“Herbs are one of natures little surprise packages that contain a lot of flavor.”  Culinary Herb Guide

When was the last time you tried a new herb?

And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  (Gen. 1:12; KJV)

Today is the last of our dressing recipes for a while.  People often ask about a basic vinaigrette recipe to use for salads or for marinating.  There are many variations to such a recipe but the basis is usually a high quality olive oil with some type of acidic ingredient such as lemon juice or various vinegars.  Dijon mustard seems to be a common ingredient in vinaigrette dressings as well.

To enhance the flavor of a basic vinaigrette dressing, herbs really set the stage.  I’ve often “dreamed” of a lovely herb garden outside my kitchen door where I saunter out and snip off fresh chives, tarragon, or basil to add to my culinary creations.  Now, I know there are a number of our readers who have such a delight at their fingertips.  I commend you…and admit some envy there too.

For us with normal-colored thumbs, dried herbs can work well to enhance the flavor of our food.  I do buy fresh herbs when I’m making something special or I know the fresh herb would greatly improve the dish.  For the most part though, I use dried herbs.

If you’ve read some of my recipes, you’ll see that I use parsley on a regular basis.  I usually have fresh parsley on hand as a staple.  But I also always have dried parsley available.  I buy organic dried herbs when at all possible as I know commercially grown herbs are sprayed with pesticides along with being radiated to extend shelf life.  Parsley is a great all around herb. It quickly adds a touch of color and texture to any recipe.

Another common herb is basil.  Again, fresh basil cannot be beat when it comes to aroma and flavor.  However, dried basil is an herb that you don’t want to be without.  Basil is considered one of the most important and highly used herbs in the culinary world and is popular in the cooking of many types of cuisine.  Most people are familiar with basil since it is a popular herb used in Italian cooking. It’s a great flavor enhancer in salad dressings as well.

Two less known herbs are marjoram and tarragon.  Marjoram is an herb that has a mild, sweet flavor similar to oregano but more delicate in flavor.  In today’s recipe you’ll see that I use marjoram but not oregano.  Tarragon is an unsung hero, I believe.  It adds such a nice touch to many dishes including egg dishes, fish recipes, vegetables, and salad dressings.  It has a subtle and sophisticated flavor, and is often used in French cuisine. Its flavor is delicate and almost licorice or anise-like. I love the smell of it.

I keep small amounts of dried herbs in glass jars on my counter and in the cupboard.  Any herbs not in those jars are kept in the freezer.  They will retain their freshness longer if kept in the freezer.  Let me know when you try a new herb!

Prayer Power
Father, thank You for all of the wonderful plants and herbs that You have given to us.  May we never take them for granted.

Link of the Day
Herbal Vinaigrette

Blessings on you as you try a new herb this week.

“All things are just an event.”  Leslie Householder

Think about a time when something negative happened to you that you can now look back on with gratitude and joy.

No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.  (1 Thess. 5:18; NLT)

Yes, it’s a strange title for today’s DG, but on the way home from my long weekend drive to and from a short visit with Sharon’s parents yesterday, I listened to a CD in which the Corrie ten Boom Story was told that described a time in her Nazi concentration camp experience when the women in her barracks were spared the atrocities heaped upon other women prisoners throughout the camp simply because the barracks she was in was infested with fleas and the guards were afraid to go near the place.

Can you think back on an experience in your own life that seemed devastating at the time, but that now with the passage of time and through reflection, you can actually see that the situation caused you to meet someone, or take some action that you would have not otherwise taken?  You can now see how that event had a major positive impact on your current situation.  In point of fact, you are now actually grateful that the crisis happened because of the positive effect it ultimately caused.  How wonderful it would be if we could have felt that gratitude back when the seemly negative situation was occurring.

Well, I believe that’s just what we’re supposed to be doing…according to the admonition from the Manufacturer’s Handbook cited above.  After all, it’s really just a choice, isn’t it?  We can choose to get all caught up in the crisis and feel sorry for ourself or we can choose to be thankful, even when we don’t begin to understand why just yet.  We can know that this situation is going to build something into us that we will one day be very happy we have. 

It reminds me of the Law of Comparison that I wrote about a month ago (see 8/22/08 DG).  That law said that “nothing can be considered big or small, fast or slow, unless it can be compared with something else.  This law shows that all things are relative.”  In fact, some even call this law the Law of Relativity.  When anything happens to us, it’s only a neutral event until we decide whether it’s good or bad.  It’s only bad if we compare it to something better (or conversely, only good if we compare it to something worse).  It’s our choice what we decide.

I’m sure you’ve heard the old adage, “I cried because I had no shoes, ’till I met a man who had no feet.”  Bottom line, we need to learn to be grateful for everything…even if we don’t understand why.  Easier said than done sometimes, but still a way of thinking that we need to cultivate.

Prayer Power
Lord, give us the strength to choose wisely when everything within us wants to scream out in anguish over the apparent injustice of our situation.  Grant us the grace to be grateful in everything, knowing full well that it will all turn out for our best over the long term.

Link of the Day
Trust God’s Plan

Blessings on you as you choose to be grateful in all things through this coming week.
 

“In all situations, no matter how desperate they may appear or actually be, you always have the ultimate freedom to choose your attitude.”  Viktor Frankl, Auschwitz death camp survivor

Make a list of a half-dozen or so good (or even great) choices you have made recently.  Now make a list of a few not-so-good choices you have made.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.  (Deut. 30:19; NIV)

How did you like it when you walked into your classroom and the teacher announced a pop quiz?  Usually a little scary, right?  What if you had walked into your classroom and the teacher announced a pop quiz, but also pointed out that the answers were on the board.  Probably never happened to you did it?  Certainly never happened to me.  But that’s exactly what God did in the above verse.  He announced a multiple choice quiz and then quickly went on to reveal the best answer.  (Not the only answer…but clearly the best answer.)

The word “choose” is pretty well understood by all.  The dictionary says it is “to select from a number of possibilities, or to prefer, or decide.”  Pretty straightforward.  Yet at the same time, this little word is one of the most powerful in all of the English language.  As the verse above makes clear, the power to choose is a God-given power.  We all have it…but do we all use it?  If we do use it, do we use it wisely?

First of all, do some really not use their power of choice?  I’ve heard it said many times, “to not choose is to choose.”  So, if you choose to not choose when given a choice, one of the choices will invariably be chosen for you by default.  That’s the definition of a victim–living their life according to the circumstances that “happen” to them.  At the risk of sounding judgmental, what a terrible way to live!  Many probably live that way because they just don’t understand that all have been given the power to choose.  And most certainly don’t understand that they probably got into whatever situation they’re in due to a choice or lack of choice they made in the past.  Kind of convoluted, but life really seems to boil down to a series of choices that we are given.

Secondly, do we use this God-given power wisely?  Sometimes, we have dug a hole so deep with our prior choices that the only wise choice we have before us is to choose our attitude as Frankl says in the quote above.  I would like to propose that wisely choosing our attitude is the “stepladder” that will get us out of any hole that we may be in.  Let me list a few wise choices that we can all make any time we choose:
–We can choose to decide to give up thinking about all that is wrong and choose to think about what is right.
–We can choose to stop comparing ourselves to others and choose to be grateful for who we already are and what we already have.
–We can choose to stop beating ourselves up about all that we haven’t done (or have done for that matter).
–We can choose to refuse to be offended no matter what anyone says or does to us
–We can choose to look positively at adversity instead of choosing to fight it.  We can choose to look for the lessons in that adversity.
–We can choose to forgive since forgiveness is a decision and not a feeling.  We can choose to forgive without a residual grudge, resentment, or bitterness.
–We can choose to overcome evil with good.
–We can choose to be free from anger.
–We can choose to go on with this list indefinitely, or we can choose to assume that the point has been made.

Bottom line?  Follow the manufacturer’s handbook — “choose life.”  The answer is right there in front of you.

Prayer Power
Lord, we are eternally grateful that You have given us the power to choose.  Forgive us when we choose to ignore that power or when we choose to use it unwisely.  Grant us the grace to recognize that the first step back, is often to just change our attitude.

Link of the Day
Choose Well

Blessing to you as you make wise choices this weekend and everyday thereafter.
 

“When put in the car, many babies cry the whole time while driving in the car.”  Dr. Vicky Arcadi

How does your baby or grandbaby respond when placed in their car seat?

Even a child is known by his actions; (Prov.20:11; NIV)

As a parent or grandparent, you’ve undoubtedly put your baby in a car seat.  Do they ever cry?  I’ve heard many parents say that as soon as they put their child in the car seat the child begins crying and cries almost incessantly until they are removed from the seat.  Have you ever wondered why that is?

Today’s Daily Gram is some thoughtful and enlightening information from Dr. Vicky Arcadi.  Here is what she has to say on this subject.  “Being in practice and working with babies for over 25 years now, I have heard from parents and doctors why babies hate the car seat and driving in the car. One reason might be that they are getting car sick because they are facing backwards. Have you heard that one? Another postulate might be, well, the baby is hungry, tired, wet, sleepy, gassy, constipated, pooping, hot, thirsty, mad.

“Here is a great tip for you that might possibly help the baby to be more comfortable and to stop the crying. When you look at your baby’s car seat, if you can lift up all the beautiful padded linens, and put your hand underneath, you should be able to feel the hard seat.  Now slide your hand headward and you will feel padding that is about one-half inch thick. The padding is nice, but it stops halfway down the length of the seat!! It only pads the baby’s back under the head and down to underneath the shoulder.

“Feel the seat and you will know why the baby is crying. Most car seat manufacturers partially pad the hard bottom of the seat. The baby’s back is curved and the spine and sacrum are laying on that very hard fiberglass. That hurts!!  It would hurt my back too as well as yours and it is VERY uncomfortable for the baby. So how does the baby let you know they are uncomfortable? You guessed it, they cry.

“My advice is to go to the hardware store and get some similar padding (you can glue it down onto the seat) and continue the padding down the whole length of the seat under the baby’s back and bottom.  This would be a permanent solution. As a temporary solution, while my parents are in the office, I just have them put a diaper, towel, shirt or something similar on the seat directly to pad the baby’s back.  Chances are good that the baby will be more comfortable in the car when placed in that seat. This can serve until you can get permanent padding down. Then we can get more babies to fall asleep in the car, rather than cry in the car!!”

Thank you Dr. Vicky for this most wonderful advice!  Who would have known?

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for babies and for the wonderful way they enrich our lives.

Link of the Day
About Dr. Vicky Arcadi

Blessings on you as you examine your child or grandchild’s car seat.
 

“I’m proud to admit that I will never talk to any police officer under any circumstances!”  Professor James Duane, J.D.

What conclusions do you draw when you hear someone in a congressional hearing or court of law quote the Fifth Amendment in answer to a question?

A truthful witness does not lie; a false witness breathes lies.  (Prov. 14:5; NLT)

Last week I had the privilege of attending a day-long retreat for the faculty of Regent University.  Many of you know that I am currently serving my alma mater in the position of Adjunct Professor as I am teaching a course in coaching entitled “Foundations for Ministry Coaching.”  This is only the second time I’ve taught this course and I have to confess that it is likely even more of a learning experience for me than it is for the students I’ve been blessed to teach. 

All that is really beside the point I want to get to with this DG.  At the Faculty Retreat, among other things, a good bit of time was given to what was called the “Deans Reviews.”  Regent, as a University, has a number of “schools,” each headed by a Dean.  Examples of schools within the university are Arts, Divinity, Education, Law, et al.  At this Deans Review, each of the Deans made a brief presentation of the happenings within their school.  Examples included the accomplishments of various faculty members, graduates, placement statistics, and similar metrics which are very important within the academic community.

The Dean of Regent’s Law School referred to the highly unusual accomplishment of one of the law professors, James Duane, who video-taped a law school classroom lecture which was then posted on YouTube.  Now, you wouldn’t think that would draw much attention, but that lecture has now been viewed close to 200,000 times in the short three-plus months it has been on the Internet.  The title of the YouTube post is a provocative (for a law school lecture) “Don’t Talk to Cops.”  Well, as you can imagine, I couldn’t wait to get home and watch this video sensation for myself.

What I learned from the lecture has dramatically altered the way I view the use of the fifth amendment to the Constitution.  If you’re anything at all like me, anytime you saw someone “plead the fifth,” you immediately judged them as “guilty as charged.”  After all, if they didn’t have anything to hide, why would they need to hide behind this constitutional provision.  I believe I would be correct in saying that the news media has greatly contributed to that paradigm that I so deeply held.  I would like to encourage you to watch Professor Duane’s video and see if you don’t experience the same mind-altering experience I did.  (I’ve posted the link below.)  The lecture is a bit long — close to 30 minutes — but I predict you will be held “riveted” to your screen. 

Equally interesting, is that Professor Duane yielded the last half of his lecture to an experienced police detective who started his presentation with “Everything he said was true.  It was right.  It was correct.”  The detective then went on for a little over 20 minutes to share a number of personal experiences and insights into several tactics used to “interview” suspected law breakers.  That video is titled “Don’t Talk to Cops, Part 2″ and can be viewed from the same YouTube page I provided below.

I share all this with you because I believe it’s information that we all need to know.  And fortunately, it’s presented in an incredibly fascinating and entertaining fashion.  I hope you enjoy your visit to a law school classroom as much as I did.

Prayer Power
Lord, open our minds to hearing new understandings of ideas we once held so confidently.  Help us to see that things aren’t always as they appear…even when we are totally convinced of their truth.

Link of the Day
Don’t Talk to Cops, Part 1

Blessings on you as you grapple with some of what you hear on today’s video link.
 

“Clearly, some time ago makers and consumers of American junk food passed jointly through some kind of sensibility barrier in the endless quest for new taste sensations. Now they are a little like those desperate junkies who have tried every known drug and are finally reduced to mainlining toilet bowl cleanser in an effort to get still higher.”  Bill Bryson

How aware are you of what is in your bottled salad dressing?

Any story sounds true until someone sets the record straight.  (Prov. 18:17; NLT)

I trust you’re trying some of the different salad dressings and giving a new face to your daily green salads!  Jerry commented that he really liked the Maple Tahini dressing from last week.  He’s been living the “bachelor” life for over a week now while I’m in PA with my folks.  I made that dressing before coming to PA and left it in the refrigerator.  He said that it’s great on a green salad topped with dried cranberries.

Today’s dressing is a pretty green dressing using cucumbers and avocados.  Again, this is another easy dressing to whip up in the blender or food processor.

By this time, someone might ask, “Why should I make my own salad dressing?  Can’t I just go buy one in a bottle?”  Yes, there are many, many salad dressing varieties now available in the supermarket.  However, how healthy are they for the body?  When we spend the time and put forth the effort to create a healthful salad full of fresh vegetables such as romaine lettuce, spinach, fresh cucumbers, peppers, scallions, tomatoes, red cabbage, etc., doesn’t that labor of love deserve a fresh dressing with equally healthful ingredients instead of artificial ingredients that can do a body harm?

Most commercial dressings begin with inferior oils such as soybean oil.  Many dressings also contain high fructose corn syrup along with other artificial flavorings, colorings, and preservatives.  Stabilizers and thickeners, such as modified food starch, are also used.  Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is another culprit often found in commercial dressings.  The ingredient list is often several inches long.  By the way, just for the record, I cannot find any ingredient lists for common salad dressings on the Internet.   Nutrition information is offered such as calories and fat grams, but I cannot find the list of what is actually in the dressing.  So I had to make a trip to Walmart to read some labels so that I could better explain to our readers why they want to make their own dressings.

At Walmart, I found that along with the above mentioned non-food ingredients, I also discovered that phosphoric acid, titanium dioxide, propylene glycol, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and calcium disodium EDTA are other common ingredients in most all commercially made salad dressings.  I sure don’t see many God-foods on that list.  Convinced?

Enjoy your homemade salad dressings!

Prayer Power
Father, thank You that our readers desire to become healthy and walk in optimal health.  Bless their efforts as they continue to seek You for their food choices.

Link of the Day
Avocado Cucumber Dressing

Blessings on you as you purpose to make more of your own salad dressings.

“Human beings are thought-magnets.”  Seni Hazzan

Which would be the longest list: What’s right about you? or What’s wrong about you?

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  (Prov. 23:7; NKJ)

About a month ago, I was writing on a series of nine irrefutable laws.  The DG dated 8/20 was titled “Law of Attractions.”  That law states “We attract into our lives the people and situations that are in harmony with our own thoughts or feelings.”

In her 9/17/08 newsletter, author Marci Shimoff* provided the following incredible insight:  “One statistic that shocked me came from Dr. George Vaillant, a psychiatrist and professor at Harvard Medical School.  He told me that The Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, widely regarded as the most authoritative text in psychiatry and clinical psychology, is 4,500 pages long with 500,000 lines of text. Now, you might expect — as I did — that this “bible” of mental health would devote at least a chapter or two to the science of happiness, right? Wrong.

“This book has thousands of lines on anxiety and depression and hundreds of lines on terror, shame, guilt, anger, and fear. But there are only five lines on hope, one line on joy, and not a single line on compassion, forgiveness, or love.

“Wow! If mental health professionals are taught to focus primarily on what’s not working in the lives of their clients, is it any wonder that most of us do the same in our lives?

“Imagine your own life as a living book comprised of a half a million lines. How many of those lines would be statements of gratitude, confirmations of your personal strengths and victories, or expressions of love and joy? And how many, in contrast, would be declarations of your shortcomings, your regrets, or your mistakes?

“Most of us were conditioned from early on to focus on what’s missing, what’s flawed, and what’s not quite right… especially about ourselves. Maybe we believe that if only we could identify our inadequacies we could banish them from our lives.

“Of course, the reverse is actually true. The Law of Attraction reminds us that what we focus on expands. The story we tell about ourselves — the script we speak aloud as well as our internal dialog — sets the stage for our lives.”

Indecently, in partnership with Germanna Community College, our good friend and mentor, Dr. Randy Peck is offering a PRACTICAL five-week, non-credit, online course titled “UNCOMMON Social Marketing (Web 2.0).” The purpose is to teach you “PROFITABLE Attraction Marketing.”  The course is intended to provide YOU an overview and teach the fundamentals of Social Marketing. It combines LIFE Coaching (powerful questions) with UNCOMMON Journaling (reflection) to help YOU understand AND apply effective Web Marketing to breakthrough in your work or finances.  Check it out on today’s Link of the Day.

Prayer Power
Lord, teach us to focus on what’s right rather than on what’s wrong.  Teach us to be good-finders everywhere we go and in everything we do.

Link of the Day
UNCOMMON Social Marketing (Web 2.0)

Blessings on you as you purpose to focus on the good through the coming week.

*Marci Shimoff is a celebrated transformational leader and #1 New York Times best-selling author. To learn more of her powerful techniques for establishing deep and authentic happiness and well-being, visit http://www.HappyForNoReason.com/.

“Feelings are much like waves, we can’t stop them from coming but we can choose which one to surf.”  Jonatan Mårtensson

What ways have you found that work best for you as you manage your thoughts and feelings?

And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry.  (Eph. 4:26; NLT)

We’re all pretty familiar with emotions.  Most agree that emotions emerge from our thoughts and feelings.  As we have discussed many times, we have control over both but most of us don’t even try.  We just walk around as victims of whatever thoughts or feelings come into our heads at the moment.

Emotions tend to fall into one of two categories, positive or love-based and negative or fear-based.  Love-based emotions include love (obviously), gratitude, appreciation, compassion, forgiveness, et al.  Fear-based emotions include fear, anger, frustration, stress, hate, jealousy, and strife.

Experiments by the now well-known Institute of HeartMath in California have shown that the effects of our emotions extend far beyond what most thought in the past.  In one such study, human DNA was placed in vials allowing the scientists to measure changes that took place on the DNA.  These vials were given to researchers who had been trained to evoke strong emotions at will and on demand.

The scientists conducting the tests found that when the researchers evoked negative emotions, the DNA within the vials shortened and tightened, and conversely when the researchers evoked positive emotions, the DNA elongated and relaxed.  In the presence of negative emotions, the DNA further switched off many of the DNA codes.

The short, tight DNA strands mimic and are reminiscent of the “fight or flight” mechanism in the human body.  There are several bodily functions that are supposed to happen to keep us healthy but which are suspended during the fight or flight response because all systems are being called on to defend against whatever threat triggered that response in the first place.  The immune system is one of the major players in the body that basically shuts down during flight or flight.  Basically, our bodies were never designed to operate in fight or flight mode for an extended period of time.

The HeartMath studies show that it is not just life-threatening situations that can trigger fight or flight.  Our own emotions can do the very same thing.  If we sit around “enjoying” the emotions of anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, fear, etc., we are essentially sitting around with DNA wound as tight as a drum and an immune system that is not functioning as it was designed.  Now all those admonitions that we have heard about the need to forgive, to never let the sun go down on our anger, etc. begin to become more than just platitudes designed to make us feel better.  They now rather clearly take on the specter of life or death. 

Kinda makes you wonder what we’re doing to ourselves when we watch terrifying horror-movies just for fun?  What about those “edge of the seat” adventure and suspense movies and TV shows?  For that matter, what about the nightly news?  This is not to rail against the media or the entertainment industries, but rather just to cause you to reflect on the ramifications of the emotional stress that some of what we call entertainment creates on our own health and well-being.  Think about it.

Prayer Power
Lord, help us to see that we cannot always understand the deeper implications on our health of some of our activities.  Guide us and help us to make the right choices.

Link of the Day
Modulation of DNA Conformation by Heart-focused Intention

Blessings on you as you contemplate the impact of seemingly innocuous activity on your DNA.
 

“The propaganda that has created the soy sales miracle is all the more remarkable because, only a few decades ago, the soybean was considered unfit to eat — even in Asia.”  Sally Fallon

How aware are you of the amount of soy you’re getting in your diet?

Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.  (Prov. 11:2; NLT)

For many, today’s topic is extremely controversial and almost volatile for some. Nearly everyone has read or heard about the touted benefits of incorporating soy into their diet.  Let me say that I began eating soy products back in the late 1970’s when I started experimenting with eating a vegetarian diet.  During the following twenty years, I consumed a great deal of food made from the lowly soybean.  At one point, I was the “Tofu Queen.”  I made everything from tofu lasagna to tofu stroganoff and tofu cheesecake.  I embraced the challenge of making food taste good using tofu.  People would be amazed when they would eat a delicious, flavor-filled dish that I had made, only to find out it contained tofu.  They found it hard to believe that the nasty looking white block of blob could produce something so tasty.

I educated people on the “benefits” of eating tofu and incorporating it into their diets.  Several years ago I began hearing rumblings about the dark side of tofu and soy in general.  At first, I just dismissed what I was reading, thinking the articles had no basis.  I had been eating and recommending certain soy products for over twenty years.  Have you ever been firmly convinced of something that developed into a way of life?  Then have, the real truth began to permeate your firmly-held belief system?  Some would call that a crossroads.  To me, it was more like a CROSS!

As I opened my heart to read more of the research and science about the negative aspects of soy, my heart began to soften.  More and more people in the nutrition and health field who I greatly respected began to speak out against soy.  I  had to come to grips with the fact that I had been wrong about my view of soy.  Not only was it not good for me and my family, I had lead so many others down the wrongful road of soy as well.  My pride gave way to humility as I faced the truth.  I stopped using tofu and other soy foods in our diet and I began sharing with all who would listen that soy is not what it’s cracked up to be.

When major food manufacturers jump on a bandwagon and begin to promote something that has turned up eyebrows (and noses) for years from the general pubic, it’s time to get suspicious.  There is much to be said about negative aspects of soy products.  I’ve known that I need to “blow the whistle” so to speak with our readers but frankly I keep putting if off since it is so controversial.  Today’s link does a great job if introducing the dark side of soy.  I’m currently reading through The Whole Soy Story and will share insights from time to time.

Please note that I’m not advertising for anyone to join Dr. Mercola’s “Inside Circle.”

Prayer Power
Father, we thank You for continued wisdom and knowledge.  May we always tune our ear to hear Your voice and follow your lead.

Link of the Day
What’s So Bad About Tofu?

Blessings on you as you learn more about soy products.
 

A CELEBRATION!!!

Today’s is the Daily Gram’s birthday!  One year-old today.
May we offer you a piece of cake?

“He who does not love life, to him life is a taut and rigid grasp.  He who loves life, to him life is a beautiful and powerful clasp.”  Sri Chinmoy

How are you doing at making each moment of your life count?.

Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who despise their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  (John 12:25; NLT)

Gee, it was just last Friday that I used one of the movies from Mack Anderson in a DG.  I don’t usually like to use the same source so quickly again, but as I looked at the link today, The Richest Man in Town, I just couldn’t resist using it.  It is indeed a very powerful message, and it seemed especially relevant in light of the recent events surrounding some of our country’s most respected financial institutions.

As the story unfolds, it reveals a wonderful, new perspective on riches.  Marty, the featured character in the video was acknowledged to be rich because he treated everyone he met with respect and dignity, because he loved his wife, his family, and his job, he was widely known to be humble and compassionate, he was grateful for life, and finally, he made the most of each moment of that life.  Those characteristics are what made Marty the “richest man in town.”

That’s quite a list.  As I look at it, I personally feel that the vanguard characteristic that opened the door to all the others was his gratefulness for life.  Interestingly enough, that’s a characteristic that can pretty easily be developed and strengthened.  Yes, it takes some time and some effort, but the “riches” that it returns make it an incredible investment.

Lord, life is truly a precious gift.  Open our eyes to the blessings that you continually bestow on each of us.  Grant us the grace to recognize and recall those daily blessings as we “fall in love” with living again.

Link of the Day
Richest Man in Town

Blessings on you as you purpose to exhibit an increasing level of gratefulness for life each and every day from this day forward.