{words} a remedy.

"Don't find fault; find a remedy."

~Henry Ford

Seriously.

When something doesn't go quite right, or is an epic failure...

don't point fingers, just find the remedy.

You'll save so much time and stress and hurt feelings and Lord knows what else.

stay cool.

{words} success and failure.

"Success is often achieved by those who don't know that 

failure is inevitable."

~Coco Chanel

I admit, I am guilty of this. 

I have so many dreams and ideas and plans and I seem to only persue the ones that I THINK will have the least humiliating failure...what the heck is that about?!

I vow from this moment, I will forget about failure and persue each and every whim.

Maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised?

{words} dream very big.

"Dream big- dream very big. Work hard- work very hard. And after you've done all you can, you stand, wait, and fully surrender."

~Oprah Winfrey

Obviously, Miss O knows a thing or two about dreaming big and working hard...listen to her!

I would only add one thing, pray.

{words} fail better.

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

~Samuel Beckett

Give it a try, it's okay if you fail.

Give it another try...and if you fail again, make it fabulous.

The point is: KEEP TRYING.

{sunday morning praise} My God (Acoustic)

{lesson} be someone's Gilbert...

Because He's Gilbert
What's Eating Gilbert Grape at MOVIECLIPS.com

aspirations.

 

found viapinterest

{video} love & the outcome: He is with us.

{sunday morning praise} it's always been about You.

{words} love something.

"Perhaps loving something is the only starting place there is for making your life your own."

~Alice Koller

What do you love?

If you were given time to do absolutely anything you want, money being no matter, what would you do?

For me it would be travel. I absolutely LOVE seeing new places and exploring this world we've been given.

But, sadly, money is usually a matter. 

So my heart is content to sit quietly in a comfy chair with a hot cup of vanilla chai latte, or even a simple cup of coffee, and a good book.

I also enjoy painting. I'm not super great at it, I'm really just a beginner, but I enjoy it just the same.

I decorate our home. Sometimes I go out and buy things to add...most of the time, I just rearrange what I've got.

Sometimes, I just cuddle up with the dogs and take a nap.

I am a calm person and I thrive on quiet activities.

It's in these moments that I am allowing myself to be ...well, me.

We all have to work. That's just the way it is. If you aren't one of those lucky people that works by doing whatever it  is that they love... then you must fill your all alone, quiet (or maybe not so quiet) times with things that you truly love. 

If you don't, then you will be cheating yourself out of a life that is truly yours. Not your boss's, not your spouse's, not your children's...but yours.

find what makes you, you. make time for it, and embrace it.

{words} dreaming is planning.

"Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. 

Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning."

~Gloria Steinem

I often catch myself living in the middle of a past daydream. 

It may not be exactly right...but it's always close enough!

all you gotta do is believe in your dreams...day or night.

listen, child.

found via pinterest

{words} passionate attention.

"In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us."

~Virginia Woolf

I do this all. the. time.

When I'm laying in bed at night and can't sleep, I replay events of the day.

Usually I think of the better ways that they could have played out. 

Let's make an effort to have them play out the best way on the first try.

Always give your memories the passionate attention that they deserve. 

It happened because it was a lesson to be learned or a treasure to be kept safe in your heart.

an unlived life.

found via pinterest

{words} let it go.

"Those who are free of resentful thoughts surely find peace."

~Buddha

Someone did you wrong. I'm talking very, very wrong.

Your heart got shattered. You've managed to piece it back together...

or maybe you haven't.

You hate them. The very mention of their name causes your blood to run cold.

As silly as this sounds (and trust me, I'VE BEEN THERE.),

You have got to throw those hateful, resentful thoughts away.

It might seem impossible, and it's definitely not easy, but throw them away.

You will find peace.

It might take months or even years, but you will find it.

Don't miss out on the good stuff because you're hung up on the bad stuff.

{just a reminder}

 

courtesy of a mighty girl

{video} Sidewalk Prophets: help me find it.

this song is stuck to my heart this beautiful Monday morning.

{words} growing up.

"I am still in the process of growing up, but I will make no progress if I lose any of myself along the way."

~Madeleine L'Engle

Don't let someone else tell you who or what you are supposed to be.

You know in your soul where to go and what to do.

You might not know it yet, but all you have to do is listen to those little whispers of your heart. 

Listen and pray and never give in to someone else's plan for YOU.

You will grow and you will be beautiful.

always.

{words} magic.

"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power

 we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

~J.K. Rowling

Go ahead, do it.

Jump into that idea that's been keeping you awake at night.

Let yourself believe the possibilities.

Don't back down.

{words} do without.

"To have what we want is riches; but to be able to do without is power."

~George Macdonald

Let's simplify.

We have a bad habit of gimme, gimme, gimme. 

Let's see that although we may want it, we don't really need it...and it's okay to stop buying stuff.

Let's find new uses for older things and know that we really do have enough.

Obviously, if something breaks or just needs to be replaced, that's okay too.

{words} free yourself.

"Letting go gives us freedom, and freedom is the only condition for happiness. 

If, in our heart, we still cling to anything- anger, anxiety, or possessions- we cannot be free."

~Thich Nhat Hanh

Let it go. 

Be free.

You will feel so much better...and lighter...and happier. 

I promise.

{words} imagine.

"The power of imagination makes us infinite."

~John Muir

Go on, do it. Daydream.

Imagine the life that you yearn for...

    Build your dream house...

    Think of  your future children... or of finding your one true love...

What does your perfect dream of life look like?

    Are you traveling the world? 

    Enjoying the foods of other countries? 

    Helping a lost and desperate soul? 

    Working for world peace?

    Using your God given talents to create beautiful art?

Or are you simply seeing your life as it already is? 

Counting blessings that you have already received?

Just imagine. No one can stop you, or think it's silly.

Dream it all. Believe it all.

Do this enough and something will come of it.

{lesson} save one life.

He Who Saves One Life Saves the World Entire
Schindler's List at MOVIECLIPS.com

{video} Somewhere over the rainbow...

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
The Wizard of Oz — MOVIECLIPS.com

{words} be present.

"The real happiness of life is to enjoy the present, without any anxious dependence upon the future."

~Lucius Annaeus Seneca

Have you noticed that this year is absolutely flying by? How is it already August?! 

I have to constantly remind myself to stop. Take a breath. Smell the roses. 

Savor all of the blessings that surround me. 

We are not promised a tomorrow. Do not depend on it to happen.

Take the time each day to tell your loved ones that you love them, read that book that's been sitting patiently on the shelf, put on your pretty apron and cook that amazingly decadent meal, bake that dessert... 

Enjoy your world today and do not fret about what the future may or may not hold. 

Live each day with the respect it deserves and things will unfold as they should.

{words} sing. always sing.

"You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre- 

but who shall command the skylark not to sing?"

~Kahlil Gibran

Please, please, please...never allow someone to tell you not so sing. 

You were made to sing, to be vibrant, to share your passions with this world.

Do not ever allow someone to tell you not to do just this.

Or to tell you that you are not good enough. It's simply not true.

{sunday morning praise} Lord, I need you!

"select your thoughts..."

James Taylor
Eat Pray Love at MOVIECLIPS.com

{words} the ability to choose.

"It is the ability to choose which makes us human."

 ~Madeleine L'Engle

We choose our whole lives. Really.

I do believe in fate and I do believe in destiny but I also believe it's the choices we make that determine the outcome. We decide between getting out of bed or staying and sleeping the day away. We decide if it's a day to be productive or to relax and take it easy. We even decide whether or not to live. I mean truly live.

We choose to be happy. Or sad. Or angry... we get to choose it all.

I hope that you woke up today and decided to be happy. 

To be productive. Go ahead~ mark a few things off of that ever growing To Do list!

To forgive (even though you may never really forget.)

I hope you choose to smile at a stranger. 

To tell yourself that today will be a good day.

{lesson} Make it better.

"You're someone to me..."

You really are. I promise.

You're Someone to Me
Erin Brockovich at MOVIECLIPS.com

{video} Sara Bareilles: Brave

{video} David Cook: Time of My Life