UPDATED for July 2010
Mother to Mother...
(photos by Jax Creations - see "My Favorite Things")
On successful thinking.....
I have grown to realize that success is largely brain work. It's easy to fall into old patterns and old, ingrained and quite often negative self talk. Harder it is to control your conscious thought to keep positive -- especially when life kicks you in the knees. Successful people are those who have learned to use their conscious, purposeful self-talk as a gatekeeper for their subconcious thought. This takes effort and concentration. Nothing wortwhile comes without effort. Rewards are never received before they are earned. But the rewards of joyful work are great. I am always delighted to be around successful people -- but the lazy and uninterested are a bore to me! Energy breeds energy! Positivity attracts positive. We are a magnet of the very things that dominate our thoughts....so choose carefully to guard your conscious thought!
July Message:
On Reinventing ourselves....
It's a new year in Mary Kay! I'm blessed to really have 2 times a year to evaluate where I am, dream about where and who I want to be and work out a plan to get there.
We are God's greatest miracle. Is there any other creature that has the capacity and the power to change themselves at a core level? We have the power to choose whether or not we are positive or negative. We have the power to choose how we will act in any given situation, how we think - and we can change how we view ourselves and the world.
So, my question for you is simply this: Who are you? Who are you really? - Deep down - when no one else is around? Do you like her? Are you happy being in your own skin? Are there certain aspects to your personality that you'd like to change? Some think that you're born with a personality and that's just who and how you are. I believe while it's true, we do come into the world with certain personality traits -- but I contend that we can have total control of those traits and keep the parts we like and change or add parts that are more in line with who we want to be.
Sometimes, in the busy-ness of life, we really forget and lose touch with ourselves! Are you taking time out to feed your spirit? Are you taking time to learn how to be your own best friend? You're the only one who is with you 24/7 ... 365 days a year!!!! Don't you think it's time to learn to love you? This takes effort, time, humility and strength. It takes a humble heart to be open to seeing those parts of ourselves that we're not proud of and to be willing to apologize, seek feedback from loved and trusted people and then to do the work to fix what needs fixing. It takes strength to not give in -- to not give up on ourselves. To repent when needed, spend some time on our knees, cry, ask for help and to keep trying ... even when we fall short.
I believe that our Father in Heaven sees us as we are - and He loves us -- just as we are. I know that as children of the most high king, we have the power to reinvent ourselves -- on a daily basis! I know that He will help us to become like He is! I know that He will not give up on us as we strive to improve, develop and to grow.
True peace is when our outer self is congruent with our inner self. Incongruence is hypocrisy, which always leaves a bitter taste. When we are so separated, there is an inner tension, stress, impatience with self and others, depression, anger, and fear. As we reinvent ourselves to be more in line with who we want to be - -with who God wants us to be, I know there is a peacefulness that comes. Just knowing we're on the right path will do wonders for our psyche!
I love to read, and there are many sources to help in this self-development - and I dive into many sources on a daily basis, but I do believe the best self-help book is the Scriptures. As you develop the habit of personal, daily scripture study, your heart will be softened, you will hear your Father and you will have a greater 'inner knowing' of the things you should do, and you -- and your family will be blessed as you come to know the Lord -- and yourself.
I'm so grateful for the knowledge of and the freedom to worship God - and I rejoice in His perfect plan for my life -- and for yours. I share with you that I know He does indeed live! Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and He will help us to become our best selves, in the name of jesus Christ, amen.
June Message ... On Fathers
My father has been my friend in my darkest times. I always saw him as big, strong and powerful. As I grew older, I realized that he was just a man - and probably not as powerful as I thought as a girl -- subject to pain, humiliation, fear and grief....just as we all are. And isn't that where we get our strength? It comes as we bear the burdens of life: loss, fear, illness, grief... It's in the tough times that we grow the most, I think. My dad taught me to fix what needs fixing. And I have fixed enough in me to see that there is more - always to fix!
Now, in another stage in my life, preparing for exponential growth, my husband is my biggest power partner. I'm still in awe how our men can still love us even though they see all our flaws and weaknesses and I'm grateful for such a man to walk through life with....who helps me to work on ME - but still loves me in the process.
This Father's Day, I say thanks to the 2 most important men in my life. I love you!
May's Message ....May Day message
As a little girl, I had three friends.... older women - 50-60 years my senior. Mrs. Howell, who taught me the gospel. She took me to church. I loved her because she was always there for me when no one else was. She made great sugar cookies and homemade doughnuts! She listened to me. She helped me to fix things. She liked me. I used to wonder if she was really an angel. I still love her and thank God for her - even today.
Mrs. Long was another neighbor whom I spent a lot of time with. She told me many stories about the little town I grew up in. About harvesting ice and storing it - delivering it for iceboxes. Hers was a different time, and I enjoyed her stories. She liked my visits. She was my friend.
Mrs. Crocker was like a grandmother to me. She lived across the street from me. All her children grown, I would sit and visit. She was always eager for me to come. She liked my ventriloquist doll and my little performances. She burried her husband, and comforted his sister, who came to visit once while I was there. She was crying and expressing feelings of fear -waiting for death and hating being alone while Mrs. Crocker - undoubtedly facing the same fears - comforted her. Mrs. Crocker taught me many things, and she was my friend. Throughout elementary school, high school, the Coast Guard.... and after I was discharged, we shared many things. The last time I saw her, she was in a nursing home. She had had breast cancer and was fighting what I'm sure was Alzheimers. Beginning to lose parts of her memory, she told me that was her biggest fear. How I loved her. She was my friend.
I wonder though - if I was busy with other friends and all the activities of the other kids ..... would I have spent the time with these older women? Would I have been their friends? I'm sure I was a blessing in their lives - as they were mine.
I dedicate this song (click to play...after you pause the music player at the bottom) - to my (older) girlfriends....and all of us, as we grow older. Don't be afraid to say hello.....
This May - will you help me to honor my friend, Mrs. Crocker? Participate in "May Day." Mrs. Crocker taught me to make paper cones and put flowers in them, then hang them on other people's doors; knock and say 'May Day!' Then run! My kids still do this for our elderly friends and neighbors. Thanks, in advance, from me and Mrs. Crocker.
April's Message....on love....
Og Mandino challenges us to greet each day with love in our hearts. He says that with the power of love alone we will succeed, and without it, we will fail -- even though we have skill and knowledge that surpasses all others. The Savior taught us that to the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord, our God - and that the 2nd is like unto it: to love our neighbors as ourselves.
It is easy to fall prey to the influences of evil -- when slapped in the face with evil, or anger -- it is easy to respond likewise. The bigger and wiser person will respond with love. Og teaches us to say "I love you" under our breath -- silently and to ourselves -- as we meet others. This technique works not only as the magnet that draws people to you, but also when others are angry or mean -- saying "I love you" helps you to see the other with God's eyes....instead of clouded through our own perceptions which are often wrong.
(pause music player to hear video clips)
Are we not all brothers and sisters? We are all of the same family - created by a kind and wise and perfect Heavenly Father. It is easy to lose site of this when burdened down with the details of earthly life....work, bills, deadlines, promotions, goals, challenges, illnesses, etc. Practicing LOVE as a verb will help us to REMEMBER our eternal nature and purpose of life.
Goodness is not dead. While some are suspicious of our goodness, people are hungry for the values of love, charity, service, cleanliness, kindness, honesty, chastity, and goodness. They feel good because they speak to our spirits. They are familiar because we are spiritual beings. When we open ourselves to communicate on a heavenly plane - love - it feels good because it is our nature -- we are heavenly beings in an earthly experience.
This Easter season, I pray that as you ponder Christ's great gift to all with his atoning sacrifice and marvellous resurrection, you will speak the language of love to all His children. I know that He lives. I know that He loves us -- and that only through Him can we truly be saved. We show our love and gratitude for Him as we show love to His children.
March Message:
The Power of PMA
(Positive Mental Attitude)
Have you ever noticed how babies and children are always at their worst when mom is ill or stressed? How a horse instinctively knows when you are nervous or scared?
I believe it is because they are very adept at picking up on the energy we emit.... sounds kinda 'new-agy', right? - Well, press play and see the results of this powerful experiment.
I believe that we can tap into the power of the universe when we learn how to harness our thoughts. I believe that thought creates word (spoken or unspoken) and words become the deeds that form our lives.
I often share the research done with split-personalities with my patients who are dealing with a new or difficult diagnosis like cancer. I think it is amazing how when one personality takes over, their eye color will change, their blood chemistries will change -- one personality will have diabetes and one won't...and that change happens INSTANTLY!!! All because of something they do with their brains -- unbeknownst to them, of course.
In Genesis,Chapter 1 we read that God said "Let there be light" and there was light. He said "let there be a firmament" and there was heaven and sea, and so this pattern continued to create all there is. By the power of His WORD, he created all things.
We also find in the scriptures that "as a man thinketh" - so he is! Our thoughts are incredible powers for good, and for bad. Choose to think good thoughts! Choose to flex your brain to connect with the things you desire. Then, harness the power of expectation to draw the very things you desire to you.
As you THINK rightly - you become right -- and then, all good things will flow to you. The universe really is conspiring for our own good - if we get out of our own way! Learning to harness the power of thought is THE powerful key to your success!
Listen to this clip from Will Smith! (you'll have to pause the pop-out player to stop the music so you can hear Will)
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Positive Prescription for 2010:
I am healthy and happy!
I deserve to be happy!
I live and deserve to live abundantly!
I deserve to succeed!
Make a list of what you want this year - and build your own affirmations
Repeat 3 times per day -- Nurses' orders!!!