Menu

I'm working on creating a menu of what I'd like to sell in the bakery on a daily basis. Some things are so easy, like donuts. Definitely have to have donuts, but what else? I'm looking online for ideas, but I can see that there are no hard and fast rules. Each bakery is different.

I know that I'd like to sell bread, but haven't figured out what kinds. Some places sell certain types of breads on certain days. I like the idea, then you only make certain loaves each day.

What do you think are must have items? Things you would expect to be able to purchase if you walked into your favorite bakery. I'm kind of at a loss and would love some ideas.

New Beginnings

I watched Julie and Julia over the weekend and I became inspired. No, I'm not going to cook my way through a cookbook, but I did decide that I should blog more about baking than I have in the past.

I have a goal to open a bakery. I know that the economy is rough and that I live in a very small town but I know that it will work.

I still have many skills to work on, so I thought I would use this blog to share my success and to beg for help when I fail. Tips from others would be greatly appreciated.

One day I will be the proud owner of a bakery, but for now, it's time to perfect the craft.

"God gives us dreams a size too big so that we can grow in them." ~Author Unknown

Please join my on my journey.

I'm Back

I know it's been a long while. No excuses, just explainations. This summer has been a rough one. There were three deaths in the family in four months. Lots of travel and lots of tears.

Through these rough times, I've come to realize that I have some areas I need to focus on. I don't know how much time I have on this earth, but I'm planning on it being quite a bit more so I have some things I'd like to accomplish.

1. My pastry/bakery. My goal is to create enough business, that I have to find an actual location to run it out of. Complete with equipment and maybe an employee or two.

2. Preparedness. Over the last few weeks I've really felt impressed to get some things in order. I feel that I need to start canning and building up a food storage.

3. Power Hour. Spending time everyday focusing one hour on exercise, meditation, journal writing, scripture study and personal development. I plan to use this time to keep my blog more current.

This is just the beginning of my list. I'll post more as they come to me.

"Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want." ~Marsha Sinetar

Direction

Sorry it's been so long. I've found that I get pulled in lots of different directions these days.

“Our achievements of today are but the sum total of our thoughts of yesterday. You are today where the thoughts of yesterday have brought you and you will be tomorrow where the thoughts of today take you.” ~Blaise Pascal

I feel very torn about this quote, because I hate to believe that some of the situations I'm in right now are directly a result of my thoughts. So basically I've caused this. But on the other hand it means that I can create the situation I want by controlling my thoughts.

It sounds so easy, till you really try to do it. I know where I want to be, that's easy. I have lots of dreams. Now for the hard part, pushing aside the reality of today.

It's hard to see myself owning a pastry shop when I know that I need to work where I'm at right now. Plus there's always someone who tries to help by telling you how crazy it would be to quit a steady job for something that is unknown.

I know this works, I've seen it in action. When I applied for my current job, I took time and visualized myself sitting at the desk, doing the job, anything I could think of related to this position. Doubt crept in a lot, but I pushed it aside and focused on what I wanted. And I got the job. That was two years ago. It's not exactly how I pictured it, but it's pretty close.

If it worked once, it will work again. Not just for me, anybody can do it if you try hard enough and never give up.

"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."

~Harriet Beecher Stowe

I would hate to wake up tomorrow and realize I was just one small step away from reaching my goal, but I had already given up.

Struggle

Yesterday started out pretty rough for me. Got up early to bake (working on those skills) and after two hours of making cinnamon rolls, they were over cooked. I have an old oven. I work really hard to adapt the recipes to make sure they cook but aren't over cooked. Well my adjustments didn't work. I was so frustrated and angry. Made me even wonder if my idea was still a good one.

Fast forward a few hours, I'm at work reading an e-mail that came in. Every Friday I get a inspirational story sent to me. Yesterday's hit home. It was about a 62 year old man who competed in a 350 mile race across the arctic ice. He described it as toughest thing he'd ever done. He even thought about quitting. But the thing about this race is that because of the cold he couldn't quit. Because if he did, he would die.

What he learned was that "We are capable of much more than we believe we are capable of."

It's so easy to give up, quit. But we are capable of so much more. My idea is still a good one. I have to keep going.

Faith

Sorry to be gone so long. Still no computer.

I am starting a new adventure. I want to open a pastry shop. Not sure where or when, but over the last few weeks I've been cooking up a storm. Donuts, bread, muffins, cobbler, all the good things that are so bad for you. Mostly family and co-workers are my taste testers but I'm branching out a bit to some other friends.

It's been difficult to stay positive about my adventure. I fight off the voice that tells me that this is probably the most terrible time to start a business. But I am ignoring it. I have learned that my thoughts are powerful and if I want this to work I need to see it succeeding and to push out those negative thoughts. It's a daily battle, but one I plan to win.

I'll keep you posted.

Blessings

I haven't posted for a bit, I broke my computer. Not great, but we are managing.


As I thought about what to write today, gratitude came to mind. We are very blessed and sometimes I guess I forget it. Both my husband and I have jobs. We have a place to live, food on the table, vehicles to drive, gas money, insurance, electricity, I could go on and on and on.


Sometimes it gets easy to focus on whats missing and forget to see what's good about life. I know that I need to spend a bit more time being thankful.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a
present and not giving it."~William Arthur Ward

The Pursuit of Happiness

I just watched the Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happiness. It's one inspirational movie I have a hard time watching. It's not that it's a bad movie, it's just that the movie tells the story of a man who is trying to do better for his family. He feels that working for Dean Witter will get him where he wants to be, but the only way to get his shot with the company is to take an unpaid internship. Six months with no income. He and his son live in a homeless shelter, he sells medical equipment on the side, sells his plasma, and whatever else he can find that might give him a few dollars to survive a few more days.


I struggle with the movie because I tend to be a quitter. When the going gets tough, I quit. I love my comfort zone and I know that success takes place out side that zone.

"Periods of tranquility are seldom prolific of creative achievement. Mankind has to be stirred up." ~Alfred North Whitehead

I know that if I want to succeed I have to do something. I often wish success would walk up and knock on my door, but it's not going to happen that way. I don't have to do it all at once, but I do need to do a little. Everyday I do a little more towards my dreams takes me that much closer to where I want to be.

I may not be there yet, but I'm closer than I was yesterday. ~Author Unknown

Yesterday's Post

So why all the fuss about inspiration?

I think that all of us have inside of us dreams that we have forgotten about, given up on or maybe failed to achieve. I also believe that we all can accomplish anything that we put our mind to. Seriously put our mind to, not just consider. That's where inspiration comes in.

It's hard to put your self out on a limb to try something new or to try something that you might have previously failed to accomplish. There are lots of people who have experienced the same thing but have picked themselves up or stuck their neck out and succeeded. That's why I wanted to read your stories.

I don't know about anyone else, but I struggle, struggle a lot with putting myself out there to fail. I hate failure. My motto has been, don't try it if you don't think you are good at it. But as I read and watch inspirational stories I realized that failure is part of the game. I also realized that sometimes you learn more from your failures than you could ever learn any other way.

Failure is a detour, not a dead end street. ~Zig
Ziglar

Inspiration

I have tried to write this post several times. I start and then delete it because I worry about how it will sound or what someone might think. This explains the large gap between now and my last post. I figured I better just write it down or I would never post again.

I love inspirational stories. My movie shelf is full of movies that are inspiring. Same with my bookshelf. You are probably wondering why this was so hard for me to write about. What I have been struggling with is the fact that all of us do exceptional things in our lives. Maybe not to the degree that will get Disney to make it into a movie or will be put into a best selling book, but its still something that could inspire someone else.

There are people in this world who are going through very difficult times. Sometimes those people are our neighbors or even our friends. A story of triumph over adversity just might be what they need to push through their hardship.

(Here's where I quit and delete) A few years back I was asked to be the administrator of our local nursing home. I thought it was a great opportunity but there was a small problem. I needed a four year degree. I had attended a community college for two years but never quite finished my transfer degree. After much discussion with my husband, the plan was to finish up the class I needed for my transfer degree then attend a four year school. Since we don't live near a four year school the plan was to take the classes on line. Oh and the best part was I needed to be done as fast as possible. I finished up the transfer degree in about three months and then proceeded to start on my four year degree. I figured out how I could get this done in a little over a year. I didn't quit my job or stop being a mother (housework did suffer greatly I will admit).

Fast forward one year. I just about met my goal but I had one class to finish. I was about 1/2 way through it when the owners of the nursing home came to visit. They gathered everyone together and explained that they were closing the doors. Talk about devastating. I didn't want to finish up my class, I just wanted to quit. After a lot of encouragement from my husband, I went ahead and finished the class and got my degree. The nursing home closed and I found other work and eventually ended up where I am now in a much better job.

Why share this story? I don't know if it is inspiring, that's something you will have to decide. The point was to show that we all overcome things in our lives. Some small like me and others are huge. I would like to ask that you share with me your inspiring story. Yes I really want to hear it. You don't have to give names or any details you don't want to give.

"The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means and the exercise of ordinary qualities."

It's how you tell the story

Everyday I get e-mails with positive quotes or uplifting stories in them. Today I got a story about golf. It talked about these great things this golfer did. Then, he said this.

"What I didn't talk about were all the balls that landed in the woods and didn't bounce out. I didn't mention the trophy I won for the most lost balls in one round. Jim doesn't know I lost the hole-in-one ball in the woods on my next shot, and he doesn't know that the day I got four birdies, my final score was twenty-two over par."

He didn't share all the negative when he talked about his golf game, he shared the positive. We all have positive and negative things in our lives. Where is our focus?

I quit watching the news because out of 30-40 minutes of news, you get 5 minutes of positive and all the rest is the negative, nasty things in this world. But what do we talk about when we get the chance? Are we sharing the positive in our lives or are we dumping our negative experiences on our friends, family, co-workers?

"Life is hard - life is good. It's how you tell the story." ~Michael T. Smith

Opinion

"Every man is a fool in some man's opinion” ~Spanish Proverb

I read something this morning that got me thinking about opinions. I've spent a lot of time in my life worrying about other people's opinions. Family, friends, even strangers sometimes. How do I look? Am I doing what I'm suppose to be doing? What do they think of me? Finally, I've come to realize that the person's opinion I need to worry about is my own. Is what I'm doing in line with my beliefs? Are my actions moving me in the direction I want to go or taking me down another path? Will this lead me closer to living my soul purpose?

I've decided that the things that I want to do in my life probably won't be looked at by others as "normal" or "right'" but that's ok. I know that there are things that I have been put on this earth to do and when it's all said and done I will have to answer for my actions. I don't think the excuse "people didn't think it was a good idea" is really going to fly. When I am gone from this earth I want to be remembered as someone who made a difference.

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. ~Leo Rosten

Gratitude

As I was pondering this morning I realized that there were many years of my life when I was very ungrateful. I wanted something more, which is OK really, but I wanted these things to the point that I would forget about all the blessings I had in my life.'

I realized today that I still want things. I could probably list 15 or 20 things off the top of my head, but I am very grateful for what I have right now. That list might take me a little longer to come up with, but I bet it would be longer than my list of wants.

God has truly blessed me in this life and while I want to do better and have more, I know that I need to stop and remember and be thankful for all that he has given me. Right now, today.

The Dream Giver

I just finished reading the book The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson. He also wrote The Prayer of Jabez. I loved the book. What a great story. It really put things into perspective for me.

So many times I've wanted to pursue a dream. In the early years, I let people talk me out of it. You know, your friends and family who only have your best interests at heart, but they steal your dream. Sounds harsh I know, but it really is true. Unless your dream is to be the world's biggest drug dealer (or something along those lines) what harm is there in going after it.

As I got older and read more, I got to a place where what people thought of my dream didn't matter, but I still gave up because it was hard. Things didn't work out right away, or I failed. What I didn't understand is that there is some learning involved before you get to live your dream. As much as I wanted to believe I had it all figured out, there is so much more to know.

Now, I understand about learning but there's still more. There comes a point where you have to go all in. Are you willing to do whatever needs to be done, make the sacrifices that need to be made and have faith it will work out.

This is where I'm at. I'm standing on the edge, trying to decide if I am willing to give all I can to make my dream work. After struggling all these years, it's hard to put yourself out there one more time. It's hard to push away the doubts and the negative and focus on the big picture. I know it will be worth it, but sometimes I just wish it was easy.

Time

"The only thing even in this world are the number of hours in a day. The difference in winning or losing is what you do with those hours."
Woody Hayes

I sometimes feel like other people must have so much more time that I do because they are able to do so much. But we all have the same number of hours in a day, it comes down to how we choose to use them. I find myself focusing on what I can't seem to get done rather than focusing on doing the best I can. I have also realized that sometimes you have to get up off the couch even when you don't feel like it. It's so easy for me to come home from work tired and use that as an excuse to not do anything. Then I'm kicking myself for not getting things done. Usually a few focused minutes will go along way.

I've got too many things that I need to accomplish that I will use my time productively. I'll get my relaxing time, I always do. This way, I can relax without feeling like I've let myself down.

Stress

Have you ever had something weighing on your mind? The last week and a half have been really difficult. We had an issue to resolve at work and boy was it hard. Nothing I can go into here, but lets just say I have been under some stress.

What I didn't realize is how much it effected me outside of work. I caught a cold, I felt tired all the time even after eight hours of sleep, I just really did not want to do anything or be around anyone. (not so good when you have a family)

Now that the situation has past, I look back and realize that I felt the stress because I wanted things to work out one way and there was really no way that was going to happen. I find myself trying to fix things and sometimes you just have to accept things the way they are. It doesn't mean you've failed it just means that you can't control the situation.

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are
challenged to change ourselves. ~Victor Frankl

I now have my challenge. It's me that needs to change. Each day needs to have some time set aside to focus on personal growth. Not always easy to do, but I think that it's got to feel way better than how I've been feeling these last few days!!

Negative

"There is a basic law that like attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. Conversely, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully his positive thinking sets in motion creative forces - and success instead of eluding him flows toward him."

Norman Vincent Peale

It's a long quote but it really sums up my thoughts today. I've been fighting the negativity all week. It's so easy to get caught up in those thoughts. I wish I was always positive. Looking at the bright side or seeing the glass half full. But no, I tend to find the down side or list 100 reasons why it just won't work.

Today I decided enough is enough. No more negative. From now on when I have a choice, I will choose to be positive. I know I can do it, I just have to focus a bit more and make sure I don't always default to that negative attitude.

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale

Patience

I used to think I was a patient person. And I guess in some ways I am but there are some times when I get so frustrated because things are not happening like I want them to. Or they aren't happening when I want them to. I think that is the most frustrating one. I want it to happen right now, actually yesterday would be better.

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience.”

What a wake up call. Right now things are stressful at work. It seems like my focus is everywhere but on the things I really want to do. I have all these ideas that I want to put into place, but I haven't been able to. Boo, Woo; Boo Woo.

I just need to keep going. Small steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all. Sometimes I just have to get a reality check to get myself back on track.

Poor Me

Some days I just want to have a pity party. I don't know why but I'm just feeling sorry for myself today.

When I get this way I've found that the best way to get past it is to count my blessings. It seems like when I focus on all the good things in my life, I tend to be less focused on what I think is lacking or not exactly the way I want it.

So, today I am grateful for my family; my husband and kids, my home, my job, my health, my opportunities to learn, my challenges (more chances to learn), my seminary class, my cars, my clothes, my freedom, my friends, and my faith

How can I feel sorry for myself when I have so much. I am blessed with so much I have no reason to complain.

Failure

"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?"

~Dr. Robert Schuller

I know that there are so many things that I want to do but I never get around to doing them. Sometimes it's because I decide that it wasn't really something I was interested in after all, but most of the time, I walk away because I'm scared I will fail.

Most of my life I have chosen the things I want to do based on one criteria. "Can I do it?" If I didn't think I could, I never tried it. Play it safe was my motto. Do only those things you know you will succeed at. There were still failures but I could justify them with the thought of how much worse it could have been.

Over the past 15 years or so I've read a lot of books. They've taught me different things, but I never changed how I looked at the things I wanted to try. This year has changed all that. I have been introduced to a new way of thinking. I have met people who have made decisions to do what they love and are successful at it. I've learned that sometimes the hardest step to take is the first one.

So far my steps have been very small. But little by little I know I will work my way down the path to the goal I'm working towards. Sure there maybe some failure along the way, but I'll never know what I can do if I never get out there and try.

"You are probably only one step away from greatness." ~Bob Proctor

Copies

"You were born an original. Don't die a copy."~John Mason

I really liked this quote, it made me think back to high school. I wanted so bad to fit in. I was different, I guess now maybe I would say an original, but I so wanted to be a copy. I know now that I will never be like everyone else, because I have been given my own unique talents, gifts and abilities. Rather than fight it, hide them away and pretend that they don't exist, I've decided to embrace them, grow them and do my best to share them with others around me. Everyday I am able to benefit from the talents, gifts and abilities of those I come in contact with. I just hope that I am able to give something back in return.

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. ~Gotama Buddha

Habits

I read that psychological studies have shown that it takes about 30 days to form or break a habit.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."~Aristotle

I started this blog to record the things I have learned and share how the principle has helped me. I hoped to blog every day. That hasn't happened, but I see now that it's because I haven't made it a habit. I haven't repeatedly done it. By working on this I not only will blog everyday but I will also study and learn everyday so I have something to write about.

How much better will I be if I am learning and applying new principles on a daily basis, rather than once a week or twice a month.

"The true road to personal improvement is not miraculous; it is slow and calls for a great deal of perseverance, but it is indeed possible to progress along this road, and your effort will be amply repaid." ~David Fischman

Last Week

Last week I was just in a funk. Not sad really, but not necessarily happy either. I wasn't really able to figure out what was going on at first, then it hit me.

"Happiness doesn't depend on outward conditions. It depends on inner conditions." Dale Carnegie

I needed to look inside me. I was focusing on everything around me without focusing on myself. Last week I took a break and didn't read and study like I should. It's amazing how letting personal development slide just a few days really effects all aspects of your life. Last week was an eye opener for me. It reinforced to me, the fact that I to take time each day to focus on positive things. I don't want another week like the last one.

Intentions

I am always planning, making lists, deciding I'm going to get something done and then the day ends and I haven't even started. Like this blog. I always intend to post something every single day. But I find myself looking for just the right quote or reading books to find just the right idea. Then I read this quote.

Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned. ~Peter Marshall

Wow, did that hit home. I need to quit planning to do big things and just focus on getting something done. I did take my own advice and posted today. My goal is to continue on through the day and see what I get done. I think it will feel better to know I've gotten a few small things finished than the feeling of failure I have when nothing I've planned to do is done.

Thoughts

"Change your thoughts and you change your world."
Norman Vincent Peale"

Over the last four months I have been working to study more, to focus more and to be more positive. I will admit there have been many days that I have failed horribly. But, what I have noticed is a change. Most of the time I see things more positively. I am trying to look for the good rather than becoming upset or frustrated.

I had noticed some differences in how I felt about my life but I really hadn't noticed a change until I read this quote and took the time to think about it. What I've been doing isn't hard, it just takes some time and willingness to change.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

I am reading Dale Carnegie's book "How to Win Friends and Influence People." You are asked to read the book in a certain way. Read a chapter through, then return and re-read the chapter, this time marking ideas that strike you.

I read through chapter one yesterday and started through the second time this morning. The principle in this chapter is "Don't criticize, condemn or complain." Carnegie shares stories from Lincoln and Teddie Roosevelt explaining how they made mistakes in dealing with other people. Since I've read this book before this wasn't new to me. I don't really see myself doing this to other people. I don't get in some one's face and list all the things they've done wrong or tell them how awful they are.

Then I had a thought, there was a person that I did do that to; on a regular basis, without mercy. MYSELF. I expect perfection from me, when I don't hold anyone else in my life to that same standard. Why?

I realized that I needed to treat myself like I treat other people. I should value myself as much as I value someone else.

The way you treat yourself sets the standard for others. ~Sonya Friedman

Who am I?

Most of the time I refer to myself in relation to another person or thing. "I'm Bob's wife, their mom, his sister, their daughter, I work for..., I work with..." etc. But, who am I? Just me, not in relation to someone or something else.

I use to do everything I could to avoid thinking about it. I usually didn't have anything really nice to say about myself so it was better to not say anything at all. Then we were heading to Salt Lake and I had an assignment. "Look yourself in the eyes in an actual mirrror. Ask yourself what it is that is great. Not physical appearance, but what you perceive about yourself on a deeper level." The second part was to list what wasn't so great.

I was suppose to list 20 items for each. I tore through the not so great part. I had to stop myself at 20. Then came the great part. I struggled. At first I couldn't think of anything. But slowly I found one thing; then another. It was so hard but I finally came up with about 15 things.

What I realized is that I have unique gifts and talents, given to me by my Heavenly Father. I can choose to focus on what talents I wasn't given but what kind of servant does that make me. In the parable of the talents, three servants are given talents. Two of them work with their talents and increase them while the third hides his until the master returns. The two that did something with their talents are praised and rewarded while the third is rebuked and his talent taken from him. Which servant was I?

I know now that I need to do something with my talent and increase them, not focus on what I wasn't given. Each day I strive to increase my talents by using them, learning more about them or sharing them.

"If you had a friend who talked to you like you sometimes talk to yourself, would you continue to hang around with that person?" ~Rob Bremer

Blessings

"Count your Blessings name them one by one,

and it will surprise you what the Lord has done."

I have a journal that I bought several years ago, and off and on I would write in it. Things that were going on, struggles, etc. There were maybe eight entries each year. I haven't been very good at keeping up on it.

At the beginning of 2009 I decided to try something different. I have been writing down the blessings I have in my life and why I am thankful for them. At first it was really easy; family, friends, job, health. The first few weeks I had no trouble filling the pages. Lately, I've had to work a little harder at it. But, I still have things to write about. Some days, it's the weather. "I'm thankful for not having snow." Other times, I've gone back to my family and looked deeper at my blessings.

As I spend a few minutes each day being thankful for what I have been given, it opens my eyes to all the things the Lord has put in my life that I take for granted. I have been blessed with so much and I know that I need to remember to take the time to be thankful for all that I have been blessed with

In our daily lives, we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but the gratefulness that makes us happy. ~Albert Clarke

Daily Effort

Every year, high in the San Bernardino mountain range of Southern California, five acres of beautiful daffodils burst into bloom. Amazingly, this special spot, known as "The Daffodil Garden," was planted by one person, one bulb at a time, over a period of thirty-five years.

Every so often I receive an e-mail with this story in it. Today it was in my inbox. I'm not one to believe in chance. I needed to read this story again.

From the story: "The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principle of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time - often just one baby-step at a time - learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time.
When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world."

Daily effort. That is so hard some times. There is always something to do, but does that effort lead you to your goal. I know that I need to be more focused each day, doing the small things, that will move me closer to my goal. I know what I want to do, now I just need to get busy!

Character

"Character builds slowly, but it can be torn down within incredible swiftness." ~Faith Baldwin

The first definition of character I always think of is "moral or ethical quality." But another is "the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing." We are all special in our own way with gifts and talents. It took me such a long time to figure that out. I think it's probably been just over the last ten years that I really started to understand this idea.

This brings me to my idea of working with kids and their self-esteem. I can see how easily character can be torn down, even when someone doesn't mean too. But if you know who you are and understand your gifts and talents, how much harder would it be to tear down your character.

I've had it described to me this way. "Standing in Power." I truly want to help kids feel that they can stand in power and not be torn down. What a world we would live in if everyone understood how great they really are and worked to help others succeed.

"You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love & affection." ~Buddha

Happiness

Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be. ~Abraham Lincoln

I can decide whether I'm happy or sad. I know that so many times I find myself blaming others for my unhappiness. "If they hadn't said that, I wouldn't be upset." Maybe that person shouldn't have made that comment, but I control how I react, not them.

This is something I have to think about all the time. I have found that if I stop and take a minute before reacting to a situation or comment, I tend to have a better attitude.

Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response.
~Mildred Barthel

It's all up to me.

People

Eighty percent of humans are more unhappy, more poor than rich, more sick than healthy, and more fearful than confident. ~Steve D'Annunzio

I came across this in a book that I am reading right now and it made me very sad. This means that only twenty percent of humans are happy, more rich than poor, more healthy than sick, and more confident than fearful.

The 2008 estimate of the world's population is 6,679,493,900. That means that 1,335,898,780 people are in the happy category and that over 5,000,000,000 are not.

WOW! My hope and prayer is to be able to reach just a few of those 5 billion people and help them to see that they are special. All of us have God given talents and abilities that make us unique. The hard part sometimes is knowing what we've been given and how to utilize them.

A great point was brought to my attention that I need to share. "Think what kind of difference the 1,335,898,780 happy people could make in this world." I owe that great insight to my hubby.

Pure Love of Christ

1 Corinthians 13:3 - And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

I love the opportunity I get to teach the New Testament this year. We are in 1 Corinthians, studying charity. Charity is defined as the highest, noblest, strongest kind of love, not merely affection; the pure love of Christ. I posted this verse because as I read it, I realized that there are many times that I have done things for others more out of obligation rather than charity.

Thanks to this lesson, I know I need to focus more on that pure love of Christ rather than serving others because that’s what you are suppose to do.

Light

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. ~Marianne Williamson

What an amazing world we would live in if everyone knew this and truly understood it. I discovered my light while in Salt Lake and I know that I need to help others discover theirs. I will be asking for input to help me understand what is needed and how my ideas can be put to the best use.

Fear

"Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong." ~Peter T. Mcintyre

Fear can be a crippling emotion. I know that I have past up opportunites because I was afraid I would make a mistake.


"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, professionals built the Titanic."~Unknown

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to take the first step. I have decided that I will not allow fear to keep me from doing something I feel is a good idea. One foot in front of the other will get you started walking out the door.

Staying Positive

“The greatest discovery of any generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” ~ William James

Attitude: According to dictionary.com, attitude is defined as "a feeling or emotion toward a fact or state." This says to me that I can change my life by changing the feelings or emotions I have towards something. Sounds pretty easy, but then there's reality.

Some days are rough, like this morning. I had gathered up my clothes that I planned to wear today, but by the time I got to my room to get dressed, I had lost part of them. I was already a little late, so I looked around quickly and went and found something else. At lunch I found my lost clothes. I had stopped by our office to grab something and had dropped my clothes in there.

This morning I had a very strong feeling towards my day and it was not very positive. In fact I was in a bad mood for a while. Finally I stepped back and started to look for the positive. I started to look for things that would help me to change my emotions and feelings towards my day. This is the list I came up with to change my emotions:

• I have clothes - even though I couldn't find what I wanted to wear, I did have something to put on.
• I have a job - in today's economy that's a very, very good thing
• I have a roof over my head - The house I live in isn't my dream home, but I'm dry and warm.

Sometimes it is really easy to focus on the negative feelings. I've found that I have to put positive things around me all the time to fight off those negative emotions. I read a lot of positive quotes and books. I've also stopped watching the news. I know that I want to change my life so I've started taking steps to change that attitude. It would be easier if it was a one time thing, but unfortunately I've learned that its a daily, even moment by moment process.