I've been reading John Bytheway's book I Hope You Know How Much I Love You! There is a whole load of great advice to be had and that has given me great food for thought. I wanted to share a small amount from this book:
Do your best, and learn to be content. Be good and keep the Spirit. Be nice and choose happiness when things get hard. Don't worry, God love you, and he is near. Keep your eternal perspective. Simple? Yes. But simply true.
I love the quote he shared from Elder Jeffrey Holland:
"The future of this world has long been declared; the final outcome between good and evil is already known. There is absolutely no question as to who wins because the victory has already been posted on the scoreboard. The only really strange thing in all of this is that we are still down here on the field trying to decide which team's jersey we want to wear!"
For me I know which team I'm on, when once you decide, life becomes a little clearer and happier. We need to let Christ in our lives to make room. When we put God first, everything else follows that should, everything else just falls away.
Also something I liked that was said in the book:
A Dr. Charles Beckert had written three words on the blackboard at a BYU education week class;
Appreciate/Expect/Demand. He mentioned that when we are first married we appreciate everything that our spouses do and then somehow our attitudes turn into we expect them to do it and then turns into why haven't you done this? kind of attitude and more demanding tone. The question is, where are we in our relationship with our spouse? We can leave a little note or even vocally mention to our significant other that we appreciate them and what they do. We can't assume they know. Everyone needs encouragement that they are doing well.
We need to ask ourselves too, What is it like to be married to me? If I were married to me, would I be happy? Would I love being around me? Am I fun to be with? Good question. I know I can improve here.
I guess we could also ask the question, What is my tone to my children? Do my children still know I love them when I ask them to do something? Do I appreciate my children or do I demand them. I almost think we should have expectations for them and then be sure to let them know how we appreciate what they have done. Praise is best. People are emotional beings and if we have a good tone about us most likely they will respond positively hopefully. We can't forget to be thankful and to let them know that we are thankful for their doing what was asked.
These are great questions to think about.We can be more delightful to be around. It will take effort. But, our spouses and our children are worth it and so are our relationships with others around us, our friends, extended family members, neighbors and yes even to those driving in other cars around us. We can choose to be courteous and kind. It's okay to let others in front of us. We can make a difference in the world around us in how we act and respond.
In the book John Bytheway mentions: Today, you can change your part of the world. You can add a little kindness, a little caring, a little note to a friend. And when things get rough again, and you're getting fatigued and overwhelmed by what you see in the world around you, remember the little things Mom taught:
Do your best, and learn to be content. Be good and keep the Spirit. Be nice an choose happiness when things get hard. Don't worry, everything will work out, God loves you, and he is near. Keep your eternal perspective. Simple? Yes. But simply true.
