Chapter 6, Page 30, Book 16

The Bible reminds us not to worry about anything; instead pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you’ll experience God’s peace.

An unprayed for problem is an embedded thorn. It festers and infects—first the finger, then the hand, then the entire arm. Best to go straight to the person who has the tweezers. Let Jesus take care of you. He knows about thorns!

Excerpt from a devotional by Max Lucado

June 30th - the dynamic duo of Prayer and Praise.

Less prayer, less power; more prayer, more power; much prayer, much power. Pray every day

Prayer focuses on the problem, by it’s very nature prayer is recognizing a need.

Praise focuses on the power of God to meet that need.

Praise is more than a thankful Heart, or an attitude of thankfulness.

Prayer enables grace to open a way out from closure to openness, from fear to courage, from sadness to joy. 

Strong Woman vs. a Woman of Strength

A strong woman works out every day to keep her body in shape...
but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape...

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything...
but a woman of strength shows courage in the midst of her fear...

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her...
but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone...

A strong woman walks sure footedly...
but a woman of strength knows God will catch her if she falls...

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face...
but a woman of strength wears grace...

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey...
but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong...

I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today.

William Allen White

Chapter 6, Page 29, Book 16

Ideals


Remember that ideals
are like stars up in the sky,
You can never really reach them,
hanging in the heavens high....

But like the mighty mariner
who sailed the storm tossed sea,
And used the stars to chart his course
with skill and certainty,

You too can chart your course in life
with high ideals and love,
For high ideals are like the stars
that light the sky above....

You cannot ever reach them,
but lift your heart up high
And your life will be as shining
as the stars up in the sky.

 Helen Stiener Rice

June 29th - ideals to live by

Always remember you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. 

Harriet Tubman

I believe in the traditional ideals of freedom, equality, and opportunity for all.  And ideals such as liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness.  Ideals of a happy and successful life to which all may aspire.  They include a faith in God, prayer and the Bible. 

Faith and family are precious ideals.  They are ideals are based in peace, happiness, community, truth, goodness, and beauty.  We need clear ideals which guide the choices we make, and sets out standards by which we can evaluate our behavior.

We are all inheritors of traditions and ideals passed down from generation to generation. Ideals of Faith in God, Loyalty to Country and Love of Family .  I believe that we are as rich as our ideals.

Ideals are like stars:  you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them you reach your destiny. 

Carl Schurz

Chapter 6, Page 28, Book 16

Take a lesson from the sunflower, stand tall and keep your face towards the sun

June 28th - the first full week of summer

Keep your face always toward the sunshine and the shadows will fall behind you.

Walt Whitman

We’ve just completed our first full week of Summer and one of the reflections I happened to read this past week week had this to say about the Summer Solstice.  

From a spiritual point of view the summer solstice has a message too. In life we are always invited to tilt towards everything that is good and life giving. We are equally invited to tilt away from negativity, bitterness and darkness. Nature has worked out that balance over millions of years. We are often unsure and unsteady about where to find balance in our lives. The invitation on the longest day of the year is to tilt even a little, to something good and worthwhile in our lives.

Keep your face to the sunshine.
You won’t see the shadows fall.
Trust your spirit when you hear it call.   
You can do it all.
The world is not always
As it may appear,
 For things we feel are far more real
Than what we see and hear.
Your dreams can shine like the brightest star
As long as you remember to
Believe in who you are. 

Author Unknown

The idea of Keeping the face to the sunshine is to look on the bright side of life.  The sunshine makes everything seem more possible, it allows dreams to grow, and ideas to take hold.

Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.

Louisa May Alcott

Just tilt a little more!

Chapter 6, Page 27, Book 16

You probably know this, but in case you don’t, I am so thrilled to give you the good news, you select your thoughts.

You didn’t select your birthplace or birthdate. You didn’t select your parents or siblings. You don’t determine the weather or the amount of salt in the ocean. There are many things in life over which you have no choice. But the greatest activity of life is well within your dominion. You choose what you think.

You are the air traffic controller of your mental airport. You occupy the control tower, directing the mental traffic of your world. If a thought lands, it is because you gave it permission. If it leaves, it is because you commanded it to do so. You select your thoughts.

Excerpt from devotional by Max Lucado

June 27th - I’ve been thinking

Your thoughts have great power.  Remember always that you have the ability to decide what they will be.

Ralph Marston

Your thoughts have power. Don't allow them to lead you the wrong way.  We do get to choose just what it is that we think about.  

Changing your thoughts can change your life.  If all you think about is what is wrong with the world, you find the world does have a lot of wrongs, but if you change your thoughts to what a wonderful world it is you’ll find there is a lot of wonder in the world.

I’d always thought of myself as an optimistic and positive thinking person until the death of my husband some 20 years ago. Then things started changing for me. My thoughts went south and it took a long time for them to return.  There were days that all I thought about was what had gone wrong in my world until I got so tired of negative thinking, that I had to changed my thoughts.  A thoughtful friend even mentioned that they never knew I could be such a negative person.  I needed a change. Over time I learned that when a negative thought started to creep into my mind, all I had to do was think about something good. Like a light bulb brightening up a dark night.  Thoughts can change us.

It made a big difference!  The dark sorrowful days turned to bright and sunny ones as I discovered there was still much in my life to be thankful for and I now I have more good days than bad ones.

No matter what happens in your life, you can control your thoughts. I know I’ve shared this before, but I’ve been thinking that maybe there was someone else that need to hear this.  You can change your mind and change your thoughts.

Be careful what you think because your thoughts run your life

Proverbs 4:23

Chapter 6, Page 26, Book 16

Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!

 Bob Marley

June 26th - Signs on The Road of Life

In Driver’s Education we learn to read street signs. We know that the Stop sign means we cease moving, but then at some point we have to move forward. Approaching a stop sign, we essentially have three choices: go straight ahead, turn right, or turn left. We have to make a choice, and whatever it is, we’re moving on from the point where we are currently.

Street signs are erected to give instruction and provide information to road users. They also highlight danger and priority in traffic.

There are many signs that we can read to make sense of any life situation at any moment. Signs are everywhere.   We need some road signs to help us make sure we are headed in the right direction.

For instance the Keep Right Sign stands for honesty and integrity.  If you are heading down a path and you are worried what others might think if they ever found out, you’re probably heading in the wrong direction. You have to stay on the right side of the road. We often choose the good and lose out on the best. This road sign does not ask what is good to do; there are lots of good things we can do.

This sign helps point us in the direction of what is best!

The road to success is always under construction.

Steve Maraboli

The Under Construction sign is there to build you up not tear you down.  It says we are under construction.  God isn’t finished with us yet!

Taking heed of signs is a vital skill to have. We cannot go through life oblivious to what is happening around us. 

Remember:

Problems are not stop signs, they are guidelines.

 Robert H. Schuller

Chapter 6, Page 25, Book 16

What can anyone give you that is greater than this precious little instant known as 'now'?

Author Unknown

June 25 - now is the time

We can go through our whole lives worrying about our future happiness,
and totally miss where true peace lives--right here, right now.

Peter Russell

Now is the time to go on an adventure. It doesn’t have to be traveling around the world; just something that makes your heart sing.

Now is the moment to be grateful and step outside and listen to the birds chirping.

Now is the time to let go of fear and allow ourselves to be free.

NOW is the time to Live, Laugh and Love! 

It's not what if, it's what now. 

Author Unknown

Life never simply stops to give any individual that perfect moment to make a move or do something daring.

Remember:  Every moment is the right moment to work on becoming the person you want to be.

If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven't done much today. 

Author Unknown

Chapter 6, Page 24, Book 16

 All the so called secrets of success will not work unless you do. 

Author Unknown 

June 24th - the secret

 Gratitude is merely the secret hope of further favors. 

François de La Rochefoucauld

The secret to being grateful is no secret. You choose to be grateful. Then you do it again and again. If you forget, begin again.

We can actively look for the good in everything and everyone, even ourselves; it’s just a matter of perception!  It’s about choosing to be grateful. Or not. Bad things do happen, but we can choose how we want to look at them. When life gives you every reason to be negative, think of one good reason to be positive.  There’s always something to be grateful for.

The greatest secret to happiness and peace is letting every life situation be what it is, instead of what you think it should be, and then making the very best of it.  

Here in my part of the world we have a lovely park system and today's pictures are just a few of the ones I took yesterday on a visit to one not so very far away.  I'm thankful for a day of one beautiful sight after another.

Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force. 

Tom Blandi

Have an attitude of gratitude.  Sometimes we have to look really hard to find something for which to be thankful, but it’s worth the effort. It’s better for your nervous system, for those around you, for relationships and generally for life! Choose to smile today by taking life moment by moment, complaining very little, and being thankful for the little things that mean a lot.

Every day  focus on exactly what you have, not what you haven’t.  Focusing on gratitude consciously on a regular basis can help rewire our brain. With gratitude, everything looks good!

Gratitude is a great way to start and finish the day!

What we call the secret of happiness is no more a secret than our willingness to choose life. 

Leo Buscaglia

Chapter 6, Page 23, Book 16

SLOW DOWN

Have you ever watched kids on a merry go round,
or listened to rain slapping the ground?

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight,
or gazed at the sun fading into the night?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly,
when you ask "How are you?", do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed,
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

Ever told your child, we'll do it tomorrow,
and in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch, let a friendship die,
'cause you never had time to call and say hi?

You better slow down, don't dance so fast,
time is short, the music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,
you miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,
it's like an unopened gift thrown away.

Life isn't a race, so take it slower,
hear the music before your song is over.

Author Unknown

June 23rd - getting off the merry go round

When you're on a merry go round, you miss a lot of the scenery.

 Neil Diamond

There are times that we find ourselves going round and round in circles, getting no where fast.  As hard as we try, there are no answers.  Sometimes finding the answer is as easy as taking a break and stepping back from the situation.  

 It’s only when you stop and get off the merry go round of daily life that your mind and body can once again get back into sync.  Your life will not stop reeling out of control until you stop allowing it. Stop. Be Still. Allow yourself to focus without distractions. 

It’s amazing what you see when you slow down, stop, and … LOOK UP!

Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Chapter 6, Page 22, Book 16

Judge Gently


Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps
Or stumbles along the road.
Unless you have worn the shoes he wears
Or struggled beneath his load.

There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt
Though hidden away from view.
Or the burden he bears placed on your back
Might cause you to stumble too.

Dont sneer at the man who's down today
Unless you have felt the blow
That caused his fall or felt the shame
That only the fallen know.

You may be strong but still the blows
That was his if dealt to you
In the self same way, at the self same time
Might cause you to stagger too.

Dont be too harsh with the man that sins
Or pelt him with word or stone
Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -
That you have no sins of your own.

For you know, perhaps,
If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you
As it did to him when he went astray
It might cause you to falter too.


Author Unknown 

June 22nd - Look in the Mirror Before Judging Others

When looking for faults use a mirror, not a telescope 

Author Unknown

Despite our best efforts, we all judge others. But before we judge others we need to take a look in the mirror, to look at yourself as you are.  We are all human and none of us is perfect.  Time spent judging others mistakes is time not learning from your own,

Sometimes it is hard to remember that it is for us to love, to understand, to pray for others  and to talk kindly to others so that they may learn from their mistakes when we see things that are not good. 

Don't wait for the Last Judgment. It takes place every day.

 Albert Camus

We need to remember that we can’t help others from a place of judgment.  It’s only when you let go of the judgment that has arisen, and come to a place of acceptance and curiosity and empathy, can you really help. Whatever measure you use in judging others, it will be used to measure how you are judged.

Good judgment comes from experience. And where does experience come from? Experience comes from bad judgment. 

Mark Twain

Chapter 6, Page 21, Book 16

Maybe today is not 

One of your favorites, but 

Never forget that every 

Day you wake up is an 

Amazing gift and it’s up to 

You to make it count. 

Author Unknown 

June 21st - Every day is my favorite day!

Don’t count every hour in the day, make every hour in the day count. 

Author Unknown

It’s really up to us to choose those things that make each day count. We each have different things that are important to us, and engaging in those things we value the most will bring us more joy and happiness. When we choose to live a life we love, we will find ourselves in love with the life we’re living.

Keep positive. Your outlook should be positive and exciting if you want to live a life buoyed by happiness. Think about what can be done instead of dwelling on the what ifs. A positive outlook truly can determine life or death, success or failure, happiness or despair

Live with purpose. Purpose is what keeps us moving forward in life, engaging our very souls with passion. Passion is so important to living a fulfilling life. Make your purpose one that forever changes the lives around you, making the world a better place

Remember that touch can break through barriers and has proven benefits for the mind, body and spirit. The power of touch engages us with those around us, connects us to the world.

Stop and take a look at all the beauty that surrounds you.

Focus on what you can control not what you can’t. 

Show love throughout your day with a hug, a smile, or a warm touch..  Its important to say I love you, but the actions are what really tug at our hearts.

Time stops for no one so make every day count!

Chapter 6, Page 20, Book 16

Both abundance and lack exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend... when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that's present -- love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature and personal pursuits that bring us pleasure -- the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience Heaven on earth.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

June 20th - Prioritizing Priorities 

When we stop worrying about unimportant matters, we can devote so much more of ourselves to what is truly important.

Strange but true is the fact that it is only when we let the little stuff go that we discover that the big stuff is not really so devastating after all.  Needless aggravation is seldom worth the cost it exacts.

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities. 

Stephen Covey

What truly matters in my life is my faith, family and friends.  I think that if you have these 3 things in your life,  you live a life that matters.  Life is short, focus on what matters and let go of what doesn’t.

What really matters is what belongs to your values and allows you to build something meaningful for you; so, tomorrow, you can turn and look at your past and say, all I have done had a meaning, instead of finding nothing behind you.

Remember:  If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies with in us. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Focusing on what truly matters, truly matters.

Chapter 6, Page 19, Book 16

My children with their Dad when they were all very young and still all at home

Mender of toys, leader of boys
Changer of fuses, kisser of bruises,
Bless him, dear Lord.
Mover of couches, soother of ouches,
Pounder of nails, teller of tales,
Reward him, O Lord.
Hanger of screens, counselor of teens,
Fixer of bikes, chastiser of tykes,
Help him, O Lord.
Raker of leaves, cleaner of eaves,
Dryer of dishes, fulfiller of wishes ...
Bless him, O Lord.

Jo Ann Heidbreder

June 19 - Happy Fathers Day

The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.

Henry Ward Beecher

I think my children had the best father ever and I think they would all agree.  Thankfully my sons are very good fathers and I think that is because their dad taught them well.

We all owe our lives to our Dads.  We would’t be here at all without them.  Whether we had a good one or a bad one today we say Thank You Dad.  

The greatest gift I ever had
Came from God; I call him Dad!

Author Unknown

Chapter 6, Page 18, Book 16

Live every moment, laugh every day, love beyond words. 

June 18 - Live the moments

Whether it's the best of times or the worst of times, it's the only time we've got.

Art Buchwald

We need to be reminded that life’s too short to spend everyday doing work you hate. Life’s too short to hold grudges against people we love. Life’s too short not to see the wonders of the world. Life’s too short to not live life to the fullest.

In each moment we should make an attempt to make the best out of it, whether it be a situation that is already positive, or whether it be a situation that we need to help spin in a positive light. Live every moment, and remember that eventually the future will be the present.  Take time out to laugh each day, laughter is not only food for the soul, but it also helps to heal the soul in parts it may be broken. 

And Love...Love with everything inside of you. Love because love is the center of life. Our souls are filled with love, so be sure to thoroughly love whatever may be in our hearts. Love the people around you. Love your friends. Love your enemies. Love the memories you are able to make. Most of all make sure you will love the legacy you leave behind on earth.

Happiness, not in another place but this place...not for another hour, but this hour.

Walt Whitman

Chapter 6, Page 17, Book 16

Just breathing and smiling can make us very happy, because when we breathe consciously we recover ourselves completely and encounter life in the present moment. 

Thich Nhat Hanh

June 17 - help is just a breath away

Fear less, hope more; eat less, chew more; whine less breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours. 

Swedish Proverb

When you feel like your lid is about to blow, take a long, deep breath.  Deep breathing releases tension, calms down our fight or flight reactions, and allows us to quiet our anxious nerves and choose more considerate and constructive responses.

Inhale.  Exhale.  A moment of silence in a moment of anger, can save you from a hundred moments of regret.  Truth be told, you are often most powerful and influential in an argument when you are most silent.  Others never expect silence. 

 Deep breathing is not just relaxing; it's also been scientifically proven to affect the heart, the brain, digestion,  and the immune system. It’s something we all can do and cost nothing, but has long lasting effects.

When you breathe deeply, you are in effect telling your brain to relax, and your brain in turn tells your body to take a chill pill. As a result, increased heart rate, high blood pressure and heavy breathing all diminish with deep breathing.

Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure. 

Oprah Winfrey

Chapter 6, Page 16, Book 16

There is no difficulty that enough love will not conquer, no disease that enough love will not heal, no door that enough love will not bridge, no wall that enough love will not throw down, no sin that enough love will not redeem... It makes no difference how deeply seated may be the trouble, how hopeless the outlook, how muddled the tangle, how great the mistake. A sufficient realization of love will dissolve it all. If only you could love enough, you could be the happiest and most powerful being in the world…

Emmet Fox

June 16 - Love is the language everybody understands.

One can live
magnificently
in this world
if one knows how to work
and how to love.

Leo Tolstoy

Love makes people willing to put even the most coveted things at stake. Love unifies through the only commonality needed to understand one another.

Love creates an inner warmth and willingness to be loving and kind to others and makes every one of life’s hardships and tragedies seem worth it.

Love provides a sense of purpose. It compels us so deeply you’d risk or give your life.

Love makes the coy outspoken and the outgoing coy and reforms the jaded and hopeless.

Love puts people in touch with their true selves. and accepts without condition.

Love embraces what is, and people as they are. It is unwavering with compassion and forgiveness.

Love is willing to let go if need be and connects people of all races and creeds.

Love unites countries and peoples otherwise wartorn and separate and it uncovers what’s most true.

Love makes people completely reform their ideas of what is attractive.

Love can provide convincing evidence of a higher being or at least of the concept of fate.

It closes personal distance and takes down otherwise unbreakable walls.

Love keeps people coming back to the thing that either has or had the potential to destroy them.

Love seems to change people, but really just unveils their true selves.

Love inspires and unfolds.

Love makes way for peace: sometimes with oneself, sometimes with others, but most often, with all the uncertainties that come with life.

If you have it [love], you don't need to have anything else.
If you don't have it, it doesn't matter much what else you have.

Sir James M. Barrie

Love can make you do things that you never thought possible.  Love saves. Love rescues. Love helps. Great things can always happen when there's love.

All, everything that I understand, I understand only because I love.

Leo Tolstoy

Chapter 6, Page 15, Book 16

Motivation gets you going and habit get you there. Make motivation a habit and you will get thee more quickly and have more fun on the trip.

Zig Ziglar 

June 15th - keep it up

I’ve learned that we need to positively recharge our mindset on a regular basis in order to keep motivated.  There have been too many days in my life that when push comes to shove, my motivation has dwindled and needs to be recharged. Somehow we get off track and find it hard to get back on track.  We get discouraged and stressed know that there is much to do and little will to do it.

We need to remember that the most powerful weapon against stress and discouragement is our ability to choose one thought over another.   Motivation determines what you actually do every day.  And attitude determines how well you ultimately do it.  The truth is that you will get what you expect. Expect something great to happen for you every day and it will.

An infectious, positive attitude can shift your entire life.

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

Jim Ryun

Chapter 6, Page 14, Book 16

Good morning,
Start your day with a happy smile,
All the time and while,
Have a wonderful day!

June 14th - Giving thanks for this day

Gratitude is our most direct line to God and the angels. If we take the time, no matter how crazy and troubled we feel, we can find something to be thankful for. The more we seek gratitude, the more reason the angels will give us for gratitude and joy to exist in our lives. 

Terry Lynn Taylor

I’m sitting here outside at the picnic table sipping my good cup of coffee at my youngest son’s house this morning as I’m visiting with them a few days.  It’s a beautiful morning and the birds are singing their little hearts out.  No time to do a regular post so just sharing a few nuggets this morning.

This is not just another day, this is yet another chance to make your dreams come true

A great day begins with a great attitude

So wear the right attitude for today

As it’s another awesome day!

Chapter 6, Page 13, Book 16

This Moment


I may never see tomorrow. There's no written guarantee, and things that happened are history. I cannot predict the future. I cannot change the past. I have just the present moment. I must treat it as my last.

I must use this moment wisely for it soon will pass away, and be lost forever as part of yesterday. I must exercise compassion, help the fallen to their feet. Be a friend unto the friendless, make an empty life complete.

The unkind things I do today may never be undone, and friendships that I fail to win may nevermore be won. I may not have another chance on bended knees to pray, and I thank God with a humble heart for giving me this day.


Author Unknown

June 13th - a chance to get it right

Sometimes life gives you a second chance, or even two! Not always, but sometimes. It's what you do with those second chances that counts.      

Dave Wilson

 It’s  great to know that when you wake up each morning you start your day with a fresh new chance to make of it whatever you will.  Life seems to be full of second chances, but which ones are worth the risk of the chance and which ones demand we change. 

Every moment gives you a new beginning and a new ending.  You get a second chance, every second.  You just have to take it and make the best of it.

Awake every morning and do your best.  Don’t stress over things you can’t change.  Live simply.  Love generously.  Speak truthfully.  Work diligently.  And even if you fall short, keep going.  Keep growing.

Ours is the challenge to discover the new within every day and then lift it above the old.  Don’t ever let the woes of yesterday drag you down.  Every new day, every new moment gives us another chance, a new beginning that does not involve any elements of your past.

We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance. 

Harrison Ford

Chapter 6, Page 12, Book 16

 Life has it's bad times, 

Put them in your past.

Life is chance,

 Make sure to take it.

 But most importantly -

 Life is what you make it.

Author Unknown

June 12th - Life is what you make it

If you don’t make the time to work on creating the life you want, you’re eventually going to be forced to spend a lot of time dealing with a life you don’t want.

Author Unknown

The power to succeed or fail is yours alone. You alone have the responsibility to shape your life.  In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is how you choose to react to it and what you make out of it. Life is all about leaning, adopting and converting all the struggles that we experience into something positive.

There are three kinds of people in this world: people who make it happen, people who watch what happens, and people who wonder what happened.

Tommy Lasorda

What you think, what you believe, how you react, and how you feel, is up to YOU. You decide how to live your life. Wh So why not make it a beautiful one full of happiness and joy.  It doesn’t matter where you live, whether you are rich or poor, have a lot or have a little.  Your life will be what you make it.

Life is what you make of it. You can make it easy on yourself or you can make it hard.

Deep Roy

Too often people blame the kind of life the have on their circumstances or the people in their lives.  Bad things can happen but we are only ones that get to choose how we will handle them.  Our attitudes toward just about anything is what makes a difference.

The value of life is not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them; a man may live long yet very little.

Michel de Montaigne.