Sometimes you must keep going. Life punches you in the stomach. It knocks your breath out and leaves you bowed and gasping. You lose a job. . . you must keep going. You find out you have a serious illness. . .you must keep going. You have a headache. . . you must keep going. Sometimes the things in life are not serious but they affect you nevertheless. . . you must keep going. Your son rebels and you have a blowout with him. . . you must keep going. The bills seem to never end and the money seems to never start. You must keep going. There are times that make us just want to curl up, stick our heads in a hole, and make the world go away. We can't, because we must keep going. Life is full of those circumstances. Many of you when you woke up this morning, for a variety of reasons, didn't feel like getting out of bed, but you had to. You must keep going. In times like those, and we all have them, remember the blessing. The blessing is not in that we must keep going. The blessing is that we can. -----------------------------------------Belief consists in accepting the affirmations of the soul; unbelief, is denying them. --Ralph Waldo Emerson What do we believe? Do we believe in ourselves? Do we believe we have enough time and energy to do what we need? Or do we believe that things will turn out badly for us? Someone said that fear is faith in the negative. We can choose to believe the worst will happen, or we can choose to believe we deserve good things. We can believe the right things will happen at the right time. What we believe becomes true for us because we behave as though it were true. For this reason, it is wise to choose our beliefs carefully. The more we choose the positive, the more aware we become that our choices are many. This means telling ourselves that we're all right just as we are, and acting as though it were true without question. How can I make my world better today?

Love is always open arms. --Leo Buscaglia There is a story about a boy who left home and dishonored his father by spending a large amount of money on fast and reckless living. When the boy's money ran out, he was faced with the prospect of returning home to face his father, knowing the father had every reason to be disappointed in him. Filled with fear and shame he approached his home, his mind racing with words of apology. Before the boy could say a word, his father rushed to him with open arms and hugged his lost son in joy and love. Have we done this? Have we found it in our hearts to accept what a loved one does, even if we would have wanted something different? Love like this is the highest kind of love. It finds joy in others no matter what, because it recognizes the freedom of those we love, and doesn't chain them to our own wants. It is the same kind of love God has for us. Are my arms open today?