In October my son went for a week to Rhode Island to attend a seminar for dog trainers.

But he learned much more than how to educate a dog or grow a canine business. He came back with a long list of really good books to read - none of which had anything to do with dogs, but everything to do with self-improvement.
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Thanks to that seminar the Kindle app on my phone is now rapidly filling up with great books!
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I am already re-reading ‘The Slight Edge’ by Jeff Olson. 

Habits of Thought & Attitude 

The book is about changing one’s life for the better by means of slight daily improvements.

He discusses how habits of thought and attitude can either ‘uphold and support you’ or ‘imprison and restrain you.’ It’s important to be aware of those that don’t serve us and either change or get rid of them.

Replacing a bad habit with one that empowers and serves us is a great way to do this and one way to achieve this is to have a positive outlook. People with a positive attitude move towards their goals instead of away from them.

​Daily Appreciation 

Cultivate the habit of gratitude. Mr. Olson says that positive psychologists note how consistently happier people share this trait. He suggests writing down three things to be grateful for upon waking every day – three different things.

We tend to take good things for granted and zero in on those that aren’t so wonderful. But by doing that we give too much power to the negative and derive no benefits from the positive.

By switching our focus to the goodness in life we can totally change our outlook.

For me, this means looking for God’s grace every day. Since I’ve started to do that, I’ve been amazed to find out how much He’s looking out for me.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve suddenly caught myself driving too fast and have taken my foot off the gas, only to find that there’s a cop car waiting up ahead. Thank you, God, for giving me the chance to do the right thing!

The other day I went to the dermatologist and my face was basted with a special cream. This was for the light treatment I needed for pre-cancer cells. A piece of Saran wrap was placed over my nose, with another on my forehead.

I had to wait 90 minutes like this before the actual light treatment and didn’t want to sit in the waiting room that long. So I drove across to Panera and bought myself a coffee. As I was walking to a table, I knocked my cup against my purse and the container fell onto the floor. The lid came off and the contents spilled all over the carpet.

Not only had I lost my entire drink, but had also drawn attention to my Saran-wrapped face. It was most definitely a negative moment!

Then a lady jumped up from her table to help me mop up the mess, telling me that she’s a waitress and a klutz and always dropping things on the floor. Whether that was true or not, I so appreciated her empathy!

When I got to the front of the line again to order a new coffee, the lady looked surprised. I told her what had happened and she immediately asked the barista to remake my drink - and charged me nothing. The barista worried that she hadn’t put the lid on my coffee properly, but I assured her the whole episode was entirely my fault.

Thus, on the heels of huge embarrassment came three spontaneous acts of kindness.

Which was going to serve me best? Dwelling on the positive or the negative?
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If we look for it, we’ll find that goodness abounds everywhere.

Christmas Thanks 

One year ago my son was in a full-blown flare with ulcerative colitis. He had dropped 40 lbs and was unable to walk without the aid of canes because, as a secondary complication, he had also developed bursitis on his knees. He looked skeletal, was getting no sleep, was in constant pain and enduring all the other horrible issues of someone in his condition.

He made it through this Thanksgiving without a flare (YAY!) and we are looking forward to his first healthy Christmas in three years.

Yes, there is a lot to be thankful for.

I hope you find many reasons to be grateful this Christmas and that the New Year brings you ever more blessings.

All of us have to do jobs we find excruciatingly tedious: those daily chores which we feel are beneath us and wish someone else would do instead.

John Burger writes in his article ‘The Things That Made Mother Teresa Tick’ that one of the sayings of that “saint of the gutters” was: “For God nothing is small; for us they’re small.”

Watering the flowers every evening during the summer months is a job I find very small. It's tough to believe God doesn't agree with me!

Natural Winding Down

But with the right attitude, I can make this half hour of tedium turn into a positive ending to my day.

Father Richard Hauser, a Jesuit priest who wrote In His Spirit: a Guide to Today’s Spirituality writes that he needs to build ‘rhythms into my daily life to put me in touch with the Spirit.’

He makes time in his day ‘for being quiet and alone.’ One way he achieves this is through ‘simple chores that don’t require much intellectual activity.’

Flower watering definitely fits into this category, so I use the time spent holding the hose over them for winding down and becoming more relaxed. 

Showering God with Thanks

Once my mind is calm and I’ve stopped feeling resentful about having to be out here instead of being able to veg in front of the TV, I’m able to think about my day and see all the occasions when God was present.

For example: one afternoon someone got very angry with me. I apologized to that person even though I didn't think I'd done anything wrong.

But I did feel God rebuking me for my part in the events which led to that person being upset. It was humbling - and hard to deal with! I'd not acted in tune with the Spirit: my impatience had caused this situation.

So I drove to Starbucks to do some writing and take my mind off the painful event. 

While I sat there, one of the baristas came over and told me they were having to get rid of four chocolate croissants, and would I like them? She knows I love those things!

She then asked if she could she warm one up for me right now? The other three she put in a bag for later. She had no idea how much she had cheered me up! (A friend told her the next day. :) )

On the way home thankful tears dribbled down my cheeks. God needed me know I’d slipped up, but he wanted to console me by letting me know that He still loves me.

See what I mean? God is always present in our lives if we just look for Him.

Growing Spiritually

The gratitude God engenders in us leads naturally to a resolve not to let Him down in the future. Yet, sadly, we know we will. It's in our make-up.

A local church has posted this on their notice board for all the drivers passing by to see: “Men don’t fail, they just give up trying.”

Instead of being discouraged when we stumble, we should be glad God reminds us that we need Him at all times, and ask Him for the grace to pick ourselves up and try harder next time.

Keeping our eyes focused on Him will aid us in complying with His will throughout the day.

Praying Over Them Plants 

There are always people in our lives who need our prayers. Standing with the hose in my hand I think of all those who are unable to stand there with a hose in their hand.

Perhaps they are wheelchair bound in a nursing home like my mother, or find it too painful to stand up straight, or maybe they live in a tiny apartment and don’t have a beautiful garden of flowers to water.

So in addition to praying for the graces I need to be a better Christian, now is a good time to pray for the well-being of others in my life who aren’t as fortunate as me.

Fruitful Finale

Indulging in these mental activities while taking care of the garden makes productive use of my time. The minutes pass by quickly and often I reach that last plant before I’ve finished talking to God.

In those instance I continue my chat with Him while sitting on the lawn chair in front of the house. I converse with Him as I gaze over the rolling hills opposite, and admire the sun setting in glory over the horizon and listen to the gentle snorts of the horses in the field which add audible peace to the scene.

And I end up being glad I had to perform this mundane, “small” job.

This has been an amazing week! The Holy Spirit has worked through me (with the aid of others) to directly benefit two persons' lives.

Guided to an Oasis

We often go through long periods when it feels as if we’re not doing anything useful for the world. Our financial donations to various causes are important, but we don’t see the benefits of this activity close-up.

That feeling of dryness completely changed this week. I was led to a spiritual oasis, a wonderful gift from God for Lent.

Using me, the Holy Spirit led two people to bring two people closer to God and in line with His loving wishes for their lives.

I feel privileged and deeply grateful to God.  He’s been hearing “Thank you” much more often from me than just the regular petitions this week!

The Donkey’s Lot

My previous parish priest used to say that the life of a good Christian is often like that of a donkey walking round and round on the treadmill's path, so the millstones will grind the flour. The activity is not glamorous, but it produces unseen benefits for others.

When God sometimes lets us see how He's utilizing us to participate in His miracles, I think He’s giving us encouragement on that path and telling us not be discouraged when we don’t always see the good results of our work.

He’s helping me recognize that all our lives are of value if we let God work in us. He also reminds me that only through Him can good works happen, and thus prevents me from becoming proud and pleased with myself.

So I conclude by saying this was a great week!