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“There isn’t a ruler, a yard stick or a measuring tape
in the entire world long enough to compute the strength and capabilities inside you.”
~ Paul J. Meyer
Create a collection of quotes or ideas that motivates you to change.
Keep company with those who make you better.
–English Saying
No legacy is so rich as honesty.
-William Shakespeare
This is the single most powerful investment we can ever make in life – investment in ourselves, in the only instrument we have with which to deal with life and to contribute.
Stephen R Covey
Take time to find meaning in life.
-Anonymous
The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy: it lasts when all other pleasures fade.
Anthony Trollope
Trust yourself and you will know how to live.
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Praise work well done.
-Anonymous
Encourage others to achieve their potential.
-Anonymous
A word like “trust,” which any school child understands, can be figured out only in life… It takes a long time and considerable effort.
-Anonymous
Exercise on a regular basis.-Anonymous
Each person has his own safe place – running, painting, swimming, fishing, weaving, gardening.The activity itself is less important than the act of drawing on your own resources.
Barbara Gordon
We need time to dream, time to remember, and time to reach the infinite. Time to be.-Gladys Taber
I am a part of all I have read.
-John Kieran
Inside myself is a place where I live all alone and that’s where you renew your springs that never dry up.
-Pearl S. Buck
Take time to relax.
-Anonymous
Perform an anonymous service.
-Anonymous
Happiness lies in the fulfillment of the spirit through the body.
-Cyril Connolly
Make a habit of reading good literature.
-Anonymous
Life is not living, but living in health.-Marcus Valarius Martialis
Behavior is a mirror in which ever one displays his own image.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don’t work out, that’s when I’ve really learned.-Carol Burnett
Create a collection of quotes or ideas that motivates you to change.
-Anonymous
Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.
-Samuel Johnson
Seek the advice of others when trying to break old habits.
-Anonymous
If you want to touch the other shore badly enough, barring an impossible situation, you will.If your desire is diluted for any reason, you’ll never make it.
-Diane Nyad
Schedule time to work on breaking an unfavorable habit.
-Anonymous
From without, no wonderful effect is wrought within ourselves, unless some interior, responding wonder meets it.
-Herman Melville
Ask someone for help.
-Anonymous
Offer someone help.
-Anonymous
Share something of deep importance with someone you trust.
-Anonymous
We carry with us the wonders we seek without us.
-Sir Thomas Browne
When trying to make a change, tell someone so he or she can support you.
-Anonymous
No great thing is created suddenly.
-Epictetus
Pay the price for effectiveness.
-Anonymous
One of the signs of passing youth is the birth of a sense of fellowship with other human beings as we take our place among them.
-Virginia Woolf
Change the way you see in order to change what you get.
-Anonymous
Interdependence is a choice only independent people can make.
-Stephen R. Covey.
What will be the consequences if you don’t follow through on a key commitment to yourself?
-Anonymous
The question should be, is it worth trying to do, not can it be done?
-Allard Lowenstein
It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
-Motto of the Christopher Society
Forgive.
-Anonymous
Faith moves mountains, but you have to keep pushing while you are praying.
-Mason Cooley
Acknowledge a mistake.Correct it.
-Anonymous
We will either find a way, or make one.
-Hannibal
Accept responsibility for all of your actions.
-Anonymous
Replace worry with work.
-Anonymous
Have the courage to act instead of react.
-Earlene Larson Jenks
Do what you can do.
-Anonymous
The time when you need to do something is when no one else is willing to do it, when people are saying it can’t be done.
-Mary Frances Berry
Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Anonymous
Take initiative.
Anonymous
We have the opportunity to choose who our children’s parents will be.
-Anonymous
Make the best of a difficult situation.
Anonymous
Happiness, like unhappiness, is a proactive choice.-Stephen R Covey
Write down several things you worry about.Circle those things you can do something about and work on them.Forget the rest.
-Anonymous
As far as your self-control goes, as far goes your freedom.
-Marie von Ebner-Eschenback
Give up one activity that is keeping you from reaching your potential.
-Anonymous
The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.
-George Eliot
Avoid blaming others for your problems.
-Anonymous
Freedom is the will to be responsible to ourselves.
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Face the problem with action rather than apathy.
-Anonymous
Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.
-Theodore Roosevelt
Remember that even when you cannot control your circumstances, you can control your attitude.
Anonymous
The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.
-Elbert Hubbard
Avoid having a victim mentality
-Anonymous
Life is given to us, we earn it by giving it.
-Rabindranath Tagore
Life by design, not by default.
-Anonymous
No wind serves him who addresses his voyage to no certain port.
-Michel Eyquem de Montaigne
Dream.
-Anonymous
The finest piece of sculpture which Michelangelo ever carved began with a thought.
-Anonymous
Rehearse mentally before you perform.-Anonymous
You don’t get to choose how you’re going to die. Or when.You can only decide how you’re going to live. Now.
-Joan Baez
See potential in others.
-Anonymous
It is thrifty to prepare today for the wants of tomorrow.
-Lao Tzu
Visualize what you want to achieve today.
-Anonymous
Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose – appoint on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.
-Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Live out of your imagination instead of your memory.
-Anonymous
What do I really want?This is one of the most important questions you will ever ask yourself.Spell out your desires.
-Alfred A. Montapert
Helping Quotes
Enjoy our collection of inspirational helping quotes. Helping others is one of the gifts we have to give in life. We hope the words of wisdom in the quotes and sayings inspire and motivate you to help someone in need! Remember what you give will come back.
“There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
Acts, 20:35
“Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid.”
Albert Schweitzer
“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.”
George Eliot
“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.”
Albert Schweitzer
“To do more for the world than the world does for you – that is success.” Henry Ford
“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” Jim Rohn
“People never forget that helping hand especially when times are tough.”
Catherine Pulsifer
“Do all the good you can, and make as little fuss about it as possible.” Charles Dickens
“The more I help others to succeed, the more I succeed.”
“The duty of helping one’s self in the highest sense involves the helping of one’s neighbors.”
Samuel Smiles
“T hose who are less fortunate O ften don’t want to ask for help.
H ard times hit all of us at some point E njoy your good fortune L et your fortune help others P eople helping people makes this world a better place!”
Catherine Pulsifer
“You never know when you will need a helping hand.”
Catherine Pulsifer
“If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your path.”
Buddhist Saying
“We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Be thankful for what you have, but never take what you have for granted. Share with those who are less fortunate. You do not know what tomorrow brings.”
Catherine Pulsifer
“We can do no great things, only small things with great love.”
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, “What’s in it for me?” Brian Tracy
“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
“He stands erect by bending over the fallen. He rises by lifting others.”
Robert G. Ingersoll
“Never look down on anybody unless you helping him up.”
Jesse Jackson
“The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of being unwanted.” Mother Teresa
“One kernel is felt in a hogshead; one drop of water helps to swell the ocean; a spark of fire helps to give light to the world. None are too small, too feeble, too poor to be of service. Think of this and act.”
Hannah More
“All of us, at certain moments of our lives, need to take advice and to receive help from other people.”
Alexis Carrel
“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobile rather than by the quality of our service and relationship to humanity.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“After the verb ‘to Love,’ ‘to Help’ is the most beautiful verb in the world.”
Bertha von Suttner
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” Sir Winston Churchill
“Every good act is charity. A man’s true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows.”
Muhammed, (Peace Be Upon Him and His Progeny)
“People seldom refuse help, if one offers it in the right way.”
A. C. Benson
“Is anybody happier because you pass his way?”
John Hall
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
Anne Frank
“Look up and not down. Look forward and not back. Look out and not in, and lend a hand.”
Edward Everett Hale
“When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
“If you haven’t any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”
Bob Hope
“Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”
Danny Thomas
“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.”
Elizabeth Bibesco
“The wise person understands that his own happiness must include the happiness of others.”
Dennis Weaver
“A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives.”
Jackie Robinson
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.”
Leo Buscaglia
“Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug.” Og Mandino
“We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”
Whoopi Goldberg
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Albert Pike
“The best minute you spend is the one you invest in people.”
Ken Blanchard
“You will discover that you have two hands. One is for helping yourself and the other is for helping others.
Audrey Hepburn
“The race of humankind would perish did they cease to aid each other. We cannot exist without mutual help. All therefore that need aid have a right to ask it from their fellow humans; and no one who has the power of granting can refuse it without guilt.”
Sir Walter Scott
“You will find, as you look back upon your life, that the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others.”
Henry Drummond
“Time and money spent in helping people to do more for themselves is far better than mere giving.” Henry Ford
“Build your reputation by helping other people build theirs.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo
“Seek something outside your nine-to-five job as an additional source of fulfillment and as a way to feel the joy of helping others.”
Harold Kushner
“We cannot build our own future without helping others to build theirs.”
Bill Clinton
“The service we render others is the rent we pay for our room on earth.”
Wilfred Grenfell
“You are so fortunate, but what are you giving back to make this world a better place for others?”
Catherine Pulsifer
If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.
“Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best, that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.”
“We can help others in the world more by making the most of yourself than in any other way.” Earl Nightingale
“A good exercise for the heart is bending down and helping someone to get up.” Proverb
“In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.”
Flora Edwards
“They might not need me; but they might. I’ll let my head be just in sight; a smile as small as mine might be precisely their necessity.”
Emily Dickinson
“Forget yourself by becoming interested in others. Every day do a good deed that will put a mile of joy on someone’s face.” Dale Carnegie, How To Stop Worrying and Start Living.
“All of the great geniuses of the world were inspired and driven by their desire to enrich the lives of others.”
Robin Sharma, Who Will Cry When You Die?
“If you want to improve your world, then focus your attention on helping others.”
John C. Maxwell, Thinking For A Change.
Education quotes
“If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.”
Chinese proverb
“If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”
Derek Bok
“Only the educated are free.”
Epictetus, Discourses, Bk. ii, Ch. 1, Sec. 23
“Education, a debt due from the present to future generations.”
George Peabody (1869)
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
Henry Adams
“The function of education is to help you from childhood not to imitate anybody, but be yourself all the time.
Jiddu Krishnamurti
“There are two types of education… One should teach us how to make a living, and the other how to live.”
John Adams
“Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.”
Malcolm Forbes
“The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”
Mark Twain
“Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence.”
Robert Frost
“Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.”
Bob Talbert
“More money is put into prisons than into schools. That, in itself, is the description of a nation bent on suicide. I mean, what is more precious to us than our own children? We are going to build a lot more prisons if we do not deal with the schools and their inequalities.”
Jonathan Kozol
“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.”
Joseph Addison
“The real struggle is not between East and West, or capitalism and communism, but between education and propaganda.”
Martin Buber
“Literacy is the fertilizer needed for development and democracy to take root and grow.”
David Archer
“Only in popular education can man erect the structure of an enduring civilization.”
Andrew Carnegie
“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”
William Butler Yeats
“These children and their parents know that getting an education is not only their right, but a passport to a better future – for the children and for the country.”
— Harry Belafonte
“Think about it: Every educated person is not rich, but almost every education person has a job and a way out of poverty. So education is a fundamental solution to poverty.”
— Governor Kathleen Blanco
“The aim of education is the knowledge, not of facts, but of values.”
— William S. Boroughs
No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.”
— Emma Goldman
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.
–Nelson Mandela
Quotes from famous people
Napolean said..
The world suffers a lot. Not because of the violence of bad people, but because of the silence of good people!”
Einstein said..
“I am thankful to all those who said NO to me. It’s because of them I did it myself.
Abraham Lincoln said..
“If friendship is your weakest point then you are the strongest person in the world.”
Shakespeare said..
“Laughing faces do not mean that there is absence of sorrow!
but it means that they have the ability to deal with it.”
Shakespeare said..
“In the times of crisis I was not hurt by the harsh words of my enemies, but by the silence of my friends.”
Shakespeare said..
“Never play with the feelings of others because you may win the game but you will surely lose the person for life time.”
Shakespeare said..
“Coins make noise but currency notes are always silent.
So when your value increases keep silent.”
William Arthur said..
“Opportunities are like sunrises, if you wait too long you can miss them.”
Hitler said..
“When you are in the light, everything follows you,
but when you enter into the dark, even your own shadow doesn’t follow you.”
Shiv Khera..
“If we are not part of the solution, we are the big problem.”
“Winners never do different things, they do things differently.”
John Kates said.
“It is very easy to defeat someone,
but it is very hard to win someone.”
The Golden Ladder of Giving
By Maimonides
To give reluctantly,
the gift of the hand, but not of the heart.
To give cheerfully,
but not in proportion to need.
To give cheerfully and proportionately,
but not until solicited.
To give cheerfully, proportionately, and unsolicited,
but to put the gift into the poor person’s hand, thus creating shame.
To give in such a way that the distressed may know their benefactor,
without being known to him or her.
To know the objects of our bounty,
but remain unknown to them.
To give so that the benefactor may not know those whom he has relieved,
and they shall not know him.
To prevent poverty by teaching a trade, setting a person up in business,
or in some other way preventing the needof charity.
About the Author – Maimonides (1135 -1204)
During the Middle Ages he was a Jewish rabbi, physican and philosopher While his words were written many years ago their wisdom can still apply today.
Success and Giving
By Catherine Pulsifer
What is success?
To some it is money; to others it is position; yet to others, it is power.
In developing your own definition of success, think of others and how you can help them.
If success means money to you,
then donate money to a worthwhile charity.
If success means a position of status,
then share your knowledge with others.
If success means power to you,
then use that to advance worthwhile causes.
All to often, we get caught up in all the things we want, and forget to give back to the world. Our society seems to place more value on how much we have rather than how much we give.
What a different world it would be if society placed more value on how much we gave!
The inspirational words of wisdom said by Martin Luther King, Jr.,
sums up our thought:
“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries
or the size of our automobile rather than by
the quality of our service and relationship to humanity.”
Giving is Fun
By Kenneth Irving Brown
If you believe in something,
you support it.
If you support something, the time comes when good wishes and cordial words are not enough and your hand reaches for your pocketbook.
Then the fun begins.
For giving is fun.
If you refuse to give, your support is wavering; and if your support is wavering, it can’t be that you believe in that something in any strong way.
Maybe our account books, after all, offer the honest list of those things in which we really believe.
More inspirational words of wisdom on giving:
Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.
John Wesley
No person was ever honored for what he received.
He was honored for what he gave.
Calvin Coolidge
He who obtains has little. He who scatters has much.
Lao-Tzu
The value of a man resides in what he gives
and not in what he is capable of receiving.
Albert Einstein
Poverty quotes
“No one who works for a living should live in poverty.”
— Senator Edward Kennedy
“Let us work in partnerships between rich and poor to improve the opportunities of all human beings to build better lives.”
— Kofi Annan
“We, who have so much, must do more to help those in need. And most of all, we must live simply, so that others may simply live.”
— Ed Begley, Jr.
“Think about it: Every educated person is not rich, but almost every educated person has a job and a way out of poverty. So education is a fundamental solution to poverty.”
— Governor Kathleen Blanco
“Globalization has improved the lives of people throughout the world, but it has also widened the gap between rich and poor…Working to end poverty will make the world safer.”
— Robert Alan
Poverty in our World of Today
“It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that is spent in studying them.”
Bill Vaughan
“Poverty is like punishment for a crime you didn’t commit.”
Eli Khamarov
“The key to ending extreme poverty is to enable the poorest of the poor to get their foot on the ladder of development. The ladder of development hovers overhead, and the poorest of the poor are stuck beneath it. They lack the minimum amount of capital necessary to get a foothold, and therefore need a boost up to the first rung.”
Jeffrey D. Sachs
“Extreme poverty is the best breeding ground on earth for disease, political instability, and terrorism.”
Jeffrey Sachs
“Every morning our newspapers could read, ‘More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty.’ How? The poor die in hospital wards that lack drugs, in villages that lack antimalarial bed nets, in houses that lack safe drinking water. They die namelessly, without public comment. Sadly, sad stories rarely get written.”
Jeffrey Sachs
“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
Mahatma Gandhi
“It is a tragic mix-up when the United States spends 500,000 for every enemy soldier killed, and only 53 annually on the victims of poverty.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Some people think that poor people are lazy. Actually, it takes a lot of work to survive when you are dirt-poor.”
Muhammad Yunus
“Massive poverty and obscene inequality are such terrible scourges of our time–times in which the world boasts breathtaking advances in science, technology, industry and wealth accumulation–that they have to rank alongside slavery and apartheid as social evils.”
Nelson Mandela
“Society comprises two classes: those who have more food than appetite, and those who have more appetite than food.”
Sebastien-Roch Nicholas de Chamfort, Maximes
Quotes About Generosity
Enjoy this inspirational collection of quotes about generosity. May the words of wisdom in these quotes and sayings remind you to be generous with your time, your knowledge, and your fortune.
“No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” Calvin Coolidge
“We must give more in order to get more. It is the generous giving of ourselves that produces the generous harvest.” Orison Swett Marden
“Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.” Elizabeth Bibesco
“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill
“To know when to be generous and when to be firm — this is wisdom.” Elbert Hubbard
“What I gave I have, what I spent I had; and what I left I lost.” Robert of Doncaste
“Giving frees us from the familiar territory of our own needs by opening our mind to the unexplained worlds occupied by the needs of others.” Barbara Bush
“We should give as we would receive, cheerfully, quickly, and without hesitation; for there is no grace in a benefit that sticks to the fingers.” Seneca
“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.” Jim Rohn
“Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” Albert Camus
“Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving.”
Og Mandino
“To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue: gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, andkindness.”
Confucius
“Real generosity is doing something nice for someone who will never find out.”
Frank A. Clark
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Albert Pike
“Think of giving not as a duty but as a privilege.”
John D. Rockefeller Jr
“Generosity is giving more than you can, and pride is taking less than you need.”
Kahlil Gibran
“Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality and benevolence, the other from pride or fear.”
Jean-Paul Sartre
“Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.”
Thornton Wilder
“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
John Bunyon
“There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life — happiness, freedom, and peace of mind — are always attained by giving them to someone else.”
Peyton Conway March
“Generosity consists not the sum given, but the manner in which it is bestowed.”
Author Unknown
“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”
Buddha
“There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
Acts, 20:35
“The main source of our wealth is goodness. The affections and the generous qualities that God admires in a world full of greed.”
Alfred Montapert
“Generosity gives assistance, rather than advice.”
Marquis de Vauvenargues
“The love of Jesus is at once avid and generous. All that He has, all that He is, He gives; all that we are, all that we have, He takes.”
Jan van Ruysbroeck
“Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid.”
Albert Schweitzer
“You are so fortunate, but what are you giving back to make this world a better place for others?”
Catherine Pulsifer
More quotes about giving
Did you know that there are gifts that will multiply your happiness when you give them away?
Steve Brunkhorst
One must be poor to know the luxury of giving.
George Eliot
You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.
Amy Carmichael
You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.
Desmond Tutu
Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting.
Elizabeth Bibesco
The gift of sight to see beyond
The darker clouds of now!
John McLeod, from Dear Father…
Cheerful givers do not count the cost of what they give.Their hearts are set on pleasing and cheering the person to whom the gift is given.
Julian of Norwich
My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.
Jim Valvano
We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give. Winston Churchill
We are all gifted. That is our inheritance.
Ethel Waters
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery.
And today? Today is a gift.
That’s why we call it the present.
Babatunde Olatunji
We all should give what we have decided in our hearts to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Every problem has a gift for you in its hands. Richard Bach
Peace is our gift to each other.
Elie Wiesel
Not what we give, but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare; who gives himself with his alms feeds three, himself, his hungering neighbor, and me.
James Russell Lowell
God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you’?
William Arthur Ward
The finest gift you can give anyone is encouragement.
Sidney Madwed, from The finest gift …
Simply give others a bit of yourself; a thoughtful act, a helpful idea, a word of appreciation, a lift over a rough spot, a sense of understanding, a timely suggestion. You take something out of your mind, garnished in kindness out of your heart, and put it into the other person’s mind and heart.
Charles H. Burr
Life, love, and laughter – what priceless gifts to give our children.
Phyllis Dryden
Welcome every morning with a smile. Look on the new day as another special gift from your Creator,
Another golden opportunity to complete what you were unable to finish yesterday.
Og Mandino
Each day’s a gift of Life divine a precious jewel that’s yours and mine!
John McLeod, from I Believe In Miracles
Friendship is God’s most precious gift.
Author Unknown, from The Miracle of Friendship
To give and then not feel that one has given is the very best of all ways of giving.
Max Beerbohm
Life is a gift we’re given each and every day.
Dream about tomorrow, but live for today.
Author Unknown, from Life is for Living
There are many things in life that are beyond our control. But there are few things in life that are beyond our power of choice and our ability to make lemonade from lemons if we just put our minds to it while we focus on the gifts of the present
Julie Donner Andersen, from What My Widowed Husband Has Taught Me
They serve best who give most of themselves. Self is forgotten by the one who serves, for such a one rejoices to see success coming to others through his or her efforts.
James Cash Penney
THE GIFT OF LAUGHTER…
Clip cartoons. Share articles and funny stories. Your gift will say, “I love to laugh with you.”
Author Unknown, from Eight Gifts That Don’t Cost A Cent
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.
Author Unknown, from Each Day Is A Gift
The measure of life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation.
Peter Marshall
Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him and His Progeny) Quotes:
“God is One, and liketh unity.
“Do you love your creator Love your fellow-beings first.”
“That man is nearest to God, who pardoneth, when he had in his power him who would have injured him.”
“The ink of the scholar is more holy than the blood of the martyr.”
“The most excellent Jihad is that for the conquest of self.”
“Be in the world like a traveller, or like a passer on, and reckon yourself as of the dead.”
“This world is a prison for the Faithful, but a Paradise for unbelievers.”
“The love of the world is the root of all evil.”
“The rights of women are sacred. See that women are maintained in the rights assigned to them.”
“God enjoins you to treat women well, for they are your mothers, daughters, aunts.”
“Shall I not point out to you the best of virtues; it is your doing good to your daughter when she is returned to you having been divorced by her husband.”
“Whoever doeth good to girls, it will be a curtain to him from hell-fire.”
“Women are the twin halves of men.”
“A Muslim must not hate his wife and if he be displeased with one bad quality in her, then let him be pleased with another that is good.”
“Admonish your wives with kindness.”
“Verily, a man hath performed prayers, fasts, charity, pilgrimage and all other good works but he will not be rewarded except by the proportion of his understanding.”
“It is not a sixth or a tenth of a man’s devotion which is acceptable to God, but only such portions thereof as he offereth with understanding and true devotional spirit.”
“Say: what is true although it may be bitter and displeasing to people.”
“It is not worthy of a speaker of truth to curse people.”
“Strive always to excel in virtue and truth.”
“Some eloquence is like magic.”
“’There is a polish for everything that taketh away rust and the polish for the heart is the remembrance of God.’ The companions said, ‘Is not repelling the infidels also like this’ Muhammad said, ‘No, although one fights until one’s sword be broken’”
“Can anyone walk through water without wetting his feet the companions replied, ‘No’ Muhammad said, ‘such is the condition of those of the world they are not safe from sins.’”
“In prayers, all thoughts must be laid aside but those of God in conversation no word is to be uttered which afterwards be repented of do not covet from others, or have any hopes for them.”
“A Muslim, who mixeth with people and beareth inconveniences, is better than one who doth not mix with them and beareth no inconveniences.”
“’Teach me a work, such that when I perform it God and men will love me.’ Muhammad said, ‘Desire not the world, and God will love you and desire not what men have, and they will love you.”
“No man hath believed perfectly, until he wishes for his brother that which he wisheth for himself.”
“Much silence and a good disposition, there are no two works better than those.”
“If envy were proper, two persons would be the most proper objects of it one, a man to whom god hath given riches, and appointed to bestow in charity the other, to whom God hath granted the knowledge of religion, and acteth thereon himself, instructing others.”
“He is not of us who is not affectinate to his little ones, and doth not respect the feelings of the aged and he is not of us who doth not order that which is good and prohibit that which is evil.”
“Verily, each of you is a mirror to his brother then if he seeth a vice in his brother he must tell him to get rid of it.”
“Ye will not enter Paradise until ye have faith, and ye will not complete your faith until ye love one another.
“Do not say that if people do good to us, we will do good to them and if people oppress us, we will oppress them but determine that if people do you good, you will do good to them and if they oppress you, you will not oppress them.”
“That person is not of us who inviteth others to aid him in oppression and he is not of us who fighteth for his tribe in injustice and he is not of us who dieth in assisting his tribe in tyranny.”
“Refrain from seeing and speaking of the vices of mankind, which you know are in yourself.”
“Fear not the obloquy of the detractor in showing God’s religion.”
“Every Muslim who calls a Muslim infidel will have the epithet returned to him.”
“It is unworthy of a Muslim to injure people’s reputation it is unworth to curse anyone and it is unworth to abuse anyone and it is unworth of a Muslim to talk vainly.”
“It is better to sit alone than in company with the bad and it is better to sit with the good than alone. And it is better to speak words to a speaker of knowledge than to remain silent and silence is better than bad words.”
“He is true who protecteth his brethren both present and absent.”
“No man is a true believer unless he desireth for his brother that which he desireth for himself.”
“The proof of Muslims sincerity is that he payeth no heed to that which is not his business.”
“The creation is as God’s family for its sustenance is from Him therefore the most beloved unto God is the person who doeth good to God’s family.”
“Be ye imbued with divine qualities.”
“Do a good deed for every bad deed that it may blot out the latter.”
“This life is but tillage for the next, do well that you may reap there for striving is the ordinance of God and whatever God hath ordained can only be attained by striving.”
“Commandments are of three kinds one commands an action, the reward of which is clear, then do it another forbids an action which leads astray, abstain from it and in another arise contradictions, resign that to God.”
“It is not a sixth or a tenth of a man’s devotion which is acceptable to God, but only such portions thereof as he offereth with understanding and true devotional spirit.”
“Adore God as thou wouldst if thou sawest Him for if thou seest Him not, He seeth thee.”
“Verily your deeds will be brought back to you, as if you yourself were the creator of your own punishment.”
“Feed the hungry and visit the sick, and free the captive, if he be unjustly confined. Assist any person oppressed, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.”
“Verily the most beloved of you by me are those of the best dispositions.”
“He, who believeth in one God and the Hereafter, let him speak what is good or remain silent.”
“He who progresseth daily is yet far off from the Ideal.”
“Muhammad once said to Anas, ‘Son, if you are able to keep your heart from morning till night and from night till morning free from malice towards anyone’ then he said, ‘Oh my son, this is one of my laws, and he who loveth my laws verily loveth me.’”
“O Lord as thou hast made my body good, so make good my disposition.”
“I have been sent to explain fully good dispositions.”
“Speak to men according to their mental capacities, for if you speak all things to all men, some cannot understand you, and so fall into errors.”
“He is of the most perfect Muslims, whose disposition is most liked by his own family.”
“Death is a bridge that uniteth friend with friend.”
“Muhammad said, three days before his death, ‘Not one of you must die but with resignation to the will of God, and with hope for his beneficence and pardon.’”
“Sleep is the brother of death.”
“Deliberation in undertakings is pleasing to God.”
“Do not consider any act of kindness insignificant, even meeting your brother with a cheerful face.”
“Act kindly towards women, for they were created from a rib and the most crooked part of the rib is its top. If you attempt to straighten it you will break it, if you leave it alone it will remain crooked so act kindly towards women.”
“People will not sit remembering God without the angels surrounding them, mercy covering them, peace descending on them.”
“When one of you becomes angry while standing, he should sit down. If the anger leaves him, well and good otherwise he should lie down.”
“The grave is the first stage of the journey into eternity.”
“The Faithful do not die perhaps they become translated from this perishable world to the world of eternal existences.”
“Remember often the destroyer and cutter off of delights, which is death.”
“When the bier of anyone passeth by thee, whether Jew, Christian, or Muslim, rise to thy feet.”
“’O Apostle of God Inform, Inform me, if I stop with a man, and he doth not entertain me, and he afterwards stoppeth at my house, am I to entertain him or to act with him as he with did me’ Muhammad said, ‘Entertain him.’”
“Humility and courtesy are acts of piety.”
“No person hath drunk a better draught than that of anger which he hath swallowed for God’s sake.”
“He is not strong and powerful who throweth people down but he is strong who witholdeth himself from anger.”
“’Give me advice,’ said someone. Muhammad said, ‘Be not angry.’”
“May God fill the heart of that person who suppresseth his anger with safety and faith.”
“Whoever suppresseth his anger, when he hath in his power to show it, God will give him great reward?”
“Whoever hath been given gentleness hath been given a good portion in this world and the next.”
“If anyone removes (one of the) anxieties of this world from a believer, God will remove (one of the) anxieties from him on the Day of Resurrection if one smoothes the way for one who is destitute, God will smooth the way for him in this world and the next and if anyone conceals the faults of a Muslim, God will conceal his faults in this world and the next. God helps a man as long as he helps his brother. If anyone pursues a path in search of knowledge God will thereby make easy for him a path to paradise.”
“The exercise of religious duty will not at one for the fault of an abusive tongue.”
“God loveth those who are content.”
“Look to those inferior to yourselves, so that you may not hold God’s benefits in contempt.”
“A man cannot be a Muslim till his heart and tongue are so.”
“The angels asked, ‘O God Is there anything of Thy creation stronger than rocks’ God said, ‘Yes iron is stronger than rocks, for it breaketh them.’ The angels said, ‘O Lord Is there anything of Thy creation stronger than iron’ God said, ‘Yes fire is stronger than iron, for it melteth it.’ And the angels said, O defender Is there anything of Thy creation stronger than fire’ God said, ‘Yes water overcometh fire it killeth it and maketh it cold.’ Then the angels said, ‘O Lord Is there anything of Thy creation stronger than water’ God said, ‘Yes wind overcometh water it agitateth it and putteth it in motion.’ They said, ‘O our cherisher Is there anything in Thy creation stronger than wind’ God said, ‘Yes, the children of Adam, giving alms that is, those who give with their right hands and conceal if from their left, they overcome all.’”
“Alms giving is duty unto you. Alms should be taken from the rich and returned to the poor.”
“Verily, to honor an old man is showing respect to God.”
“The man I most emulate is a Muslim unencumbered a man of small family, and little money, a performer of prayers and a perfect worshipper of God in private, one who is unknown, and hath enough to supply his wants, and when he dieth, he will leave few women to cry for him, and few legacies.”
“The best of almsgiving is that which springeth from the heart, and is uttered by the lips to soften the wounds of the injured.”
“If you spend (to help others), O son of Adam I God shall spend on you.”
“There is a devil in every berry of the grape.”
“Adhere to truth, for truth leads to good deeds and good deeds lead him who does them to paradise. Falsehood is wickedness and wickedness leads to hell.”
“A man’s true wealth here after is the good he does in this world to his fellow man.”
“He who remembers his Lord and he who does not are like the living and dead.”
“Kill not your hearts with excess of eating and drinking.”
“There are three signs of a hypocrite when he speaks he speaks lies, when he makes a promise he breaks it, and when he is trusted he betrays his trust.”
“Those who are nearest to God are they who are first to give a salutation.”
“Shedding of blood will be the first matter about which judgment will be given on the Day of Resurrection.”
“The search of knowledge is an obligation laid on every Muslim.”
“A believer’s soul is attached to his debt till it is paid.”
“Righteousness is good character, and sin is that which revolves in your heart and which you do not want people to know.”
“Reviling a Muslim is disobedience to God, and fighting with him is infidelity.”
“The man who is most hateful to God is the one who quarrels and disputes most.”
“The one who would have the worst position in God’s sight on the Day of Resurrection would be a learned man who did not profit from his learning.”
“A believer must not hate his wife, and if he is displeased with one bad quality in her, then let him be pleased with one that is good in her.”
“Among the believers who show most perfect faith are those who have best disposition and are kindest to their families.”
“Modesty is part of faith and faith is in paradise, but obscenity is part of hardness of heart and hardness of heart is in hell.”
“He who believes in God and the Last Day should honour his guest he who believes in God and the Last Day should not annoy his neighbours and he who believes in God and the Last Day should say what is good or keep silent.”
“When a man makes a loan to another, he must not accept a present.”
“No judge must give judgment between two people when he is angry.”
“Eat together and not separately, for the blessings are associated with the company.”
“Those who are merciful have mercy shown them by the Compassionate One, if you show mercy to those who are in the earth, He Who is in heaven will show mercy to you.”
“Do not ask for any high office, for if you are given it after asking, you will be left to discharge it yourself if you are given it without asking you will be helped to discharge it.”
“Two hungry wolves do not do so much havoc to a flock of sheep as greed and desire do to one’s religion.”
“When he dies, people will say, ‘What property has he left behind him’ But the angels will ask, ‘What good deeds has he sent before him’”
“He who does a good deed will have ten times the amount of blessings, and I God shall give more, but he who does an evil deed will have an equivalent reward of evil, or I shall grant forgiveness. If anyone draws the length of a span near Me, I shall draw the length of a cubit near him, and if anyone draws the length of a cubit near Me, I shall draw the length of a fathom near him. If anyone comes to me walking I shall come to him at a run, and if anyone meets me with sins of the size of the earth, but has not associated anything with Me, I shall meet him a similar amount of forgiveness.”
“If anyone guarantees me that he will not beg from people, I will guarantee him paradise.”
“You have two characters which God likes gentleness and deliberation.”
“He who is deprived of gentleness is deprived of good.”
“A Muslim has five duties towards another Muslim to return a salutation, visit the sick, follow funerals, accept an invitation and say ‘God have mercy on you’ when one sneezes.”
“What is Faith When your good deed pleases you and your evil deed grieves you, you are a believer. What is Sin When a thing disturbs (the peace of) your heart, give it up.”
“He who has in his heart as much faith as a grain of mustard seed will not be entering hell.
“He who has in his heart as much pride as a grain of mustard seed will not enter paradise.”
“Avoid envy, for envy devours good deeds just as fire devours fuel.”
“A creature is not to be obeyed when it involves disobedience to the Creator.”
“The strong man is not the good wrestler the strong man is only the one who controls himself when he is angry.”
“Coarse talk does not come into anything without disgracing it, and modesty does not come into anything without adorning it.”
“Your smiling in your brother’s face is charity an exhortation of your fellow man to virtuous deeds is equal to almsgiving, you’re putting a wanderer in the right road is charity, your assisting the blind is charity your removing stones and thorns and other obstructions from the road is charity your giving water to the thirsty is charity.”
“None of you really has faith unless he desires for his neighbor what he desires for himself.”
“Every good act is charity.”
“Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.”
“If I had but two loaves of bread, I would sell one and buy hyacinths, for they would feed my soul.”
“It is better for one of you to take a rope, bring a load of firewood on his back, and sells it, God thereby preserving his self respect, than that he should beg from people whether they give him anything or refuse him.”
Source: Internet
(Excerpt from Great Quotes from Great Leader)
“The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)
“Life is a series of experiences, each of which makes us bigger, even though it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grief’s which we endure help us in our marching onward.”
Henry Ford (1863-1947)
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”
Mother Teresa (1910-1997)
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”
Winston Churchill (1874-1965)
“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”
Nelson Mandela (1918 – )
“Leaders aren’t born, they are made. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal which is worthwhile.”
Vince Lombardi (1913-1970)
“Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”
George Washington (1732-1799)
“We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face…we must do that which we think we cannot.”
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884-1962)
“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
“The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been kindness, beauty, and truth.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
“Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effort.”
Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945)
“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.”
Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965)
“I believe the unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experiences of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired and success achieved.”
Why should you start walking? Walking for 30 to 60 minutes each day is one of the best things you can do for your body, mind, and spirit. Here are great reasons to start walking.
1.Walkers Live Longer The Honolulu Heart Study of 8000 men found that walking just two miles a day cut the risk of death almost in half. The walkers’ risk of death was especially lower from cancer. Other studies have had similar findings – if you keep walking, you improve your chances of a longer and healthier life.
More: Walkers Live Longer 2.Walking Helps Prevent Weight Gain If you add just 2000 more steps a day to your regular activities, you may never gain another pound. So says research by Dr. James O. Hill of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. To lose weight, add in more steps.
Exercise such as walking is an important part of any weight loss program. You must still watch how much you eat in order to lose weight. But walking helps you build healthy lean muscle, lose inches of fat, and pump up your metabolism. Of long-term successful weight losers, almost all maintain a program of walking or other exercise.
4.Walking Reduces Risk of Cancer Study after study has shown that walking and exercise reduces your risk of breast cancer and colon cancer. Walking is also good for those undergoing cancer treatment, improving their chances of recovery and survival.
More: Heart Health Benefits of Walking 6.Walking Reduces Diabetes Risk Get out and walk for 30 minutes a day as your minimum daily requirement for health and to prevent Type 2 diabetes. A study by the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, discovered that walking for 30 minutes a day cut diabetes risks for overweight as well as non-overweight men and women. Walking also helps maintain blood sugar balance for those with diabetes.
7.Walking Boosts Your Brain Power A study of people over 60 funded by the National Council on Aging, published in the July 29, 1999 issue of Nature, found that walking 45 minutes a day at 16-minute mile pace increased the thinking skills of those over 60. The participants started at 15 minutes of walking and built up their time and speed. The result was that the same people were mentally sharper after taking up this walking program.
Walking and other exercise leads to the release of the body’s natural happy drugs – endorphins. Most people notice an improvement in mood. A Nov. 9, 1999 study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine showed that university students who walked and did other easy to moderate exercise regularly had lower stress levels than couch potatoes or those who exercised strenuously.
All you need is a pair of comfortable shoes and to get yourself out the door or onto the treadmill. You can reap the benefits of walking from doing several shorter walks or one longer walk during the day. To get you on the right foot, this easy tutorial shows you how to walk with good posture and how to increase your walking time each day.
Have you thought of the different benefits of playing sports? Have you realized the importance of making sports a part of your daily routine? Read on for more.
Playing sports is something most of us love, isn’t it? Undoubtedly, sports are a fun activity but they offer several health benefits too. Playing some sport regularly goes a long way in maintaining your physical and mental well-being. Sports help enhance your personality. They are a good source of both exercise and entertainment.
Advantages of Sports in a Nutshell
Physical Benefits Increased strength and stamina Better body shape increased agility They help burn calories and shed those extra pounds They give the body a good exercise Psychological Benefits They encourage you to give your best every time They help build your planning and analytical skills and increase concentration Sports boost confidence They build leadership and team skills The Bigger Picture Achieve social integration Lead to infrastructural developments Create employment opportunities Boost the tourism industry How Sports Benefit You
Sports serve as an excellent physical exercise. Those who play sports have a more positive body image than those who do not. Sports often involve physical activities like running, jumping, stretching and moving about which turn out to be a good body workout. Playing sports is energy put to good use. Engaging in sports since an early age strengthens your bones and muscles and tones your body. It helps you increase your stamina and endurance. Sports that involve jumping and stretching help increase height; for example basketball. Games that involve running, kicking or throwing a ball help strengthen the arms and legs; for example soccer and cricket. Swimming provides a full body workout. Thus sports provide the body with complete exercise and engaging in sports directly translates into overall fitness.
Research shows that sports improve Math skills in children. Sports that involve aiming and hitting skills, for example, tennis, badminton, baseball and cricket help them increase focus. They help develop leadership qualities and foster team spirit in kids. They involve competition; they involve winning and losing. This exposes children to both aspects of life, successes and failures. Sports build a competitive spirit in children and teach them to be participative irrespective of whether the result is victory or defeat. Playing sports teaches them to accept both successes and failures with a positive spirit. Sports teach you to think with a cool head. The most important benefit of sports is the sportsman spirit they inculcate. Sports help you become more sporting, more positive and stronger.
Playing sports is very beneficial for the development of social skills. Sports teach you to interact with people, communicate with them and collaborate as a team. Sports foster collective thinking and harness your planning and delegation skills too. Sports build confidence. Winning a game gives you a sense of accomplishment, which boosts your confidence further.
Playing sports involves directed thinking. It requires you to strategize. You need to devise ways to score goals, runs or earn points, as the case may be. You need to devise strategies to win, you need to decide whether to take an offensive stand or a defensive one. You need to judge your opponent’s strategy and modify yours accordingly. This definitely involves clever thinking, which sports encourage. Studies show that kids who play sports regularly fare well in academics and do well in school.
Sports make you happy. I know anyone would agree with this. Jumping about, running around, racing to get ahead, hitting, throwing, bouncing, kicking (the ball, I mean!), shouting, clapping, cheering, falling and standing up again… all a part of playing sports. And there is no match to the happiness this brings. They give you the high by increasing the production of endorphins in the brain. In other words, sports are a form of exercise which generates happiness molecules in your body, thus restoring your mental health. Playing sports, you can’t be sad. In fact, they bust the sorrow and the stress. Sports generate a positive energy in you, around you.
When sports are played at the state or national level, they increase the players’ sense of belonging to their community or country. International sports events foster patriotism and a feeling of oneness among the team members of a country. Playing sports at these levels opens many employment avenues for not only sportsmen and women but also people who join tournaments as volunteers, cheerleaders or in the capacity of sports doctors and physical therapists. As developments are undertaken in cities hosting sports events, sports can lead to urbanization of rural areas. Many cities have started becoming hubs for sports tourism. Sports parks are being developed in many tourist destinations. It is the increasing inclination for playing sports which is responsible for such developments.
Playing sports reduces several health risks. As sports serve as an excellent form of exercise, it won’t come as a surprise that they offer health benefits like lowering blood pressure, maintaining blood sugar and cholesterol levels and reducing other health risks. Yes, if you are playing a sport regularly, you are at a lesser risk of developing diabetes or heart diseases. Playing sports reduces the risk of hypertension and several other stress-related disorders. Research shows that people who play sports regularly can deal with stresses and strains in a better way. Those who engage in sports activities are less prone to depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders.
Regular exercise that is achieved through sports leads to an improvement in the overall health thus improving quality of life. Sports are a good combination of recreation and exercise. They improve your physical and psychological health; physical because sports involve exercise and psychological because playing is something you enjoy, it’s something that relaxes your mind. Something so advantageous is worth investing time in. So go hit the ground today. Play!
Smiling is a great way to make yourself stand out while helping your body to function better. Smile to improve your health, your stress level, and your attractiveness. Smiling is just one fun way to live longer read about the others and try as many as you can.
1. Smiling Makes Us Attractive
We are drawn to people who smile. There is an attraction factor. We want to know a smiling person and figure out what is so good. Frowns, scowls and grimaces all push people away — but a smile draws them in (avoid these smile aging habits to keep your smile looking great).
2. Smiling Changes Our Mood
Next time you are feeling down, try putting on a smile. There’s a good chance you mood will change for the better. Smiling can trick the body into helping you change your mood.
3. Smiling Is Contagious
When someone is smiling they lighten up the room, change the moods of others, and make things happier. A smiling person brings happiness with them. Smile lots and you will draw people to you.
4. Smiling Relieves Stress
Stress can really show up in our faces. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, worn down, and overwhelmed. When you are stressed, take time to put on a smile. The stress should be reduced and you’ll be better able to take action.
5. Smiling Boosts Your Immune System
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed. Prevent the flu and colds by smiling.
6. Smiling Lowers Your Blood Pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home. Sit for a few minutes, take a reading. Then smile for a minute and take another reading while still smiling. Do you notice a difference?
7. Smiling Releases Endorphins, Natural Pain Killers and Serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.
8. Smiling Lifts the Face and Makes You Look Younger
The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don’t go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day — you’ll look younger and feel better.
9. Smiling Makes You Seem Successful
Smiling people appear more confident, are more likely to be promoted, and more likely to be approached. Put on a smile at meetings and appointments and people will react to you differently.
10. Smiling Helps You Stay Positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It’s hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that “Life is Good!” Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.It seems that nothing has more power to elevate a mood than the impact of a genuine smile. Surprisingly enough, the benefits of a smile extend not only to the recipient of the warm gesture but also to the smile’s originator. Yes, the old quotation may be true. “A smile is a little curve that sets a lot of things straight.”
Here are some of the many benefits of a smile:Benefits of a smile: A healthier immune system
Various studies conducted over the years have shown that smiling and laughter can boost the functioning of the immune system. This may help to reduce your risk of developing everything from the common cold to chronic diseases such as cancer. Could there be a less expensive medicine than this?
Benefits of a smile: Helps to relieve stress
Smiling and laughter helps to promote release of a “feel good” group of hormones calledendorphins. These are the same group of hormones responsible for the runners high you hear so much about. If you don’t have time to get to the gym for a hard run, try adding a smile and a bit of laughter to boost these natural, stress relieving hormones.
Benefits of a smile: A smile is beautiful
Why do American spend thousands of dollars on makeup and cosmetic procedures to look more attractive and then walk around with a scowl on their faces? The most beautiful face in the world won’t be pleasing with down turned lips and a sour expression. In contrast, a plain face can be transformed by the power of a smile. If you want to look better, try adding a genuine smile.
Benefits of a smile: A smile inspires others
When you smile at a stranger you not only boost your own health and beauty, you also send a positive messagethat can potentially change someone else’s mood for the better. The stranger you graced with your smile may go on to pass the kindness to someone else. Who knows how far your original smile will travel?
Benefits of a smile: Smiling canincrease your chances for success
When you smile, you appear confident and capable. Given the choice between two equally qualified job candidates, the smiling candidate is going to be perceived as being more of a team player and easier to workwith. Who do you think is more likely to get the job offer?
The next time you’re tempted to face the world with a frown, remember another old quotation. “It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown”.
When you smile, you appear confident and capable. Given the choice between two equally qualified job candidates, the smiling candidate is going to be perceived as being more of a team player and easier to work with. Who do you think is more likely to get the job offer?
Smile! The Remarkable Personal Benefits of Smiling by SixWise.comThere may be more to the song “Put on a Happy Face” than just a catchy tune-putting on a happy face is actually good for you, and those around you. Now there’s a reason to smile.
Smile Your Way to a Better Future
Researchers of a study led by Dr. Dacher Keltner of the University of California were able to predict the future success (30 years down the road!) of 21-year-old women just by looking at their photographs. The key appeared to be the intensity of the women’s smiles.
“Women who displayed more positive emotion were more likely to be married by 27, less likely to have remained single into middle adulthood and more likely to have satisfying marriages 30 years later. This means we can take photos at a wedding and from them we may be able to tell how the marriage will go,” said Dr. Keltner.
How intense a woman smiled was related to personality tests and psychologists ranked the women by how they expressed emotions like joy and happiness. How did they know the smiles weren’t being faked? They used computer technology to measure 44 aspects of facial activity. If a smile were not genuine, certain muscles would not move (for instance, certain muscles around the eyes that we don’t consciously control move when we feel emotion).
Be Happy: Fight Illness Better
People who are optimistic (and these are the people who are out there smiling!) have stronger immune systems and are actually able to fight off illness better than pessimists.
Need a Quick Laugh?
The new employee stood before the paper shredder looking confused.
“Need some help?” a secretary walking by asked.
“Yes,” he replied, “How does this thing work?”
“Simple,” she said, taking the fat report from his hand and feeding it into the shredder.
“Thanks,” he said, “but where do the copies come out?”
“The research is very clear,” says Christopher Peterson, Ph.D, a University of Michigan professor who’s been studying optimism’s link to health for over two decades, “This is not some social science generalization. There is a link between optimistic attitudes and good health. It has been measured in a variety of ways. Overall, we have found that optimistic people are healthier. Their biological makeup is different. They have a more robust immune system.”
A Joke to Get You Smiling, Little Johnny’s kindergarten class was on a field trip to their local policestation where they saw pictures, tacked to a bulletin board, of the 10 most-wanted criminals. One of theyoungsters pointed to a picture and asked if itreally was the photo of a wanted person. “Yes,” said the policeman. “The detectives want very badly to capture him.” Little Johnny asked, “Why didn’t you keep him when you took his picture?”
It also appears that people who are optimistic are more likely to take care of themselves, which may be another reason why they tend to be healthier. Says Peterson, “Optimistic people act differently … [and] are more likely to do the things that public health experts say are associated with good health. Generally speaking, they eat sensibly, they don’t drink senselessly, they exercise and they get their sleep.”
Smile: You’ll Live Longer
According to a study published in the November 2004 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, elderly optimistic people, those who expected good things to happen (rather than bad things), were less likely to die than pessimists.
In fact, among the 65- to 85-year-old study participants, those who were most optimistic were 55 percent less likely to die from all causes than the most pessimistic people. What’s more, after researchers adjusted the results for age, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and other measures of health, the optimists were 71 percent less likely to die than the pessimists!
Smiling Feels Like Eating 2,000 Chocolate Bars
That’s right-according to The British Dental Health Foundation, a smile gives the same level of stimulation as eating 2,000 chocolate bars. The results were found after researchers measured brain and heart activity in volunteers as they were shown pictures of smiling people and given money and chocolate.
Dr. Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Foundation, pointed out, “We have long been drawing attention to the fact that smiling increases happiness both in yourself and those around you, so it is good to receive the backing of this scientific research … A healthy smile can improve your confidence, help you make friends and help you to succeed in your career … ”
A Little More Smile Motivation … A driver tucked this note under the windshield wiper of his automobile: “I’ve circled the block for 20 minutes. I’m late for an appointment, and if I don’t park here I’ll lose my job. Forgive us our trespasses.”
When he came back he found a parking ticket and this note: “I’ve circled the block for 20 years, and if I don’t give you a ticket, I’ll lose my job. Lead us not into temptation.”
Smiling is Contagious
What’s even better is that the more you smile, the more others will too. Says psychologist Dr. David Lewis, “Seeing a smile creates what is termed as a ‘halo’ effect, helping us to remember other happy events more vividly, feel more optimistic, more positive and more motivated.”
So what are you waiting for? Go ahead … Smile!
Recommended Reading
Smile and the whole world smiles with you. Smile is a window of the soul. Smile is easy, free, but creates a very good impression and provides enormous benefits, both for those who give and those given a smile. Find out more of smiling benefits in my lens.
Mother Teresa once said, every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
Smile is a universal language which is done in the same way in every part of the world. Intuitively, people tend to get attracted towards those who smile genuinely.
* Smiling changes your mood.
If you’re sad, try to smile. You will feel your mood get better.
*Smiling relieves stress
Stress can be seen clearly in the face. Smiling helps to prevent us from looking tired, and overwhelmed. When you stress, put on a smile. Smiling will reduce your stress and you will be able to think clearly to take action.
*Smiling boosts your immune system
Smiling helps the immune system to work better. When you smile, immune function improves possibly because you are more relaxed.
*Smiling lowers your blood pressure
When you smile, there is a measurable reduction in your blood pressure. Give it a try if you have a blood pressure monitor at home.
*Smiling releases Endorphins, natural pain killers and Serotonin
Studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins, natural pain killers, and serotonin. Together these three make us feel good. Smiling is a natural drug.
*Smiling lifts the face and makes you look younger
The muscles we use to smile lift the face, making a person appear younger. Don’t go for a face lift, just try smiling your way through the day — you’ll look younger and feel better.
*Smiling helps you stay positive
Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It’s hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that “Life is Good!” Stay away fromdepression, stress and worry by smiling.
The Benefits of a Beautiful Smile
No one can disregard the importance of having a beautiful smile.
According to one survey sponsored by a fashion magazine, 92% of Americans believes that one of the most important features of their body is their stunning smile. rhythm cardiac and reduce tension
It is reflected to the rise of cosmetic dentistry procedures over the last 8 years. This figure can be interpreted in 2 different ways: either the procedures have become more accessible to many people or there is a growing concern over the aesthetics of their teeth. But whichever way, Americans have become more conscious and begin to place more importance on the appearance of their smiles as well as their dental health.
This is not only limited to the Western culture. Even in other parts of the world particularly Europe, Asia and Australia, there has been a steady increase in cosmetic dentistry procedures. This is because even if different cultures perceive beauty differently, most rely on physical appearance to determine how good the person is. There is nothing wrong with it. In fact, taking care of your physical appearance as well as dental appearance improves your overall well-being, which includes self-confidence and self-esteem.
A beautiful smile, therefore, develops your self-esteem and self-confidence. This is perhaps the most significant change you can experience. Since you are no longer conscious about the condition of your teeth, you can proudly show your beautiful set of teeth when you smile and laugh. And because you are more confident to face others, you can create a better first impression, whether to attract the opposite sex or to stay within the social scene.
Self-esteem and self-confidence are the measurement of your self-worth. If you possess the two, you can see your life in a much better perspective and extend yourself to a much larger group of people. Your personality and attitude determine how others see you, so when you treat yourself with high-self worth others will notice.
Smiling makes you feel better
A happy smile brings about a better-feeling mood. You can experiment yourself. Put a smile on your face (even if you don’t feel like smiling) and try to keep smiling for about a minute. See if your mood shifts up a notch towards more happiness.
The muscles used in smiling seem to have that real effect. This means that even if you’re not feeling too cheerful you can still ‘fake’ a smile for a short while and you will actually start to feel better.
Smiling reduces blood pressure
Research has shown that smiling brings about a definite and measurable reduction in blood pressure. And high blood pressure is a major health risk factor in these modern times.
If you don’t believe this, the next time you’re having your blood pressure checked, ask the doctor or health professional to let you smile for a minute or two after the first reading, and then take a second reading and see if it’s the same or lower than the first one.
Smiling boosts the immune system
The immune system is what helps you stay healthy and ward off colds, flu and other illnesses. If you smile a lot you can expect your body’s immune system to benefit, reducing your chances of getting ailments.
So, this is another reason why deliberately and frequently offering a smile can be of benefit to health and happiness.
No matter how grouchy you’re feeling,
You’ll find the smile more or less healing.
It grows in a wreath
All around the front teeth –
Thus preserving the face from congealing.
~Anthony Euwer
Every day you spend without a smile, is a lost day. ~Author Unknown
Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. ~Mother Teresa
A smile is like tight underwear – it makes your cheeks go up. ~Author Unknown
A friendly look, a kindly smile, one good act, and life’s worthwhile. ~Author Unknown
A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in its vicinity freshen into smiles. ~Washington Irving
Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. ~Charles Reade
A smile is the universal welcome. ~Max Eastman
Keep smiling – it makes people wonder what you’ve been up to. ~Author Unknown
You’re never fully dressed without a smile. ~Martin Charnin
A smile can brighten the darkest day. ~Author Unknown
It takes seventeen muscles to smile and forty-three to frown. ~Author Unknown
Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. ~Janet Lane
All the statistics in the world can’t measure the warmth of a smile. ~Chris Hart
If you would like to spoil the day for a grouch, give him a smile. ~Author Unknown
Smile – it increases your face value. ~Author Unknown
Reasons Prayer Can Be so Powerful
Wendy Brumback, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Apr 22, 2010 “Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here.”
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The power of prayer can be seen from moment to moment throughout our daily lives. God asks us to pray over everything. He does this because he wants to be part of our lives, he does this because he knows that if we just ask he can help us – “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” Matthew 7:7 (KJV)
We pray for understand
Let’s face it, sometimes we just don’t get it. We do not understand why something is happening or what to do next. We have all had these moments of complete confusion. Prayer can help to eliminate some, if not all, of that confusion. When we turn to God with what we do not understand he will find a way to show us what it means and why things have happened. When we pray daily for understanding we find ourselves accepting the things that, before, would have worried us. We will continue to grow in our understanding of God’s plan for our life and in the bigger picture of what God desires of the world he created.
We pray for knowledge
Understanding is one thing, but knowing is a whole new game. God mentions his desire for us to gain knowledge, but for so many of us we have never fully understood what that meant. Is it knowledge of future events? Is it book-smarts, or common sense? Honestly, it encompasses all of these. He wants us improve our minds with knowledge of the world, how things works and what is going on around us. And he wants us to think before we act, to make sure a choice we make is not going to lead us down a road of temptation. When we pray we ask for future guidance and God gives it to us. We listen for him to lead us and when we hear it, we know what path we are meant to take; we know what is right and what God desires for our future.
We pray for clarity
There are so many choices in life. College students will often change majors twice before they graduate moving on only to change careers several more times as the years pass. Decisions always seem to be difficult to make. Prayer brings us clarity. God removes the fog around the paths in our life, showing us a clear road ahead, and a goal in sight. The more we pray the clearer things become and the more often a decision does not even have to be made; we automatically know where to go or what to do.
We pray to build faith
Now faith is hard. God knows that and understands it often takes time for our faith to grow. He knows that is one of the wonderful things about prayer and its relationship with faith. The more we pray and see God answer those prayers the more faith we have in God. It is not about seeing it to believe it. That, by definition, is not faith at all. It is about seeing the extent to which God works. In our mere mortal minds we cannot grasp the concept of the doing the impossible or making something happen without limits. God can do both of these and it takes time to see that God can truly do anything. It takes braking these barriers in our minds -about what can and can’t be done – that allow us to find faith in God and in our life with Him beside us.
We pray for healing
God can heal us. He heals our hearts, our minds, our souls, and yes, even our physical being. Sometimes this can be hard for us. Often we do not realize how deep our wounds are until we ask God to stop the pain they cause and suture them up. Half of what God does for us is heal what has been broken, what evil has done to our emotions and what everyday life does to the body. It takes this healing for us to come to know God better, to understand why God loves us so fiercely and why we should love ourselves for who we are. Prayers for healing are the most sought after and easily answered prayers. All one has to do is let God in and he will heal fully with the lightest of touch.
We pray for wisdom
Wisdom is sort of the next step up from knowledge. You gain knowledge through studying and through what God shows, but wisdom is adding understanding to that knowledge, seeing it with complete clarity and, above all, imparting that wisdom onto others. It is observation really. Through your prayers God imparts this wisdom to you. He brings forth the tools you need to grow in your skills, common sense, book-smarts and emotions. It is what you know about him and the world he created, the changes it has been through and what will happen to it eventually. Our wisdom grows through prayer as we learn to listen and see the things God has to show us, the things that will improve each and every moment of our lives.
Prayer brings us growth
This may seem obvious after all that has been said up to now. Still, it is an important point. Without prayer we have no way to talk to God, to be with God on an intimate level. Without prayer we have limited knowledge and understanding and therefore cannot grow. It is about so much more than understanding or even wisdom. We seek growth in every facet of our lives. We grow in strength, understand, love, faith, joy, acceptance, knowledge and our life with God. Prayer is there to aid us. With a direct connection to God we can find the paths he wants for us, learn the things he wishes to teach, and truly know him. Everything we never realized we desired can be found in those moments we talk to God.
In Prayer we find humility
Judgment comes so easy to a human being. When we see the life we have and know the things we know it can be so easy for evil to slip in and take hold. We know a better life with God and what is good and what is bad. So easy it is to cross the invisible line between helping others to do the right thing and judging others for doing the wrong one. In our prayers God humbles us, showing us the mistakes, we too, make each day. He reminds us that no human soul is perfect, lest it be His son Jesus Christ, which too reminds us that it has the potential. Through our prayers God shows us that the path to becoming Christ-like is not through a list of do’s and don’ts, but through love, the love God has for his people, the love Jesus carried as he walked this earth, the love without which, he could never have given his life in order to save ours. Prayer in asking forgiveness will always be a reminder of this will always fill your heart with that love. That love will pour out to others, no matter the individual and we will find humility in equality, in knowing that we too have sinned.
Prayer gives us strength
There is no doubt about it, we find our strength in God, and we find God through our prayers. Life is tough, and it seems the tiniest thing can bring our world crashing down, wondering how we will ever be able make it right again; wondering where will find the strength to even bother. Things are always stronger if there is more than one; the fusion of one molecule to another allows them to share electrons, making the composition stronger and harder to break apart. Through this process we have one of the greatest elements of life – H2O, more commonly known as water. Water is life. It finds its strength in that sharing of electrons. We are weak without being part of God – without sharing with God our worries, fears, joys, plans, ideas, and even our past. Talking with God about anything strengthens our bond to him, strengthening us to make it through the trials and tribulations of life.
Above all it builds our Relationship with God
Above all prayer allows us to know God. A relationship cannot be built without communication. Prayer is so much more than asking God for something, thanking him for what he has given us and worshiping him (though these things are important parts of prayer.) It is really about talking to him; letting him know what you think and feel, while at the same time stopping to listen to what he has to say. Sometimes he is silent, asking us to take a leap of faith to grow in our relationship with him, while at others he will show you every step he desires you to take. You even have the right to choose your own path, to do what you feel you should do, not what you think he wants you to. While this is not recommended, seeing as it will probably weaken your relationship, the point is that you have a choice, this is a real, true blue relationship. Prayer is your way to talk to God, ask him for the things you desire, ask his opinion and be there for him as much as he is there for you.
And one to grow on
Improve Our Outlook on Life. While the above mentioned befits are all important to know, it is also important that we understand the emotional benefits as well. When we draw close to God in any way we find a greater joy and happiness in life. Prayer is a way to work out all those little problems; to hand them over to God and let him deal with them while we go out and live our lives. Prayer will bring you pleasure by giving you a greater understanding of life, love God, and the connection between all three.
No one likes to think about tithing when it comes to God and His church. If most of us were honest, we would admit that it is far easier to pray, sing God’s praises and help others than it is to turn over 10% of everything we earn to the Lord. Yet God blesses those who tithe, and it is one of the most basic Biblical tests of our faithfulness and stewardship. In fact, the word “tithe” actually means “tenth.”
We are so often thinking about all of your own needs that we put tithing last on our list and tell ourselves, “If I had anything left over, I would certainly give my ten percent, but I never have anything left.” But if you tithed first by setting aside your ten percent for God before paying the bills, you would be surprised to find that you can give your ten percent. You would simply have less for things you don’t really need. And here’s the best part – God will reward you for your faithfulness!
God wants to bless us, but it is difficult to trust us with riches on earth when we won’t share our blessings.
In Luke 16:11, Jesus said,
“…if you have not been faithful in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?”
As a church, we are trying to further God’s kingdom here on earth and bring the comfort of the Lord to other’s lives. Have we saved the world? No. Have we comforted everyone? No. Have we abolished need? No. The Lord asks that we “put our money where our mouths are.” To give back 10% of what we have to try and reach that place where no one is in need.
And yet, God is a loving God. He has not asked us for everythingwe have. He knows we have to feed our own children and put a roof over our heads. He even knows we have to pay the IRS! He said, “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.” The IRS is today’s equivalent of Caesar! God hasn’t ignored the realities of living in today’s world. He doesn’t ask for all of it, or even most of it. Not even one quarter of it! Just one tenth. But it still sounds like a lot, doesn’t it? So how do we give up one tenth of what we earn and not ruin ourselves financially?
Well, we turn over so much to God – our cares, our concerns, our personal problems and our health issues. We say, “Dear Lord, heal my friend.” But God is not a doctor. We say, “Jesus, help my spouse and I to get our marriage back on track.” But God isn’t Doctor Phil. But how many of us have said, “God, guide me in my financial decisions. Help me live and work in order to return to you as much as I can for your work here on earth?”
We pray for health, we pray for guidance, we pray for comfort. Why not turn our financial concerns – and our money – over to God? Why not give back a mere slice of what God gives us back to Him? And it is all His, isn’t it?
Part of the problem is giving up control. When we tithe, we don’t know how the money will be used, so we hesitate to hand over our money. But when there is a fundraiser for something specific – a new bell tower at the church, to help a family we know, or for a particular charity – we always find a way to give. Why wait? Aren’t there always people in need? Ministries to be served? Missionaries without funding?
If each and every one of us tithed freely to God, no fundraisers would be needed! There would be plenty to go around! As Americans, we don’t realize how truly God has blessed us financially. We say, “Lord, it is hard to tithe.” But it shouldn’t be, particularly when we have been blessed by God. Because with our success comes the responsibility to use it wisely to help others and further God’s kingdom.
It is easy to forget that our success comes from God’s grace. He has blessed us with so many things – shouldn’t we thank Him by using our blessings in ways that would gladden His heart?
Tithing ensures that our needs will be met and gives back to God what was always His. God is honored when we are faithful. When we acknowledge that God is the true owner and giver of all that we have, we will be rewarded in countless ways.
Ken Blanchard, the author of The One Minute Manager, said, “I absolutely believe in the Power of Tithing and giving back. My own experience about all the blessings I’ve had in my life is that the more I give away, the more comes back. That is the way life works, and that is the way energy works.”
“…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will… just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
– 2 Corinthians 8:1-8
So the next time you think about giving to God, remember that all of your blessings came from Him, and give back your ten percent with a happy heart. He gives us so much and asks for so little!
Robert Moment is a Christian business coach, speaker and author of newly published book, God Will Always Be There for You. Robert is passionate about empowering individuals on how to experience God’s love, power , joy, peace, and prosperity. Visithttp://www.ChristianInspirational.org and sign-up for theFREE Christian Living e-course. Follow me on Twitterhttp://www.twitter.com/christiansfaith
The value of paying tithing Many people know the value tithing brings. In addition to a number of benefits and blessings, it also helps to increase faith and show obedience.What is tithing?
The concept of tithing goes back to biblical days, where it states in the book of Malachi, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” As such, it is not a new concept, nor is it limited to the LDS faith alone.Those who pay a full tithe pay 10% of their annual increase. Tithing is used for a number of the Lord’s purposes, including building and maintaining church meetinghouses and temples, educating Church members through such programs as the Perpetual Education Fund, and missionary work, to name a few.When you pay your tithing, you give it to a member of the Bishopric in your home ward. From there, he records the amounts and sends the funds directly to the headquarters of the church. A council comprised of the First Presidency, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the Presiding Bishopric determine how and what to use the tithing funds for.The value of paying tithing
While some may look upon paying tithing as a burden or an unnecessary expense, they should consider what exactly they are giving up in terms of value by not paying tithes.
Uandment to pay tithing show their obedience to this principle.
Trust. Those who pay tithing have been promised a number of blessings, both temporal and spiritual, and paying tithing illustrates trust in these blessings.
Love. Paying tithing not only indicates love to the Lord by following his commandments and acknowledging his hand in all things, but to other members of the Church who tithing helps.
Those who pay tithing are promised with a number of things. Many members of the church will tell of times they were faced with the decision to pay tithing or pay a bill, or either pay tithing or not have enough money for groceries. Those who paid their tithing when they didn’t think they could afford it tell of being blessed with a number of things, including finding money, having friends or ward members bring them a meal, or getting a better job offer. Such illustrations of the blessings of tithing are not difficult to come by; virtually every faithful tithe payer can think of an instance where their faith has been rewarded from paying tithing.
The value of tithing goes beyond monetary rewards as well. Those who faithfully pay their tithing experience an increase in faith as a result of their obedience and willingness. As such, their strength and resolve in the Church grows. Not to mention they get a tax write off for tithes paid.
Some people find the concept of paying tithing difficult to follow. However, the Lord through his prophets has challenged those to pay their tithing and, as a result, see firsthand the blessings and value that come from paying tithing.
If you are looking for an inspirational poem that shows an understanding of what a mom has to deal with, this is the one. Every mom, young or old, knows this by heart and can only hope that her children will understand when they grow up.
“You don’t love me!” How many times have your kids laid that one on you? And how many times have you, as a parent, resisted the urge to tell them how much? Someday, when my children are old enough to understand the logic that motivates a mother, I will tell them.
A MOTHER’S LOVE GOES DEEP
I loved you enough to insist you buy a bike with your own money that we could afford and you couldn’t.
I loved you enough to be silent and let you discover your handpicked friend was a creep;
I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours while you cleaned your bedroom, a job that would have taken me fifteen minutes.
I loved you enough to say, “Yes, you may go to Disney World on Mother’s Day.”
I loved you enough to let you see anger, disappointment, mistrust and tears in my eyes.
I loved you enough not to make excuses for your lack of respect or you bad manners.
I loved you enough to admit that I was wrong and ask your forgiveness.
I loved you enough to ignore “what every other mother” did or said.
I loved you enough to let you stumble, fall, hurt and fail.
I loved you enough to let you assume the responsibility for your own actions, at 6, 10, and 16.
I loved you enough to figure you would lie about the party being chaperoned but forgave you for it after discovering I was right.
I loved you enough to shove you off my lap, let go of your hand, be mute to your pleas and insensitive to your demands…so that you had to stand alone.
I loved you enough to accept you for what you are, not what I wanted you to be.
But most of all, I loved you enough to say “no” when you hated me for it.
When I began writing this blog, I decided to call it an almanac instead of a referring to it as a diary or journal. The term almanac seemed to me more appropriate for what I wanted to say. The Farmers’ Almanacs are a source of folk wisdom that has been published in the U.S. continually for about two centuries. Many people, over the years, strongly believed in and have been helped by following the recommendations of farmers’ almanacs. So, that was part of my inspiration. While I never imagined that what I had to say would become widely popular, I hoped that the pages of my blog would reflect traditional wisdom and be helpful to a small group of people including, of course, my family and friends. There is a lot to be learned in the Farmers’ Almanacs. One of the main points in these publications is detailed weather prediction that is printed for at least a year in advance. The sun and planetary movements, as well as phases of the moon guide these predictions. The almanacs also tell people the dates when to plant crops and when to harvest, as well as the best timing for starting up many other human activities. (See note below.)
The new moon offers opportunities
The lunar month is one of the most important aspects of our planet because it represents a regular cycle of greater and lesser gravitational attraction between the earth and the moon. The lunar cycle is 29.3 days long, and the lunar calendar has thirteen “moonths”, plus one extra day to harmonize with the 365-day solar calendar. Besides having a daily rythym of high and low tides, the lunar cycles also affect the tides. We have highest tides on new moon and full moon days and lowest tides when the moon is in the 1st quarter and last quarter. According to the farmers’ almanacs, the new moon offers opportunities for making changes and initiating new projects. The new moon is a time for promoting all forms of growth, including planting crops, business opportunities, relationships, as well as creative and spiritual endeavors. We become more attuned with our own aims and possibilities, when we are aware of the geo-magnetic and psychic energy available to us in different moments according to the lunar cycle. For the same reason, many spiritual traditions, including that of Native Americans, yogis and others, have special practices during the new moon. Their traditions point to these days as very favorable times to carry out certain spiritual rituals and other intentions.
Fasting and the new moon
Short periods of not eating offer a way of cleansing the body and preparing the mind for greater focus. When you fast, your body takes a rest and healing occurs. A lot of people who regularly fast say that their days of fasting help them see things more clearly and with a new perspective.
The Christian tradition also calls for fasting, and is rooted in the words of Jesus: “All things will be possible for you. That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and fasting.” (Matthew:17:20-21) Fasting gives you an opportunity to live your day in a different way – with greater reflection — a time for peace of body and spirit, and a closer connection to your Creator. Your fast will be even more pleasant if you spend at least part of your day outdoors, walking in nature, creating art, writing in your personal journal, listening to inspiring music, or doing devotional reading.
When you fast during the new moon, you receive important benefits. Fasting on that day greatly increases your energy and boosts your health. Yogis don’t do their regular yoga practice during the new moon, but instead maintain a fast and use the day for quiet walks, meditation, and prayer. This is a wonderful way they have of connecting with the Divine.
So, my recommendation to you is to try new moon fasting and feel its benefits for yourself. This fast is usually for 24 hours. Start your fast in the morning and end it with a light breakfast on the following morning. If you’re new to fasting, try to plan as calm a day as possible. Be sure to allow yourself some quiet time or a leisurely nap in the afternoon — if you can manage it. You may fast in different ways. The usual ways are by drinking water with lemon juice or drinking vegetable and fruit juices, diluted with about 50% water. You may drink as much as you like. The important thing is to not chew anything during the day and don’t drink any coffee or black tea. If — and only if — there is a lot of hunger in the late afternoon or evening, you can drink a fruit smoothie with a little yogurt.
Note: You can see the date of the new moon in the coming “month” and other info from Farmers’ Almanac in Grandmas’ Almanac Calendar.
New research shows music is good for your mood and health
It’s the weekend and at some point you’ll probably relax to your favourite music, watch a film with a catchy title track – or hit the dance floor.
There’s no doubt that listening to your favourite music can instantly put you in a good mood. But scientists are now discovering that music can do more for you than just lift your spirits.
Research is showing it has a variety of health benefits.
Fresh research from Austria has found that listening to music can help patients with chronic back pain.
And a recent survey by Mind – the mental health charity – found that after counselling, patients found group therapy such as art and music therapy, the most useful.
Here, we present six proven ways that music can help you and your family’s health
1. CHRONIC BACK PAIN
How it helps: Music works on the autonomic nervous system – the part of the nervous system responsible for controlling our blood pressure, heartbeat and brain function – and also the limbic system – the part of the brain that controls feelings and emotions. According to one piece of research, both these systems react sensitively to music.
When slow rhythms are played, our blood pressure and heartbeat slow down which helps us breathe more slowly, thus reducing muscle tension in our neck, shoulders, stomach and back. And experts say that apart from physical tension, music also reduces psychological tension in our mind.
In other words when we feel pain, we become frightened, frustrated and angry which makes us tense up hundreds of muscles in our back. Listening to music on a regular basis helps our bodies relax physically and mentally, thus helping to relieve – and prevent – back pain.
The research: A new study from Austria’s General Hospital of Salzburg due to be published in The Vienna Medical Weekly Journal could hold the key to back pain. In the study, 65 patients aged between 21 and 68 with chronic back pain after back surgery were divided into two groups.
One group received standard medical care and physiotherapy. The other group also listened to music and received visualization classes for 25 minutes every day for three weeks. Results found that the group who listened to music and used imagery experienced better pain relief than the group who did not.
Clinical psychologist Franz Wendtner who led the study says: ‘Music is an important part of our physical and emotional wellbeing – ever since we were babies in our mother’s womb listening to her heartbeat and breathing rhythms.
‘Listening to music for about 25 minutes everyday for at least ten days can help prevent back pain and also make you sleep better.’
Which type of music is best? Experts believe any type of classical music such as Mozart or Beethoven can help relieve muscle pain. Calm, slow music is also thought to help.
2. IMPROVES YOUR WORKOUT
How it helps: Experts say listening to music during exercise can give you a better workout in several ways. Scientists claim it can increase your endurance, boost your mood and can distract you from any discomfort experienced during your workout.
The research: Dr Robert Herdegen of America’s Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, looked at the effects of 12 men riding a bicycle for ten minutes while listening to music on one day. He compared it to the same men riding bicycles without music for ten minutes the following day.
On the days that the men exercised listening to music, they travelled 11 per cent further – compared to the days they didn’t listen to music. Researchers also found that the men’s levels of exertion were at their lowest when listening to music.
Other studies show that listening to music releases endorphins – our natural ‘feel good’ hormones that lift our mood and give us motivation to carry on longer with exercise.
Which type of music is best? The best type of music for exercise is thought to be high energy, high tempo music such as hip hop or dance music.
3. MEMORY LOSS
How it helps: For many people suffering from memory loss the spoken language has become meaningless. Music can help patients remember tunes or songs and get in touch with their history. This is because the part of the brain which processes music is located next to memory.
The research: Researchers from Norway’s Sogn OG Fjordane College compared the effects of live, taped and no music on three different groups of people suffering from post traumatic amnesia – or memory loss.
The patients were exposed to all three conditions, twice over six consecutive days. Results showed that when patients listened to live or taped music, two thirds of them showed significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and enhanced orientation, compared to the group that didn’t listen to music.
Which type of music is best? Research shows that people with memory loss respond best to music of their choice.
To find out how music can help childbirth, depression and children going into surgery, click on the link below
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