He who began a good work in you...

Faith without works is dead.
Works without faith are useless.

A good man (or woman) is like at strong tree, rooted in faith, established in truth, and fed by love.
He produces peace and kindness and joy and loyalty and justice.
Problems and trials are like storms and disasters that cannot kill him; instead they make him stronger.
Knowledge, wisdom and self control defend him from all kinds of dangers and tragedies.
In moderation he lives out his freedom.
Over time he learns patience, which leads to a stress-free existence.
Treating others with gentleness and respect earns him friends where ever he goes.
He makes mistakes and humbly asks for, and accepts, forgiveness.
He works hard and strives for excellence in every endeavor.
Religion is secondary to a life of service to the poor and words and deeds of encouragement to the discouraged and displaced. He seeks righteousness, but never thrusts his beliefs on others. Yet he is a testimony of his salvation by his simple words and strong actions.

I have hope that I may emulate these qualities... I am first to admit how very far away I am from this ideal. It's all about choice. I can't change the past or the crazy twists in life. I can't even change how I feel, but in every action and reaction, I have a choice. I am finding that being happy with my life comes down to my choices. What ever happens, the responsibility for myself and how I behave is purely mine.

So now I take hold of myself and push for positive changes, and I am thankful for any blessings and help along the way. I must have done somethings right, because I am surrounded by good people and a close family. Tom and I never fell in love; it simply happened, and when we realized it, we both chose to be bound together for life. Every day I choose to love him, and to love and take care of our children. Occasionally this choice is hard to make, but I grit my teeth and strive to move in the right direction. I'm sure if you ask my family, they will tell you I am not always successful, but we try.

We can't control what others do or say, but we have the power to choose to walk in Jesus' footsteps... or at least try to. Kindness to your enemies is like heaping burning coals upon their heads (and it confuses the puzookers out of them!). In the long run, the high road always wins. The best revenge is to have to great life, and that is all connected to choices we make.



I choose to change my life today, and tomorrow I will need to make that same choice again and again. Watch out world, here I come! I can't loose if I choose... (and with a little help from above, now that I love!)

I choose to love you all! Choose to have a great day!

-jay-

PS. Wednesday is Nana's b-day! And the day after is Lily's, which is why we call them the "twin cousins." I have been sick (off and on) so much that we couldn't have a big party planned, but we are trying to get all the cousins together to celebrate with a fairy princess party! First prayer request is that we can work out schedules, so all the cousins can make it. We haven't done very much all together lately, and I feel like we are losing that close family connection.

Second request is for Nana's birth-mom, who is a very sweet person, and who has become family to me. She gets very sad and lonely on this day. Please pray for comfort and peace for Mommy Seaira. Thank you!