#85 Clean Up and Give Away

Once a year, usually springtime, your mom and dad get a few boxes, and we sorted out clothing items that we haven't worn for the past year or two and divided them into two piles.  The first pile will go to the local charity or Goodwill.  The second pile will be given away to relatives or friends.  Sometimes we've even posted certain items on Craigslist or eBay and they'll get picked up real fast :).

After we are done with the closet, we move to the kitchen and bathrooms.  We get rid of towels, utensils and kitchen appliances that were given to us as gifts or we bought but rarely used, and give them away.  At the end of the day, the closet has much more space, neater, and the kitchen and bathrooms drawers have lot less items we don't really use or need.  We have a dozen of spoons, a dozen of forks, a dozen of knives, a dozen of plastic containers of all sizes with their lids, a dozen of towels, etc.  We actually have thought about reducing that number to six of each.  We'll see when that happens.

Want more blessings?  Create a vacuum in your life.  Give and share your blessings to others who really need it.  The more you give, the more you receive.

#50 Write 3 Things You Are Grateful For

...at the beginning of each day and at the end of each day.  During the few days before Thanksgiving, your dad had a conversation with someone who said that she had nothing to be thankful about and went on about her supposedly awful life.  

As parents, we love to buy and give things to our children.  It is a priceless joy to see the excitement in the eyes of your kids when they receive the gifts.  The experience encourages the giver to want to continually give more gifts to experience the priceless joy over and over again.  It is however a disappointing experience to give gifts when the recipients are not excited when opening and accepting the gifts.


How would you expect to receive more greater blessings in your life if you don't know how to be thankful of the other "little blessings" such as having a place to call home, having parents or siblings who are still alive, having vehicles that are running well, having a good health, having clothes to wear, having a job, waking up to see another day, having a friend, having the ability to see, hear, taste, touch, walk on both legs, and the list goes on and on.  The good news is God is love and like the lyric on JJ Heller's song:  God "loves you for you, not for what you have done or what you will become."

Three things you are grateful for...when you begin your day and when the ends.  When you appreciate all the "little" miracles, you will live your life in a more positive, upbeat, optimistic way.  The famous Albert Einstein wrote, “There are two ways to live: you can live as if nothing is a miracle; you can live as if everything is a miracle.”

#24 Success and Happiness

Sweethearts, many people are so obsessed with these three things: money, fame, and power.  Greatness has nothing to do with being beautiful, being popular, or even being wealthy.

Imagine this.  Professional basketball players (NBA) make millions of dollars per year, which translates to over $500+ per hour income if they were to work a 40 hours per week  job.  Per hour!   If you put yourselves in their shoes, these pro players have everything that most people can only dream:  they are über famous with tons of die-hard fans around the world, they drive expensive cars, living in multiple mansions, fly private jets, wear designer clothes, many are good-looking, and many worked hard to get to where they are today.  Yet, many have broken marriages, committed suicides, involved in drugs and narcotics, broken relationships, depression, etc.

Now, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, being popular, being successful, or being beautiful.  In fact, your dad always says that the only people who say "money can't buy happiness" are most likely people who are poor themselves.   Money is not the root of all evil.  The love of money IS.  If you are poor, you are a burden to others, but if you have money, then you can take care of your family, go on vacations with your loved ones, live comfortably, and have the opportunity and ability to help other people.

But what makes life miserable is when you ignore life's important ingredients.  The important things that make up a great life are peace of mind, pure joy, great relationships, love, the blessings of health, and especially being in good standing with God.

#1 Always Begin Your Day with A Prayer

My child, a new day is a new beginning. You were given another 1,440 minutes that you can spend anyway you want it. Mark 1:35 talks about how Jesus got up before daybreak and prayed. Each day has new blessings and challenges. Get on your knees, close your eyes, smile, take a deep breath, say thank you for a new day and for the blessings you have received. Ask these four simple things that Jabez asked: "Bless us a lot, expand my territory, keep me from evil, and let Your hands be on me today."

Make that vertical connection to the Creator of the Universe and keep your mind tuned to that wavelength for the rest of the day.  It's gonna be a GREAT day!!