When people enter your thoughts What do you do when you are busy, or maybe you're not doing anything, and out of nowhere, someone comes into your thoughts? Do you wonder why this person entered my thoughts? Maybe you haven’t seen this person in many years. Maybe you haven’t even thought of this person in many years, but now they are in your thoughts. Do you start thinking of the times that you had together? Do you wonder what ever happened to this person? What do you do when this happens? I believe that people come into our minds and thoughts for a reason. I have come to the conclusion that in my almost 48 years of living that when someone comes into your thoughts from out of the blue, the great majority of the time, they are in need of prayer. I believe that many times, Creator puts people into our thoughts so that we can pray for this person. Someone may be asking where your evidence is. Here are a couple of things that I would like for you to consider as to why I have come to this conclusion. 1. Whenever someone comes into my thoughts, I will pray for them. It has not always been this way, but it is now. On way to many occasions for it to be a coincidence I would receive a phone call or an e-mail from someone I prayed for because they entered my thoughts saying something like I was going through something but things are looking better or I am going through this and I need prayer. 2. On more than a few occasions, someone would call me and ask me if anything was wrong. When I asked them why they would say that I have been on their mind and that they have been praying for me. Then I would thank them and tell them what was going on. 3. When my 18 year old son was in the tenth grade, I got a bad feeling, so I started praying for him. Later on that day, I found out that a gang had jumped him and some of his friends. I taught my son how to fight since he could walk, and he was knocking a lot of the gang members down and out, so a lot of the gang members concentrated on my son. During this time, while I was praying and they were getting jumped, a group of my sons friends decided to take a cruise down Bull Canyon Rd. They saw what was happening, and all three cars stopped and got into the fight, helping my son and his friends out. My son didn’t suffer any injuries, but he was sore for the next few days.

1. Kindness is free. 2. Staying positive. 3. What you believe you can achieve. 4. Achieving goals is a awsome thing to do. 5. Chasing dreams. 6. You can always chase your dreams and do what you can to make them come true. 7. Joy finds you when you understand your value and try your best even when it feels harder than you think.

Here's a little tale about a shark... 🦈 and it might change your perspective on everything. Here goes, with credit to Marc Chernoff. During a research experiment, a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank -- then released several small bait fish into the tank.🐠 As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, snapping up the smaller fish. The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She put the shark 🦈 on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish 🐟 on the other. Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. 🤕 Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up. This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether. The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider... But the shark DIDN'T attack. 😮 The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm. The moral? Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, give up emotionally and just stop trying. 😩 Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go. Consider this: 💡 Maybe TODAY is the day you should consider the accidental barriers you may be holding in YOUR mind... and perhaps make the decision to let them go. What do you think?

Strategies to help you stay calm with minor annoyances: Practice Mindfulness: Focus on the present moment. Notice your feelings without judgment and let go of distracting thoughts. Even short mindfulness meditations can help you detach from irritation. Reframe Your Perspective: Ask yourself, “Will this matter in a week or a year?” Most minor annoyances lose significance when viewed in a broader context. Use Deep Breathing: Take slow, deep breaths to calm your nervous system. Inhale for a count of four, hold, and exhale for a count of four. Challenge Irrational Thoughts: Identify and question negative or exaggerated thoughts. Ask if your reaction matches the reality of the situation. Visualize Calm: Imagine yourself handling the situation with ease and composure. This mental rehearsal can help you respond more calmly in the moment. Develop Routines: Establish predictable daily habits to create a sense of control and stability, which can reduce overall stress. Focus on What You Can Control: Concentrate your energy on aspects of the situation you can influence, and accept what you cannot change. Employ Positive Self-Talk: Use calming mantras or affirmations, such as “This too shall pass” or “I choose peace over frustration,” to shift your mindset. These strategies help you respond to minor annoyances with greater calm and resilience.

Prioritize bigger issues over small ones To train yourself to prioritize bigger issues over small ones, use these mental strategies: Clarify Your Goals: Get clear on what truly matters to you—set specific, meaningful goals so you can measure what’s important versus what’s just urgent noise. Assess Impact, Not Just Size: Ask yourself, “Will this task or problem have a significant impact?” Focus your energy on what moves the needle, not just what feels big or pressing in the moment. Use the Urgent vs. Important Matrix: Prioritize tasks that are both urgent and important; delay or delegate those that are neither. Do Big Tasks First: Resist the urge to “clear the decks” of small tasks. Start your day with the most important or impactful issue, even if it feels daunting. If it’s overwhelming, break it into smaller steps and tackle the first one. Practice Saying No: Learn to decline or delay less important requests and distractions, protecting your focus for bigger priorities. Regularly Review and Adjust: Take time to reflect on how you’re spending your time and whether it aligns with your main goals. Adjust as needed to stay on track. Single-Task: Focus on one priority at a time instead of multitasking, which scatters your energy and attention. With practice, these habits will help you naturally focus on what matters most and let go of the small stuff. Quotes on Prioritization “Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important.” — Stephen R. Covey “Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.” — Zig Ziglar “It is not a daily increase, but a daily decrease. Hack away at the inessentials.” — Bruce Lee “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.” — Peter Drucker “When you know what’s most important to you, making a decision is quite simple.” — Anthony Robbins Parables & Stories The Jar of Life (The Rocks, Pebbles, and Sand Parable): A professor fills a jar with rocks and asks the class if it’s full. He then adds pebbles, then sand, each time asking if it’s full. The lesson: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.