* New Year Resolutions !

Tips for Making Good New Year's Resolutions

There is a right way and a wrong way to make a New Year's resolution. Here are a few expert tips to see that your resolution actually makes a difference:

1. Create a Plan

Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word "resolution" implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you A) What to do next and B) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.

2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY

If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely. t is imperative that you begin creating your plan immediately.

3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan

 such as a notebook or journal.

4. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's

Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan. myGoals.com helps you stick to your plan by providing email reminders that arrive when it's time to work on a given task.

And finally...

5. Remain Flexible

Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognize partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come.

[ I like this article...thought of sharing this....:-) ]

* You can see the Stars !

* Ask,Believe,Receive !

* God's Love Letter !

* My Amma !

"I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still The deepest impressed on my heart".

-- Eliza Cook

"I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life."

-- Abraham Lincoln

"All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother." -- Abraham Lincoln

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials, heavy and sudden, fall upon us when adversity takes the place of prosperity when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us when troubles thicken around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts". --Washington Irving

        "It was when I had my first child that I understood how much my mother loved me". From "For Mother - A Bouquet of Sentiments"

 

* Your Happiness Depends On You, Not Your Circumstances !

" People are just about as happy as they make their minds to be". - Abraham Lincoln

There are thousands of self-help books on the topic of choosing to be happy,despite one’s circumstances. People are unhappy because they are still trying to find happiness from any- and every thing, but themselves.

The problem lies in the messages received and internalized over a lifetime. You see, if you were raised in the modern, western part of the world you grew up under the guise that happiness comes in the form of material possessions like a beautiful house and expensive cars, or in status like an important position or highly paid salary, or in people like children and social gatherings. If you were raised to believe that in order to be happy you had to have all these things, it would be impossible to find happiness outside of your circumstances. And it will be quite a chore to change that perception.  

Your parents could have done a wonderful job raising you and emphasizing how easy it is to be truly happy, but the media (radio, television, Internet, advertisements, etc.) was still telling your brain something different.

With that kind of misconception, there’s no way to ever be completely happy.Those who are less fortunate find themselves bombarded feelings of inferiority, of self-pity, of feeling “less than” and that deception makes them angry and more anxious about discovering the road to happiness. Neither of these situations is healthy, neither of these situations are an accurate representation of true happiness.

You can be truly happy. You can find contentment in your circumstances. You can find peace regardless of where you are right now. And you can do that by not putting pressure on yourself to achieve certain goals in order to be happy, by realizing that your circumstances don't have a lot to do with your happiness, and by coming to the conclusion that WHO you are is more important than what you own, how much money you make, or what position you hold.

When you know what your values are and can live your life around the things that are MOST important to you then happiness will follow. Once you know your personal values and not the values society has placed on you, once you know the direction you want to follow and develop a strategy for following that direction, living YOUR ideal life will be easy.

They key is to concentrate on who you and what you want, not your circumstances.

You need to strengthen your inner resources such as courage, optimism, humility, humor, intuition, acceptance and forgiveness. And you can do that by learning to listen to yourself first and to others, second. Know what you want in life and reach for it. Learn to only accept advice, from others, that is in relation to where you want to go in life. And instead of concentrating on what’s missing in your life or what you’re not getting, focus on loving yourself and those around you—unconditionally. Unconditional love is the centerpiece of your life.

And finally, always remember that your reaction to what's happening to you is actually causing your stress and feelings of unhappiness. True happiness goes beyond possessions, beyond status, and beyond life's constant ups and downs. It is not just a temporary feeling you get from buying something new or landing a new job.

[ Carole Nicolaides ]

* Come, Lord Jesus !

An Advent Prayer from Henri Nouwen

" Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness,

send Your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas.

We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear Your voice each day.

We who are anxious over many things look forward to Your coming among us.

We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of Your kingdom.

We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of Your presence.

We are Your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light.

To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.

My Best Friend !

* Heavenly Words !

 

 " Never a weakness that He can't fill. Never a sickness that He can't heal. Never a sorrow that He doesn't share. Moment by moment- you are under Jesus care". 

" Wherever you go, whatever you do, no matter how far or how long, Jesus Christ will always be there for you".  

" Smile! It will make you look better. Pray, it will keep you strong. Love, it will make you enjoy life".  

" No mater how softly you whisper a prayer, God surely listens, understands and knows the hopes and fears you keep in your heart. For when you trust in His love, miracles happen"!

" New day, new blessings. Don't let yesterday's failures ruin the beauty of today. Blessings of God are new every morning. Today has its own promise of love, forgiveness, joy and success".

" Don't run ahead of God. Let Him direct your steps. He has plans. He has time. God's clock is never early nor late. It always strikes on time".

" God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom but we simply have to trust His will. God bless you all the way".

" Happy moments - praise God. Difficult moments - seek God. Busy moments - bless God. Quiet moments - worship God. Waiting moments - trust God. Painful moments - touch God. Lovely moments - thank God".

"Be happy with what you have...while working for what you want...Remember, a happy and successful life...begins with God and ends for God". 

" The Lord is waiting above to give you His grace and send you His love. Whatever your cross, whatever the pain, God always sends a rainbow after the rain".

"If you have a problem, don't say "Hey I have a big problem." Rather say, "Hey problem, I have a great GOD."

" God will never leave you empty. He will replace everything you lost. If He asks you to put something down,  because He wants you to pick up something greater". 

" God sees you just exactly as you are He sees you perfectly and more truly than people can, and He loves you more than you can ever imagine".

"When God closes a door, He opens a window... but at times, He shuts both. Don't Worry ... for He would tear down the roof... so His blessings could overflow. So... When something stops in your life, or when you think something is going wrong, don't worry. God is creating other new opportunities in your life. He'll always be there"