Siggy's Blurbs: Siggy's Edge of Country …

Life is hard.  There is no way to get around that.  In fact, if you resist that fact and rail at the powers to be how hard your life has become, it only gets worse.  ‘Life is difficult!’ in the words of Scott Peck in his book, “The Road Less Traveled.”

Accept what is and at least you are not fighting against yourself.  Gain what control you possess and then rest.

This might make it a little easier.  On a continuum of 1 to ten on how well your life is going 50 per cent of the time it is under 5 and fifty per cent is better than 5.  Most of the time everything evens out.  Maybe that is no consolation when your life feels miserable.

It never does any good to compare your life to others.  Thank the Lord for all the good times as well as your bad times.

Solving problems is what makes every day interesting and gives you a reason to get up every morning.  Life can be hard, so what.  Meet your challenges.

Tags: accept what is, bad times, consolation, continuum, control what you can, don't compare yourself, don't fight yourself, God, good times, gratitude, life feels miserable, life is hard, M. Scott Peck, meet challenges, reason to get up in the morning, rest, solving problems, thank the Lord, the Lord, The Road Less Traveled
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I have to go back to my center:  gratitude.  I have been struggling for at least two weeks with depression.  Depression (or self-pity) is selfish and magnifies your self-importance.  It has its place but you should not linger too long there.

I need to thank God for every blessing — to have a sense of gratitude for my life.  Gratitude is my center.  I think less of me when I go back there.  There is so much I have to be thankful for.

Sitting in my driveway is our new used vehicle which was only possible to buy because my family (my two sisters and my aunt) contributed money toward a purchase of another car.

It is so easy to forget your blessings and get into a unforgiving cycle.  When you start thanking God for your every blessing, miracles happen.  You no longer have the luxury of wallowing in self-pity.

That is what I have to do today–keep returning to my center, develop a sense of gratitude for my every blessing.  Then depression just evaporates.

Tags: be thankful, blessing, car, depression, depression evaporates, God, gratitude, gratitude for every blessing, miracles, my aunt, my center, my family, my sisters, self-importance, self-pity, selfish, thank God
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It is so easy to complain and see what is not done.  It is much harder to live with a spirit of gratitude and count your blessings.  It is the only way.

It is too easy to view your life and see what needs completing.  It may be a phone call that needs done or a floor that needs vacuuming.  It is more difficult to see the results of your labor.  The things that were completed.

Gratitude gives you a sense of what you need to thank God for.  There are so many things we take for granted:  our health, faithful mates, shelter.

Yes, work on the things that need done but at the same time thank God for your many blessings.  You will be much happier, as well as everyone else around you.  A spirit of gratitude is infectious.

Tags: complain, count your blessings, God, gratitude, happiness, health, mates, results of labor, shelter, spirit of gratitude, take things for granted, tasks, thank God, your many blessings
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I was lying in bed and thinking as I was trying to fall asleep.  I must thank the Lord for everything–even this comfortable bed and pillows I am resting my head on.

Everything Is by grace.  There is no way around that.  You can think otherwise but it is futile.  You can rail how unfair life is but that is futile, too.

Less is always more.  And God does not owe us anything and everything we have is by the grace of God.  Life is never fair:  some people have more and some people have less.  The poor are always among us.  The war on poverty–a campaign by Lyndon Johnson, the president of the United States, in the late sixties was a failure.

It is true each person has to help the other in any way you can but the poor will always be among us.  Blessed are the poor in spirit.  Being poor sometimes forces us to rely on God for our provisions.  Money can insulate us from God.

There is the illusion we can provide for ourselves when we have enough money but that is only an illusion.  We need one another.  No man is an island, the famous words of John Donne.

It is far easier to lead your life with thankfulness.  Gratitude is a blessing and each person needs to reach out to others in any way they can.  In fact, in the Bible it say that if it is in your power to help someone and do not you have committed a sin.

I have to count my blessings each day.  My wife is only here by serendipity.  My attitude of thankfulness for the provisions of the Almighty gives me grace that I can not earn.  And everything is by grace.

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You must always face death with courage.  None of us knows, for sure, how much time we have on this earth.  Sometimes death can come suddenly and other times slowly.

You have two broad choices:  You can live your life with courage or you can live your life with fear.  Death is the fear of the unknown.

I choose courage.  And the wisdom that can accompany it.  We are all going to die one day.  That is a fact.  But people act as if death does not exist.

It can only make your life that much sweeter.  Imagine if we knew were were going to live for eternity.  How awful that would be.

Face each day that God has given you with gratitude.  Then it no longer matters how much time you are here on this earth.  Face each day with courage and wisdom.  Death then has no power.

Tags: courage, death, death has no power, each day God has given you, eternity, face death, fear, fear of the unknown, God, gratitude, life, live with courage, live with fear, make your life sweeter, time on earth, unknown, we all die, wisdom
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All I pray for is for the gift of gratitude. I want to be satisfied with what I have and with the abundance of the Lord. It is so easy to want more and more. There really is no end to that desire. I want to be satisfied with what I’ve got. If He wants to give me more, fine. I want to thank God for everything I have and have the gift of gratitude. That is no small thing.

Tags: abundance, abundance of the Lord, be satisfied, gift, gift of gratitude, God, gratitude, Lord, pray, thank God for everything, want more and more
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