Stick with Love

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too big a burden to bear. 

~ Martin Luther King Jr.

The Parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree

One of my favorites:)

The Parable of the Chinese Bamboo Tree 

"In everything you do in your family, keep in mind the miracle of the Chinese bamboo tree. After the seed for this amazing tree is planted, you see nothing, absolutely nothing, for four years except for a tiny shoot coming out of a bulb. During those four years, all the growth is underground in a massive, fibrous root structure that spreads deep and wide in the earth. But then in the the fifth year the Chinese bamboo tree grows up to eighty feet!

Many things in family life are like the Chinese bamboo tree. You work and you invest time and effort, and you do everything you can possibly do to nurture growth, and sometimes you don't see anything for weeks, months, or even years. But if you're patient and keep working and nurturing, that "fifth year" will come, and you will be astonished at the growth and change you see taking place.

 Patience is faith in action. Patience is emotional diligence. It's the willingness to suffer inside so that others can grow. It reveals love. It gives birth to understanding."

From The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families by Stephen R. Covey (pp. 22-23)

Tuesday Tell All - Quoteables

Do you have a favorite quote that has been your motto throughout your life, or one that gets you through tough times, or one that motivates you, and just plain makes you happy? Share away, you know how much I love the quotes:)

Mormonism

For those of you wondering what my religious/spiritual beliefs are, the Church I belong to, The Church of  Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, just published this cute image (just click to view larger image), a Mormonism 101 of sorts, if you're curious it may answer some questions about the religion, or click HERE for more info on the Church, or HERE for how my faith has helped me personally in my life.

Parable of the Pencil

Parable of the Pencil

• You will be able to do great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held by someone higher than you. 
• It is ok to experience a painful sharpening from time to time. 
• The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside. Be men and women of honor, relying on your inner core values and morals. 
• You will make mistakes. Everyone does. That is why pencils have an eraser. 

Make your mark. Make a difference wherever you go.

Mothers

“You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out ... Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value ... The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days.”

~Gordon B. Hinckley~

Don't Forget to Live

First I was dying to finish high school and start college.

And then I was dying to finish college and start working.

And then I was dying to marry and have children.

And then I was dying for my kids to grow old enough so I could get back to my career.

And then I was dying to retire... 

and suddenly I realize, I forgot to live.

~ Author unknown ~

Enjoy the Sunshine

"If you spend your whole life waiting for the storm, you will never enjoy the sunshine."

~ Morris West

{source}

Similarities in Trials

“We need strength beyond ourselves to keep the commandments in whatever circumstance life brings to us. … The combination of trials and their duration are as varied as are the children of our Heavenly Father. No two are alike. But what is being tested is the same, at all times in our lives and for every person: will we do whatsoever the Lord our God will command us?” 

~Henry B. Eyring~

Freebie Friday - St Patricks Day

St Patricks Day Party Hat
Click HERE

St Patricks Day Lunch

Click HERE

~with a note saying, "I'm lucky to have you as my daughter/son."

Leprechaun Treasure Hunt

Follow the Colors of the Rainbow...free printables. Click HERE

Another little treasure hunt

Click HERE

Rainbow Fruit Plate

No link for this but it's pretty self explanatory fruit, rolo's and mini marshmallows. You could even make a fruit dip instead of the marshmallows and sliced banana instead of the rolo's.

St Patricks Day Trifle

Click HERE

Green Mint Choc Chip Cookies

Click HERE

You're the Pot o Gold, at  the End of the Rainbow, favor.

Click HERE

Luck of the Irish printable

Click HERE

Wrong is Wrong. Right is Right.

"Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it. Right is right even if no-one is doing it."

{free printable available here}

UPDATE - I just came across this free printable today of the same quote from 'It Works for Bobbi'. To download, click HERE or the image.

Light a Candle

"Better to light a candle, than curse the darkness." 

~Chinese proverb~

Free Airplane Printable of John 3:16

Available for download until March 12th, 2012.

Click HERE.

Oh No, She's Up!

"Be the kind of woman who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning the Devil says, 'oh no, she's up'!"

I've created this customizable digital image of this quote, for sale in my little Etsy store, it's available in 48 colors and 4 sizes. Get 25% until 03/12/2012 by using WOMAN25 at the checkout. Click HERE