Be yourself

Be yourself; because an original is worth more than a copy.

In every heart it has ever touched

The desire to succeed and excel is as universal as it is natural. But what is true greatness? How do we know when we have achieved it? Some might say that greatness happens in rare, extraordinary moments when someone of unusual ability rises above his or her peers. Howard W. Hunter, himself a great man and beloved spiritual leader, offered a different definition of greatness when he said, "To do one's best in the face of the commonplace struggles of life—and possibly in the face of failure—and to continue to endure and to persevere in the ongoing difficulties of life when those struggles and tasks contribute to others' progress and happiness, . . . this is true greatness."

Such greatness—far from being unusual or exceptional—can be found all around us, though it sometimes goes unnoticed. It is evident in the humble heroes who consistently do the right thing, even when no one is watching. It's found in those who, day after day, sometimes year after year, care for their loved ones who are ill or elderly. It could be a father who never lets a teaching moment pass with his children; a mother who sees that the needs of her family are met—even, at times, at the expense of her own; a teacher who notices a struggling student and offers extra, individual attention; a coworker who takes the time to compliment others on a job well done; or a husband and wife who gently love each other and their children. In such commonplace settings, we find the makings of true greatness. 

Other kinds of success, based on worldly praise, reward, and recognition, are really just an illusion. Not loud or pretentious, true greatness does not shout from the rooftops or seek attention among the crowds. Most often, true greatness doesn't grab headlines. It's usually quiet, often unseen, and frequently unspoken. And the rewards of true greatness are without price or parallel. They include meaningful relationships, the enduring gratitude of loved ones, and the satisfaction of a life well lived. Long after public applause has died away, true greatness lives forever in every heart it has ever touched.

Lloyd D. Newell

Baked Spaghetti

1 (16 ounce) package spaghetti
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (26 ounce) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups small curd cottage cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

1. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain spaghetti; add to egg mixture and toss to coat.
3. Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-25 minutes longer or until cheese is melted

You're all that

Edit your life frequently

Edit your life freqently and ruthlessly. 

It's your masterpiece after all.

No regrets

Simplify

mini banana cream cookie pies

Ingredients

1 (16.5-ounce) roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookies
1 (3.4-ounce) box banana cream pudding, prepared according to package directions and chilled
1 banana
whipped cream for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin. Divide sugar cookie dough into 24 even pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place dough in prepared muffin tin cups.

Bake dough until golden brown and set, about 15-18 minutes. Remove from oven and use the bottom of a shot glass to make depressions in each cup, if necessary; cool 10 minutes. Using a butter knife, carefully remove cookie cups from muffin tin. Transfer cookie cups to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Spoon a generous teaspoon of chilled pudding into the center of each cookie cup. Slice banana into 24 slices and place on top of pudding. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.

do it

be you

you don't have to

Believe in your courage.

"Courage is like a muscle; it is strengthened by use.

"Courage isn't having the strength to go on; it is going on when you don't have strength."  

Napoleon Bonaparte

When you have exhausted all possibilities, remember this: 

You haven't.  

Thomas Edison

Hardships often prepare people for an extraordinary destiny.  

C.S. Lewis 

don't dig up in doubt what you planted in faith

shoes off this is sacred ground

You may never know what results come

from your action.

But if you do nothing,

there will be no result.  

Gandhi

"I will not let anyone walk through my 

mind with their dirty feet."  

Gandhi

Good question!

if I asked you to name all the things that you love, how long would it take for you to name yourself?

The Day Dawn Is Breaking

Look who's on your side of the field

who knew

hahaha

My kind of salad :D

chocolate comes from cocoa, which is a tree.
That makes it a plant - chocolate is salad.

YUM!!!

Do a 180

Truly

Look up

A deep breath of fresh oxygen

Feel Him carry you

Love comes before grief and love will be there after.

My memory loves you, it asks about you all the time.

Grief never ends… But it changes. It's a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith… It is the price of love. 

author unknown

Christ mourns with those that mourn. Jesus wept

Loved ones watching over us

A feather from an Angel, Is one we rarely see.
But this one is quite different, And as special as can be.
This feather is a reminder, Of a special persons love . . .
Who is now your Guardian Angel, Watching & protecting from above.

You are beautiful!

Butterflies can't see their wings they can't see how beautiful they are, but every on else can. People are like that.

Mom's Day

"Few of us will reach our potential without the nurturing of both the mother who bore us and the mothers who bear with us." 

Sheri L. Dew

Have a Blessed Mother's Day

A Mother's love

You are chosen by God to be your children's mother. He does not make mistakes.

Love, ~Mama <3

Fwd: I love you

the things that transcend time

An experienced and now retired pilot and flight instructor learned valuable lessons about life while flying airplanes around the world. He learned that even though pilots control massive, powerful flying machines, there are some things they cannot control: they can't change the direction of the wind, stop the rain or the snow, or smooth out the turbulence jolting the airplane. 

And so when teaching new pilots how to land a plane in adverse conditions, he wisely told them, "Don't fight the controls. . . . Stay cool; don't overreact. Keep your eyes focused on the center line of the runway. If you deviate from your desired approach path, make prompt but measured corrections. Trust the potential of your airplane. 

Ride the turbulence out."

That's good advice for pilots and good advice for those of us on the ground as well, because turbulence doesn't happen only to airplanes; it also happens in our lives. Problems inevitably blow our way; sometimes things simply don't go as planned. We may feel shaken and blown about by storms of sorrow, stress, or sadness. So many of these storms are beyond our control.

But there are things we can control. At the very least, we can choose not to become preoccupied with our trials and troubles and instead keep our eyes on the center of the runway, the path that leads to our ultimate destination—our faith and hope, our loving relationships, the things that transcend time.

If the wind has blown us off course, it's not too late to make corrections. Sometimes what's needed is grit and perseverance; other times it's patience and perspective. Sometimes it might require extra concern for a loved one or maybe even the peace that comes of humble acceptance. Sometimes we just have to ride out the storm, hope and wait for better days, and 

do our best to weather whatever comes our way. 

Because that's the thing to remember about storms they pass. In the meantime, we can hold fast to those everlasting things. And then, when the wind that blew the clouds in blows them away again, we will find that faith, truth, and love have remained forever unshaken.

Lloyd D. Newell

Living, Laughing and Loving is Everything

Happy May Day

BE

Happy are those who, rather than reacting, choose to act.

One evening two young friends were walking together when they passed a neighbor standing in his front yard. One of the young men called out, "How are you, Bill? It's good to see you." But Bill ignored him—he didn't respond or even look up.

"Well, he's a grouch today, isn't he?" the other boy observed.

"Oh, he's always that way," his friend responded.

"Then why are you so friendly to him?"

"Why not?" he answered. 

"Why should I let him decide how I am going to act?"

Most of us would agree that it's impolite to shun or ignore someone. Even in a world that seems to be getting less and less civilized, the common consensus is that rude behavior, though widespread, is wrong. And yet, when someone is unkind to us, we might get the idea that our responsibility to be kind is somehow waived. So we may turn a cold shoulder toward someone who was mean or critical. Or we may give up on someone who keeps making mistakes. In other words, we let someone else determine how we are going to act. Instead of acting for ourselves, we react to the actions of others.

People who react are, in a very real sense, prisoners. They are controlled by the world around them. They allow the choices of others to determine whether they will be rude or gracious, crabby or cheerful, critical or supportive. As a result, 

they tend to be rather unhappy people.

On the other hand, people who act for themselves have decided beforehand what kind of person they want to be in every situation. Control of their attitudes and actions is in their own hearts and minds, where it belongs, and they are determined not to let someone else's poor choices change them. 

Of course, that determination gets tested often—it's not always easy to choose to act instead of react. But isn't that really the task of life—to learn how to take control of our own lives, to be kind and hopeful amid any difficulty? Happy are those who strive to replace hasty reactions with perspective, patience, and purposeful action. Happy are those who, rather than reacting, choose to act. 

Lloyd D. Newell

We can create it

Believe in yourself a little more.

Meet the future with faith

Have you ever wanted to trade places with someone? Maybe you know someone whose life appears to be so happy, so free from heartache, pain, and difficulty—especially when compared to yours. Perhaps he or she has better health, a more exciting job, or more possessions or prestige. Or maybe you've wished you could live in a different age of history, when times seemed simpler and stresses seemed more manageable. 

But if you were able to spend a day in another person's life, you may discover that you didn't know the whole story or hadn't looked very deeply. Every life, in every era, is touched by some degree of trouble and tribulation, shaded by some measure of sorrow and stress. That's the nature of life. 

The truth is, you are the sum total of your accumulated years, experiences, and relationships. Your background has helped to shape you into the person you've become. You live and breathe today with all the hard-won wisdom and life lessons embedded in your soul. You wouldn't be you without all that is in your heart and head. All of this makes you uniquely qualified to conquer the challenges you now face. To quote a classic piece of homespun wisdom, "If all of our troubles were hung on a line, you'd take yours and I'd take mine."

Perhaps on a birthday we might wish we were a few years younger, and perhaps on stressful days we might wish we could live in another time. But each of us is here at this time and in this place for a purpose, and one thing that can keep us from fulfilling that purpose is wishing we were somewhere else. 

This is our time, our season. We can't really go back to another time or trade places with someone else, but we can enjoy the present and meet the future with faith. The wisdom of the Psalmist echoes through the ages: "This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" Psalm 118:24.

Lloyd D. Newell

love “beareth all things

Sometimes, we come to know what something is by understanding what it is not. We learn of integrity, for example, by confronting dishonesty. We learn of courage as we encounter fear. And we can learn of love as we consider its counterfeits. Love is not overbearing or controlling; love is not jealous or unkind; love is not neglectful, impatient, or fickle. 

As Shakespeare observed, "Love which alters when it alteration finds" is not love at all.

True love, selfless love, does not wither as beauty fades or life becomes difficult. If anything, its roots grow deeper and its branches spread farther with each shared experience. An elderly gentleman described how his love for his wife grew through their 55 years of marriage. He said, "I sat at dinner across the table from my wife the other evening. We have walked together through much of storm as well as sunshine. . . . As I looked at her across the table, I noted a few wrinkles in her face and hands. But are they less beautiful than before? No, in fact, they are more so. Those wrinkles have a beauty of their own, and inherent in their very presence is something that speaks reassuringly of strength and integrity and a love that runs more deeply and quietly than ever before."

This kind of love is the most enduring, the most influential, and the most needed power in the universe. Perhaps the only thing deeper than the need to receive such love is the need to give it. 

Of course, like anything of great value, love does not blossom overnight. While we sometimes talk of "love at first sight," love grows to its full flower gradually. It will take time, but love is undaunted, because, as the Apostle Paul taught, love "beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." When all is said and done, those who have patiently nurtured their love will enjoy the sweet fruits of their efforts, here and hereafter, and they will discover that love truly "never faileth."

Lloyd D. Newell