Goodness Remains

Goodness is here, now, today in unending abundance. Open your heart and know it.

Much of the world's pain arises from the failure to fully appreciate life's goodness. Yet goodness will always outlive the pain.

Peacefully let go of fear and anger, resentment and anxiety. Goodness remains.

Feel the longing for goodness that lives always within you. Let it drive your thoughts and actions, and you'll create more of the very goodness you seek.

Focus on those parts of your life that resonate with your deepest purpose. See the true beauty that is alive and growing in your world.

Hold life's goodness securely in your heart. Move forward with confidence, knowing it is always there.

-- Ralph Marston

19 Things a Woman Should Never Apologize For

1. Never apologize for pursuing what makes you happy. Even if you need to quit your job, transfer schools, or move across country, always dowhat you really want

2. Never apologize for crying. Wear waterproof mascara and express yourself

3. Never apologize for being successful. Only haters want to keep you at their level.

4. Never apologize for ten pounds you need to lose. People who truly care about you will accept you as you are.

5. Never apologize for wearing a weave or braids. You bought it so it's yours.

6. Never apologize for being frugal. Just because you save your money instead of blowing it on the latest fashion emergency doesn't mean you're cheap.

7. Never apologize for treating yourself to something special. Sometimes you have to show yourself some appreciation.

8. Never apologize for demanding respect. You are to always be treated as a queen.

9. Never apologize for leaving an abusive relationship. Your safety should always be a priority.

10. Never apologize for keeping the ring even if you did not get married..

11. Never apologize for setting high standards in a relationship. You know what you can tolerate and what simply gets on your nerves.

12. Never apologize for dating outside your race. Just because you found Mr. Right across the color line doesn't mean you don't love your brothas..

13. Never apologize to your new friends about old friends. There's a reason she's been your girl from day one.

14. Never apologize for ordering dessert or more than one dessert.

15. Don't apologize for being a single Mom. Babies are a blessing.

16. Never apologize for saying NO.

17. Never apologize for not knowing how to cook. Even if you can't burn like Grandma you know how to order good take out. (Right Girl!)

18. Never apologize for making more money than your man, you work hard and you deserve to get paid.

19. Never apologize for being you! KEEP YOUR HEAD UP AND KEEP MOVING FORWARD ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT GOD LOVES YOU AND HE ALWAYS HAS YOUR BACK

The Art of Marriage

by Wilfred Arlan Peterson




Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens.

A good marriage must be created.

In the Art of Marriage, the little things are the big things:It is never being too old to hold hands.

It is remembering to say “I Love You” at least once every day.

It is never going to sleep angry.

It is at no time taking the other for granted; the courtship should not end with this day, it should continue through all the years.

It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives.

It is standing together facing the world.It is forming a circle of love that gathers in the whole family.

It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy.

It is speaking words of appreciation, and demonstrating gratitude in thoughtful ways.

It is not looking for perfection in each other.

It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humour.

It is having the capacity to forgive and forget.

It is giving each other an atmosphere in which each can grow.

It is a common search for the good and the beautiful.

It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, dependance is mutual,
and the obligation is reciprocal.

It is not only marrying the right partner, it is being the right partner.

Be You

by Ralph Marston

You were born to be real, not to be perfect.
You are here to be you, not to live someone else's life.
Every day you make some progress and every day you make a few mistakes.
Through it all, your wisdom continues to grow and your experience continues to broaden.
Be gentle with yourself. Accept who you are, where you have been, and what you have to work with, for in this moment you can make positive use of it all.
Reach in and touch the purpose that makes you feel most alive.
The world around you is filled with places where that purpose can do great things.
It is never too late to offer your unique and genuine gifts to life.
Now is the time to do great things, even in the smallest of ways.
Choose to fully and graciously live life as it comes.
The richest rewards by far are the ones to which you most sincerely give of yourself.

The Carrot, the egg and the coffee

by: Theodore Tan

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She said, "Father, I do not know how I am going to make it. I just feel like giving up. I'm tired of fighting and struggling. It seems as though every time one of my problems is solved, a new one comes along. I just can't take it anymore."

Her father took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed them each on high heat. Soon, the pots came to a boil. In one pot of boiling water, he placed carrots. In the second, he placed eggs, and in the last pot, he placed coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

Twenty minutes later, he turned off the burners. He strained the water from the carrots and placed them in a bowl. He lifted the eggs out and placed them in another bowl. Then he ladled the steaming coffee into a bowl. Turning to her, he asked, "What do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft and mushy. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its flavor and smelled the rich aroma. She humbly asked, "But what does it mean, Father?"

He explained that each of them had been plunged into boiling water, but each had reacted differently. The carrot went into the water strong and hard but after being subjected to the boiling water; it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its soft, liquid interior. But after sitting in the boiling water, it became hard on the inside.

The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, the water did not really change them. THEY CHANGED THE WATER! "Which are you?" the father gently asked his daughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you more like a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"

How about you? Are you the carrot that started out strong and hard long ago, but with the pain and adversity of your life struggles, did you become soft and lose your strength?

Are you the egg that started out soft on the inside? Were you a fluid spirit, but after the pain of death, abuse, rejection, poor health, divorce, or a layoff, have you become hardened? Your outer shell might look the same, but have you become hard-boiled and toughened in your spirit and your heart?

Or are you like the coffee bean? The bean that was plunged into the rapidly boiling water actually changed the hot water and gave it flavor and aroma, reaching its peak flavor at 212° Fahrenheit! THAT IS HOT WATER!!!

When people say bad things about you, do your praises to the Lord continues, or do you blame Him? When the hour is darkest and your trials are their greatest, does your worship elevate to a higher level, or do you desert Him? When you feel burdened by your own troubles, do you still reach out and help others? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

When you are plunged into hot water, into anything that brings you pain, like being immersed in the adversities of life, be like the coffee bean. When things are at their worst, you will get stronger and make things better around you, and? YOU will always leave an aroma that's most pleasing to others as well as to yourself.

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How do you deal with trials and failures? Do you become weak, hard on the inside, or do you try to influence the outcome of the situation that you are faced with? Think about it. :)

The Two Boxes

Here's to remind everyone to think happy thoughts... always... :)

I have in my hands two boxes Which God gave me to hold;
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black, and all your joys in the gold."
I heeded His words, and in the two boxes both my joys and sorrows I store;
But though the gold became heavier each day, the black was as light as before.
With curiosity, I opened the black;
I wanted to find out why-- and I saw, in the base of the box, a hole which my sorrows had fallen out by.
I showed the hole to God and mused aloud, "I wonder where my sorrows could be."
He smiled a gentle smile at me. "My child, they're all here with Me."
I asked, "God, why give me the boxes, why the gold, and the black with the hole?"
"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings, the black is for you to let go."

Sunscreen

Sharing this with you. I really like this because it has a lot of practical lessons about living life to the max.

Everybody's Free (to wear sunscreen)
Mary SchmichChicago Tribune

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of '97... wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.

Never mind.

You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You are NOT as fat as you imagine.

Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.

The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind.

The race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.

The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll marry, maybe you won't, maybe you'll have children, maybe you won't, maybe you'll divorce at 40, maybe you'll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.

Whatever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either.

Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can.

Don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own.

Dance.

Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don't follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they'll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.

Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don't expect anyone else to support you.

Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.
Don't mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.

Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.

The Value of Time

This is one of my favorite poems. It is true that people tend to forget how valuable time is. But if we look at time from a different perspective, we get to realize how valuable it is. Read on.. :)

To realize the value of one year:

Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of one month:

Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week:

Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour:

Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute:

Ask the person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one second:

Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond:

Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

Time waits for no one. Treasure every moment you have.

You will treasure it even more when you share it with someone special.

~Author Unknown~