Chapter 8, Page 31, Book 15

Will I see you in September

 Or lose you to a summer love …

August 31st - summer love

 We are fast approaching Labor Day which traditionally marks the end of the summer season.  I’ve been doing some reflecting, not the reflection of the sun on the water, but of the past months, as summer reaches its end.

 I always end up asking myself, How on earth is that over already? I loved all the days of summer even when the heat and humidity left me wilted and lifeless.  I took to heart the meaning of lazy days of summer and spent many hours just gazing at the flowers and the beauty of each day.

My summer was all around really great.  And, I hope yours was, too.  Please take time to reflect on its greatness.  And then it will be time for one of everyone’s favorite seasons, fall…

Have a good time but remember. 

There is danger in the summer moon above…

Chapter 8, Page 30, Book 15

Peace is not something you wish for. It's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.     

Robert Fulghum

August 30th- love brings peace, that’s what it is meant to do

Outer circumstances do not bring me peace and satisfaction. Love does.  Love brings serenity to the soul, a feeling of joyful contentment.  The peace that your heart and soul rests into when you just think about it. 

Peace is a way of life, not a place you strive to reach. Peace is found through love, love of self, love of others.  Peace and selfishness do not coexist very well at all.   Love unites us, despite all of our differences.

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. 

Mother Teresa

What brings order in the world is to love and let love do what it will.  One word, one action, or one thought can reduce another person's suffering and bring him or her joy.  One word can give comfort and confidence, destroy doubt, help someone avoid a mistake, reconcile a conflict, or open the door to liberation.  One action can save a person's life or help him or her take advantage of a rare opportunity. 

A very wise person once said that peace begins with a smile. Smile five times a day at someone you don't really want to smile at; do it for peace

Better than a thousand hollow words, is one word that brings peace.

L O V E 

Chapter 8, Page 29, Book 15

Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity.

Henri Nouwen

August 29th - be amazed, be surprised, be love

There is no surprise more magical than the surprise of being loved: It is God's finger on man's shoulder.

Charles Morgan

Amazement is instant stress relief. It also opens the heart.  Opportunities for amazement are all around us.  Look around you.  You’ll be amazed and often surprised at what you see.

It’s amazing to me that people love me, amazing that people forgive each other and get up again after they fail and start all over.

The picture above shows the look of amazement on one of my sons faces when his wife told him they were expecting their 6th child.  That was a little over 9 months ago and I’m now a proud grand’ma’ for the 22nd time. The picture below shows our Little Darling, born on August 12th.  

I too was surprised, and very pleasantly amazed .

Chapter 8, Page 28, Book 15

And the turtles, of course...all the turtles are free, as turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.

 Dr. Seuss

A turtle carries its home on its back, as humans we carry our home in our heart.

August 28th - Home is where the heart is

It's better to be a Turtle who walks patiently and enjoys every step of the way, Rather than to be a Rabbit who runs fast but missing every details in life.

Author Unknown

To some, home is merely a place where basic needs are addressed. To others, home is the foundation from which they draw their strength and tranquility. These definitions of home imply somewhere we can be ourselves and are totally accepted.

Home is where the heart is and can be the locale you live in, a community you once lived in, or the country where you plan to live someday. Or home can be a feeling you carry inside yourself, wherever you are. To carry your home with you, you need only a strong foundation. 

Take a walk with a turtle. And behold the world in pause.

Bruce Feiler

Turtles remind us that it is ok to go home. By taking their homes with them wherever they go, turtles remind us to remember our roots while still welcoming new places and phases in life 

Watch the turtle. He only moves forward by sticking his neck out. 

Lou Gerstner

They teach us to appreciate life's simple, true necessities: shelter, food, drink and most importantly, faith. The turtle's slow gait requires the animal to have faith that it will eventually get where it is going and that its needs will be satisfied along the way.

Turtles also remind us to slow down and appreciate life, and to slow the pace of our busy lives and remain persistent in the long race. 

Try to be like the turtle -- at ease in your own shell 

Bill Copeland

Chapter 8, Page 27, Book 15

There is only one happiness in this life, to love and be loved.

George Sand

August 27th - It is good to be loved

There are moments in life when we find ourselves only loving those who love us and only doing nice things for those who do nice things for us.  We say we love summer, but that is only until it gets really hot and then we long for fall.  Fall comes and people start to plan for the holidays and dream of a white Christmas.

But I think love is constant and committed, it doesn’t fade when people forget to do those nice things, or when cold winter winds blow.

Love seeks one thing only: the good of the one loved. It leaves all the other secondary effects to take care of themselves. Love, therefore, is its own reward.

Thomas Merton

Chapter 8, Page 26, Book 15

Blessings


Forget about the days
when it's been cloudy,
but don't forget your
hours in the sun.

Forget about the times
you've been defeated,
but don't forget the
victories you've won.

Forget about the mistakes
that you can't change now,
but don't forget the lessons.

Forget about the misfortunes
you've encountered,
but don't forget the
times your luck has turned.

Forget about the days
when you've been lonely,
but don't forget the friendly
smiles you've seen....

Forget about the plans
that didn't seem
to work out right,
but don't forget to
always have a dream.


Author Unknown 

August 26th - Lessons from the heart

What most people need to learn in life is how to love people and use things, instead of using people and loving things. 

Unknown

Life's biggest lessons aren't learned all at once. They are taught and learned time and time again over years and years. Lessons of the heart are strange. They’re really fragile and hard to explain, but here are just a few lessons that real love teaches us.

The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

 Eden Ahbez

Love means letting go of expectations.  True love has no expectations. It simply loves as is.  Love forgives and allows other people’s actions to be their journey. Love doesn’t take things personally

 Life lesson from the nursery: Broken crayons can still color. 

Author Unknown 

Love allows people their freedom. It doesn’t hold tightly and crush their wings in attempt to keep them. True love doesn’t want to possess. It is willing to set you free if you want to be.  Love is the absence of fear.

Just like the seasons there are reasons for the path we take, there are no mistakes, just lessons to be learned.

Barbara Streisand

Love is an action, not just a feeling. Show the person you love them. Don’t just assume they know.  Love is unconditional. True love really does love without trying to change the other person.

Love teaches us to care for one another, because that's the only way that we can make it in life

Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter 8, Page 25, Book 15

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. 

 Martin Luther King Jr.

August 25th- a sticky subject

Love and happiness remind me of sticky peanut butter. When you spread them around, you can't help but end up getting some on yourself!

Marcia Jordan

Kindness is an expression of love and is something we all have.

 And remember to be kind toward yourself too.  You can’t give what you don’t have.  So go ahead and do the things you love, dance and sing all you want. Just enjoy. Then go and spread some love, joy and happiness around you.

Smiling is is the best method ever to make your own day and spread happiness around to others. Don’t wait to be happy,  think of something good in your life, smile, and see what happens.

 Spread love and enjoy being loved back!

 I’ve come to learn that we are here to be LOVE and spread love and kindness through even the smallest gestures we make, because I know that the more we share, the more love and gratitude will be shown to us and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own home. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.

Mother Teresa

Chapter 8, Page 24, Book 15

My Cup Has Overflowed

I've never made a fortune, and it's probably too late now.
But I don't worry about that much, I'm happy anyhow
And as I go along life's way,
I'm reaping better than I sowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

Haven't got a lot of riches,
and sometimes the going's tough
But I've got loving ones all around me,
and that makes me rich enough.
I thank God for his blessings,
and the mercies He's bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

I remember times when things went wrong,
My faith wore somewhat thin.
But all at once the dark clouds broke,
and the sun peeped through again.
So Lord, help me not to gripe,
about the tough rows I have hoed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

If God gives me strength and courage,
When the way grows steep and rough.
I'll not ask for other blessings,
I'm already blessed enough.


And may I never be too busy,
to help others bear their loads.
Then I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
Cause my cup has overflowed.

John Paul Moore

August 24th - overflowing with love

To keep love brimming in the loving cup, when you're wrong admit it and when you're right shut up!

Ogden Nash

Brimming : To be full to the brim, often to overflowing

Sad but true. too often we focus too much on the cup and not what’s inside. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we have until you stop comparing  ourself to others. Life is not about what we have, but rather the life that we create with what we have been given.

Most days here my cup is overflowing, my cup of blessings that is.  A cup is a rich symbol of life, with it emptiness and fullness, its brokenness and flaws, and all of its blessings.  My cup overflows with joy!

Life is like a cup of Tea, it's all in how you make it!

Chapter 8, Page 23, Book 15

Don’t worry, Be happy!

August 23rd - forget your problems and enjoy life today

Never let a problem to be solved become more important than the person to be loved.

Barbara Johnson

Sometimes we get so lost in feeling stressed and overwhelmed, we forget about what we really do want to feel and experience.   We forget that the sun always shines after a rainy day.

Remember:

You don’t have to do all that to prove your worth.

You don’t have to try so hard.

You don’t have to wear yourself out worrying what everyone will think.

Really.

If we’re going to be overwhelmed today, let’s be overwhelmed by how much grace and love we’re truly given.  God is way bigger than any problem you'll ever have

The meaning of life. The wasted years of life. The poor choices of life. God answers the mess of life with one word: 'grace.'

Max Lucado

Chapter 8, Page 22, Book 15

Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies. 

Erich Fromm

August 22nd - Joy is what makes life beautiful. 

Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are. 

Marianne Williamson

When life brings complications, it helps to remember that happiness is simple.  Discover your joy and share it with others!

We need to learn to watch more carefully, listen more closely, feel more deeply, understand more fully. To watch with both our eyes and ears. Use all the senses that we have.  Listen with both our ears and your heart.  Feel others pain and joy with compassion and care.  To do a good deed and help someone else find joy.

We should listen to each other and learn from each other. We don’t need to compromise our beliefs, but we do need to be respectful listeners and learners.

Joy doesn't simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.

Henri Nouwen.

True joy, though, emerges independent of life circumstances. It is the willingness to find contentment with things as they are. Everything around us has a wonderful side, and we just need to look at that to realize how blessed we are.

Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. 

Hugh Sidey 

Chapter 8, Page 21, Book 15

Life Is A Journey

Life is a journey through many terrain
From gardens of pleasure to deserts of pain
From an ocean of love to a jungle of hate
From mountains of glory to canyons of fate


There's a highway for joy and a highway for sorrow
A road for today and a road for tomorrow
So choose your path wisely and walk with care
If you follow your heart, you'll find your way there


I've been to the garden and planted seeds there
I've been to the desert and felt the despair
I've swam in the ocean and drank of it's wine


I climbed up the mountain to touch the sky
I went to the canyon and started to cry
I've traveled both highways,
 Both today and tomorrow
I've basked in the joy and wallowed in sorrow


My path has been chosen and
I've walked it with care
 I followed my heart and I'm on my way there
So I'll just keep walking till I find what I'm after
To mountains and oceans and
Gardens of laughter.

Author Unknown 

August 21st -Things are never as bad as they seem

If we take the time to look around us, even in the dark, we’ll realize that there are more good things than bad.

More reasons to smile than to frown. More reasons to feel hopeful than to feel hopeless. More reasons to feel grateful than hateful.

Joy is a beautiful, wonderful, completely euphoric feeling. It’s more than worth the few minutes it takes to round up your blessings and find reasons to smile.

The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. 

Author Unknown

Chapter 8, Page 20, Book 15

The only real security is not in owning or possessing, not in demanding or expecting, not in hoping, even. Security in a relationship lies neither in looking back to what it was, nor forward to what it might be, but living in the present and accepting it as it is now…

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

August 20th - are you safe?

Nothing can bring a real sense of security into the home except true love.

Billy Graham

 Everyone needs security because we need to know we can't mess up the love we have.  That is what unconditional love gives us…security.

 Security is something that is probably upmost in a lot of peoples minds these days.  We can do a lot of things to make ourselves feel secure, but without love in our hearts, it’s probably not going to happen.

I’ve learned that family life gives you security when you have that kind of unconditional love and I know that I am safe in our Father’s Hands.  There is no greater Love than His.  

Remember:

Among the things you can give and still keep are your word, a smile, and a grateful heart.

Zig Ziglar 

Chapter 8, Page 19, Book 15

 Love In Your Heart And Some Chocolate In Your Hand

August 19th - Sharing Laughter, Tears, and Chocolate

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt.

Charles M. Schulz

One thing I know, maybe two, is that if you have good day, a bar of chocolate can only up the joy levels. And, on the other hand, if you happen to be having a bad day, chocolate is always on hand to cheer you up.

If you have to eat your words, things will go better if the wronged party gets to eat some chocolate while you grovel. Chocolate is proven to release endorphins that make you happy.

Friends are the chocolate chips of life

Friends are one of the ways God takes care of us. We need all the things friendship entails from other human contact such as encouragement, companionship, love, honesty, loyalty, understanding, and so many more things friendship offers.

Seven days without CHOCOLATE makes one weak!

Happiness is life served up with a scoop of acceptance, a topping of tolerance and sprinkles of hope, although chocolate sprinkles also work. 

Robert Brault

Chapter 8, Page 18, Book 15

You can find something truly important in an ordinary minute.

 Mitch Albom

August 18th - loving the ordinary

Love doesn't always have to be earth shattering. Sometimes the ordinary love is the best kind.  In life, we all too often tend to get caught up with the chaos and mayhem of everyday life, that we often forget to slow down and just enjoy the every day moments of life that are so special but may quickly pass us by.

It's the ordinary things in life that make living extra ordinary. It's our job not to pass them by.

One thing I’ve learned is that you will not lack opportunities, in the small and ordinary things around you, The most beautiful things in life are the ordinary ones: family, friendship, laughter.  When we take the time to slow down, pause and be conscious of the miracle that is life, we really have to search no further for happiness or for anything more. The ordinary is sacred.

We love well by loving consistently and loving in the ordinary things.

Chapter 8, Page 17, Book 15

Forgiveness is choosing to love. 

Mohandas K. Gandhi

August 17th - Love takes a different view

 Anyone can love a rose,but it takes a lot to love a leaf . It’s ordinary to love the beautiful, but it’s beautiful to love the ordinary .

 No person is perfect and when you truly love another, you accept them for their flaws, both the beautiful ones and the terrible ones.

We need to to consider that if we need to be forgiving someone, we must have been blaming them for something. We must have anger, resentment, blame, even hatred going on in order to feel the need to forgive. 

Where there is Faith
There is Love.
Where there is Love
There is Peace.
Where there is Peace
There is God
Where there is God
There is no Need.

Hungarian Home Blessing

If we can fill our souls with love, rather than anger, things will change in our life. None of us needs revenge, but we all need love and it is all we really have to give away. If we are loving others there is no need to forgive these things because you sense no wrongdoing.

Where there is love, there should be no need for forgiveness.

Chapter 8, Page 16, Book 15

Love is mysterious. Love is tragic. Love is painful. Love is magical. Love is worth it. but most of all... Love may have other plans

August 16th - plan to stay in love

Loving one another is not a one time event.  People fall in love in mysterious ways. And maybe it's all part of a plan

Falling in love only requires a pulse. Staying in love? That requires a plan. If you don’t have direction, you have nothing to aim for. 

  The unpredictability of life is not always so thrilling, however. We devise and strategize. We make plans, projections, and proposals about what we would like to see happen in life, but often they are little more than our best guess. We have no idea what a year, a month, a week, or even a day might bring.

I do realize that we can make all the plans we want, but often the good Lord has other plans for our lives, but we cannot just do nothing.  We need to nurture and take care of what and who we love.

Love doesn’t pay the bills, but a little planning will make sure that you can.

We can plan away, and need to hold those plans with open hands and a heart ready to wait. If we are more focused on planning than living out the plan, we won’t succeed.

Success
by Ralph Waldo Emerson

To laugh often and much;
To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children;
To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you lived.
This is to have succeeded.

Chapter 8, Page 15, Book 15

Effort matters in everything, love included.  Learning to love is purposeful work.

Michael Levine

August 15th - love has a purpose

The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves.

Helen Keller

Any of us can carry the burdens of just one day, it is when we willfully add the burdens of Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down.  It isn’t the experience of Today that drives us mad.  It is the remorse for something that happened Yesterday; the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.  Yesterday and Tomorrow are God’s.  Leave them with him!

 We were never intended to carry heavy burdens.  And when you try to carry them all day long, you can’t think of anything else, you can’t get anything else done, you’re no good to anyone else, and then that burden you’re carrying starts to have drastic effects in other areas of your life, which eventually increases the burden you are carrying.  It’s a lose, lose situation.

Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together

Colossians 3:14

The best use of your life is to love.  Loving is a win win situation.  When we love, love is returned.  

What we give in love, comes back.  

A little more persistence, a little more effort, and what seemed hopeless failure may turn to glorious success.

Elbert Hubbard

Chapter 8, Page 14, Book 15

On the shores of Lake Erie 2015

The quality of your life is the quality of your relationships.

Anthony Robbins

August 14th - Quality time

The quality of your life is not based on the quantity of things you can stuff into it. The quality of your life comes from the love and attention and genuine joy you are able to give.

Ralph Marston

T I M E  spells love

Quality time is giving someone your undivided attention.  Time devoted exclusively to nurturing a cherished person or activity.

Tick Tock, the clock is always ticking.  Time goes and time comes but it never stops.  It’s up to each of us to make the most of every moment.  One thing we all have in common is the same amount of time each day. God has allotted twenty four hours to each one of us.

The fact is there will always be more to do than we can ever accomplish whether we are talking about needs, work, leisure, travel, or you name it. However we can all choose how we want to spend our time.  If we don’t spend our time wisely, some one else will spend it for us. 

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. 

Carl Sandburg

Chapter 8, Page 13, Book 15

Love is, above all, the gift of oneself. 

Jean Anouilh

August 13th - Love Means Giving Oneself Away. 

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have really lived are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love.

Henry Drummond

We all have love within in us, and we all have the ability to choose to give it away. A simple gift to give anyone is to be there with that person 100%. It’s when we give of ourselves, that we truly give.

You can give without loving, but you can never love without giving. 

Here’s the thing and it’s an old thing,  love is never love until we give it away.  If it just flows in without ever flowing out, it becomes stagnant and dies.   When we give love away, it is in the heart of another but it. is our heart as well.

Love is a circle, love is you and me. Love, once it is given, has no end, 

Chapter 8, Page 12, Book 15

Absolute Truths

The nicest thing about the future
is it always starts tomorrow.

Money will buy a fine dog
but only kindness will make him wag his tail.

If you don't have a sense of humor
then you probably don't have any sense at all.

Seatbelts are not as confining
as wheelchairs.

A good time to keep your mouth shut
is when you are in deep water.

Scratch a dog or cat and
you will have a permanent job.

There are no new sins,
the old ones just get more publicity.

There are worse things then getting a call for
a wrong number at 4 am,
it could be the right number.

No one ever says, 'It's only a game,'
when their team is winning.

I've reached the age when
happy hour is a nap.

Always be yourself because the people that matter
don't mind, and the ones that mind don't matter.

Be careful about reading the fine print,
there's no way you're going to like it.

Life isn't tied with a bow,
but it's still a gift.

August 12th - love remembers

It is a curious thought, but it is only when you see people looking ridiculous that you realize just how much you love them.

 Agatha Christie

One of the most amazing features God gave us is the gift of memory. A very practical gift, it helps us remember what we need to buy at the grocery store, where we last set down our reading glasses, Bible, car keys, phone, etc., and where our children are and where they ought to be right now.

Our memory affects our daily life in a lot of ways. If we have a bad memory most of the time it can bring extra stress to our daily life. Sometimes we seem to forget the simplest things ever, this can really frustrate anybody.  Our Memory is the back bone to all we think and do.

I think that is why it so important to grow good memories in our homes.  

It's great to reminisce about good memories of my past. It was enjoyable when it was today. So learning to enjoy today has two benefits: it gives me happiness right now, and it becomes a good memory later.

George Foreman

There’s almost nothing more rewarding in life than close relationships, be it with a spouse or loved one, friends, children, or our families. One of the things that all of the most cherished and satisfying relationships have in common is lasting memories.

We need to take time time to acknowledge joyful moments and celebrate successes and triumphs, no matter how small, be it your own or someone else’s. Joy can be contagious, and though it might take a little effort, taking part in celebratory occasions together often adds more meaning to relationships. 

 If you fill your home with people and laughter, you will be making memories all along the way. Filling your house with memories will quickly turn it from a mere dwelling into a home. 

Present mirth hath present laughter. What's to come is still unsure. 

William Shakespeare