The Days are Long...

 

Enjoy the days, I hear they are gone before we know it...

Invincible summer

Absolutely love this quote by Albert Camus:

Have a great Monday.

-Nikki

Soul Mates

People think a soul mate is your perfect match, and that's what everyone wants. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that is holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.
--Unknown

Quote

One of my roommates from college/BFFs sent me this quote by CS Lewis which I found quite thought provoking. What do you think?

All that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--[is] the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.

Unsolvable Problems

In my couple's therapy class back in college a few classmates gave a presentation on some research, and gave a quote that I loved. Please read below:

"There is value, in choosing a long term partner, in realizing that you will inevitably be choosing a particular set of unsolvable problems that you'll be grappling with for the next ten, twenty, or fifty years..." --Wiles, 1998

I love this quote. I think so many times when we get married we're looking for the perfect match. For me, it helps to recognize that no matter who I end up marrying, there will be problems and conflicts that are unavoidable. With Partner A it might be one set of problems. With Partner B it will be a different set of problems. The trick is deciding which set of problems we'd like to put up with for the rest of our lives.

Monday Quote

I love this quote. I think it's the everyday kinds of courage that most often get overlooked. Which is too bad, because the everyday kinds of courage are most often what save us.

Chickened Out

Insanity is normal.

Don't I know that all too well.

Have a great day!

Priority

Never allow someone to be your priority while allowing yourself to be their option.

Why do we do this to ourselves? I'm sure each of us can think of at least one relationship we've been in where this was the case. What is it that allows us to settle? Something to think about...


Happy Monday. :)

I Asked God...

I asked God for strength,
He gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked God for wisdom,
He gave me problems to solve.
I asked God for prosperity,
He gave me brain and brawn to work.
I asked God for courage,
He gave me danger to overcome.
I asked God for love,
He gave me troubled people to help.
I asked God for favors,
He gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted,
And everything I needed.

Beautiful

I love this idea... Be your own kind of beautiful, and own it! The things that make us unique make us beautiful.

Hard Work

"Hard work is like manure. It sure stinks, but it helps things grow."

I'm knee deep in it at the moment. I must be doing a lot of growing. :)

Happiness is when...

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony. --Gandhi

I agree with this 100%. When we say things we don't mean, or don't say things we do mean, or do something that we know goes against our thinking or beliefs, we are unhappy. This goes perfectly with my thoughts about our last Q&A on stuffing emotions.

We need to be respectful of others' feelings and be polite to those around us, and we need to act in accordance with what we are thinking and saying in order to be truly happy.

I have decided to start making a conscious effort to make my words and actions congruent with my thoughts.

Good thing my thoughts are always positive. This will be a piece of cake. ::sarcasm::

Inspiring Thought

One of the therapists I work with has this quote in her office, and I love it:

I release the need to determine how things "should" be...
This is something I have struggled with in my life. People "should" behave this way, marriages "should" be like this, friends "should" do this, life "should" look like this.

Guess what?

This particular sh word is full of the other sh word! We all have expectations in our lives that affect the way we live, the way we view others, and the way we respond to life. Want to know what some of mine were?

1. People should always make good choices.
2. People should be honest, always.
3. Moms should make dinner for their families.
4. Husbands should want to come home to their wives.
5. Friends should tell you the truth, even if it's hard.
6. I should always give 100% to everything I do.
7. I should never tell people when I'm having a bad day.

You know what? These shoulds can ruin lives. They can ruin marriages. These shoulds make us expect things that are unrealistic. And they allow us to be disappointed when things don't turn out how they "should." And most of the time we don't even know what our "shoulds" are! Our expectations are just a form of control, of our need to know what the outcome will be.

The more we are able to release that need, the more we will be able to accept life for what it is--a series of twists, and bumps, and surprises, and heartaches.

Think about what your shoulds are. Shoulds in your marriage. Shoulds with your friends. Shoulds with your kids. Shoulds with yourselves. Share some of them. They may be enlightening to someone...

I agree...

Good to remember

Love this.
*from Post Secret

Don't You Quit

One of my favorite poems...

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out
Don't give up, though the pace seems slow,
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to the faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Miss the Silver

Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
--Maurice Seitter
I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, and find the silver lining in all your cloudy moments...

Make it a great day!!

As By Fire

1 Nephi Chapter 22, verse 17*:

"The righteous need not fear...they shall be saved, even as by fire."

This is pretty much guaranteeing that if we are righteous, we will face trials--we will go through fire. That in order for us to be saved we must be refined, as by fire, through our trials.

So even (or especially) if we are doing everything right, we can expect a little heat.

Or a lot of heat.

And we can know as we are sweating, and burning, and changing, and crying, and praying, and hurting, and growing, that we are being strengthened. And purified. And tested. And saved.


*This scripture is from the Book of Mormon. To learn more, click HERE.
(Photo from Flickr)

Quote of the Day

A woman is like a tea bag--you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.

--Eleanor Roosevelt

Love it

From the book Happily Ever After, by Kristin Armstrong:

"It is such a sorrowful waste of energy and spirit to grieve the woman you are not. Based on worldly standards, there will always be someone smarter, funnier, younger, thinner, wealthier, or prettier than you.

Reread that, soak it in. And then promptly get over it."


Wow I love this. Love love.