The Therapeutic Value of Spending Time in Nature By Steven Sanders As a reader of Celestial Prescriptions, you are likely already aware of the benefits of spending time in nature. Author and journalist Richard Louv has developed the notion that our society suffers from what he calls “nature deficit disorder,” due to the lack of time we spend out in nature. Without much delving in to this idea, you probably see this in your own life, and in the lives {Read More}
Thought #10: Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
10 January, 2013 by 2 Comments
Okay. So I set up this series of posts before Christmas, and of course these last few I’ve written at the last minute (It’s just after midnight on the 10th). And right now, I don’t feel very qualified to write a post about being overwhelmed, because I am so overwhelmed right now! Not really about important things, just things that seem urgent—like taking down my real Christmas tree that is still standing (well, actually kind of falling apart at this point). And {Read More}
Thought #9: Leave the Past Behind You
9 January, 2013 by 5 Comments
Everyone has a past. That past, good or bad, can shape you into the person you are to become—good or bad. Sometimes bad experiences from the past could cause us to make poor choices in our future, and then sometimes just the opposite is true. Sometimes it’s the bad events of the past that cause us to make good decisions for our future. The point is, you either learn from your past or you don’t. How many times have you {Read More}
Thought #8: Live for today in gratitude and thanks
8 January, 2013 by 2 Comments
When Ann Voskamp wrote her book, One Thousand Gifts, she obviously awakened a place we’ve needed to get back to. A place where we can “live fully right where we are.” As part of the human {rat}race, we are always “movin’ on up” as George Jefferson would say. We are constantly trying to be better—richer, thinner, more talented, etc. We search for blessings in our future as things we must earn. If we spend out entire lives striving to be more, when {Read More}
Thought #7: Helping others is key to leading a happy life
7 January, 2013 by 2 Comments
Well, here it is 11:17 pm on Jan 6th. My goal for the first 10 days of the year was to post once daily about how certain thoughts can actually change our world. And I believe 100% in these ten “thoughts” I’m writing about. My goal of posting daily for the first ten days of the year, however, might have been a bit ambitious. Because now it’s 11:23 pm, and I’m ending up worrying about myself after all because I {Read More}
Thought #6: Forgiveness is necessary for a life of freedom
6 January, 2013 by 1 Comment
Forgiving someone who has done you wrong is very difficult for some people. Our human instinct tells us to hold a grudge against people who have hurt us. But we are all sinners, and we have all hurt someone in one-way or another. What if no one ever forgave? The world is bad enough as it is, but what if we held a grudge against every single person who’d wronged us; and what if everyone who we’ve ever hurt held {Read More}
Thought #5: There’s a difference between what’s important and what’s urgent
5 January, 2013 by 4 Comments
Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise, but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (Ephasians 5:15-17 ESV) Let’s look at the definitions of “urgent” and “important…” urgent |ˈərjənt| adjective (of a state or situation) requiring immediate action or attention : the situation is far more urgent than politicians are admitting. See note at crucial . • (of {Read More}
Thought #4: Money doesn’t buy happiness…or does it?
4 January, 2013 by 2 Comments
Money typically causes more problems than anything else, but unfortunately, it’s one of the necessary evils in life. Money is necessary to live, and does provide opportunity. Because we must work for money, we tend to become selfish with it. We do need to be responsible, planning for our future and that of our family, yada, yada, yada… But the statement “money will never buy happiness” is so true. Just like the “stuff” I referred to in my last post, {Read More}
Thought #3: Stuff is just stuff
3 January, 2013 by 2 Comments
This lesson has been a hard lesson for me to learn. We moved into a new house in April of 2007. A big, clean, empty house. Our forever house. To fill with children and grandchildren…and of course the Vaughan Zoo. So how is it that a mere five years later you’d think we’d lived in this house through at least three generations? But the closets and drawers are full, and my hubby’s business is storage warehouses, so naturally we have {Read More}
Thought #2: In marriage, you’re on the same team
2 January, 2013 by 5 Comments
, a There’s just no two ways about it, marriage is a tricky business. I just gave my daughter a book to read by Gary Chapman—Things I Wish We’d Known Before We Got Married. I would have loved to had that book before I got married, but honestly, I doubt I would have read it. Young, head-over-heels in love, with nothing but marital bliss in my future, I knew nothing bad could happen. I mean, we’d dated for almost six years, and we {Read More}
Thought #1: God has a purpose for you
1 January, 2013 by 5 Comments
Life in this world is difficult. No doubt about it. Every step of life brings a new set of struggles. What is hard for us to see, though, is that everything we go through shapes us into the person God wants us to become. How many times have you quoted Romans 8:28 when someone is going through a difficult time? And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called {Read More}
“Change your thoughts and you change your world”~Norman Vincent Peale
31 December, 2012 by 22 Comments
One of the first non-fiction books I ever read was The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. I was in my first year of college at Clemson University, and I was hopelessly homesick. My mom put everything into my hands she could to help me through that first semester at Clemson, and that book was part of the package. It’s a shame wisdom comes with age, but I’m sure it’s all part of God’s plan. That’s one of those {Read More}
