Family

During my time off this week, it brings to mind things that I am thankful for. Things and people that have been a large reason in explaining who I am. In large part, my mother, father and siblings help make me the person I am today.

All of us have family and it is an easy thing to be thankful for. For me, being the second youngest of seven children allowed me to watch the older ones. Learning by their failures or success is something that I did all along. Through the death of a sister, to all of the many things that happen within a family, each of us have stuck together.

My parents are well into retirement and enjoying their lives and life together the way they want. As parents, I'm sure they understand how much they've meant to all of us kids but we'll never feel thankful enough. Not perfect parents but perfect for me as I've come to understand that we do the best we can in raising children and in living our lives.

To my sister and brothers, thank you for helping me through many of the tough times that I've had. It was with your support that really pulled me through those times. I'll always be one to give credit to each of you for helping form the person that I am now. As I go through my life, remembering each of you with gratitude and love will always remain.

To my readers, in some form you each have a family that raised you. There are many different stories, many different types and many levels of satisfaction with ones family. Yet you should find it in your heart to remember family at this time of year. Be safe and healthy during the holiday celebrations.

Christmas

All of us have our favorite Christmas hymns, this is mine. Have a wonderful and safe holiday.

O Holy Night - J.S.Dwight & A.C.Adam, 19th Century

O holy night,
the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of
our dear Savior's birth!

Long lay the world
in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared
and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope,
the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks
a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees,
O hear the angel voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born!
O night divine, O night,
O night divine!

Led by the light
of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts
by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star
sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men
from Orient land.

The King of Kings
lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials
born to be our Friend!

He knows our need,
To our weakness no stranger;
Behold your King!
Before the lowly bend!
Behold your King! your King!
before Him bend.

Truly He taught us
to love one another;
His law is love and
His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break
for the slave is our brother
And in His name
all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in
grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us
praise His holy name!

Christ is the Lord,
Oh praise His name forever,
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim
His pow'r and glory
evermore proclaim.

Merry Christmas

“Somehow, not only for Christmas but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. And the more you spend in blessing the poor and lonely and sad, the more of your heart's possessing returns to you glad.” - John Greenleaf Whittier

For anyone celebrating this time of year, all the best to you, your families and friends. It will be a chance to renew yourself, to let the worry and stress of life be set aside for a short while. Let your world relax for a few moments.

• Afrikaans - Gesëende Kersfees
• Czech - Prejeme Vam Vesele Vanoce a stastny Novy Rok
• Danish - Glædelig Jul
• English - Merry Christmas
• Esperanto - Gajan Kristnaskon
• Finnish - Hyvää Joulua
• French - Joyeux Noël
• German - Froehliche Weihnachten
• Greek - Kala Christouyenna
• Hawaiian - Mele Kalikimaka
• Irish Nollaig - Shona Dhuit
• Italian - Buon Natale or Buone Feste Natalizie
• Japanese - Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto
• Korean - Sung Tan Chuk Ha
• Latin - Natale hilare
• Lithuanian - Linksmu Kaledu
• Norwegian - God Jul
• Polish - Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia
• Portuguese - Feliz Natal
• Russian - Srozhdestovm Kristovim
• Spanish - Feliz Navidad
• Swahili - Kuwa na Krismasi njema
• Tagalog - Maligayang Pasko
• Thai - Suksun Wan Christmas
• Vietnamese - Chuc Mung Giang Sinh
• Welsh - Nadolig Llawen

7 Minutes

Coming up, the day before Christmas. I've taken the past week off to prepare for the holiday season. I have also been finishing up work for different customers before many take off for their own holiday.

In these final days of 2006, my family and I have been blessed. We in turn have taken our good fortune and passed it on to others. Since it has been seven days off from writing, consider it my '7 Minutes' of reflection that I've written about before.

The seven days have been busy and full of figuring out how to help others. It has also been a week of passing on to our children, family and friends. The whole holiday season is one that you can use to bless others which in turn will be returned to you in time.

There will be periodic writings over the next week or so as I prepare for the new year. It will give me time to continue reflection and focus on my wife and family. Take time yourself to do the same, please come back to read more. Tell those that you think may benefit to come back and read. It only takes seven minutes of your time, '7 Minutes' of reflection to take your life to a whole new level.

Maya Angelou 'isms'

Today, I am sharing what I'll call Maya Angelou 'isms'. Bits of wisdom from an American poet and novelist.

"I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow."

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

"I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life."

"I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as 'making a life."

"I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance."

"I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back."

"I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision."

"I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one."

"I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone."

"People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back."

"I've learned that I still have a lot to learn."

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

Simple words of wisdom that all of us can learn from. If you only take a few of them, life for you and those around you will be better for it. Take a moment to turn your life from a negative tone into one that you can enjoy.

Take Lifes Opportunity

Winslow Homer - Four Leaf Clover

"Sometimes, struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets." - Unknown

At various points in your life, someone will enter or pass through your life. They will prompt you to move and take charge before you believe that you are ready. What do you do? You take hold of that opportunity is exactly what you should do.

Too many times we sit around trying to plan out every aspect of what will happen next. All in an effort to plan the perfect experience, plan the timing to meet all expectations or simply over thinking the decisions that have to be made. You can certainly perform 'due diligience' in making decisions, but you can certainly over think things as well.

With all of this planning and thinking and 'gnashing of teeth', opportunity will probably pass you by. The timing will never seem completely right, the opportunity will never seem completely right and you will likely never be 100% sure of your decision. But take it and run with it...the feeling of not being quite prepared or it being a bad time will make you work all that much harder to succeed in that opportunity.

It is said that "many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers." Always continue your search through the clover, but also take opportunity when it is presented to you. Chances are you will find a four-leaf clover amid the new opportunity.

To Light Your Way Home

From the folks at Apple Blossom Art

Coming home, it is a wonderful feeling when one has been on the road. Whether it be a short trip down the road to another city, or a long journey to another country, returning is always a comforting event.

As much as we try to expand our horizons with new experiences and places, we tend to be 'home bodies' at heart. Home is the one place where you will always find those closest to you. The wife or husband, father or mother, child or friend that know you most dearly.

When I travel, the vast majority of people that I run into are friendly, helping and genuinely ready to assist. But the hotels are different from my own house, the food is different from my wife's cooking and the sounds or atmosphere does not have the same familiar feel. Always I come back and can slow down from the hectic pace, to be amongst close family and friends.

In your daily life, many of the stresses you encounter can be absolved simply by coming home. Don't make your home a stressful one, try to make it a comforting one that nourishes and rejuvenates the soul. “The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned," was said by Maya Angelou. Build a home that you will always ache for when you are not there.

I myself am coming home and will write again as soon as I am able to. Enjoy your weekend and enjoy your time at home with loved ones.

Each Of Us Carries Something

Everyday, each of us has a different load in life to carry. The picture is from Mumbai, India and it isn't meant to be humorous or downward looking upon the individual.

What is meant to show is that each of us has different responsibilities, jobs or troubles that we must shoulder. It doesn't make one any harder or easier, just that we all share this common bond of living life.

When you consider your own issues in life, understand that many others around you have a story of their own. Each of us has different burdens but we all still have to struggle and cope with them. Try never to look upon others as not having it "as bad as you". Just realize that all of us work to overcome and to achieve all that we can.

Your House Called Life

When you have made a choice in life, you have to take on all that comes with that choice. You do not get to choose just the 'bits' that you like, you have to deal with all of it. It is like buying a new home. You walk into a home you are considering purchasing and you really love the family room. It has beautiful fireplace, cozy atmosphere and wonderful sunlight. Maybe even the kitchen area overlooks the family area, an added enjoyment.

So you purchase the home and move in. Yet the backyard is small and borders a yard with barking dogs. The home itself has too small of a master bathroom. Maybe the garage door does not work very well or the furnace does not heat the house well during the winter. All of these negative things are yours to deal with. You have a choice at this point.

Choose to complain constantly about them, which will diminish your enjoyment of the good things your home has to offer. Or you can change those things you do not like. Talk to the neighbors and get to know them. After a while, you will be able to bring up the subject of the dogs, the neighbors will likely be more willing to try and change the situation. Expand your master bath, get the garage door fixed or research what changes you could make to improve the heating conditions.

All of this requires you to make movement, to make a change. By doing nothing, you change nothing. Your life, like your home is your responsibility and only you can improve it. Take charge, begin now and let change improve your life.

In his book, "THINK BIG", Ben Carson talks of the same things I have written about. He writes interestingly about the need to think positively. The use of PMA or "Positive Mental Attitude"; have faith; you are what you think; I did it, so can you.

These are words that all of us have been told by so many over the years. And though we have heard them often, it doesn't make them any less true or more real. What it does mean is that we have a choice. We can either be negative about all that is around us or choose a more positive life attitude.

Ben Carson is a highly respected physician and he provides that our emotional state affects the hormones in our body. Hormones significantly influence white cells and the body's ability to fight disease. This means that we now actually have a scientific explanation for the fact that people who become very depressed do not do well in recovering from disease. The ability to lead a more positive life can help keep your physical well-being in better shape.

Maybe one could suggest that it doesn't mean we are physically better, just that we accept our physical state in better manner. For me, either way, if having a more positive attitude can keep me healthier or make make feel better about it, my existence is all that much better.

Ben Carson says, "if we allow ourselves to dwell on negatives, on hurts, on mistreatments, we will be negative thinkers. We can choose the way we think. When people object to words like "positive thinking," then you can say, "Think Big, then!"