The Fruit of the Spirit is....

Galatians 5:22

Credits A Great Impression

Kiss the love of my life good morning!

Source: piccsy.com via Virginia on Pinterest

10 Bible Verses About Humility

Scriptures on Being Humble

Being humble is an important aspect of the Christian faith. We rely on God for our strength and should give him all of the glory. Pride can be a sin that many Christians struggle with. Read through these ten Bible verses about humility slowly so they can sink in. Pray to God that he will keep you humble and ask for forgiveness for any prideful struggles you have had. Feel free to use these Bible verses for a devotional or Bible study on humbleness. Please add any other Bible Verses about humility to the comments of this article so this may be an even better resource to those that find it.

10 Bible Verses About Humility

Humility before Honor
Proverbs 15:33
The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

Grace is given to the Humble
1 Peter 5:5-6
You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,

God Opposes the Proud
James 4:6
But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."

Humbleness and Prayer
2 Chronicles 7:14
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Faith and Humbleness
Romans 12:3
For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.

Who do you love? What are you doing about it?

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Falling In Love Again

Dating Checklist: Questions to Ask Yourself Before Falling In Love Again

Insight Is 20/20

Exploring the pervasive, and unperceived, patterns that govern our lives

by Seth Meyers and Katie Gilbert

Men and women often focus on the wrong questions when choosing their partners.

Published on July 29, 2012 by Seth Meyers, Psy.D. in Insight Is 20/20

Good relationships start with good decisions, and evaluating your beliefs about relationships and love before you start a relationship is the most important thing you can do. You must be sure that your expectations are realistic in order to have a happy and functional long-term relationship, and I’m including a quick cheat-sheet below you can use to do a little self-exploration in the romance department. I pulled these questions from a checklist in my book, Overcome Relationship Repetition Syndrome, where I include three entire chapters to hands-on checklists and inventories about your love life. With each question, I also share my advice!

What are the three most important characteristics to look for in a partner?
Men and women have the hardest time with this issue, as they’re usually too focused on sex appeal and personality ‘sparks,’ and focusing too little on the factors that actually matter the most. Simply put, the most important characteristics are kindness, reliability, and emotional stability. If you’re lucky enough to be spend much of your life with someone who has those qualities, you are going to have years of happiness and peace ahead of you.

What is the primary purpose of a romantic relationship?
It took many years of studying psychology and working with clients to get to the bottom of this one. When we’re young, we believe that the purpose of a romantic relationship is to provide you with an ultimate family: first a partner, then kids. But the purpose of a romantic relationship isn’t about procreation, necessarily. Actually, the purpose of a romantic union is to provide support and bring out the best in each other, so that each individual has the nourishment and strength to go out in the world and reach the life goals that each individual has. Meanwhile, in bad relationships, the relationships actually drain both partners and hold them back from what they could otherwise be doing to advance themselves and to keep evolving as individuals.

We are Blessed.

We Are Blessed.



SaraHHouse365 | Family isn't always blood
SaraHHouse365 | Better Together

Springtime is the season for new beginnings.

SUBSCRIBE  |  FORWARD TO A FRIEND |  VIEW IN A BROWSER  |  EMAIL US |  704.333.1112 SUCCESS INFORMATION WITH A DEFINITE MAJOR AIM  APRIL 12, 2013  ISSUE 325

Dear Readers: Springtime is the season for new beginnings. The ground breaks through with life. Trees blossom, bulbs sprout, grass greens, blue skies linger, sunlight warms the earth, and the soft breeze touches our senses with a bit of nostalgia. Since time immemorial this ritual has prepared the earth’s residents to begin again. This “something” that awakens inside us, encourages renewal. Falling in love with life requires action not inertia. Getting outdoors and greeting the season head on with rake or spade in hand enables each one of us to feel as if we have made a contribution to the planet. In Indiana I anticipate the arrival of the pussy willows, the return of the robins, the scent of lilacs, the blossoming of the cherry trees, the sprouting of the peonies, and the smell the first time the grass is cut. And, I do not have to leave my home to experience any one of these. These are rituals of spring for me, and fill me with wonder. Rituals create much needed patterns in our lives. They reverence the good things. By creating rituals in our families and work environments, we honor the people that fill our lives. Celebrating birthdays, holidays, landmark dates, special one-time occurrences and honors, as well as the more mundane things such as the first robin of the season, unite us as a group. Begin today by thinking which days in the calendar are special to you and why. Ask someone about their special dates too. Next, share your dates and remember them when the day arrives – not just for yourself, but for the other person too. I love the greeting card quote that states: “Friends are angels who lift our feet when our own wings have trouble remembering how to fly.” Be an angel and lift someone’s spirits by remembering for them when they forget! They will never forget you because of it! Be Your Very Best Always, Judy Williamson

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SaraHHouse365 | It's Never Too Late...to find balance!
SaraHHouse365 | I go to nature...


Credits: Napoleon Hill Foundation email

10 Signs it’s Time to Let Go

10 Signs it’s Time to Let Go

Holding on is being brave, but letting go and moving on is often what makes us stronger and happier.
Here are ten signs it’s time to let go:

1. Someone expects you to be someone you’re not. – Don’t change who you are for anyone else. It’s wiser to lose someone over being who you are, than to keep them by being someone you’re not. Because it’s easier to mend a broken heart, than it is to piece together a shattered identity. It’s easier to fill an empty space in your life where someone else used to be, than it is to fill the empty space inside yourself where YOU used to be.
2. A person’s actions don’t match their words. – Everybody deserves somebody who helps them look forward to tomorrow. If someone has the opposite effect on you, because they are consistently inconsistent and their actions don’t match up with their words, it’s time to let them go. It’s always better to be alone than to be in bad company. True friendship is a promise made in the heart – silent, unwritten, unbreakable by distance, and unchangeable by time. Don’t listen to what people say; watch what they do. Your true friends will slowly reveal themselves over time.
3. You catch yourself forcing someone to love you. – Let us keep in mind that we can’t force anyone to love us. We shouldn’t beg someone to stay when they want to leave. That’s what love is all about – freedom. However, the end of love is not the end of life. It should be the beginning of an understanding that love sometimes leaves for a reason, but never leaves without a lesson. If someone truly loves you, they will never give you a reason to doubt it. Anyone can come into your life and say how much they love you, but it takes someone really special to stay in your life and prove how much they love you. Sometimes it takes awhile to find the right person, but the right person is always worth the wait. Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. An intimate relationship is based strictly on physical attraction. – Being beautiful is more than how many people you can get to look at you, or how others perceive you at a single glance. It’s about what you live for. It’s about what defines you. It’s about the depth of your heart, and what makes you unique. It’s about being who you are and living out your life honestly. It’s about those little quirks that make you, you. People who are only attracted to you because of your pretty face or nice body won’t stay by your side forever. But the people who can see how beautiful your heart is will never leave you.
5. Someone continuously breaks your trust. – Love means giving someone the chance to hurt you, but trusting them not to. When you completely trust a person, without any doubt, you’ll automatically get one of two results - a FRIEND for life or a LESSON for life. Either way there’s a positive outcome. Either you confirm the fact that this person cares about you, or you get the opportunity to weed them out of your life and make room for those who do. In the end you’ll discover who’s fake, who’s true, and who would risk it all for you. And trust me, some people will totally surprise you.
6. Someone continuously overlooks your worth. – Know your worth! When you give yourself to someone who doesn’t respect you, you surrender pieces of your soul that you’ll never get back. There comes a point when you have to let go and stop chasing some people. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll find a way to put you there. Sometimes you just need to let go and accept the fact that they don’t care for you the way you care for them. Let them leave your life quietly. Letting go is oftentimes easier than holding on. We think it’s too hard to let go, until we actually do. Then we ask ourselves, “Why didn’t I do this sooner?”
7. You are never given a chance to speak your mind. – Sometimes an argument saves a relationship, whereas silence breaks it. Speak up for your heart so that you won’t have regrets. Life is not about making others happy. Life is about being honest and sharing your happiness with others.
8. You are frequently forced to sacrifice your happiness. – If you allow people to make more withdrawals than deposits in your life, you will be out of balance and in the negative before you know it. Know when to close the account. It’s always better to be alone with dignity than in a relationship that constantly requires you to sacrifice your happiness and self-respect. Read Stumbling on Happiness.
9. You truly dislike your current situation, routine, job, etc. – It’s better to be a failure at something you love than to succeed at doing something you hate. Don’t let someone who gave up on their dreams talk you out of going after yours. The best thing you can do in life is follow your heart. Take risks. Don’t just make the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what might happen. If you do, nothing will ever happen. Chances must be taken, mistakes must be made, and lessons must be learned. It might be an uphill climb, but when you reach that mountaintop it will be worth every ounce of blood, sweat and tears you put into it.
10. You catch yourself obsessing over, and living in, the past. – Eventually you will overcome the heartache, and forget the reasons you cried, and who caused the pain. Eventually you will realize that the secret to happiness and freedom is not about control or revenge, but in letting things unfold naturally, and learning from your experiences over the course of time. After all, what matters most is not the first, but the final chapter of your life, which unveils the details of how well you wrote your story. So let go of the past, set yourself free, and open your mind to the possibility of new relationships and priceless experiences. Read The Power of Now.

And the one thing you should never let go of is hope. Remember what you deserve and keep pushing forward. Someday all the pieces will come together. Unimaginably good things will transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated. And you will look back at the times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself, “How did I get through all of that?”



Credits: Marc & Angel's 10 Signs it's time to let go article

SaraHHouse365 | Love makes requests...

25 Questions that Provoke Thought

25 Questions that Provoke Thought



If the question makes you think, it’s worth asking.

1. What is it like to wake up every morning and pretend that you aren’t dying?
2. Do you believe in the death penalty? What if someone murdered your mother in cold blood? What if someone murdered a stranger’s mother, but saved your life the month before?
3. If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?
4. Would you rather be rich and paralyzed from the waist down or poor and able bodied?
5. What’s the most expensive gift you have ever received? Is it the best gift you have ever received?

What would you regret not fully doing, being, or having...

 

 

Credits: Mark & Angel's 25 Beautifully Illustrated Thought-Provoking Questions Article

Top Song Picks for March 2013

Songs most frequently playing in the Aurora over the last 2 weeks:

1. Next to Me (Kendrick Lamar Remix)   |   Emeli Sande
*I love the regular version just as much!




2. Beyonce   |   Love on Top
Aw Beyonce! Now I know this song has been around for a couple years but it just came back up again and it's a must have when you're feeling like car dancing!






3. Hunter Hayes   |   Somebodys Heartbreak
And again, why do people love country music? Always a story in the lyrics or describing exactly how you feel. This young artist reminds me so much of the Rascal Flatts. His song "Wanted" is also a new favorite. (remember new to me is usually 14 months behind everybody else)




4. Labrinth feat. Emeli Sande   |   Beneath Your Beautiful
 Love this Emeli gal and stumbled upon this song on Youtube. Love it!




5. Wagon Wheel   |   Darius Rucker
A jukebox classic! I'm a huge fan of Darius Rucker + look whose featured on his music video - The infamous DUCK DYNASTY  gang! Nice touch!

10 Insanely Nice Things You Can Say to Anybody: #1

10 Insanely Nice Things You Can Say to Anybody

Columnist Leigh Newman weighs in on the tiny but enormously kind things you can say that may change a person's day—and (sometimes) even their way of looking at themselves.

By Leigh Newman

1: "Take your time. I'm not in a rush."

This one is great for the grocery store, the takeout burrito restaurant or anywhere else that involves really tired people trying their best, even as they fumble and flail. For example, the woman in front of you pays the cashier but then has to rifle through her overstuffed wallet to put away the change, then store the receipt, then mash the whole fat leather money accordion into her purse. She will usually complete this action with frantic fingers because she knows she's delaying the whole line; she knows everybody just wants to go home; and she knows she should not save old, mostly-used-up gift cards with 63 cents on them. Telling her to "Take your time. I'm not in rush" always sets off the same reaction: first, surprise (really? because everybody's in a rush...) and then a flash of sweet wide-open relief. You have just given somebody a three-minute holiday, not from the stress of life, but from the stress we put on ourselves.


Read more: http://www.oprah.com/relationships/Nice-Things-You-Can-Say-to-Anybody#ixzz2NIUbuGqY

The Click

101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma, which is living the result of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinion drown your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition, they somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs (101 Most Inspiring Quotes of All Time)

How do you feel about your life today? Are you living every day in exuberance? Do you love what you’re doing? Are you excited every single moment? Are you looking forward to what’s coming up next? Are you living your best life?

If your answer to any of the above is a no, maybe or not sure, that means you’re not living your life to the fullest. Which really shouldn’t be the case, because your life experience is up to you to create. Why settle for anything less than what you can get? You deserve nothing but the best. In the past years of my life, especially since after I pursued my passion in ’08, I’ve been living every day to the fullest, filled with joy, passion and rigor. It’s an amazing experience that I want you to experience that too.

This is a list of 101 timeless principles I use to live my best life, and I hope they’ll help you to do so too. As you live in alignment with them, you’ll find yourself becoming more conscious, more alive, and more importantly, experiencing life on a whole new level. Be sure to bookmark or even print out this page and refer to it daily to guide you to your best life.

Here are 101 ways to live your life to the fullest:

1. Live every day on a fresh new start. Don’t be held back by what happened yesterday, the day before, the week before, the year before, and so on.
   
2. Be true to who you are. Stop trying to please other people or be someone else. It’s better to be an original version of yourself than an exact duplicate of someone else.
3. Quit complaining. Don’t be like the howling dog, always howling and never doing anything. Stop complaining about your problems and work on them instead.
4. Be proactive. Stop waiting for others around you to do something and take action yourself instead.
5. Rather than think “what if”, think “next time”. Don’t think about things you can’t change (namely what has happened and thoughts of other people) or unhappy things because these are disempowering. Instead focus on the things you can action upon. That’s the most constructive thing you can do in any situation.
6. Focus on WHAT vs. How. Focus on WHAT you want first, before you think about HOW to do it. Anything is possible, as long as you set your mind, heart and soul to it.
7. Create your own opportunities. You can wait for opportunities to drop in life. Or, you can go out there and create your own opportunities. The latter is definite and much more empowering.
8. Live more consciously each day. Stop sleepwalking through life. Your life is something to be experienced, not coasted through.
9. Be committed to your growth. In the Map of Consciousness, there are 17 levels of consciousness – from Shame to Enlightenment. The higher level of consciousness you are in, the richer your life experience. Achieving higher consciousness comes from your commitment to growth.
10. Know your inner self. This means knowing who you are and what you represent. Be clear of your personal identity.
    
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11. Discover your life purpose. Set the mission statement for your life; one that will drive you to life your life to the fullest.
12. Live in alignment with your purpose. What can you start doing immediately that will let you live 100% in alignment with your purpose? How can you live true to your purpose within every context/situation/environment you are in, every second of the day?
13. Set your life commandments. Define your personal commandments to live your best life. What adages and principles do you want to follow in your life?
14. Discover your values. Values are the essence of what makes you, you. Read article #11: Discover Your Values in Personal Excellence Book (Volume 1) on the importance of values, my values and how you can create your own.
15. Hold yourself to the highest conduct. Every one of us have our own set of ethics, principles and moral codes. Live true to them every day. Also, live in full alignment with your purpose (#11), commandments (#13) and values (#14).
16. Design your ideal life. What is your ideal life? Design it. First, assess your life at the moment via the life wheel. Then, ask yourself what it takes to live a 10/10 life (in all 10 areas – career, health, love, social, etc…). What is the life that will make you the best person you can ever be? Set your BHAGs – big, hairy and audacious goals! There are no limits in life – only those you set for yourself!
17. Stop putting life on hold. Are you putting any parts of your life on hold? What is one area of your life you have been putting off/avoiding/denying? Uncover it and start working on it.
18. Create your life handbook. Your life handbook is your life-long personal manual to live your best life – from your mission statement, your values, your long-term goals, short-term goals, personal strengths, blind spots to address, plans, among others. Create your book first then build on from there.
19. Set your goals. After you design your ideal life, set your 5-year, 3-year and 1-year goals. The more specific your goals, the better! Read the 10 principles on how to get winning goals.
    
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20. Take action on your goals and dreams. Create an action plan with your strategy, plan and immediate next steps. ESPER: 7-part Goal Achievement series is a great tool to get you started.
21. Create your bucket list, i.e. things to do before you die. Then, get out to achieve them.
22. Don’t do things for the sake of doing them. Always evaluate what you’re doing and only do it if there is meaning behind them. Don’t be afraid to quit the things that don’t serve your path.
23. Do the things you love, because life is too precious to spend it doing anything else. If you don’t enjoy something, then don’t do it. Spend your time and energy on things that bring you fulfillment and happiness.
24. Discover your passion in life. What sets you on fire? Go out there (and explore inward) to know what you love to do.
25. Make your passion a full-fledged career. Then, start pursuing it. Stop working in a job you are passionless toward. Quit your job when you are ready to do it full-time.
26. Turn your passion into a huge success. Turn your passion into a multi-million dollar business. Better yet, make it a multi-billion dollar one.
27. Learn from criticism. Be open to criticism but don’t be affected by it. Criticism is meant to help you be a better person. Learn from it.
28. Be positive. Is the glass half empty or half full? How about neither? It’s actually all-full – the bottom half is water, the top half is air. It’s all a matter of perception. Take on empowering perceptions, not those that bind you. If you can see the positive sides of every thing, you’ll be able to live a much richer life than others. Purge unnecessary negativity from your life.
    
    
29. Don’t badmouth other people. If there’s anything you don’t like about someone, say it to him/her in the face – otherwise, don’t say it at all. It’s not nice to do that.
30. Be empathetic. If everyone only see life from his/her own perspective, we’ll forever be close-minded and insular. See things from others’ shoes.
31. Be a compassionate person. Show compassion and kindness to everyone around you
32. Develop 100% self-belief. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Remove your limiting beliefs and replace them with empowering ones (In Days 26-27 of Be a Better Me in 30 Days Program, you identify your limiting beliefs and replace them with empowering ones). If you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe in you?
33. Let go of unhappy past. This means past grievances, heartbreaks, sadness, disappointments, etc.
34. Forgive those who may have done you wrong in the past. “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and realize it was you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
35. Let go of attachments. Don’t fixate yourself with a certain status, fame, wealth or material possessions. These are impermanent and will ultimately disappear one day when you die. Focus on growing and living life to the fullest instead.
36. Let go of relationships that do not serve you. That means negative people, dishonest people, people who don’t respect you, people are overly critical and relationships that prevent you from growing.
37. Spend more time with people who enable you. Hang out with people who you compatible with, like-minded people, people who are positive, successful, strong achievers and positive for your growth. You are after all the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
    
    
38. Build genuine, authentic connections with people around you – strangers, friends, family, colleagues, business partners, customers/clients, etc. Spend more time to know them better and foster stronger connections.
39. Connect with an old friend. There is no end to the number of friends you can have. Reach out to people from the past.
40. Do a kind deed a day. What is something you can do today that will make the world a better place? Go and do it.
41. Help other people who are in need. Voluntarism is one outlet. You can also start with your friends and family.
42. Help people when they least expect it, without reason. You don’t need any reason to help others. Do it because you want to. Share the love with everyone.
43. Go dating (if you’re single).
    
44. Fall in love ♥
45. Review your life. Set a weekly review session to assess how you are doing for your goals and your life. Review your purpose once every 3-6 months too so you know you’re on the right path.
46. Overcome procrastination. Procrastination is a huge waste of your time (and your life). Get rid of it once and for all.
47. 30 minutes a day. Set aside at least 30 minutes every day to work on a quadrant 2 goal that, when you achieve it, will bring about the biggest source of fulfillment and happiness in your life
48. Get out there and make new friends – whether in your workplace, online, friends’ friends, social groups, etc. Read: 10 Tips To Make New Friends
49. Make deeper connections. Beyond making new friends, aim to make deeper connections out of them. Read: How To Have More Best Friends in Life
50. Be your advisor (from the future). Imagine you’re the future you, 5 years later. How would you advise yourself? Write it down. Now, apply them. Check out Future Prediction Exercise article in Personal Excellence Book (Volume 1), which teaches you to predict your future, then learn from it.
51. Write a letter to your future self. Actually, write 3 letters – for yourself in 1, 3 and 5 years. The longer the letters, the better. Envision how you’ll be like in the future. Make each letter a minimum 2 pages long. Now, seal them and put them in a safe place. Set it in your calendar so you’ll know to open them when it’s time. This will inspire you to work your hardest and achieve your maximum results in the time period.
    
    
52. Declutter. Start from your computer, then your table, your room, your bag/wallet, and your home. The more you throw the unwanted and old stuff away, the more room you’re creating for new things to enter.
53. Keep learning. There is something to learn from everything you see, hear and experience. This includes your mistakes and past misshaps (if any). Learn to interpret each event objectively. Focus on what you can learn from it so you can apply them moving forward.
54. Keep developing yourself. Equip yourself with a huge breadth of knowledge. Learn different skills, pick up different hobbies, study different fields.
55. Keep upgrading yourself. Equip yourself with a huge depth of knowledge. While you can usually only level up to 99 in video games, in real life you can level up to infinity. Go for further studies if need be. Develop your skills. Level up. Build your >10,000 hours in each skill.
56. Try new things. What’s something you’d normally not do? Get out of your comfort zone try something different. It can be something simple like taking a new bus route, trying a new food item, picking up a new hobby, or something bigger like studying a different field, picking a new skill, traveling to a country you’ll never visit, etc. You set your own limits.
57. Get yourself out there. This applies for everything. (a) Get out there geographically. Go out, travel and explore the world. Set sail into the sea. Go backpacking by yourself and visit as many countries as possible. Get on a road trip and visit the different places that come out. (B) Get out there situationally. Stop sticking to routines and comfort zones. Try something different. (c) Get out there in life. Stop watching TV and living vicariously through the TV characters. Go and live the life of your dreams.
58. Be the absolute best in what you do. Go for the #1 position in what you do. If you want to spend your time doing something, you might as well be the best in it. Strive for the best – you don’t deserve anything lesser than that.
59. Don’t settle. In the same lines as #58, don’t settle for less. Don’t settle for someone you don’t like as your partner. Don’t settle for a job you don’t like #25). Don’t settle for friends who make you feel like a lesser person (#37). Don’t settle for a weight you are unhappy with. Go for what you really want.
60. Stretch yourself. What are you doing now? How can you achieve more? Set bigger goals. Explore your limits and break them.
61. Embrace new ideas. Don’t mentally limit yourself; Let your mind be a breeding ground for new ideas. Read: 25 Brainstorming Techniques.
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62. Create your inspirational haven. Turn your room into a place you love. Do the same for your work desk. Get rid of things that make you unproductive. Surround it with things that inspire you and trigger you to action. Read more: How To Create An Inspiring Room
63. Behave as your ideal self will. All of us have an ideal vision of who we want to be. How is your ideal self like? How can you start to be that ideal self now?
64. Set your role models in life. With role models, you become much better than you can be by yourself. I personally am inspired by Tyra Banks (for her passion for helping women build their self-esteem and changing notions of beauty), Ivanka Trump (for her success, intellect and beauty), Donald Trump (for his success and drive in life), Oprah (for being who she is), Lady Gaga (for her talent and not being afraid to be different), and many more. Seeing them and what they do reminds me of what I can be and what I can do, so they drive me on to greater heights.
65. Get mentors and/or coaches. There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals. Not only will they drive you to achieve more for yourself, they’ll also share with you important advice which you can use to create even more success for yourself. Many of my clients approach me to coach them and the net result: they achieve significantly more progress and results in their life than if they had worked alone.
66. Uncover your blind spots. The more you uncover, the more you grow, the better you become.
67. Increase your consciousness. The more conscious you are, the more evolved you become.
68. Ask for feedback. As much as we try to uncover our blind spots(#66), there will be areas we cannot identify. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective. Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively. Day 17 of Be a Better Me in 30 Days Program: Get Feedback From Others is about getting feedback from others so as to uncover our blind spots.
69. Generate passive income. Create passive income streams so your income is not tied to the time you spend on your work. Of course you’ll still continue to work, but only because you want to and not because you have to.
70. Help others live their best lives. There is no better way to grow than to help others grow. Ultimately, the world is one. We are all in this together.
71. Get married / Start your family / Have kids!
72. Improve the world. There are many things in the world that need your attention and help. Poverty. Disaster recovery. Illiteracy. Children in need. Depleting rainforests. Animal rescue. Endangered species. How can you do your part?
    
    
73. Spearhead a humanitarian cause/organization you are passionate about.
74. Give more value than you receive. There is so much unspeakable joy that comes from giving. And when you keep giving, you’ll find that you actually receive a lot more in return, in spades.
75. Be big picture focus. You can either set your eyes on the big things or get hung up by the nitty gritty details. The former will help you get a lot more out of life than the latter. Focus on the big rocks in life and put first things first (Quadrant 2 tasks). Practice the 80/20 rule – focus on the 20% things that give you the 80% fulfillment in life.
76. Be clear of your end objective. What is the end goal you seek? Is what you’re doing bringing you there? If not, put it aside. As long as you keep taking on things that meet your end goal, you’ll eventually reach there.
77. Go the 80/20 route. For every goal you have, there are different paths to achieve it. Pick out the 80/20 path, i.e. the most effective path that brings you there the fastest with least amount of effort.
78. Prioritize (80/20 actions). As you embark on the 80/20 path for your goals, focus on the important tasks and cut out the less important ones. That means do the 20% actions that give you the 80% results.
79. Live in the moment. Are your thoughts wandering around all the time? Calm your mind down. Be present. The only time you’re ever living is in this moment. Meditation helps to remove mental clutter.
80. Relish in the little moments. Snuggling under warm covers on a rainy day. Ice cream on a hot day. A kiss with your loved one. Being with your best friend. A walk by the park. The breeze on your face. Quiet, alone time. Watching the sun rise/set. Soak in all these little moments of life. They are what make up your life.
81. Take a break. Being the best also requires you to take breaks when needed. Make sure you rest when needed. Doing so lets you walk the longer mile ahead.
82. Stop wanting things a certain way. I wrote a 3-part series before on the downsides of perfectionism and how to overcome them. Be firm on your end goals (your objective goals) and your ideals, but let go of the fixation that things have to be a certain way. You’ll realize it’s by doing that that you achieve what you want.
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83. Focus on creation. Think about what you can bring to the world, and create that.
84. Don’t criticize or judge others. Respect others for who they are.
85. The only person you can change is yourself. Stop expecting others to behave in a certain way. Rather than demand that others around you change, focus on changing yourself. You’ll be happier and live a more fulfilling life this way.
86. Embrace gratitude. Be grateful for everything you have today, and everything you will get in the future.
87. Express gratitude. Let the people who’ve touched you know of your gratitude toward them. You’ll be surprised what a little act like this can do. If you don’t tell them, they’ll never know.
88. Let loose and have fun. Sing at the top of your lungs. Dance in the rain. Run barefoot and feel the ground underneath your feet. Release of your self-imposed shackles and be free :D.

Family isn't always blood...

14 Ways to Love Your Neighbors

14 Ways to Love Your Neighbors
A Discipleship Journal article by Stephen Sorenson

During the past several weeks, I've asked a number of people how they get to know their neighbors. Most of them say, "Well, that's a good question. I'm not very good at that." Then they launch into a grocery list of reasons why they haven't tried to meet their neighbors or why they've given up. I understand, because I wrestle with the same issues.

When I was growing up, it seemed as if my parents knew everybody in the neighborhood. They'd lived in the same house for years, and I played in empty lots with their friends' children. People trusted one another, often not locking their doors and not worrying about whether a neighbor was being too friendly toward their children. Even salespeople knew our names.

Today, much has changed in many towns and cities. There are few empty lots on which children can play. People lock their doors—sometimes with three or four locks—and pay a good deal of attention to their children's playmates, young and old alike. And salespeople know only our charge cards.

Add to this the transient quality of our society, job demands, family responsibilities, church activities, and all the attendant details of modern life, and it's not surprising that people don't know their neighbors.

However, Jesus said that we're to be the light of the world, and I believe this truth applies to our dealings with our neighbors as well. In fact, He explicitly told us to love our neighbors, to care about them in practical ways—a difficult task if we don't know their names.

As we learn, by God's grace, how to put others first and respond to their needs by His power, our lives will stand out. Our neighbors will know that we care and will be drawn toward us—and to Christ. Truly they will know we are Christians by our love.

Realizing that your neighbor situation may be quite different from mine, I'd like to share some ways I've met my neighbors. (Having a dog that barks early in the morning doesn't count.) There are probably hundreds of ways to meet neighbors, depending on our personalities, living conditions, interests, and so on. What's important is mustering the energy—and the courage—to try one or more of them.


1. Exchange simple greetings.
If you are consistently friendly when you meet people on the stairs, in the elevator, or during a neighborhood walk, eventually you'll have the opportunity to get to know them. We met a Pakistani woman on the stairs of our apartment complex once. Later, when her husband needed someone to read his dissertation, she remembered that we were editors and knocked on our door. When their young son cut his head open and needed stitches, she asked us to drive them to the hospital.

2. Pass along a compliment.
Solomon wrote, "How good is a timely word!" (Prov. 15:23). A cheerful word can still open doors to relationships, even in our impersonal society. For example, nearly every time I drove past a certain house down the road from us, I noticed that something had been improved. The trash had disappeared. A new picnic area had sprouted. The house was repainted. And so on.

One afternoon, as I returned from the park with my German Shepherd, I noticed a man and a woman standing in the front yard. I stopped my pickup truck and walked back to say hello.

The couple looked at my jeans and my powerful dog, and offered a tepid, unenthusiastic, "Hi." (Translation: "What are you doing here? What do you want? Do we know you?")

"I just wanted to tell you that I think you're doing a great job with this house," I said. "It's really looking good."

Immediately, their faces beamed. We talked for nearly twenty minutes, and I discovered they were Christians. In fact, they had read an earlier article I'd written for Discipleship Journal, and it had motivated them to think about becoming missionaries on an Indian reservation! As it turned out, they moved to a reservation a few months ago, but not before we had good times of sharing.

3. Welcome neighbors warmly.
In our semi-rural neighborhood, there are three easy ways to know that someone new has moved in: a moving van or collection of loaded pickup trucks; a once-vacant house that is now occupied; and/or a new child at the bus stop.

Study these signs and others that might apply to your neighborhood. When somebody new moves in, demonstrate some Christian hospitality. Stop by with cookies. Pass along information on where to buy certain items. Answer questions about local activities. Offer to help in any way possible. What a difference a smile can make!

Hospitality is emphasized throughout Scripture, and it's a great way to break down barriers and demonstrate Christ's love.

4. Share a meal.
Jesus knew how significant sharing a meal could be. He often met with "sinners" in their homes and spoke to thousands of people at mealtimes.

Not long after Amanda and I were married, Ken and Ruth, a couple with several children, invited us to their home for a meal. How special that was for us! We didn't know many people yet and didn't have money for eating out. In addition to the great food, we enjoyed playing with their children. That meal led to many others, and they invited us over on special holidays and whenever the children celebrated birthdays.

5. Share a book.
Sharing food for the stomach is one thing. Have you considered sharing food for the mind? Do you have a book that one of your neighbors might enjoy reading? It's easy to loan out books, particularly as you learn your neighbors' interests. One couple is using our house-framing book to build a large workshop for their welding business. Another neighbor reads our books to learn more about certain issues in her life. A teenager (now grown) used to borrow Christian books from me regularly.

6. Share a skill.
If you are particularly good at interior decorating, fixing a car, greasing bicycle wheel bearings, landscaping, and so on, set aside a few hours on a weekend. Let other neighbors know when you will be using your particular skill and that you are willing to pass on a few tips or do some hands-on work. Then see what happens. Perhaps no one will drop by, in which case you can simply catch up on your own work. On the other hand, neighbors may stop by.

Sharing skills is contagious. If your neighborhood is like ours, when one person starts doing it, others will too. Everybody saves money, learns new things, and has fun in the process.

7. Share your recreation.
You may be surprised at how pleased a neighbor will be to join you in a favorite activity. If you are a mountain-bike aficionado and you notice that a neighbor also has a bike, why not suggest a time to ride a trail together? If you enjoy taking your family to a local pool, invite a neighbor or neighbor's child to tag along. Perhaps the local library is starting a new film series. Or your church has put together a special drama presentation. Or you have been given free tickets to a downtown event. Quite often people will be honored that you invite them. Even if they can't come, the invitation will mean a great deal.

8. Volunteer advice.
Perhaps you've learned about something the hard way, and your neighbor hasn't. If he or she is open-minded, doesn't have an attack dog who hates you, and is home when you are awake, try sharing an idea that has worked for you.

When we lived in a cul-de-sac, a neighbor's advice saved us lots of expense. Although I didn't know him well, he stopped by after a bad snowstorm and said, "When the wind is just right, snow blows into the roof vents of my house. You might want to check your attic." Turns out the insulation in our attic was covered with snow, which would have melted and created a real mess. From that time on, he and I talked about many subjects, including Christ.

Another time, I suggested that a neighbor jack out a fence post instead of digging it out. (I contributed the jack and chain.) He has always remembered that, and his family still corresponds with us from England.

9. Meet obvious needs.
Sometimes the best way to meet a neighbor is to be sensitive to a need. We've seen this happen over and over again.

One day we noticed a neighbor drive up and walk around her house trying to open a window. After a brief chat, we learned she had locked herself out. Amanda thought for a minute and asked, "Do you have a garage-door opener in your car?" Fifteen seconds later, the woman was in her house.

That was an easy need to meet. Sometimes, though, meeting our neighbors' needs requires work. I once passed a large rental truck parked in the middle of a gravel road. It was zero degrees, dark, and the wind chill was minus twenty. A man was pickaxing the frozen gravel from beneath the rear bumper of the truck.

Although I had acute tendonitis in both wrists, I knew I had to help him. So I drove home, changed clothes, and drove back. "What're you trying to do?" I asked. "Get into the driveway or get out of it?"

"We're moving in," he said, "and the back bumper dragged on the road. Now the truck won't go in or out."

I put my vehicle into four-wheel drive, drove up a ditch, and turned around in his driveway. Then we hooked up the winch and dragged the truck free. Grateful, he and his wife asked what they owed me. "Nothing," I replied, and shared a brief message about Jesus with them.

Another time, a van carrying a family of nine broke down about ten o'clock at night, not long after they'd moved into a new house up the road from us. The husband called us, and I was able to tow the van back to his home.

10. Watch for special opportunities.
The opportunity to meet others' needs is not always obvious. Occasionally we have to initiate the action, not merely respond to the situation.

One snowy morning at the bus stop, having dropped my daughter off, I noticed a woman I'd never seen before standing nearby and introduced myself.

"We just moved here," she volunteered, "and we're trying to move in. But the moving company won't deliver our things until we get the driveway plowed." She pointed to the fourteen inches of snow that had fallen the night before. "Do you know anyone who can plow it by eleven o'clock? The moving company wants to come today."

Knowing that the professional plowers were out fulfilling contractual commitments, I shook my head. Then I realized that maybe God wanted me to help her.

I borrowed another neighbor's tractor and plowed her driveway and also a path to her back stairs. That, in turn, led to various discussions with her and her husband, who invited us to their home for a meal. The head of a multinational company in Korea, she has never forgotten that people she had never met plowed her out for free.

11. Ask for help.
We all have strengths and weaknesses. One way of compensating for our weaknesses, and getting to know our neighbors better in the process, is to ask for help. (Sometimes it's better to receive than to give!)

For example, I frequently begin projects without knowing how they will end. I experiment and learn as I go. This works well sometimes, but when I started to build a go-cart out of a cast-off riding lawnmower, I soon realized I was in over my head. So I invited a neighbor who was technically proficient to help me, and we had fun for about four hours. During that time, he also shared several deep concerns.

Another time, when Amanda and I lived in a two-bedroom apartment, friends of ours from college days, Paul and Tina, arrived for a visit in an old car with worn-out brakes. I volunteered to help Paul replace them. Dutifully, we pulled off a wheel and began removing springs and other brake parts. Soon I knew we were in trouble.

"Hey," I called out to a man walking by, "you know anything about brakes?"

He hesitated and then grinned. "A little bit." He passed along a few pointers and gave me his apartment number in the adjoining complex. That simple conversation developed into a relationship with him and his wife that has lasted almost sixteen years.

12. Organize neighborhood activities.
Everybody has to eat, and few people will turn down the chance to grill a few burgers and sample other people's tasty dishes. In one neighborhood, a random gathering of people on the Fourth of July became a tradition. The residents closed off the street for a block party and brought their favorite foods. From about noon until dark, neighbors talked, threw Frisbees, and played with everybody's children. If you live in an apartment, see if you can reserve the clubhouse or block off part of the parking lot. Or arrange for everyone to meet at a nearby park.

Speaking of food, have you ever participated in a potluck in which neighbors go to different homes and eat a different course at each home? Progressive dinners can be a fun way to get to know people in your neighborhood, particularly those whom you've already met briefly.

And then there is that great American tradition: the garage sale. Most people have items they'd like to sell or give away. Invite your neighbors to participate. It's a great way to meet them. You may even want to furnish the driveway. If you live in an apartment complex, see if you can use the parking lot. Arrange for at least one adult from each participating family to spend some time at the sale, and don't be surprised if you end up talking with neighbors you hardly know as if you were long-time buddies.

Baby showers also serve this purpose. When a new couple moved into our neighborhood, I met them as they were fixing up their mailbox. Kristen was obviously pregnant, and as time passed Amanda and another neighbor decided to hold a baby shower for her. They typed up invitations and delivered them to select neighbors.

In addition to seeing the joy on Kristen's face during the shower, Amanda met two women she didn't know. She now looks forward to spending additional time with them.

LOVE - Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!!
As I read through 1 Corinthians 13 this morning, LOVE has a different spin on things. Along with 7 other ladies, I am in a Small Group "Live Out Your Calling" - Purpose Driven Life. As we learn how great God's love is for us, this famous verse in the bible is on such a deeper level for me.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
 ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
 it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
⁷ It always protects, always trusts,
always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies,
 they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled;
 where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears.
 ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child,
 I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child.
When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.
 ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror;
 then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part;
then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
 But the greatest of these is love.

-- 1 Corinthians 13: 1-13


Check out this video I took of some of the neighbor boys I watched on Wednesday nights. I love how they quoted

 

He's Just Not that Into You.

He's just not that into you.

Life is simple.

For those you want in your life, you'll find a way to do so.

The way you invest your love, is the way you invest your life

In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die.
The way you invest your love, is the way you invest your life.

-Mumford & Sons song 12/14/12

12 Christmas Prayers

Source: etsy.com via Donna on Pinterest