What If You Could Today be HAPPIER !

In this entry I am going to discuss Enthusiastic Positive Attitude EPA. Kelly King our new CEO had a theory that attitudes can be measured, and with proper training your attitude can be changed. Many philosophers have been saying that there is power in positive thinking while others think that enthusiasm is a way to be successful. So, why not put them together, Enthusiastic Positive Attitude.

We are going to have times of anxiety and depression but we should not stay in that negative state of mind long. It only produces more problems. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer and I know that my God supplies all my needs. Sometimes we may need to talk with someone that has gone thru something similar to our problem.

Try to put your situation into perspective. First, ask yourself.......Is this problem life threatening? Secondly, is it important to my goals in life? Thirdly, is this problem within my own influence or control? There are some things in life we can control and others are out of our control. Sometimes in our life when we are not in control of our circumstances we are out of control with our emotions. So lets join the EPA group. Think about it until the next entry coming soon, "Be Who You Are."

DRESSING THE SHEEP

What if you could today dress a sheep for money? That is exactly what my husband, youngest son and daughter-in-law did. Last year our oldest and youngest son did it and another lady and they won it then. They were supposed to catch one sheep out of a group and be the first one to put a pair of boxer underwear on him or her (whichever they caught). Attached are a few pictures to help you live the moment. At the take off my dear husband fell face forward into the sand. Whoops did you fall? Well he got up just like a young buck and panted into sheep territory. Our son who was a football player in high school tackled that sheep before he knew what was happening and his wife slung on the boxers while my husband held the little sheep's paws singing the whole time....Home, Home on the range, where the deer and sheep forever play, the money is good, the smell is absurd, but I'll do it again one day. So for the next year they will be practicing how to catch and dress a sheep in less than a minute.

What if you could today change your ATTITUDE

Attitude ...... Attitude ....... I have just finished reading a very good book by Luis Lobo. Mr. Lobo is an executive with BB&T bank. He worked hard all of his life to succeed and succeed he did. The name of the book is "It Is Your Attitude." I had to do a presentation at work in front of a large group of people. I opted to read the book and analyze my attitude and hopefully be a help to others that are struggling with something in their life. My first thought was me have an attitude? Oh yes! We all have attitudes whether it is a positive or negative attitude we do all have an attitude. What is the driving force in our attitudes.

A good friend asked me one day why do you do some of things you do? Does anybody ever know why we do the things we do? Some of the things we do are automatic where it has just become a habit. Other actions are planned... there again your actions can be deemed as positive or negative. As I was reading this book I really wanted to absorb as much information as I could so I could tell about the book versus read to a group of well educated people that can read for themselves.

One of the quotes in the book was by our new CEO, Kelly King. It states, "If it is to be, it is up to me." It is so easy for us to look at others and blame them for the way we act or the way we feel when in all actuality it is us in the driver's seat. I have done that before and then when I look deeper it was me feeling in a negative way. I do not want this entry to be so long you get bored so I will break it up in sections. This book is by far the best book I have ever read besides the Bible. Another quote that I read was "No man is my enemy, No man is my friend, but every man is my teacher." Every person that we meet in our life will have an impact on us whether it be good or bad, positive or negative. We will learn something from that person just make sure that we can always turn that something into a POSITIVE.

WHAT IF YOU COULD TODAY KNOW WHEN YOU WILL DIE

On September 22, 2008 our previous Youth Pastor, at Trinity Baptist, went to be with the Lord. Layne Daniel had suffered for more than a year with a brain tumor. He and his wife posted every step of that terrible disease, CANCER. You can read the post at laynedaniel.wordpress.com. It seems as though it is in every family. Wouldn't it be wonderful if they could find a cure for cancer? This disease attacks the young, middle age, and the elderly. We will miss Layne being here, although we did not see him that much he was still dear to our heart. I sympathize with his wife Sharon, their son Jason, and their daughter Krista. The children are still at that impressionable age and they have had to grow up very quickly. Keep the Daniel family in your thoughts and prayers.

This leads up to the question. What if you could TODAY know when you are going to die, the day, the hour, and the moment? Would you do anything different? Are you a born again Christian? Where will you spend eternity? Layne knew the moment he stopped breathing that he would be in the presence of God. Can you think of any unfinished business you need to take care of? Is there someone you need to send a card to or flowers just to say I love and appreciate you. Is there someone that maybe you have had differences with. Have you made ammends with that person or persons. What about your wife or husband? Did you borrow something from someone and maybe you have been meaning to return it but you have put it off with good intentions.

It is probably good that we don't know the time we are going to die. We would most likely avoid that place altogether. Our precious Jesus knew that he would have to die and he died on the cross for our sins. He suffered and bled and died for me - for you. The only thing he wants from us is to accept him as our personal saviour and follow him. When we think about missions we think about going to a far country but we have a mission field right here in our own town too. Our neighbors beside of us or behind us or across the street. People that we work with or meet at the grocery store or when when we go out to eat. I fail many times to witness to someone because I don't know how they are going to react but God will give us grace when we speak for him. John 3:16 will never die and it renews us every time we quote that scripture. "For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." So Layne's life has ended here but he will live for an eternity in Heaven with our Lord. How wonderful to know that we will see our loved ones again in Heaven if we are born again. So, the thought for today would be, Are you ready to die?????

WHAT IF YOU COULD COMPARE APPLES TO APPLES IN DIFFERENT GROCERY STORES

We went out to eat tonight and afterwards we rode to different grocery stores and looked at the sales in the window. Which grocery store is really cheaper to shop at? Which of these stores offer triple on coupons? But, if you buy the same product at Aldi is it cheaper to shop there anyway. Over the next week or so I will be comparing the prices for non-perishable food items such as ketchup, salad dressing or mayo, pasta products and items that we would use everyday. In todays society we have got to pinch every penny especially as high as gas is. It use to be, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Now it is a penny saved is a penny to go in the gas tank. If you have any thoughts or suggestions about how to save more on your grocery bill feel free to comment.

WHAT IF YOU COULD TODAY CHANGE GAS PRICES

WELL WE KNOW WE CANNOT CHANGE GAS PRICES. BUT, BELOW ARE SOME TIPS TO HELP IMPROVE YOUR GAS MILEAGE COURTESY OF API ENERGY.

Fuel-Saving Tips for Drivers


"We count on our cars to get us where we want to go, when we want to go. That sense of freedom is important to us, but we also want to be sure we do our best to conserve natural resources for future generations.

Following are a few simple steps you can take to meet these goals.

Have your car tuned regularly. An engine tune-up can improve car fuel economy by an average of 1 mile per gallon.

Keep your tires properly inflated. Underinflated tired can decrease fuel economy by up to 1 mile per gallon.

Slow down. The faster you drive, the more gasoline your car uses. Driving at 65 miles per hour rather than 55 miles per hour reduces fuel economy by about 2 miles per gallon.

Avoid jackrabbit starts. Abrupt starts require about twice as much gasoline as gradual starts.

Pace your driving. Unnecessary speedups, slowdowns and stops can decrease fuel economy by up to 2 miles per gallon. Stay alert and drive steadily, not erratically. Keep a reasonable, safe distance from the car ahead of you and anticipate traffic conditions.

Use your air conditioner sparingly. The use of air conditioning can reduce fuel economy by as much as 2 miler per gallon under certain speeds and operating conditions.

Plan your trips in advance. Combine short trips into one to do all your errands. Avoid traveling during rush hours if possible, to reduce fuel-consumption patterns such as starting and stopping and numerous idling periods. Consider joining a car pool."

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Life is way to short for us to sit back and wonder what if we could go back and change things in our past. We know that is impossible. However, we can change the things that are ahead of us. But, let us just suppose we could change one thing. What if you could change your finances. Where would you begin? What if you could change your job or the place you live or even more simple, the color of your hair. Where would you begin?

What if you could start back over the day you were born or the day you started to school, the day you became an adult (whether it was at age 19 or 45). What about the day you were engaged, the first day you were married. Reminder....."Today is the first day of the rest of your life." Today is the day you will journey through all of the What if I could change anything in my life what would it be story.

This baby has no clue what her life will be like. She has a multitude of decisions to make before she is grown though. There are certain things like the color of her eyes, hair, sex, and skin that was already determined for her. She had no choice in the matter at all. But, now going forward she has to make choices just like we all have to do. She can change the color of her hair when she gets older. She can make her eyes appear to be a different color by putting fake color contacts in. We all have choices good or bad, right or wrong. What about you? What would you change if you could?

FIRST POST FOR WHAT IF YOU COULD TODAY

WHAT IS THE ONE THING TODAY THAT YOU WOULD CHANGE? WHAT MOTIVATES US TO DO WHAT WE DO AND THINK WHAT WE THINK? HUMMM....I HAVE ASKED MYSELF THAT QUESTION MANY TIMES. WHAT ABOUT IT. I KNOW THAT GOD IS MY GUIDING LIGHT AND I WILL FOLLOW HIM TO A BETTER LAND A BETTER LIFE. WHAT ABOUT IT...WHO GUIDES YOU? WHAT OR WHO MOTIVATES YOU?