Knowing You Can......

I have this poster hanging in my laundry room which says... "Self Control is Knowing You Can....But Deciding You Won't.." 


Well, it is fairly obvious that I have this poster is hanging in the wrong place !  I need to relocate to the kitchen and/or the office.


Shane B. from our Weatherly Ward shared some thoughts regarding this recently, and was kind enough to allow me to share them now with this blog.


If there is something we are trying to control better in our lives...anything from our our health to our budget, there are two things we have in our favor.  First is the desire for change and Second is prayer for inspiration and strength.


Desire is the necessary spark for change.  Do not underestimate this...because if I don't really want it, it's not happening.
Prayer is critical because the ideas will flood into our minds as we make a plan of action.  
Prayer is also the component of strength to maintain the goal and remind us of the need to be humble while we turn our weakness to strength.


Regarding humility, Shane B. shared a wonderful account of Henry David Thoreau's desire to live a more simple life.  In the summer of 1845...back in the day...he built a small cabin on the land of Ralph Waldo Emerson and for 2 years made every effort to unburden himself with the trappings of daily social function. 
I had to chuckle a bit as I thought how much more complicated life and society has become since the times of Thoreau.  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Replica_of_Thoreau%27s_cabin_near_Walden_Pond_and_his_statue.jpg 


In closing, Shane B reminds us that:

BEING THANKFUL for what we have will reign in our appetite for our many wants REMOVING CLUTTER helps us see what already do have and shows us what we can live without 
SERVICE FOR OTHERS takes our focus off ourselves 
SCRIPTURE STUDY will enlighten our minds and warn of the follies that can entrap us.


Thanks for sharing and thanks for reading...
Love ya, Sister McCormick