{my favorite lamp}

I have thought about all the people I have known in my life and what they have meant to me. Some of my greatest lessons I have learned from my enemies.

How to have strength when I am attacked and to let God fight my battles. I have always been a person to never back down from a fight. But I have learned in the last year that sometimes it is better to walk away. Not to let the craziness of others destroy us.

I thought about friends who I thought were friends but were incapable of being a good friend for one reason or another. Some people have the best intentions but are just incapable of being a friend. But I still learned lessons from each person.
I keep the good out of those relationships and keep it in my heart.

And I know that the person I am is the result of all those around me who have helped me in life. The 3rd grade teacher who saw a sad little girl who acted out because she was so alone in the world. And decided to make a difference in her life by spending time each day at recess working with her on her reading. And who made her do a book report on Martin Luther King Jr. that changed her outlook forever.

As a result of that teachers love and attention I developed a love of reading and a respect for other cultures and races.

I thought about my Sunday School teachers who were there each week helping me memorize scriptures, and teaching me about God. Not just through lessons on paper but through their actions.

We are molded in life by the vast experiences we go through:
the good ones, the bad ones, the sad ones, the tragic ones. But we choose how to handle each one. We choose to either wallow in self pity or to get up and make a life for ourselves and others. Just like Gandhi said, "We have to be the difference in the world that we want to see."

I read this quote last night and was so moved by it. It is how I feel.

" It is not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it may be creating joy for others, Sharing what we have for the betterment of person kind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely."
Dr. Leo Buscaglia


On another note: There has to be a balance of how we let others influence us. Especially if they are critical of us. Family members tend to be the worst at this. They know our weakness and sometimes strike us in the heart with a hot iron.We can't let another person's opinion destroy us. Or deter us from our dream.

"Other people's opinions of you do not have to become your reality."
Les Brown

Sometimes we are so busy looking for approval from everyone else that we fail to see that what we need is already inside of us we just need to learn how to extract it.

We have to remember in turn that we are molding those around us. We have the power to say kind words that will bring people hope.
The words we speak can make or break a person. We must be mindful of that always.

We have power to change things around us. One person can make a difference.

A final thought from the book, Courage and Confidence from the Bible, " Even a thorn in the flesh was for the purpose of demonstrating Christ's grace."

Sending you all love, Nita

tonight's song, Love is not a fight by Warren Barfield
i hope you have a chance to listen to this it is beautiful...
1st video, 2nd clip