How you see yourself ...does matter!

I love this picture and quote...so true! I continue to struggle some days on what I see in the mirror.  When I do struggle that hard, those are some of my toughest days and I realize that I am a bit out of balance. When I get grounded with my thoughts, start taking care of myself  and start to think about others...then it really helps.
 I also have this quote ( below ) on my mirror, to remind me daily that I am a Daughter of God. With that knowledge and sweet reminder...I get empowered and remember that I need not spend time on such negative thoughts. And by remembering who I am, I also remember that it is my responsibility to be the best of who I am, to become everything I am suppose to be. Then and only then can I truly help others and make a difference for good in the world.  It was a good reminder for me tonight!
Good night dear friends!

Families

I read an article the other day and the title was...What Makes A Family Strong? I was interested in what points they would say would be important to keeping that strength in a family. They had great points and as I read the news each morning, I realize that we all should really put more effort in trying to keep our family strong and less in entertaining them. Parenthood is a sacred responsibility and I truly believe we are to take our job very seriously. Enjoy!

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Trait 1: Commitment

The most important trait in strong, happy families is commitment. Commitment to the team—putting the family first—and commitment to each individual on the family in helping him or her become everything he or she can.…With commitment comes the desire to help family members reach their potential. A winning attitude is "I’ll forgo my own immediate gratification to help a family member succeed, because I know the personal joy that I experience when I help another family member."

Trait 2: Appreciation

Do you let your family members know that they are appreciated? Do you give them positive attention?…Strong families focus on the strengths of each other—not the faults.

If you think your family needs improvement in this area, try serving a compliment at each practice…"I really like the way that you…" "One of the things I like best about you is…" "You make me happy when you…" "You have real talent when it comes to…" "You make me proud when you…"

Trait 3: Time Together

Healthy families enjoy being together. They work together, play together, and enjoy leisure times together. They may be very busy, but they…plan time together.

Trait 4: Communication

To understand each other, a family has to be willing to invest the time necessary to share their feelings and opinions. Because you are a product of your experiences, each day you are a new person. Without talking and listening to each other, family members can soon become strangers.

Trait 5: Religion

Praying together, as well as, praying for one another are extremely important for a strong, happy family. Worshiping together is a bonding experience.

Trait 6: Sense of Humor

Happy families have fun together; they play together; they laugh together. Having a sense of humor during tense, troublesome moments…defuses the tension and has an immediate calming effect.

Trait 7: Share Responsibility

Flexibility is an important trait in strong families, especially when it comes to sharing responsibility and roles. If family members will do whatever is necessary to meet each other's needs, even if the task does not happen to be on their list, everyone is happier.

Together
Everyone
Accomplishes
More!

Trait 8: Common Interests

The more that family members have in common, the more they tend to do together. Having similar interests and developing common goals gives the family something to look forward to, to plan toward, and to experience together.

Trait 9: Service to Others

Just as a pond grows stagnant if there is no outlet, so does the family. Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter…agreed that nothing (not even the White House experience) brought them as much joy and satisfaction as they received when pounding nails and painting walls in houses they were volunteering to build for others. Your own problems and worries can become insignificant when seen from the perspective of others who have so much less than you.

Trait 10: Seeking Help

Healthy families are not problem-free; they just admit to problems and get the help they need to solve them! The longer a problem drags on without a solution, the more discouraging family life becomes. Do not allow this to happen.

When you are a big enough person to admit you are not perfect and when you choose to get the help you need, not only will you gain the respect of your family, but you will find that your goal of living "happily ever after" is attainable after all.
by Kay Kuzma 

 

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."
-- Jane Howard

"Remember that having religious observance in the home is as important as providing food, clothing, and shelter."   ~ Quentin L. Cook

Name sake

When I was a little girl I asked my parents how they came up with my name? They told me that I was named after my dad's nephew BOYD LYNN ( also my cousin ). I don't think I ever knew why they chose him to name me after? He was older than me and didn't live near us, therefore I didn't get to know him very well. I liked the name Lynn though and so I was satisfied. Now when Jeff and I were expecting our children, we tried to come up with names we loved and ones also that was named after someone that we thought the world of. That's hard to do when you have so many good friends and family.

Before I was married but had moved away from home, my sister-in-law Shirley had her first baby.  They named her Cristina Lynn after me. I was so humbled by that to know that I had a name sake and for some reason it has always made me want to live the type of life that she would be proud of. Now this week Cristina Lynn just had her first baby and it is a girl too. She named her Hannah Marian after her grandmother ( my mom) who had already passed on. I can't tell  you what a neat feeling that was when I heard that. Now that Hannah Marian is here, I feel like a part of my mom has come back. I know my mom would have been tickled, actually I am sure she is!

I actually have one more niece who is named after me Erica Lynn, she is another reason that I try to live up to my name. Really it is an honor to share my name with such wonderful people. I talked to a dear friend a while ago that I lost touch with many years ago. As we talked and tried to catch up on all that had transpired throughout those years that we missed, she surprised me and told me that they named their youngest daughter after me Meagan Lynn.

Now I am not telling you this to brag, but to remind all of us that we share names and lives with many of our loved ones and I think it is a great reminder to us to live the best life that we can. To live up to those names that mean so much. I love my nieces and nephews. I have tried hard throughout the years to keep in touch with them and at least let them know that their Aunt Lynn loves them. As there gets to be more and more of them, it is getting harder and harder, but I am crazy about them.

So tonight I will leave you with a few quotes that remind us of this very subject. Thanks dear friends for the great lives that you live and for your examples to me.

"FROM OUR ANCESTORS COME OUR NAMES, BUT FROM OUR VIRTUES OUR HONORS" 

"Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior."  ~Logan Pearsall Smith

"OUR GREATES RESPONSIBILITY IS TO BE GOOD ANCESTORS"   ~Jonas Salk