Tag: gratitude

Categories
Quotes

Marrying a Good Person

Today is Harpo Marx’s birthday. He was born on November 23, 1888. He’s the Marx brother who never spoke during their films. So it’s quite a delight for me to have a quote for him about marrying a good person.

By Ralph F. Stitt – This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3c26207. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1629215

“Harpo, she’s a lovely person. She deserves a good husband. Marry her before she finds one.”

Harpo Marx

On this week of Thanksgiving, I am thankful I married a good person. For one, she has made me a better person. Not only that, she is a born leader and someone with a caring heart. Plus, she is the closest thing I’ve seen to a superwoman balanced with a heart for God and people.

Therefore, like Harpo Marx, I am glad I married her before she found a good husband. You may want to pity her. The poor woman gets annoyed when I run around the house in a curly, blonde wig and only communicate with a bicycle horn. That’s what happens when you let a former vaudevillian influence you.

Categories
Devotions growth motivation

The Password is “Thank You”

The password is thank you

A heart of gratitude is the password to so many good things. It takes us from entitlement to contentment. It changes “why me?” to “why not me?” It turns the focus from what we do not have to what we do have.

On this Sunday morning, I am reminded this is the best way to approach prayer and worship. The Message version of Psalm 100 helped me see this in a new light this day.

Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.

Psalm 100:4 (MSG)

“Thank you” is the password to so many good things. My coworkers probably think I say it too often. My emails and speech are filled with please and thank you. But I am fine with being known as the guy who is too polite. It’s much better than being known as the guy with the rude ‘tude!

Therefore, when we go to prayer with a thankful heart, it makes us reconsider how much I have already been blessed. Just the fact we woke up to a new day is reason enough for gratitude. It helps us reconsider the many things we take for granted.

Nobody likes to see someone coming every time with a list of grievances, least of all God. It’s true that we can be honest and take our requests, our problem, and yes, our tragedies to him. But if that is the only time we pray, that would get pretty old.

Thanksgiving is coming. Let’s remember to give thanks today and every day. It’s a password to greater things. It’s a reminder we already have so many great things right under our noses.

Categories
Attitude motivation

A Glad Heart Makes a Big Difference

Illustration of a happy girl with a tea cup, sunflower hat, bathing suit and swim flippers

A glad heart makes a happy face; a broken heart crushes the spirit. 

Proverbs 15:13 NLT

Today, it may be easy for you to think of something that makes you glad. If so, take the time to consider it and feel the smile on your face return. If nothing else, hanging around, creative, silly kids will help. It will make a big difference to yourself and those around you.

Or today, you may be going through a tough time. Depending on your situation, it may be good to remind yourself that there are aspects of your life that make you glad. It could be your family, friends or work that brings you satisfaction.

But if your heart is broken today, I realize none of this will help. It takes time for a broken heart to heal. Give yourself grace and time to mourn. You will get through this eventually. When you hold on, you will find reasons to make your heart glad once again.

Categories
family

Vacations: Annoyances and True Tragedies

Cartoon about two teen girls and vacation

Vacations usually take some amount of planning. But this year has caused plans to be taken to a whole new level. Before this year, health considerations were not at the front of everyone’s checklist. Now, everyone must consider the following:

  • Is the destination in a hot spot?
  • Will it be in a crowded area?
  • What does the state government say about quarantining when you return?
  • What’s the local mask policy?
  • Should we just chuck it all and binge watch some more cat videos?

The Book of Job and Vacations

When I first posted this cartoon, the biggest problems with vacations centered around teen angst and whether there was enough wifi for everyone. Now we are more concerned about the supply of hand sanitizer and masks.

The Book of Job reminds me that things could always be worse. Yes, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. If it hasn’t directly affected you yet, give thanks for that. If your teens are merely annoying you and are healthy and sassy, give thanks for that.

Just this week, I received word that a friend was in an auto accident and his teen daughter was killed. I can’t comprehend the pain and loss that this dear man is feeling. Suddenly, the decision about whether to wear a mask in public or determine how much distance is enough social distancing feels trivial.

There are people suffering much worse. If all we have today are a few annoyances, give thanks for it.

Cartoon about two teen girls and vacation
Categories
motivation

Why It’s So Important to Count Our Blessings

Quote: "The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." Eric Hoffer
www.brainyquote.com/s/a_19c26

It’s been such a challenge lately to count our blessings. Then again, when is it not a challenge? There is something within all of us that longs for something more, even when we are richly blessed.

John D. Rockefeller was one of the richest men of his time. When someone asked him, “How much money is enough?” he replied, “Just a little bit more.” As the reference states, he was also quite a philanthropist and a person of faith. Still, few people have ever reached the level of success and wealth he possessed. Yet, he was tempted to keep pursuing more.

We can be so busy pursuing wealth and success that we forget to be thankful for what we have. When that dissatisfaction affects our mood and actions, it can actually backfire. We may be tempted to pursue get-rick-quick schemes. We may decide to cut corners or cheat when we feel we must do what it takes to get a little more.

Counting our blessings is a remedy for that. It reminds us of what we already have. Yet, today’s quote states, it can be the hardest arithmetic to master.

Here are some reasons to count our blessings

  • It reminds us that there are some things to be thankful for that we didn’t earn
  • We are reminded to thank the people in our lives that have made a positive difference in us
  • It can lift our mood when we are going through a hard time
  • Counting our blessings reminds us to take care of what we already have instead of pursuing something that may cause us to neglect loved ones and things dear to us
  • It can actually motivate us to keep pursuing excellence
  • Gratitude leads to generosity and generosity leads to abundance to the people you are helping and yourself

Counting our blessings will not cause us to become complacent and stop excelling. On the contrary, gratitude opens us up for more blessings. No matter where you are, take some time to be grateful today.

www.brainyquote.com/s/a_19c26