26Apr 2023 by CJ
Content With What You Have and Where You Are

Content With What You Have and Where You Are

Life & Living
"You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled." ― Charles Spurgeon, Baptist Preacher Life has an interesting way of sending us invaluable lessons when we need them most. Often infiltrating our situation or circumstance, they intend to remind us to be content with what you have and where you are in the present moment - a place so few of us currently live in.  These can be powerful lessons whose impact is exceedingly felt as they frequently alter our current way of living and are not easily dismissed. Let me give you an example. A decade ago, I found myself unemployed. At the…
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15Apr 2023 by CJ
Everything In Life is Temporary, So Appreciate Today

Everything In Life is Temporary, So Appreciate Today

Life & Living
“Everything in life is temporary. So if things are going good, enjoy it because it won’t last forever. And if things are going bad, don’t worry. It can’t last forever either. - The Minds Journal If there’s one thing we can depend on in life, it’s the unexpected struggles and circumstances which have a way of sneaking up on us when we least expect it. Your day-to-day existence certainly ebbs and flows, but ultimately it’s filled with normalcy and routines that provide you with comfort. But then…WHAM! That normalcy is imploded. We’ll spend some time speculating that there may have been changes we could have made in order to prevent such struggles and circumstances from appearing in the first place.  But I’ve come to believe over the course of my…
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29Mar 2023 by CJ
<strong>Gun Violence Has Normalized – A Lack of Empathy is To Blame</strong>

Gun Violence Has Normalized – A Lack of Empathy is To Blame

Life & Living, Youth
By now, I'm sure you're all aware of our nation's latest school shooting, which occurred at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, earlier this week. Many of us are angry, horrified, and deeply troubled that the lives of those so young were tragically robbed of their future (and let's not forget those adults whose lives were abruptly cut short as well). These are feelings we've all experience far too often over the years as gun violence has normalized throughout America. I want to focus on and further discuss the realities of how gun violence has normalized and why this most recent shooting in Nashville will be forgotten sooner than it should be until the next school shooting comes along. Dictionary.com defines "to normalize" as "causing something previously considered abnormal…
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20Feb 2023 by CJ
Narcissistic Personality Disorder Has No Place in Our Government

Narcissistic Personality Disorder Has No Place in Our Government

Life & Living
Lately, I've been determined to limit my daily news intake to maintain some level of sanity while witnessing what often feels like a bad reality show playing out in our governmental institutions. So many of today's political leaders are an embarrassment to our country and themselves – diminishing the credibility and respectability of our nation across the global arena. While I'm not a certified mental health care provider, one doesn't need such a certification to diagnose these politicians as suffering from narcissistic personality disorder. Let me first say that I'm neither a Republican nor a Democrat. In truth, I cast my vote based not only on proposed policies and philosophies but more on the integrity and morality of a politician. Today, more than at any other time in our nation's…
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08Feb 2023 by CJ
Simpler Living Is a Mindset Old Souls Understand

Simpler Living Is a Mindset Old Souls Understand

Generosity & Kindness, Life & Living
American writer Laura Ingalls Wilder once remarked, "I believe we would be happier to have a personal revolution in our individual lives and go back to simpler living and more direct thinking. It is the simple things of life that make living worthwhile, the sweet fundamental things such as love and duty, work and rest, and living close to nature." For me, simpler living is a way of life I witnessed, cultivated, and adopted through the invaluable and countless occasions I happily shared with my grandparents. I can evoke memories of sitting around my grandparent's kitchen table, pouring cups of freshly brewed tea from an ivory ceramic pot while munching on cookies or other sweet treats my grandmother placed on a coordinating dinner plate. We'd communicate stories about our days,…
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