7 Steps to Forgiveness

This is a copy of something I found several years ago that I thought was worth saving, and now I think it's worth sharing.  I don't remember what magazine it came from and if anyone does, let me know and I'll be happy to give credit where credit is due.  I'm just sayin the credit is not due me! (Sorry for the roughness here but it's old and it's been taped together.)
Forgiveness is not easy.  It's one of the hardest things to do in my book, I don't know why.  I remember at a family get together a while back we had quite a discussion on the "Forgive and Forget" saying and whether it could actually be done.  I'm undecided on that myself.  I certainly believe in forgiveness, I'm just not so sure you can always forget.  I'm not sure in some cases that you should forget.  Anyway, here are some very sensible steps to forgiveness if you're interested and immediately following this article is another one worth reading if you happen to be the one that needs to be forgiven.  Good heavens, I know I've been there and it's the hardest thing to admit.

Wasn't that interesting?  Now....here's some news you can use if you are on the other end of the stick:

I wish I could tell you that I haven't had to read this over and over, but that would be a lie, I'm human.  I wish I could tell you that I always use the above information every time I'm the bad guy, but that would be a lie too.  But, I'm getting better at all of it!  Hope you find something useful here.

Easy Giving

My good friend and neighbor, Harriet, came by the other day and dropped off some more magazines for me to look at.  She is such a dear.  Some of the magazines are interesting to me and some are not, but I appreciate her bringing them all the same.  I took a stack of them with me on my weekend getaway  and went through them.  I found a couple of recipes that I'm going to try.  Then I stumbled across this and thought it was worth sharing:

Wasn't that interesting and easy.  I'm guessing we could all find at least a few things on there that we could do without too much trouble.
I'm going to help a friend paint her apartment today.  Another easy way to give and I know it will make a difference in her day every time she looks at it. She is one of the first friends I made when I moved here to Missouri over 30 something years ago.  I don't always enjoy painting, even though it gives immediate gratification, but I do always enjoy her company and I know we'll have a good time!

New Year Same Me?

New Years seems to be all about making goals that are improvements. Whether these are about improvements to yourself, your home, your life, your relationship.  I've made many resolutions in my life and some of them I've stuck with and others....oh well.  Probably my favorite, and the one I really stuck with, was reading the Bible through chronologically in a year.  Thanks to my sister Amber, (I have 5 sisters, all of them awesome) I did it!  It was so rewarding, whether you believe in God or not, I highly recommend it. Greatest story ever told, hands down.
As for this years resolutions...well, your lookin at it!  I promised myself I would start a blog.  I promised myself it would be a well-rounded blog that would entail a little bit of the things I'm interested in, like cooking, crafting, self-improvement, religion, nature, family, friends and fun. Not necessarily in that order.
So....having said all of that, I'm starting off with "Self-Improvement Sunday" and something I found in a Reader's Digest Magazine that my neighbor Miss Harriet (you'll hear more about this amazing woman someday) gave me.  I had originally cut out an article called "Where Your Taxes Go" and every time I looked at it, I got so angry.  One day, I flipped it over and this is what was on the back:
 

My Aunt Jeanne (yet another great woman in my life) says, "As the years go by, we all just get more and more like we ever were." That may very well be true, but, couldn't we all be just a little more charming?  It seems so easy...just 3 little steps.  I'm giving it a try here in 2012 and I hope you will too! Happy New Year!