Had a difficult day lately?  There are certainly enough reasons to relate to negativity.  That’s why I keep a mini-library of  friends I can turn to in my office.  I don’t mind introducing them to you in case you’ve never met them:

First up, Rick Warren, who authored,  The Purpose Driven Life. I wanted to start with a quote from Rick because perhaps like me, some days you just feel weak.  The ups and downs of the day just beat you up and you feel you don’t have the strength you need to fight the good fight.  Rick says, “Everyone has weaknesses.  In fact, you have a bundle of flaws and imperfections: physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.  You may also have uncontrollable circumstances that weaken you, such as financial or relational limitations.  The more important issue is what you do with these.  Usually we deny our weaknesses, defend them, excuse them, hide them, and resent them.  This prevents God from using them the way he desires.”  See.  Sometimes, it just takes a different perspective, to build us up.

Second introduction:  Susan Taylor.  Author of “In the Spirit”.  She reminded me of  a difficult challenge I have that many women face every day.  Balance.  She writes, “Living in balance is vital to our well-being.  Without balance, much of the beauty and grandeur of our existence is lost.  But a balanced life doesn’t  just  happen.  It is a state of grace we create by staying connected with our thoughts and feelings and consciously measuring what we do.  Just  as feeling fit and flexible demands physical exercise,  just as expanding your mind requires intellectual effort, so bringing your life  into balance and maintaining your spiritual equilibrium require focused awareness and daily retreat from the stresses of the world.”  I don’t know about you.  But that’s  a reminder I needed.  When there is balance, the perspective is clearer on life as I see it, and as I experience it, and as I enjoy it rather than complain about any part of it and how it is dished out.

My final introduction: Terrie Williams, author, A Plentiful Harvest, wrote seven living virtues: 1)Calling, 2)Responsibility, 3)Thrift, 4)Love, 5) Community, 6)Spirituality, 7)Creativity.  Terrie said, “each principle was powerful…as a whole…added up to a balanced life.” 

There they are, if you’re down, dragging a bit, here’s a brief way to look up, and some sources I use for finding motivation.  Hope they helped.