Sunday, November 21, 2010

Plastic or Clay Onions

People are like onions. We have many different layers and the more you peal off, the more your authenticity shows and the more apt you are to renew your commitment to God.

Stand in front of the mirror and truly take a look at yourself. Think about how you lead your life. Are you going through the motions and letting life pass you by? Or are you truly embracing your dreams and leading by example? Do you go to church because it's the thing to do and you've been doing it for years? Or do you go to church because you genuinely love God? When you see new faces, do you ignore them? Or do you introduce yourself and make them feel welcome? Do you righteously visit teach / home teach? Or no because you're "too busy"? Do you take things for granted? Or do you live each moment with renewed valor? Are your layers rigid like plastic? Or are your layers flexible like clay?

Listen, I'm no expert and nobody is perfect. We absolutely make mistakes and learn from them (well, ideally). But, let's face it, life is tough. The question is - how are you going to handle it? I pledge that we make the best out of what we have, choose to be zealous rather than lukewarm, remain positive even when things go wrong, and remember that the good cannot happen without the bad.

Life Nuggets:
· Five people in the world would die for you.
· You are loved and wanted.
· If people say they hate you, it is either because they want to be just like you, or they see something in you that they hate about themselves.
· A genuine smile is more powerful than you realize.
· Someone thinks very highly of you.
· Without you, someone may not be alive.
· When you make the biggest mistake ever, there is always something good that comes from it.
· There might be times that you think people turned their back on you; take a look, really you have turned your back on the world.
· Let the rude remarks slide; instead, cherish the compliments you receive.
· We get so “busy” and tend to neglect things or take people for granted, so I challenge you to take the time to let your true friends know they are great.