Be Dead to Both the Praises and Curses of Men

Today I have to remind myself to, "be dead to both the praises and curses of men."  To "respond with a blessing."  To "turn the other cheek."  I have to remember that "There is only love."  That I am more than what others think of me.  That my reward will not be my reputation, will not be my amazing influence on this earth, will not be praises in the here and now.  That I am not to live my life for approval or respect or gold stars.  But that I am to, "Do my best, and be done with it."  That I am to "live my priorities."  That I am to "be authentic."  I also need to remember to be "slow to speak." 

Do you ever have those days where it takes every catch phrase, every happiness commandment, every cheesy verse you can recall, to help you through? 

That's me, today. 

I'm sure I'll be fine tomorrow.  Perhaps I just need some time spent in nature.  Or some dark chocolate.  Or more sleep.  Or a maid.  Or a vacation.

I'm thinking all of the above sound good. 



What cheesy phrase do you call to mind when you need a pick-me-up?  My dad always says, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."  My mom always used to tell me, "Just do your best, that's all you can do."  And my sister used to remind me to, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God."  Those all really do seem to help when I'm feeling out of sorts. 

Let Go

Today my motto was my happiness commandment #6 - Do Your Best and Be Done with It.

As in, I made breakfast. (Did I clean the kitchen afterward? Nope. But that was the best I could do in my "I've-been-sick-for-3-days" funk.)

And, then, after watching my sick kiddo all morning, I got a shower and put on some clothes for an afternoon meeting and language session. (Did I fix my hair? Nope. I stuck with the curly wash-n-go look. But, hey, I did my best and was done with it.)

And then, I managed to talk coherently in a meeting despite being groggy from some fancy cough medicine. And I sang songs and had a fun speech session after that. (Did I play every chord right and catch every bit of data I should've been recording during the group? Nope. But I did my best, and now I'm done with it.)

And then when I got home, I heated up some leftover homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner, yet again. Yum. (Did I clean the kitchen after that? Still nope. Maybe I'll get to it after Lost. Or maybe it will wait 'til tomorrow. I won't beat myself up about it today.)

Today was not the best day. But it wasn't the worst, either. I made it through, did my best. And now, I'm done with it. Whew!




What do you need to let go of, to be done with? Give yourself permission to do just that.