One of the most valuable things we can do to heal one another is listen toeach other's stories.
-Rebecca Falls
Be ThankfulTo bring a reminder to us all that every day ought to be Thanksgiving.
Be thankful that you don't already have everything youDesire.If you did, what would there be to look forward to?Be thankful when you don't know something,For it gives you the opportunity to learn.
Be thankful for the difficult times.During those times you grow.Be thankful for your limitations,Because they give you opportunities for improvement.Be thankful for each new challenge,Because it will build your strength and character.
Be thankful for your mistakes.They will teach you valuable lessons.Be thankful when you're tired and weary,Because it means you've made a difference.
It's easy to be thankful for the good things.A life of rich fulfillment comes to those whoAre also thankful for the setbacks.Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.Find a way to be thankful for your troubles,And they can become your blessings.~~unknown
It's unrealistic to expect to have success inMeaningful things you do and not have failureAlong the way. It's the way of life.
Instead of fighting it or feeling ashamed orGuilty, accept this with grace. Look for theLessons to be learned-lessons showing you how to do itRight the next time.
Any failures that you experience can beTransformed into something of worth. It allDepends on how you look at it.
If you remain focused and determined, theseLessons become stepping-stones to the successThat you seek.
~~unknown

A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT OLD BARNSOnly years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun only that can produce beautiful barn wood.
A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking.He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway.I told him right off he was crazy.He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car,His hands, and the way he talked.He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barnSitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale.I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.
Sure, it was a handsome building in its day.But then, there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice andhowling wind.The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, andthe wood has turned silver gray.Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired.Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.
That set me to thinking.I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn.The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his denin a new country home he's building down the road.He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful.Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun only that can produce beautiful barn wood.
It came to me then. We're a lot like that, you and I.Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us.Sure we turn silver gray too... And lean a bit more thanWe did when we were young and full of sap.But the Good Lord knows what He's doing.And as the years pass He's busy using the hard weather of our lives,The dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifyingOur souls that nothing else can produce.And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!
They took the old barn down today and hauled it awayTo beautify a rich man's house.And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled offTo Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good LordHas for us on the Great Sky Ranch.
And I suspect we'll be more beautifulThen for the seasons we've been through here...And just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.
May there be peace within you today.May you trust God that you areExactly where you are meant to be.
And...I do sincerely thank God for my wonderful friends and familyWho love me even though I show signs of weathering.~~unknown
"Never regret the things you have done in your life,Because at some point in time it was exactly what you wanted."
~~unknown