People Need Grace

"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." —John Wayne "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” —2 Timothy 1:7 One of the most repeated refrains throughout the Bible is to “Do not be afraid”. Over and over this refrain reverberates through the Old and New Testament. God does not want us to be timid and cower a...

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." — Eleanor Roosevelt And the present belongs to those who dare to dream! I encourage you to dream as big as your work ethic and then encourage others in theirs. You are capable of great things! You can do this! The opportunities before you are designed to uplift you not to defeat you. We may feel discouraged but neve...

"You're imperfect and you're wired for struggle, but YOU ARE WORTHY of love and belonging ." — Brene Brown Perfection at all times in all places is NOT possible. It was a relief and also gave me a little anxiety when I learned that striving for excellence in all I do is the appropriate and realistic goal to focus on. We're not going to do everything well but we can learn and...

"Knowledge will bring you the opportunity to make a difference." — Claire Fagan Many people say "knowledge is power" but I disagree. Knowledge is responsibility. The more we know the more we must respond to that knowledge by putting it to work in our lives and in the lives of others. Knowledge is awareness but wisdom is what knowledge looks like in action! You can learn! You ca...

"Life is a reciprocal exchange. To move forward, you have to give back." —Oprah Winfrey And the thing is, how we give back doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate. I think genuinely having an interest in others and loving them will naturally lead to understanding how best you can serve them. It might be a dad joke or a pat on the back or just an "I'm glad to know you.&quot...

“For what it’s worth... it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be... I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you’re not, I hope you have the courage to start over again.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald I want to start this day with my heartfelt prayer for blessings on us all in our work this week. It's admirable to see others and be inspired by them BUT we should...

"You are valuable because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are." — Max Lucado This is my absolute favorite "first of all" statement! First of all your value is first of all. So please remember this because situations and people can distract us and make us forget that we have value. But I hope that you take the truth of your wor...

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better." — Samuel Beckett Maybe you've heard it put this way, "fail forward" and this is a good thing. Failure is part of the process of success and can't be skipped. All of the people that you can think of that have had amazing success had to fail at some point. We need to learn as humans in order to reach heights we've never been and t...

"Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting." — Napoleon Hill There are so many things that can get in the way of us being the best versions of ourselves. But the ones that win are those that remember at their hardest moment that they are made for victory and refuse to stop until they see their victory! I encourage each of us to not let anything keep us from d...

"Follow your passion, be prepared to work hard and sacrifice, and, above all, don't let anyone limit your dreams." — Donovan Bailey It's not easy to win the day but with constant effort and never-ending improvement, we will reach our dreams. We are here because we can do this! We have the chance to be great each and every day.

"No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world." — Robin Williams What we think and say is so important to ourselves AND others! We can ruin someone's day or even our own with a slightly negative/mean thought BUT we can also make someone's day a little more bearable with positive rhetoric. YOU are important and because of that so are the thoughts you have a...

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow'". — Mary Anne Radmacher I want us all to Roar as Katy Perry directed! However, people going around making loud noises ALL THE TIME can be pretty weird and not useful. I think that we will all roar when we have reached the battle we were made for. Howeve...

"You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life you are excited about. Don't let others make you forget that." — Unknown In the middle of completing tasks and going about our day, we can easily forget who we are. And when we forget how awesome we are and how great we can be life can become unnecessarily hard. Life is hard enough when we're in the light and shining for others...

"Happiness is not a goal--it's a by-product of a life well lived." — Eleanor Roosevelt We create our own happiness. Yes, others may add to it when life is lived as it should and we also add happiness to others when life is well lived. As we continue, I hope that we succeed in our work efforts. I also hope that we bring joy to the humans we do life with. It's so beautiful to live...

"A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love." — Unknown I hope that you hope! There are so many challenges we face but we have the ability to overcome and SUCCEED! I hope that as we start this day we have faith in our efforts and the hope that the seeds we plant will grow. You are here because you can succeed! You have survived every challenge you have faced. Yo...

"The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you." — B.B. King, famed blues artist No one can steal your knowledge but to keep it fresh you can share it endlessly! Knowledge is power and power requires responsibility. We are mature and wise when what we know is what we live. We are all capable of being wise and therefore able to love others. No one knows it al...

"Hustle until your haters ask if you're hiring." — Unknown We all have naysayers and challenges. These exist for us to fly above them. We can do great things! We don't need their permission either. I pray and hope for great things to happen to you today. I hope and pray that great things happen because of you today too.

"If you're going to rise, you might as well shine!" — Unknown This day is the only one you get and I encourage us to make it as beautiful as we can! We have arrived with gifts and talents that can make this world a better place. We have the capacity in us for great love and great compassion, don't ever let anyone make you forget the beauty within you. You're awesome and you c...

"The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. — Albert Einstein You are allowed to change your mind due to learning new information. It doesn't speak anything negative but only something positive if you are able to use your experiences and research to map a better outlook. Don't let the narrow minded make you think that growth is hypocritical: it isn't! We were made to ev...

"I find that once you start helping others, it makes you feel better about yourself. It helps you figure out what you want to do with your own life." — Lance Bass We never lose anything when we love and serve others. There are so many studies and research that explains how serving others is so helpful to our emotional, spiritual, and physical health. It has been said that a candle doesn&...

"The strongest people make time to help others, even if they're struggling with their own personal problems." —Unknown This means that the strongest people practice LOVE! We are all struggling with something in our lives. But the answer is not to limit your love. Increase how much you remind others of the love you have as a fellow human. By giving it we get it. We find strength as we...

"I think one's art goes as far and as deep as one's love goes." —Andrew Wyeth Our work is our art! As we love ourselves and those around us everything we do flows from that and the world is so much better because of it. Love can be hard but it's so worth it. I hope you woke up this morning with the hope a new day brings and that you fill it with kindness and compassion. You a...

"My parents taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I dreamt it to be." — Susana Martinez, Former Governor of New Mexico It's so important to remind children that they can do great things if they are willing to work to achieve them. It is even more imperative to remind us ADULTS of this truth. Don't let where you've been and where you...

"It is never too late to be who you might have been." — George Elliot Greatness is within you! I just want to remind you today that you can do great things. Love yourself and then love others. That's all there is to it. Be reminded that you are awesome and worthy of the love you give to others! Have a great day!

"There is no sense in punishing your future for the mistakes of your past. Forgive yourself, grow from it, and then let it go." — Melanie Koulouris "Learning from your mistakes is all you are required to do with them. Give yourself the grace to embrace your higher self. Who you were has no claim to who you are and who you will be. Always love yourself and always love others. Have a...