GUIDELINES FOR LIFE

Trust God.

Be generous with your lives.

Don’t say anything you don’t mean.

Don’t be unthinkingly angry, especially with those close to you, that's as bad as murder.

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important

You should be more concerned with character than reputation because character is who you are, while reputation is merely what others think.

If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for everything.

My boyfriend used to ask his mother, 'How can I find the right woman for me?' and she would answer,  'Don't worry about finding the right woman--concentrate on becoming the right man.

Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them.

Judge people less on their mistakes than on how they handle their mistakes

Be a cause for the future rather than a result of the past.

Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation.

Don't argue with someone whose neck is bigger than your head.

Beware of the man who knows the answer before he understands the question.

Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Look for character not charisma. A genuine 

leader will never exploit your emotions or your money.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going and the insight to know 

when you're going too far.

When you remember a grudge a friend has against you, go immediately and make things right.

If an old enemy accosts you, make the first move and make things right with him.

Don’t let your heart be corrupted by lust, that's as bad as adultery.

If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life.

If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. No more ‘eye for an eye’.

If you divorce your wife, you're responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). Don’t marry a divorced adulteress.

If someone sues you for the shirt off your back, gift wrap your best coat and make a present of it.

Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.

When someone gives you a hard time respond with the energies of prayer.

When trying to be good, don’t make a performance of it. Help someone out unobtrusively.

Pray in a quiet place, simply and honestly, focusing on God not on you.

Don’t fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes you have are in fashion.

There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outward appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds free and unfettered.

Instead of looking at fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers, the ten best dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

Don’t be so occupied with getting, instead respond to Gods giving. All your everyday human concerns will be met when you steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative and God-provisions.

Give your attention to what God is doing right now, don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow, God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up.

Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures or criticise their faults - unless you want the same.

Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago? How did they work out? Didn't you waste a lot of fruitless energy on account of most of them? Didn't most of them turn out all right after all?

-Dale Carnegie

Don’t be flippant with the sacred, don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans.

Don’t bargain with God, be direct, ask for what you need.

Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

When your dreams turn to dust, vacuum.

You will have to rough it, pursue life.

Spend time with those who need it, the sick not the healthy; mercy not religion.

You don’t need fund-raising or a lot of equipment, you are the equipment, all you need is three meals a day. Travel light. When you enter a town, get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.

Top 10 Things to Give Away

 1) Your Time
       How many of you are too busy with your
       own lives to give your time to others? Being busy
       is an excuse and a reason not to go out of your way.
       People need you and love you. They want to see you.
       Let them have some time with you.

 2) Your Support
       How many of you really support the
       people in your life? What I mean by support is
       encouragement and reasons to try something new,
       not 10 different reasons why it won't work for them.
       Just because it didn't work this time. There's nothing
       better than telling a person that they can do
       whatever they want in this world.

 3) Your Acceptance
       This may be a toughie for some.
       This means unconditional love and the ability to
       love someone for who they are and not what you want
       them to be. It means giving up how you think their life
       should go ... accepting them for what they want to do
       with their lives. This is the greatest gift that you
       can give to the people in your life.

 4) Your Attention
       How many of you really listen to the
       people in your life? For everyone who just said
       "Of course I do" then why are the people in your life
       asking you to repeat what they have just said?
       It's because they know that you didn't hear them. Take
       a few minutes, stop what you are doing, and focus
       on the people who you love. Aren't they worth it? And
       who knows, you may even learn something that you
       thought you already knew.

 5) Your Forgiveness
       Forgiving people for past mistakes
       and hurts is one of the greatest gifts you can
       give them. After all they are only human. Plus, I'm
       sure that you haven't been the perfect human being either.
       Keeping hurt and anger in your life is just an
       excuse not to get close to people for fear that they
       will hurt you again.

 6) Your Patience
       How many of you can't even be with
       the people you love because they are taking too
       long to tell a story or are taking longer than "you
       think" to complete a project that you think should take a
       lesser time. How do you know that there isn't a
       better way to do something if the people around you
       always have to do it your way? Having patience with
       people shows that they are respected and loved. Isn't
       this a great gift to give to people around you?

 7) Your Love
       People want to know that they are special
       in your life and that you care about them. If
       there are things that are keeping you from loving them
       such as conversations that you want to have with them,
       but you're afraid, my advice is to say it. Sometimes
       you have to take risk to achieve an open and
       rewarding relationship. Take the risk and give your love.

 8) Your Ideas
       Sometimes people want to move forward in
       their lives but they don't know how. You may know
       something that they never thought of. And who
       knows, your ideas may change somebody's life. So
       go ahead, don't be afraid to share what you know.

 9) Your Smile
       There is nothing better than entering a
       room seeing someone smile when you walk in. Right
       then and there you know that your presence makes a
       difference in their life. A smile is easy. You
       just grin upward. Plus, you burn many more calories
       then from frowning.

 10) A Hug
       Human touch warms the heart and keeps us
       connected. In addition, it doesn't take much
       effort, it costs nothing, and it makes someone's
       day. Couldn't you find time in your schedule to hug
       someone you love today?

"It's good to have money and the things money can buy. But it's good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things that you can't buy."