you probably chat with a friend, seeking their listening ear and comforting counsel.  If these don’t seem to remedy your situation or get your head back in the game well enough…there are always great resources in books and counselors to call upon for your specific needs.  And not to be overlooked, is the assumption that you have learned to lean upon God for sustaining power and provision for all you need.  The sweetest continual staying power is found in meaningful connections with friends and family…not necessarily all in physical reach daily…but who believe in you, love you, and who are involved in your life!!

It takes just a little light to change the dynamic of a dark situation.  A tiny stream of warmth can bring hope and helps healing begin.  Seeing the light at the end of a dark tunnel brings a new perspective and often a solution.  Despair disappears when light appears and anger is melted by its radiance.  The glow of light perpetuates life itself.   Turn on the switch…and let the glow touch you.  Just a little light will change your life!!

In the movie, Bruce Almighty, Bruce Nolan is a fast talking, egotistical news reporter who wants a miracle.  Bruce was in a relationship… with a girl that he took for granted.  In a conversation with God, toward the end of his life changing experience, Bruce explains that he now understands who his ex-girlfriend is and what she needs.  His prayer is for God to give her a miracle…the kind of guy she deserves…just as Bruce envisions it.  God says to Bruce, “You want a miracle, son?  Be the miracle.”  To say that’s great advise would be to patronize God…but, it really is something to consider.  How much do we ask God to help with that we could do for ourselves?  How does God answer our prayers anyway?  It’s through people…some we know and some are strangers.  We may be the miracle for a prayer someone prayed… or even the answer to some of our own prayer requests. You’ll have to rent the movie to see how God answers this particular prayer.   Do you want a miracle?  Then be the miracle…as much as you can!!

Whatever you felt, thought, and experienced a moment ago is in your rear view mirror.  It’s history.  Your influence and hopes for what that moment could have been like are gone.  What you have…is now.  And it will be gone just as fast…in that same blink of an eye.  So, what will you make of this moment?  It’s where your power is.  Your effort and investment into future moments is just that…a collection of pivotal now moments that bring you to a goal line.  Some of these moments are pleasing and productive…others are disappointing and hurtful.  But, we always have the gift of a new moment…and the power to do with it what we want.  Whatever is in your rear view mirror doesn’t need as much attention as this moment does right now!!

One golf lesson…4 positions…adjusts your whole game.  1-Keep your head down;  2-left leg is a post so pivot your body around it;  3- keep the club face open like the face of a tennis racket;  4-place the ball slightly to the left of center for your lower numbered clubs and slightly to right of center for your higher numbered clubs.  Then, hit that dimpled white ball and see what happens.  It goes right where you want it!  Keeping your attitude in check goes with much reminding.  Each position of your body, attitude, and equipment matters in golf as well as in the bigger game of life!!

The power of a few kind words has the healing effect of the greatest balm known to man.  As the giver, we send our thoughts mixed with emotion to let the receiver know the depth of our care.  As the receiver, we drink in the precious words of kindness as water on a parched desert.  This is the best of life…those perfect moments that are delivered with just a few kind words!!

Any grower will tell you that the key to a healthy and prolific crop is watering deeply.  It causes the roots to grow deep into the earth, giving stability to the tree and protection from the hot summer sun and wind.  Watering deeply actually conserves water as it is done less frequently, rather than daily surface sprinkling that evaporates quickly.  The roots of our life need this kind of deep watering in order for us to produce healthy relationships, career results, and inner fulfillment.  As we tend to the nature of the water we are fed by, we are directing the outcome of our focus, effort, and talents.  How are you watered?  What kind of water are you fed by?  You probably already know of specific places, sources, and people that you could align with that would water you deeply if you let them.  Your life will grow in powerful ways…when you are watered deeply!!  

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It seems that March madness is in the air…and not just on the basketball court.  Politically, economically, globally…there are many contending factors jockeying for position that affect our daily lives.  Government changes the way we do life with the stroke of a pen, fallout from greed-driven indulgences has re-shaped the power leveraged money now has, war and world tensions have risen to levels the average U.S. citizen doesn’t begin to understand, and yet, we go about our lives without  confronting or contesting these daily issues that influence the quality of our life and liberty.  Conversations in waiting rooms, on airplanes, in restaurants, with co-workers, and with family and friends seem to carry more seriousness now…like we’re all starting to play the game of life for keeps.  We do care what life will be like for our children and grandchildren.  We do desire to help set the stage for peace, prosperity, and purpose through our right to vote, the way we conduct business, and the way we choose to live our personal lives.  It’s not enough to wish for something to change…we have to add motion to our desires.  How are you contributing to the long view of life for yourself and your children’s children to come?  What is your March Madness looking like??

Don’t you just love the ease of checking your emails or the latest news reports on your pc or mac?  It’s fun to navigate through the big wide web to find information, products, and check the weather update.  But, once in a while the fun starts to break down when I can’t figure out how to decipher a message box that pops up on my screen telling me I can’t do what I’m trying to do.  I go through the same drill of spending hours trying to fix my situation, have a royal meltdown, and then give up, thinking someday I’ll run into a “techie” who can save me from my pathetic technical skills.  How much is my time worth, anyway?  I am not computer savvy and have developed a great respect for the gifted people who are.  Even though I don’t think they should command as high a salary as a surgeon…the “techie’s” value is growing rapidly.  My life, or rather my career, rests in their hands!  How much more vulnerable can you feel?  I hope one of my kids develops a technical knack…so I will always have a “go-to” relative just a phone call away.  I can’t even imagine how our lives will evolve over the next 20 years with technology.                                                                                                                                                                                     Side note: I would like to ask the computer gods why the message boxes are written in codes that don’t even come close to explaining how to remedy the technically challenged place I find myself in at times!!

The tight grip squeezes the life out of whatever you’ve got your fingers wrapped around.  Sure you want it…or, you don’t want to lose it.  And yes, you value it, treasure it, and desire it.  You also might have sacrificed for it, invested in it, or even created it.  Your blood, sweat, and tears are all over it.  But, your intense hold on it is inhibiting it from being productive and evolving.  The flow of its natural tide is restrained by your fear and habit.  It can’t possibly be all it can be, and should be for you, until you open your hands and let it have some breathing room.  The palms-up method actually gives you the ability to hold more of whatever it is you want to hold.  This position comes from confidence, not fear.  You’ll find you are attracting the thing you want and so there is no need to strap it to you.  Now you have room to breathe and move…and the thing goes with you…on it’s own.  Giving it the freedom to be in your life as it’s meant to be is the best loose-hold you can possibly give something!!

Who showed up today in your life that made you feel good?  Who gave you a compliment or went out of their way to help you with something?  Who made you think life is a pretty special thing today?  Who brought love in a practical way to you?  Who called you today, to include you or tell you they were thinking of you?  Who gave you an invitation for an event or date that you excitedly put on your calendar?  Who prepared a special dish for you, offered you coffee, or treated you to a meal out today?  Who brought a smile to your face just by showing up today?  Who are the most valuable players in your life today??

Your fuse is short and everyone around you knows you’re about ready to blow.  You stuff the stress and disappointments so well…or rather so tightly.  You’re a can full of spring-loaded fabric snakes just waiting for the lid to unscrew enough so they can explode out and scare everyone to death.  What misunderstood word, shift in the day,  sideways look, or unexpected inconvenience will be the trigger for it all to come rushing out and spill on everyone.  If you could, what would you rather do with your frustration and anger?  Is there a better vent for you?  Is there someone you could share it all with who will keep it confidential?  Do you have a few minutes to let the hurting words splash onto a page and see for yourself what has been kept in your tank?  Could you take a long walk, alone, and talk to yourself about your issues, and maybe talk to God about all of it?  Once it’s out, one way or another…you will be in a different position.  A better position.  You’ll begin to see what needs to be dissolved and what needs to be repaired.  If you are totally honest, you’ll see where you are and compare it to where you want to be.  Then, you will decide what you’re going to do to about the mess.  Ultimately, it’s all good for the soul…it just hurts like crazy until you find a good way to vent!!

The spring cleaning bug catches you quite by surprise each year, as the urge to give away, throw away, and re-arrange arrives.  It feels so good to finally dig into the messy drawers and cupboards with an appetite to organize and pare down the junk.  Our closets open up with new-found space while we discard old winter clothes that hung around for a few too many seasons.   Cobwebs in the garage and storage sheds are brushed away.  The musty house smells are exchanged for daily doses of fresh spring air…invited in through the wide open windows.  Heavy bedding is washed and put away for the warmer months ahead.  Shifting our decorative pieces and even furniture makes us feel refreshed and the house new again.  The physical investment of the whole spring cleaning event is good for our body, mind, and spirit!!

The trick to walking on water is to keep your eyes front and center.  The tendency to let your eyes drop to where your feet are standing is the natural reaction when experiencing an unsteady part of the path you walk.  As your focus becomes shifted to the current position of your feet…you loose momentum, balance, and confidence.  The goal you had been striving toward is out of sight, and worry and fright begins to push you under the surface of the water.   Now you either sink or swim…re-focus or succumb to the challenging waves.  Do you still want the goal you had been striving for?  Is it still worth the investment, the effort, and the pain?  If so, then it’s time to get your eyes back on the prize.  Finding your sources of encouragement and inspiration to rally you again will be your greatest help in getting up and walking on the water’s surface again.  Ask God for help, and He’ll deliver through people in ways you won’t believe.  If not, you’ll regret not finishing the course.  A funny thing happens…after you regain your balance…you’ll find you’re much stronger to finish the journey than if you hadn’t almost been swallowed up by the big waves.  And, you’ll transfer that new confidence and gratitude to other goals you are seeking.  The trick to walking on water is quite simple…keep your eyes on the prize!!

Writing or sketching something you’re thinking about brings a new element to the thought.  The element is an infusion of energy, desire, focus.  When you take your thought and speak about it, and develop it with details, it is just a matter of time before it becomes a reality.  Most of us at one time have had some sort of notebook that we’ve recorded ideas, requests, and our private thoughts in.  It may have been used as a way to purge something bothering us.  It might have been a method to track our progress, or answers to prayers.  Some notebooks have been dialogues with God, or ourself, or a special person that has passed away.  Journeys have been recorded, music has been scored, and budgets have been laid out in various notebooks.  Sketches and renderings of inspiring artwork are precious pages in some of our notebooks.  Pictures of travels, family and friends are slipped into pages of keepsake notebooks.  Notebooks with recipes, decorating ideas, and inspirational quotes reflect our individuality.  Whatever your notebooks have inside… they are unique reflections of your life and love!!

One of the best steps out of a big ”hole” is to get something on your calendar to look forward to.   The anticipation of a fun event is good for our mental health.   Knowing there is a light at the end of the tunnel is vital to being able to progress through the darkest moments.  Plan something fun for yourself or with others…even if it’s just for an hour or two.  It may be as simple as a long walk in the sunshine or more elaborate such as a plane trip to somewhere far away.  The movement of your body, mind, and spirit is necessary for generating hope and healthy coping skills.  The season “in the hole” will pass and you’ll help it go by quicker by getting something on your calendar to get excited about!!

So much of life has become automated, cellular, and virtual.  It’s easier and faster to use an ATM to get cash or make a deposit, than to actually have a conversation with a live person behind the bulletproof window at the bank.  It’s easier to chase down information, order a product, or find a resource online than to make a phone call and talk to a customer service representative.   Even with all the convenient ways to make life hurry up and supposedly more efficient…there is no substitute for the personal touch…the kind with skin on.  Imagine how much more powerful and meaningful it is to have a friend show up to wish you well when you’ve landed in the hospital unexpectedly…rather than sending an email or text message.  How vital it is to our well-being and culture to spend a holiday with family and friends, rather than to just send a card or gift to say you were thinking of them.   What a great gift it is to have your kids bring their friends over to your house to play…so you can see what they are doing…and get an “up-close and personal” look at who they’re hanging around with.   And thank goodness, the doctor still sees you in person…rather than having you describe your symptoms on a website and then prescribing some remedy for you.   The teaching/learning process is so much more vibrant and impactful when done in person…rather than from a book on the internet.  Listening to music live brings a whole new energy to the experience.  Athletes competing in a contest are pushed to higher potentials when a crowd is watching.  See how many things are better in life by being there in person!!

So, you’ve found your brilliant idea was actually not an original.  As you pursued making your idea become a thing, or an experience…you found someone had beaten you to the punch.  It’s all good, though, because even as your idea has already been test driven…you may yet find a way to tweak it a bit…making it your original.  And, how wonderful it is that you can piggy back on someone else’s effort, saving you some of your costly experimental investment on the front end.  Once you’ve arrived… and your idea has become a reality, you can give credit where credit is due…meaning great minds think alike!!

The place where your feet stand right now…is only temporary.  Whatever you are learning, however you are growing, whomever you are doing it with…will look different tomorrow.  This ever evolving nature of life is a gift.  It allows us the daily opportunity to invite something new into our experience, whether it is an attitude, a perspective, or a person.  It brings a fresh quality to wherever you are… if you let it.  You’ll see footprints where your feet stood yesterday…and in the new place where they stand today…you’ll have a chance yet again, to embrace  something new, right where you are!!

It’s great to know what you want…what you really want, because when you do…you move with a different energy, a deeper understanding, and an undivided focus.  Finding that place where you’re without a doubt about your decision or direction is called freedom unleashed.  You now concentrate on the stream’s momentum that is taking you to your goal.  You feel good about where you are going and your mind is fixed on your purpose.  Everything that challenges you serves to further your committment.  It’s just a matter of time before you reach your destination…rather than a question of, “Will I ever get there?”  All resources and tools and help show up in perfect timing to help you along the way.  Now you’ve tasted passion’s birth…and know you can do anything you set your mind to.   Take all the time you need to figure out what do you really want…it’s worth it!!

Doing the brave thing takes us out of our comfort zone and makes us feel quite vulnerable.  We may need to ditch an unhealthy relationship, or seek wise counsel on how to deal with it.  We might need to find a second job when our budget outweighs our income for too many months.  A look at what we are eating and watching and inviting into our daily life might provoke a few changes.  It’s all good, though.  What makes being brave even more admirable, is doing the brave thing before we’re forced to.  To see it coming and begin to position ourself before the disaster has a chance to roll over us.  Sometimes we’re forwarned by friends or family, or by our own spirit prompting us to do something different.  We become masters of this good kind of change as we practice it…by having our antennae up, receiving the signals, and being brave to make our lives better!!

Less words, more punch.  More listening, less conflict.  Fools keep talking…wise people close their lips…until they really have something to say.  Little gestures, great responses.  Simple food, less garbage.  Less food, less weight…better feeling bodies.  Less tv, more time for your own reality show.   Simple and sharp wardrobe, more elegant look and more money in your pocket.  Less stuff, less cleaning.  Less clutter, better living.   Simple love, long-lasting relationships.  Less fear, more peace.  Simple investments, big returns in the long run.  Less griping, more gratitude.   Simple faith, strong foundation.  Less rush, better quality of life.  Simple beauty, better perspective in your lens.  Less regrets, more forgiveness.  Keep it super simple…and you’ve got the greatest key to enjoy the best of life!!

Counting sheep to fall asleep is a virtual game we play in our head…to make us relaxed and sleepy.  Playing a virtual stock market game is wise to get the hang of the “rules, risks, and strategies” of investing   Creating a virtual kitchen online through a home improvement center site gives us the chance to see all of our ideas come together before we commit to buying anything.  Kids have virtual pets to take care of that seem complicated to the parents, but a breeze to them.  Degrees and licenses are earned via cyberspace leaving space in college classrooms.    Military and pilot training involves virtual games and simulators.  Daydreaming is way to test drive our dreams without downloading anything except our imagination.  Test drive whatever you think you may want…virtually…and see if you still want it.  Playing virtual games is usually cost-free, easy, and fun!!

How is it that the very thing we don’t want to do…we end up doing?  Why do we skip our gym time when we really want to work off those extra calories?  How do we end up late to an appointment when we set out to be on time today?  Where does that extra big portion of cake come from, when all we wanted was a bite?  Dwelling on something we are lacking overtakes our daydreaming energy when we should be devoting the thoughts to feeling what it will be like when we do have it!  We regret the sharp words we’ve spoken, when we’ve behaved the opposite of how we wanted to in the first place.  Some of our biggest failures are in the smallest things…which makes it seem easy to fix.  But, we all know it’s much harder to do than we normally think.  If we give our thinking a refresher course on how to effectively set our mind to something…we will find our thinking shift from what we don’t want… to what we do want.  Focusing only on what we want…like how we want our conversation to come across… will help us to find self-control to communicate appropriately.  We won’t be saying to ourself…”I don’t want to lose my temper,” or, “I don’t want to chew their head off.”   Instead, we will pre-determine the tone and thoughts we do want to say…and then be pleased to find our words are well delivered, and well-timed.  It’s easy to wipe ourself out from the very thing we want to do…by giving energy to what we don’t want to do!!

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”…”variety is the spice of life”…”style is as individual as there are women.”  With a never-ending variety of choices for anything we desire, the big, wide world is waiting to be discovered.  You may like a Louis Vuitton handbag, but, your best friend prefers to use a “knock off” from Wal-Mart.  A day at the spa might be your cup of tea, while your sister would rather spend the same money on a new camera.  Some of us are “shoe-addicts” and some of us wear a favorite pair out before buying more.  What makes us feel good, either in experiences or merchandise, relationships or accomplishments…we all have our own style.  And, our own style contributes to the beauty and orchestra of life!!

Sometimes we’re “privied” to a glimpse of things to come.  We see a child emulate something his parents do.   A bud on the verge of opening is the nubile version of the mature, fully opened flower on the same stem.   A role model demonstrates an incredible performance on the field, in the office, or on the stage.  A movie or book might just be the fertile material to solidify the vision of the dream you have for your life.  Once in a while, we are so fortunate to have seen a glimpse of something we’ve been longing for, and it makes us feel good inside!!