Tag Archives: thought for the day

What My Newborn Has Taught Me

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration, Personal Life Reflections

I have a six week old baby girl now, and we’re learning how to do life together. One thing is for certain. If I start the day with my intentions being anything other than to be with her, surely my plans will be disrupted and we’ll both wind up frustrated. 

But I’ve noticed something else. If I start the day and my only goal is to be at her service, we’re both guaranteed to have a great day. Ironically, when we’re both having a great day, all of the things I hoped to do usually wind up getting done anyway, while she’s napping.  

So here’s what my newborn has taught me: Putting the baby’s needs before my own is the only way to ensure the day goes smoothly. It’s a lot like other areas of life, if you think about it…

We always find our best selves in service to others. In fact, our best days are spent in this way. 

Fix your problems by forgetting they’re problems

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

We fix our problems by forgetting that they’re problems and reminding ourselves that they’re actually gifts.

Tread Carefully

Posted on by under Personal Life Reflections, Thought for the Day

There is no way of knowing which of our actions will forever have things hanging on them. And so, we tread carefully.

Alas, how innocent we are of our own mistakes and how responsible we are for them, also.

Discipline

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality

Discipline is not God trying to pay you back, it’s God trying to bring you back.

Growing Up

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration, Thought for the Day

I don’t know why so many people say, “Do I have to grow up?” Me personally, I love growing up. Things seem to clarify year after year. I grow stronger and stronger, more sure of myself and My Maker. Yes, indeed, it’s joyous to grow up, to grow at all, in fact.

There is No Cure for Hot and Cold

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration, Thought for the Day

There is no cure for hot and cold.

There is no cure for the facts of life.

If we can stop trying to escape the inevitable alternation of pleasure and pain, we can simply relax and be fully present for the wonder that is our lives.

The Irony of Halloween

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration, Thought for the Day

Halloween has become a day for the living to dress up, wear masks, and pretend to be dead. The irony is that people spend the rest of the year dressing up, wearing masks, and pretending to live.

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

When things are going good, we worry that any second they could go bad.

Yet when things are going bad, we forget that at any second they could become good.

The Danger of Overvaluing Independence

Posted on by under Christian Spirituality

Our culture puts too much value on independence. Reality is, to be truly independent is to be alone.

Some call this strength, but often it is laziness.

As humans, we’re designed to need each other. To believe that you can go at this world alone is like setting your soul down on a couch and never allowing it to exercise.

See, if you spend enough time alone, it soon becomes very hard to be around other people. You begin to think that the world belongs to you- that all space is your space and all time is your time.

You become so used to being able to daydream and keep yourself company, that other people are merely an intrusion. And this is terribly unhealthy.

God doesn’t want us floating through life alone, or sitting in front of our computers. He doesn’t want our lives to play out like an Independence film. He wants us interacting- laughing together, praying together, challenging each other…

If loving other people is a bit of heaven, then surely isolation is a bit of hell. While we’re on Earth, we get to decide in which state we would like to live.

Sympathy vs. Charity

Posted on by under Daily Inspiration

Homeless_woman
When we see someone in need, who’s homeless for example, I think it’s wrong to automatically feel bad for them.

I think we’ve somehow come to believe that because a person is in need, they’re candidates for sympathy, not just charity.

We don’t just want to buy them groceries, we want to buy them dignity.

And yet, by judging them, we’re the ones taking away their dignity in the first place…