CHAPTER 4, PAGE 7

The famous author of The Power of Positive Thinking once told this story.

A man once telephoned Norman Vincent Peale. He was despondent and told the reverend that he had nothing left to live for.

Peale invited the man over to his office. Everything is gone, hopeless, the man told him. I'm living in deepest darkness. In fact, I've lost heart for living altogether.

Norman Vincent Peale smiled sympathetically. Let's take a look at your situation, he said calmly. On a sheet of paper he drew a vertical line down the middle. He suggested that they list on the left side the things the man had lost, and on the right, the things he had left.

You won't need that column on the right side, said the man sadly. I have nothing left, period. Peale asked, When did your wife leave you? What do you mean She hasn't left me. My wife loves me! That's great! Said Peale enthusiastically. Then that will be number one in the right-hand column— Wife hasn't left.

Now, when were your children jailed That's silly. My children aren't in jail!

Good! That's number two in the right-hand column— Children not in jail, said Peale, jotting it down.

After a few more questions in the same vein, the man finally got the point and smiled in spite of himself.

Funny, how things change when you think of them that way, he said.

GOOD MORNING !

Just when we think there is nothing to be thankful for, we do find there really are lots of things, if we take the time to count our many blessings.

I’m going to spend the day with Dad again . He is stronger, but really needs the help. Being by himself isn’t easy and my dear sister that cares for him relies on my help for this one day a week. If nothing else, I am keeping him company for the day.

Today I think I’ll pick up some breakfast sandwiches on my way over and we can have breakfast together. My next door sister brings our dinner over and then spends the rest of the evening also. Saturday is now DAD’S DAY for sure.

There is another two inches of new snow on the ground here this morning ! I’ll get my trusty broom out of the closet and sweep off the steps and walkways before I leave for the day. It is good exercise !

TODAY’S THOUGHT

I finally figured out the only reason to be alive is to enjoy it.

Rita Mae Brown

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER 4, PAGE 6

One laugh burns 6 calories . . .

Laughing is jogging for your insides . . .

Laughing heartily 100 times a day has the same benefit as 10 minutes on a rowing machine . . .

If you want to know someone, just watch her laugh . . .

Laughter is to life what shock absorbers are to a car...

It doesn't take the potholes out of the road ,

but it sure makes the ride easier

Author unknown

GOOD MORNING !

With the return of winter here in Northern Ohio, I sure won’t be getting in my exercise this weekend. It is cold, slippery and did I say COLD out ? I love to walk when the weather is nice, but not now for sure.

Maybe I can burn a few calories laughing at myself today. It seems more and more lately I can find plenty of opportunities for laughing at something I.do, I rarely find much else to laugh about unless my grand’babes’ are around, so I make the most with what I have and that seems to be me and the critters. They do bring a few smiles sometimes, but they are nothing to laugh about.

It’s my vacation day and hopefully I’ll get a few things accomplished here at home. I really don’t want to venture out at all but DS#5 and his wife asked me to go along with them this afternoon to a craft store I’ve never been too.. It will be a little break away from the ‘house’ work.

Thought For Today

If you're only as old as you feel, how come I can't retire yet??

Robin Alumbaugh

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

graphics by:  the Graphics Cupboard

CHAPTER 4, PAGE 5

A small trouble is like a pebble.

Hold it too close to your eye and

it fills the whole world and

puts everything out of focus.

Hold it at proper viewing distance and

it can be examined and properly classified.

Throw it at your feet and

it can be seen in its true setting

just one more tiny bump

on the pathway to eternity.

Celia Luce

Good Morning !

Today is my last day of the work week. I have taken Good Friday as a day off for many many years. When the ‘babes’ were young and all at home, they would complain that unlike their friends we never went any place on our Easter Break.

So since we all had the day off we’d go exploring. Depending on the weather we’d go to the zoo, or take the rapid transit into downtown Cleveland, or go on a picnic at a State Park. We always had a grand time on our Spring Break day !

I might do a few things at home on Friday and I may just go exploring. The weather promises to be bitter cold so there will be no walks or picnics on the beach, but I’ll enjoy whatever I do.

Before I went to bed last night there was just enough snow on the ground to turn the grass white…but we know it won’t last . Spring has Sprung!

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Do you have some tough problems to deal with? Cheer up! As long as they're not the identical problems you had a year ago, you must be making progress.

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

 

 

Graphics by the Graphic Cupboard

CHAPTER 4, PAGE 4

THE GARDEN OF MY HEART

One day while thinking about my garden

God showed me how I could think

about my soul in a different way.

As with a flower garden!

God gave us this beautiful garden (our soul).

It is a beautiful garden with every kind of flower

that He envisions for us.

He is giving us this garden to tend

to and we are free to do whatever

we want with our garden .

When we die, we present to God

our garden that He first gave to us.

I thought about everything that it

takes to make a beautiful garden and

how much deliberate effort it takes

to keep the garden free of

weeds and the flowers blooming.

A garden needs sunshine,

which I see is God and His love for us.

A garden needs water,

which I see is the life-giving grace

that He freely gives to us.

In order to have strong and

beautiful flowers and plants,

Fertilizer is needed to feed

and nourish the soil and the flowers.

In order for a garden to do well,

the soil needs to be tilled and broken up.

I see this as the struggles and problems

we have in our life.

 God lets things happen in our life in order

to soften and nourish the ground (our soul)

so that the flowers can have a perfect environment to grow.

By cooperating with the grace that God gives us

and being open to His will, we are allowing the seeds

that He has sown for us to grow.

Of course a garden has weeds

that always seem to pop up {human problems}.

Unless we keep control of these weeds

they can overtake our garden and

choke out all the flowers that were thriving.

I see the weeds as the sin and vice

that can be in our lives and that can

keep us from being more closely united to God.

We are free to ignore or pay attention to

Our personal gift from God.

God planted the flowers and it's up to us

to nourish and tend our garden.

Finally I see that

We never planted the flowers

and the plants in our garden.

Our garden is perfectly suited for us

according to Gods eternal plan.

God planted the flowers and it's up to us

to nourish and tend our garden

so that everything God has planned for us

can truly be, and that at the end of our life

our garden will be most pleasing to our "Father".

Author Unknown

GOOD MORNING !

With the coming of Spring my thoughts turn to flower gardens and believe me when I say mine needs a lot of weeding and nourishment. Inside and outside and in-between.

I’ve been tending this garden of mine for many years and even though I may win the battle with some of the pests one year, the next year it seems new ones turn up. It’s a life long job tending this garden of mine and hopefully by the time I get it all over and done with, it will be a pleasing place.

I’m back to the warm sweater and my wool socks today. BrrrChill ! It’s cold again !!! All the way through Easter weekend it will be in the 30’s or low 40’s here.

It was soooooo great to be warm for a few days!

TODAY’S THOUGHT

Before It Is Too Late

If you've a tender message

Or a loving word to say

Don't wait 'til you forget it

But whisper it today.

We live but in the present,

The future is unknown

Tomorrow is a mystery,

Today is all our own.

The tender words unspoken

The letters never sent

The long forgotten messages

The wealth of love unspent.

For these some hearts are breaking

For these some loved ones wait

So show them that you care for them

Before it is too late.

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

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CHAPTER 4 , PAGE 3

Attitudes that can be turned around…

 

Rather than being annoyed, be amused.

Instead of getting angry, become curious.

In place of envy, feel admiration.

In place of worry, take action.

In place of doubt, have faith.

Negative energy is just positive energy

that's flowing in the opposite direction.

There's no need to fight or run away

from that negative energy.

All you need to do is change its direction.

The more negative you are,

the more positive you can be.

An automobile that can travel

70 miles per hour to the east...

can also travel just as fast when going west.

But first, someone must turn it around.

When you sense yourself becoming negative,

stop and consider what it would mean to apply that

negative energy in the opposite direction.

Turn your sadness into caring.

Transform your complaints into useful suggestions.

Change your bitterness into determination.

The energy is already there,

All you need to do is change its direction.

Author Unknown

GOOD MORNING

We have been blessed by two beautiful days to start the week off. I have to tell you that Spring in Ohio is not very often this pleasant. We usually have pretty cool weather right up to Memorial Day in May.

We rarely get very few days over 50 degrees in April. I’m not complaining that’s for sure. I’m enjoying every single minute of them. I do count my blessings every day. They are many and I am thankful.

TODAY’S THOUGHT

Attitudes are contagious is yours worth catching?

Anonymous

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

 

 

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CHAPTER 4, PAGE 2

You are ushering in another day,

Untouched and freshly new,

So here I come to ask You, God,

If You'll renew me, too.

Helen Steiner Rice

GOOD MORNING !

Here we are Monday again and a new month to celebrate is here too ! I’m sipping the good coffee and trying to wake up so that I can go off to work once more.

This should be an interesting week as one of my bosses is on vacation for 2 weeks and the other boss is recouping from knee surgery. He does come in the office but does not have regular hours at all.

We had a little rain over the weekend and will have more today . Everything is really greening up and there are large buds on some of the trees. The down side of the week is that snow is in the forecast around Thursday.

I owe, I owe so it’s off to work I go….

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

God can calm your fears, bring rest to your worry and fix your broken heart if only you give Him all of the pieces.

Lord, I ask You to fill me with Your peace as I turn my troubles over to You.

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

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CHAPTER 4, PAGE 1

To believe is to know that every day is a new beginning.

It is to trust that miracles happen,

and dreams really do come true.

To believe is to see angels dancing among the clouds,

To know the wonder of a stardust sky

 and the wisdom of the man in the moon.

To believe is to know the value of a nurturing heart,

The innocence of a child's eyes and

the beauty of an aging hand,

for it is through their teachings we learn to love.

To believe is to find the strength and courage

that lies within us.

When it is time to pick up the pieces and begin again.

To believe is to know we are not alone,

That life is a gift and this is our time to cherish it.

To believe is to know that wonderful surprises

are just waiting to happen,

And all our hopes and dreams are within reach.

If only we believe.

Author Unknown

GOOD MORNING

R & R day is here again. I’m not saying rest and relaxation day is here, but that it is my day to be refreshed and renewed.. Going to church every Sunday morning certainly does that for me.

As I worship and pray today you all will be included in my prayers. My hope is that you too will find a way to bless your soul today too.

Our souls are most inner part of our being and the every day life that can bring toils and troubles must some how be given new purpose and meaning if we are to be able to rejoice in life.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Life isn't long enough to do all you could accomplish.

And what a privilege even to be alive.

In spite of all the pollutions and horrors,

how beautiful this world is.

Supposing you only saw the stars once every year.

Think what you would think. The wonder of it!

Tasha Tudor

May your day be blessed with a few SMILES and lots of SUNSHINE to warm your heart !

MA

 

 

 

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