I want to write a book

For the last couple of years I have planned and been building a new home. It has been an exciting and exhilarating process. I love house plans, I love organizing, and I love decorating.

But now that it is coming to an end, I want to look forward to my new project--the self-help book I have always wanted to write. I wouldn't be writing it to really help anyone else. I recognize that I need the most help but in writing I hope to gain the most. Just like a teacher always gains the most. I guess that means it will kind of be a selfish pursuit but I hope along the way it will benefit other people.

I wanted to make the declaration that coming January 1 of this next year I will put my heart and soul and spare time into writing a book in hopes of completing it by the end of the year. Okay, I've put it out there, now I need to just "DO IT!"

Scripture Reading

Reading the scriptures isn't just something on my to do list. It should be something that changes who I am and what I do. It isn't just a task to check off. My daily immersion should inspire me to have a change of heart which automatically changes behavior. And because everything is fleeting, especially on the land-and-takeoff runway that I call my brain, I have to refuel every, single, day. Yes, I am THAT needy.

Don't take things personally

One of the biggest lessons I have learned is not to take things personally. It is amazing how much peace and joy I am able to feel when I am not easily offended or think what someone else chooses is a reflection of me.

This doesn't mean that I don't take responsibility for anything I have done that makes someone respond to me inappropriately, it just means I don't need to be undone by it and especially to react in bitter revenge. It means I quietly take a hard look at myself and repent of what I need to be sorry for but know that the other person's behavior is their issue not mine.

For example, if someone gets mad at me while driving and does a choice hand gesture, I am willing to realize that maybe I wasn't as courteous of a driver as I should have been, but I also acknowledge that their reaction was inappropriate and I don't have to believe I am deserving of that kind of unkind reaction and it is their personal issue and not mine. By not taking it personally, I don't give their behavior undo attention and thus I don't have to let it upset me.

That is just a simple example. There are more personally devastating events that can so easily escalate hard feelings and bitterness if I take someone's destructive behavior personally. Choosing to let go of taking things personally means I also let go of thoughts of personal inadequacy which can lead to retaliation. I get in a place where I am not wounded but instead I am able to be humble, submissive, and understanding of whatever is causing someone to act out.

Beware of Pride

I love this quote by Audrey Hepburn's mother. “I can really take no credit for any talent that Audrey may have. If it’s real talent, it’s God-given. I might as well be proud of a blue sky, or the paintings in the Flemish exhibition at the Royal Academy.” —her mother, Baroness Ella van Heemstra Hepburn- Ruston

I remember years ago in a Sunday School class after President Benson's talk on pride and his statement that there is no such thing as righteous pride, and in our discussion we tried to claim that being proud of our children is okay.

This quote by the Baroness (somehow that title offers more credibility, doesn't it?) puts that kind of pride in perspective. Being proud of something means we are taking credit for it. Isn't it better to just be grateful to Heavenly Father because anything good in our life is due to His generous offerings to us.

From now on, I want to declare gratitude instead of pride.

Just a side note. After writing this I just happened to read Helaman 13:22 in my sequential reading.  "Ye do not remember the Lord you God in the things with which he hath blesssed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting..."

It never ceases to amaze me how timely the messages in the scriptures are for which I am tremendously grateful.