Chapter 6, Page 22, Book 17

♥ ¸¸.•*¨*So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Smilers never lose and frowners never win.  So Let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

It is all in the smile…

It's the Songs you sing and the Smiles you wear that
make the Sunshine everywhere.

Author Unknown

It always feels to good to smile. It makes people look so beautiful and full of life. When you smile it makes you feel happy, and negative thoughts just go away.

A smile is instant sunshine! Spread a little sunshine everywhere you go!

A smile puts you on the right track. A smile makes the world a beautiful place. When you lose your smile, you lose your way in the chaos of life.

Roy T. Bennett

When I think about it all my happiness comes from making others happy. Seeing them smile or feel better about themselves because of something I did makes me feel warm and full of sunshine. If I can make one person smile everyday, then I think I have done my job. 

If the world had more people taking the time to encourage others and make them feel better, maybe we wouldn't be in the world we are today. Sometimes all people need is someone to be a ray of sunshine 

to brighten them up

Remember:

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75 percent of the world.

If you have money in the bank or in your wallet, you are among the top 80 percent of the worlds wealthy.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

Author Unknown

Chapter 6, Page 21, Book 17

♥ ¸¸.•*¨*So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Smilers never lose and frowners never win.  So Let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Welcome Summer !

What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade. 

Gertrude Jekyll

It’s the first day of summer and the first day of the rest of my life.

When I thought about how I might live life from now on, I didn’t really find a whole lot that I’d do differently.  More than not, there is not of lot of changes I’ll be making.  Most of what is on my do list is much the same as I’ve been doing, but when something isn’t broke you don’t try and fix it.

 

I want to:

Live every day on a fresh new start. 

Be true to who I am. 

Quit complaining.

Focus on What vs. How

Live more consciously each day

 Appreciate something each day and give thanks for it.

Each day is a gift and that’s why we call it the Present!

Wishing you all a safe and happy Summer !

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Chapter 6, Page 20, Book 17

♥ ¸¸.•*¨*So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Smilers never lose and frowners never win.  So Let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Going the extra mile...

I’m walking on sunshine…and don’t it feel good!

When people do more than they have to, and do so with an attitude of generosity, they give of themselves in ways that lift all of humanity. The heart grows tender when we extend ourselves beyond what’s expected. Going the extra mile is a vital ingredient that lifts our mood, allowing hopefulness to rule. That’s what I call going the extra mile with a smile!  I’ve even heard it called Smile Mile.

The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.

 Jimmy Johnson 

Being extraordinary isn’t reserved for the rich, the famous, the powerful, or the privileged. Extraordinary people exist within even the most seemingly ordinary lives.  They are the ones with the knack for living genuinely and who inspire us to attempt the same.

When you give a little, you can help.  Sometimes the best way to make a difference is to open your heart and be a friend, whatever that means to the person who needs one.

The most meaningful acts are often the ones we commit without prompting or expectations.

We have such profound power when we lend an ear, a hand, or an act of kindness because it reminds the recipient that people are good. People do care. That’s what gives life meaning: the people who touch our lives and the people whose lives we touch.

Go the extra mile, it is never crowded.

Chapter 6, Page 19, Book 17

♥ ¸¸.•*¨*So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Smilers never lose and frowners never win.  So Let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

Make your Blessings count !

Count your blessings.
Once you realize how valuable you are
and how much you have going for you,
the smiles will return, the sun will break out,
the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward
with the life that God intended for you
with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.

Og Mandino

The Way To Make Your Blessings Count Is To Count Your Blessings

If you are wondering how to count your blessings, here are some simple steps to practice.

Do everything with your full attention. 

 Enjoy simple pleasures. 

 Make time for other people. 

 Count your blessings. Name them one by one

Cultivate your dreams, but don't let them breed discontent.

 Don't wish your time away.

 Quit the, I'll be happy whens.

When we have forgotten the language of gratitude, we are no longer on speaking terms with happiness.

Old Saying

Gratitude makes us happier people.   We can either count our blessings or our problems. Counting blessings  causes problems to shrink, and soon we forget they exist.   

 Blessings here blessings there, blessings are just about everywhere!  Every day may not be a good one but there is something good to be found in every day.

Being grateful means appreciating what we have.   If you want to cheer yourself up, even on the darkest of days, count your blessings.  

 For today and its blessings, I owe the world an attitude of gratitude.

Clarence E. Hodges

Chapter 6, Page 18, Book 17

A Prayer for Fathers Day

God our Father, we give you thanks and praise for fathers young and old.

We pray for fathers newly embracing fatherhood, may they find courage and 
perseverance to balance work, family and faith in joy and sacrifice

We pray for our own fathers around the world whose children are lost or suffering: 

May they know that the God of compassion walks with them in their sorrow.

We pray for men who are not fathers but still mentor and guide us with fatherly love and advice

We remember fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers who are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish with their love.

Amen

Wishing you all a very happy and blessed Fathers Day!

Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story tellers, and singers of song.

 Pam Brown

Chapter 6, Page 17, Book 17

♥ ¸¸.•*¨*So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Smilers never lose and frowners never win.  So Let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

The balance of life

A little work, a little play
To keep us going—and so, good day!
A little warmth, a little light
Of love's bestowing—and so, goodnight!
A little fun, to match the sorrow
Of each day's growing—and so, good morrow!

George du Maurier

I painted the sign above on a piece of slate that I’d collected, in answer to a request by my daughter.  She has a special place in mind to put it. 

It certainly got me to thinking that life is truly a matter of holding on and letting to.  We let go of our parents hands when we begin to walk, but we hold on to them tightly throughout our lives.  We let go of our own children as they grow up and move on with their lives, but we hold them in our hearts with love.

Sometimes we feel so helpless that we hold on to things we are better off letting go. Letting go after all is not easy.

We come into this world head first and go out feet first; in between, it is all a matter of balance. 

Paul Boese

All through life we hold on and let go of many many things.  We get two choices: to hold on to the past,  complain, and be completely miserable or let go of everything that is no longer relevant.

We hold on to the dreams and goals that are authentic and that represent who you are and let go of the ones that we don’t feel so strong about anymore and create new ones.

Just as your car runs more smoothly and requires less energy to go faster and farther when the wheels are in perfect alignment, you perform better when your thoughts, feelings, emotions, goals, and values are in balance.

Brian Tracy

I’ve learned that life of genuine balance and peace starts when you learn to let go without regret and hold on with gratitude.

Be aware of wonder. Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. 

Robert Fulghum

Chapter 6, Page 16, Book 17

♥ ¸¸.•*¨*So let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Smilers never lose and frowners never win.  So Let the sun shine in, face it with a grin.  Open up your heart and let the sun shine in.♥¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ 

It’s a new day so shine on...

Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it casts the shadow of our burden behind us.

Samuel Smiles

With hope we are able to find light in the darkness around us. With all of the other violence, negativity, and despair being thrown at us by the media, I feel as though we need to be reminded of hope. 

Hope is an important tool. It helps us to get through times that otherwise would seem unbearable.  Hope responds to the aspirations to happiness that have been placed in our hearts.  It is what helps us to get past the negativity of the world we see today and allows us to believe that what we see before us can change.

We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world, beyond the horizon.  

Franklin D. Roosevelt

As long as we have hope and faith alive in our hearts then nothing will be able to bring down our spirits. It lets us see the good in every situation.  Even in a hopeless situation hope remains open to surprise.

Keep the faith. The most amazing things in life tend to happen right at the moment you’re about to give up hope.

Hope is a seed God plants in our hearts to remind us there are better things ahead.