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.