‘Every test in life — big or small — makes us bitter or better, every problem comes to make us or break us. In the end the choice is ours whether we become victim or victor.’

I love this quote and agree completely, but I don’t think it’s just reserved for the big ‘tests’ in life. I think this is how we should approach every single issue, every single day. And the beauty and truth of this gem is that the choice is ours, all ours. Bitter or better? Make us or break us? Victim or victor?

With the help and grace of God, my plan is to work daily to be better, to make it and in the end to be the victor … how about you?

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a super Monday and great start to your week!

‘Failure should be our teacher not our undertaker. Failure is delay not defeat. It is a temporary detour and not a dead-end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing and being nothing.’

Everybody — and I mean every single person that has lived — has failed at one time or another. It’s inevitable, it’s just part of life. But, it’s what you do when those failures come that matters the most. Do you let it defeat you, or do you use it as a stepping stone and a learning experience and push on?

I think Winston Churchill summed up failure best by giving his definition of success. ‘Success consists of moving from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.’

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a great Sunday and a blessed day!

‘God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.’ — Psalm 46:1

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a super Saturday and a blessed day!

‘The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.’

As a young writer many years ago I was often told by editors to ‘write tight.’ In other words, put as much punch as possible in as few words as possible. I thought of that when I read this single, powerful sentence. In only 18 words the writer (unknown) delivered a perfect blueprint for any problem, regardless of size, that we might face.

And when practicing that short distance between your problem and a solution let me remind you of one of my favorite verses that goes perfectly with this sentence. ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ – Philippians 4:13. Remember, that verse doesn’t say ‘I can do some things … or a few things’ it says, ‘I can do ALL things.’

My prayer today is that anytime you’re looking for a solution to a problem you’ll recall this perfectly-worded sentence and the verse that reminds us that ‘all’ things are possible.

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a great Friday and a blessed day!

‘The reason why people give up so fast is because they tend to look at how far they still have to go, instead of how far they’ve already gone.’

There are a lot of quotes — and I’ve posted many of them — that talk about not looking back, not getting caught up with the past. While I still agree with those … I think today’s quote is a great example that it’s OK to glance back when you’re measuring what you’ve accomplished and how far you’ve progressed. In many instances this provides a great measuring stick of your success, and certainly that’s great motivation to continue on.

Remember, two steps forward and one step back is still progress toward your goal.

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a great Thursday and a blessed day!

‘It’s a great day to have a great day!’

I woke up this morning and immediately when my eyes opened I started thinking about the long list on ‘my plate’ for today. Easily, Wednesday is my longest, busiest most tiring day, and on this Wednesday (today) I have a couple other tasks that just added to my worry and concern … before my feet even hit the floor.

Almost in the same instance that I was trying to prioritize my ‘crisis list’ for the day, a simple verse came to my mind – ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ Isaiah 41:10

As I pondered that wonderful verse I asked myself a very important question: ‘How can I rejoice and be glad in this day that God made for me if I’m stressed out and worried about whether I get my work list done or not?’ As I felt a calmness settle in (rare for me) I decided that I was going to rejoice in this (beautiful) day, work hard and do all I can do. However, what doesn’t get done will just have to stay undone for right now.

God’s blessings to you on this day that the Lord has made! Rejoice and be glad because of this day you’ve been given, have a wonderful Wednesday and a blessed day!

‘Your mind is a garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.’

I’m a visual person so being able to actually picture in my mind a beautiful flower garden or a patch of weeds really puts this quote in perspective. Every single day, in fact every minute of every day, we have within us the ability to plant the seeds we choose. We can plant positive, helpful, caring seeds or we can plants seeds of negativity, divisiveness, distrust and bitterness. And the amazing thing, is that the choice is our every day. Every person breathing makes the decision every morning when they open their eyes what type of seeds they will plant that day.

Our prayer should be to ask God to help us, to check us and to hold us accountable for the work we do daily in our garden. What type garden will you plant today? Tomorrow? In the future? Again … your mind is the garden. Your thoughts are the seeds. You can grow flowers, or you can grow weeds.

God’s blessings to you on this day and my prayer is that we all grow beautiful flowers! Have a good Tuesday and a blessed day!

‘There is a basic law that like attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. On the other hand, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully, their positive thinking sets in motion creative forces — and success, instead of eluding them, flows toward them.  – Norman Vincent Peale

I am a huge believer in this and the only thing left to add is protect yourself from negative results by limiting your time with negative people.

God’s blessings to you on this day! Have a great Monday and a blessed day!