November 30

In one sense, the big issue of our personal life is the competition between error and when error is in the saddle and rides us, we do dumb things and spend a lot of time regretting them. When truth is in control, we stay on the beam and handle life’s problems masterfully.

November 29

My brother, Bob, and I used to fight each other occasionally, but if any other boy attacked either of us, he had both of us to contend with. We have been inseparable all lives; our fighting ended a long time ago. Our love is lifelong—and even beyond. The love of our brothers and sisters is a gift for which we should be grateful.

November 28

Prayer of a distracted parent: Dear Lord, I love my children but they are driving me to distraction. I have lost my self-control. I need help. I realize, dear Lord, that I can never direct them in their young lives if I am disorganized. Help me not to be angry and not to shout at them. Give me a sense of humor. Help me to know that their restless energy is a sign of vitality and pan of their development. Don’t let me be tired and upset but rather enter joyfully into my relationship with them. Thank You for my children, Lord, but, don’t let them get me down. Amen.

November 27

The Bible tells us that the sins of the fathers are passed on to succeeding generations. The virtues of the fathers can be passed along, too. If a father is an honest and upright man, and if he establishes any sort of adequate relationship with his sons and daughters, it is going to be very hard for those children to get off the track, or getting off, not to get back on. The desire to emulate and imitate is too strong. 

November 26

Many factors determine the way we go and how we go and where we arrive in life. But one thing is for SURE If you forget those things which are behind, as the Bible teaches, and reach forward toward those things which are ahead, pressing “toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14), you have a future that will be full of achievement and joy. 

November 25

Here is a prayer to help you to forgive: Lord, You tell us to forgive our enemies. This I want to do—or do I, really? But Lord, I do not know how to forgive—or is it that I just haven’t the moral strength to do so? Deliver me from nursing a grudge. Help me to want to forgive. Fill my mind with magnanimous thoughts. Make me bigger than I’ve been acting. Let me know the joy of forgiveness and reconciliation. The Bible says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14). So please take my enemy off my hands. And I thank You that I find it in my heart to say, “Be good to him or her.” Amen.

November 24

To have mental health and live successfully, every person must move away from past failures and mistakes and go forward without letting them weigh upon the mind. Never dwell upon the “ifs” but rather upon the “hows.” Forgetting is absolutely necessary to a successful future. Every night, when you lie down to sleep, practice dropping all failures and mistakes into the past. They are over, finished. Look confidently to the future. Go to sleep in peace. God gives you new opportunities every morning.

November 23

Fear lurks among shadows and thrives in darkness. A spiritually darkened mind is a breeding ground for terrifying fears. But, when the mind is filled with the Lord’s presence, it is automatically also filled with light. Intelligent thinking follows and fears are driven off. “The Lord is my light . . . whom shall I fear?” (Psalms 27:1).

November 22

Really, there is one thing that you must never do. You must never, as long as you live, stop believing in yourself! You were made by God, the Creator, and He never made anything badly. When He made you, He made you good, very good. And, therefore, you have the right to hold a high opinion of yourself. A good, healthy self-respect is normal and right. So have a great day today and a great life always.

November 21

Thanksgiving is a grateful recognition of past benefits and the activator of blessings yet to come. Thankfulness stimulates a continuous flow of blessings. If, in your life, there is a paucity of blessings, it may be that your practice of thankfulness has grown weak and inactive. The attitude of gratitude is important in achieving wholeness in life. Only by enumerating the many blessings bestowed upon us can we fully appreciate the generous bounty of God.

November 20

No matter how dark things become, someone is always with you—and that someone is God. He helps by giving you peace and a positive mental attitude. With these, you can start real creative thinking and, as a result, will be able to take a hopeful and not a negative view. Such dynamic thinking will start things coming your way and presently you will find yourself on top of trouble.

November 19

Problems are a normal and essential part of all of life. Strength develops from standing up to them, thinking them through, and mastering them. By approaching problems in a positive frame of mind, you can always derive good from them, no matter how difficult they may be.

November 18

The more we apply mental power against seemingly hopeless difficulties and follow the flashes of insight which come from real thinking, the surer our accomplishment. Thinking gives one the daring to do the unusual when a situation calls for it: a readiness to shift thinking quickly when problems turn out differently than anticipated.

November 17

The word resentment means to re-feel—to feel again. Someone wrongs or wounds you; in resenting it, you re-feel the injury. And you re-hurt yourself. The Hebrew Talmud says that a person who bears a grudge is “like one who, having cut one hand while handling a knife, avenges himself by stabbing the other hand.” The best way to avoid this self-inflicted suffering is to apply “spiritual iodine” the moment anybody hurts you. Get your resentment healed at once, before it starts to fester.

November 16

Repeat these four statements when tense and uptight:

From Confucius: “The way of a superior man is threefold: virtuous, therefore free from anxiety; wise, therefore free from perplexity; bold, therefore free from fear.”

From Robert Louis Stevenson: “Sit loosely in the saddle of life.”

From Saint Theresa, a sixteenth-century mystic: “Let nothing disturb you; let nothing frighten you. Everything passes except God; God alone is sufficient.”

From Isaiah: “. . .in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).

November 15

Want to give up smoking or, for that matter, anything else? The desire to smoke is basically one of thought, plus a nervous impulse to do something with the hands. Also involved is the infantile tendency to put something in the mouth. To quit, decide you really want to quit. Intense desire is always basic in achieving or quitting. Then, decide you are really going to quit.

Finally, picture yourself as being released from the habit. Hold that picture firmly and tenaciously until your subconscious mind accepts it. Do not try to taper off—stop entirely. Ask God to help you and believe that He will. The desire is primarily in your mind—think victory thoughts and images. To cure the nervous movement of the hands, practice control of muscle tension. Believe you can—and you can.

November 14

An old Oriental maxim says, “What you think upon grows.” You tend to become what you think of yourself as being. Raise your appraisal of yourself. Affirm that you have greater possibilities than have ever yet appeared. Don’t self-limit yourself, even in your private thoughts. Always see yourself as greater than you have ever been.

November 13

There are rules to follow if you wish to get along with others:

1. Know the names of all with whom you associate and speak to them by name.

2. Be quick with praise.

3. Always be constructive if it is necessary to  criticize.

4. Keep your temper under control.

5. Always be ready to lend a helping hand.

6. Readily admit your own mistakes and never hesitate to say, “I’m sorry.”

7. Take a real interest in the organization which employs you.

8. Seek no acclaim for achievement but always give someone else the credit due him or her.

9. Assume that other people like you.

10. Try to like and esteem other people as you would have them like and esteem you.

November 12

Rural wisdom: On the platform of a small-town railroad station years ago, two men and a dog watched the express train streak past. The dog went racing after it—and was still chasing and barking at it when the last car vanished in the distance. “Crazy fool dog! Does he think he can catch the Empire State Express?” snorted the stationmaster. After a reflective silence, his friend observed, “And what would he do with it if he did?”

November 11

An important question for anyone is: What am I doing to my own self? Am I making myself big to equate with the power potential in me? Or am I accepting smallness as all I am capable of? To think yourself smaller than you are is a violation of your real nature. Think big!

November 10

A salesman was having trouble making sales, always afraid, forever whistling in the dark. An older salesman gave him a three-sentence prayer. The results were miraculous and his percentage of sales rose steadily. This is the prayer he used: “I believe I am always divinely guided. I believe I will be led always to take the right turn of the road. I believe that God will always make a way where there is no way.”

November 9

How to relax? Repeat slowly and quietly, bringing out the melody in each, a series of words which express quietness and peace, as, for example, tranquility (say it very deliberately and in a tranquil manner), serenity, quietness, imperturbability. Say the following, which has an amazing power to quiet the mind and relax the body: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee” (Isaiah 26:3). repeat this several times during the day and you will find relaxation.

November 8

The world offers so much fun and pleasure. It is pathetic how little of it many people find. Thousands live in what might be called “pleasure poverty” despite the available wealth of fun opportunities. They keep their noses to the grindstone and develop a sad crop of neuroses and tensions. Work is good but, when it’s mixed with fun, it’s a lot better. Don’t be a fun pauper! Revel in the delights a good God has put into the world!

November 7

As a boy I had an enormous inferiority complex and, believe me, it was no fun. I used to go around thinking negatively: "I don't amount to anything. I have few brains and no ability." I became aware, after a while, that others were agreeing with me. They always will—for, unconsciously, people will take you at your own self-appraisal.

November 6

A successful businessman told me what had turned the tide for him when he was doing poorly. It was a picture of a boat stuck in the sand, the tide was out. The title of that picture was The Tide Always Comes Back. Don't ever accept defeat. Never even think, I can't. Instead, say to yourself, "The tide always comes back." It will, if you will it so.

November 5

Take minute vacations during the day. Sit back in your office chair. Close your eyes and, in memory, go away to some place that means a lot to you, such as where you like to fish or play golf, or swim. Letting the mind go away, if only for a moment, tones up the body with an infusion of fresh energy.

November 4

George Cullum, Sr., Dallas construction executive, had a formula for himself and his men. He used to say: "When the job gets tough, get as tough as the job. When the rock gets hard, get as hard as the rock." Life can be tough, really tough. But God built something in human nature that is tougher still. Draw on it.

November 3

One man's rules for making a success in life are:

1. Practice the affirmation of God's presence daily.
2. Pray for those with whom you work and pray.
3. Image success not only for yourself but also for your competitors.
4. Try to live by faith.

November 2

An uptight man once said to me, speaking of New York, "The very air of this city is filled with tension." "Not so," I said, "If you were to take a sampling of this air to a laboratory for analysis, you wouldn't find a trace of tension in the air. You see, tension is in the minds of people who breathe the air."

November 1

You and I, ten years from now, will be mostly what we think during that period. You can think yourself to failure and unhappiness, or you think your way to success and real happiness. Better give your thoughts a good overhaul once in a while. Think good days today and you'll have them tomorrow as well.