Have a Good Day!
Three hundred and sixtysix days are here, heralding the dawn of a brand new year. Seconds are ticking away towards a new era. It is up to us to transform these into 366 goody goody days or 366 rotten days. Not a single day should turn sour. Here are ten suggestions to turn each ordinary day into the most profitable and memorable day. The past has floated by. The future is yet to peep. But today is a gift from God. That’s why it’s called “present!”
1. Rise up early.
Rising up early and rising up in life seem to be mysteriously interlinked. “Early to bed and early to rise” —is laughing matter for the young generation. What usually keeps us from going to bed early are work, TV, books and friends. Even if we are late risers it is not impossible to discipline ourselves to switch over. If you cannot get to sleep at ten, avoid the afternoon siesta, reduce coffee and tea and have a long evening walk to tire yourself.
Late rising gives us puffy eyes. It makes us jittery and irritable because we are short of time to prepare ourselves to face the day. Great people like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Mary Magdalene, Jesus and the apostles were early risers. But the most interesting thing is that pagans (1 Sam 5:3), evil doers (Zeph 3:7), business people (Mt 20:1), unbelievers (Judg 6:28) all rise up early. The children of this world are wiser! No wonder many believer birds leave the worms to unbelievers. Rising up early gives us a competitive edge. In this age of neck-to-neck race happy are the preternaturally early risers, for they shall be winners.
Early rising gives us enough time to finish our ablution properly, attend to our household work, exercise, have a good quiet time and then get to business. Getting up late leaves us tired, often with a backache and guilty for not having spent enough time with God, and an ill-planned day. Be dressed up not later than eight and that’s no doubt the start of a happy day!
2. Keep regular Quiet Time.
Talking to the Most High and hearing from Him should mark the dawn of a day. A happy day is one run according to God’s will. To know God’s will we must wait on Him. Waiting on God is not passively sitting, wriggling our toes, waiting to hear a voice from heaven. It is actively exercising our minds to understand the will of God for the day, for the year, for our life. All of us need reminders now and then to revamp our devotional life.
I had a reminder this month. I procrastinated my time with God after a brief tussle with my thoughts. I bicycled three kilometres taking lunch for my daughter who was attending contact classes for an extension course. I sat in the empty classroom next to hers. She missed me by a wall and went home spending 40 rupees for autorickshaw and returned. As I returned, I thought of the waste of time, money and energy. God keeps reminding us gently. When there is too much to do in a day, remember, an unhurried devotional hour will help us do the too much in a day.
The next day I had my devotions early. I ordered things in a shop that promised door delivery. Evening I came out of the house and enquired the neighbours if anyone had brought the things. They said, “Yes, but the man searched and left just now.” My! I dashed to the street just in time to see the man pushing his rickshaw and moving away. I hollered just in time to catch him. Otherwise I would have had to spend 50 rupees to go and collect the things from the shop. I remembered, I committed this particular purchase into the Lord’s hand that morning and praised Him for His care. I don’t mean to say the Lord will punish us if we miss our devotional hour a day. But certainly when we take the time to talk about the details of the day to the Lord and commit the day into His hands, He is mindful of it to run it smoothly.
Let not the devil defeat you first thing in the morning. As soon as you wake up, jump out of bed. Make your bed, brush your teeth, wash your face, comb your hair, powder your face and sing a song. Actively read the Bible. Commit the day and all its business one by one in perfect detail into God’s hand. Then be confident, nothing will happen that day that you and the Lord cannot handle together. If morning is a rush, then spend solid time with God in the evening or night.
3. Plan your day.
Many of us are grumpy and vague when we get up in the morning because we do not know the plan for the day and therefore fumble where to start. Bible meditation is disturbed, thinking about what to do next.
The best time to plan our day is the previous evening. Ladies should plan the breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner and check if they have all the ingredients the previous evening itself. Otherwise we’ll be scratching our heads at six in the morning and light the stove to make uppuma, only to find there is no rava. Use your digital or pocket notebook to note down a rough schedule and go by it. Samuel had exact plans for the next day and the day after, regarding Saul’s visit and even had his food ready (1 Sam 9:23,24). If we should not be anxious about tomorrow then we should plan our tomorrow. Jesus was a disciplined man whose plans for the morrow galvanised Him to action (Lk 13:33). Moses was well prepared to face the next day’s crisis (Ex 17:9).
Early planning saves a calamitous day. A ‘to do’ list should be at hand and as you finish each job keep deleting it off your list.
4. Exercise regularly.
As the modern generation gets more and more of mental exercise and less and less of physical, the tendency is for the mind to become wizardly and the body flabby. Exercise revs up the heart. A brisk walk in the morning or aerobics sends the blood racing through the vessels cleansing it of toxins. If you want to duck heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis and even some cancer, you better exercise and have your weight under check. If morning exercise tires you, push it to the evening. Evening five to seven is a good time for an hour walk when you can pray and praise God for many items that get crowded out of your morning prayer. Exercise tones up our muscles and makes our body firm and therefore makes us look younger. It burns up food and helps us eat more, which is one of the pleasures of everyday (Eccl 2:24). An exercise programme, for some funny reason, gives us a discipline that we didn’t have before. In the beginning we may find it difficult. But we’ll improve as days and months roll by and we’ll actually start enjoying it. If we consider the pay off, it’s worth it and it is wise not to gamble with our health.
5. Eat well and sleep well.
There are many who go without a breakfast, instead downing coffee or tea now and then. A good breakfast boosts our efficiency. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner and dinner like a poor man,” is a practical adage.
A good healthy meal should include carbohydrates, proteins and fats with good helpings of vegetables, uncooked food, fruits and plenty of water. To avoid flatulence: 1. Drink two big glasses of warm water after brushing your teeth; 2. Never overeat; 3. Don’t eat in between meals; 4. Avoid oily junk food.
Do whatever possible to avoid fractured sleep. Spending to keep the mosquitos away is worth it. Don’t worry in the night. Believe there is a God who cares for you. Memorise Philippians 4:6 and remember it if due to anxiety you are unable to sleep. Coffee, tea and catnaps may be contributing factors to fitful sleep. Do not skimp on sleep. Whoever cheats on sleep, working overtime is embezzling himself.
6. Look good.
Though we know we should not judge a book by the cover, experience tells us that books with attractive covers sell fast. Flamboyant modern dresses are not a must. Be clean and presentable. Housewives should not loiter around the whole day in nightie. Dress decently in good taste. Develop pleasant mannerism and learn social niceties. Walk straight without a hunch. Look people in the eye when you talk and always be found with a radiant beatific smile. Smile is the best thing you can do with your lips. You are not dressed for the day until you wear a smile. At the end of a journey wash your face, powder it, comb your hair, straighten up and then alight. Don’t worry about your natural appearance endowed by God. Keep that God-given body in the best possible shape. A little primp up, a touch of colour, a dash of powder, and a neat hair-do will do the trick. Our dressing and make-up are not for vanity; they are for self-esteem.
7. Be happy.
A happy attitude is natural only for a handful. Most of us have to handle depression most of the time. That’s why Paul reminds us to have depression on the run. There is either a mother-in-law or daughter-in-law or another woman or an acrimonious divorce, a business problem, a boorish boss, an image-wrecking failure, an emotionally distant partner, bereavement, the discovery of a devastating disease or an uncertain future. There are times you have to cross the bridge alone. It does no good to whine. Instead of imploding with self-pity, adopt the following strategies to slay the dragon of depression. Remind yourself that (1) You are a pilgrim on this earth (Psa 119:54; Heb 11:13; 1 Pet 2:11). Think of the brevity of life. This is not our eternal abode. Life on this planet is a very very temporary phenomenon. The tickets for our cosmic journey are booked already. Soon the curtain will be drawn on our earthly existence. Lift up your eyes and see the pearly gates. Look beyond your loss.
Then you can sing like David “in the house of your pilgrimage.” (2) Jesus is coming soon. All creation groans with birthpangs. It is a different kind of pangs for each. But we eagerly wait for the redemption and “hope... hope... hope... hope... hope” (Rom 8:22-25). So shout, “Maranatha” whenever depression clutches your throat. (3) We are called to suffer. We are to greatly rejoice in suffering because that’s the way our faith is tested and will be honoured when Christ returns (1 Pet 1:6,7). (4) Christ Himself suffered, setting up a model for us. We are partakers of His sufferings leading to exceeding joy (1 Pet 2:21). (5) Believe all things, even this suffering, work together to make you more Christlike (Rom 8:28,29).
Mother Teresa, the legend of our generation, writes, “The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” When you remember these, you can truly bounce back. And bingo! You’ll be deliriously happy. An Yiddish proverb says, “He who can’t endure the bad will not live to see the good.” So you have got to hang on to life. What appears to be the end may really be a new beginning. Depression is a man-eater. Laugh uproariously, joke neatly, sing sweetly and drive it away. It is upto you to go on appreciating the gift of life and doing the best you can with it.
8. Finish one solid work.
Sometimes after a harrowing day we feel we didn’t accomplish anything. When there are too many jobs to do, sit back and pick up the three most important. If you cannot finish all three, finish atleast one. Then at the end of the day you will have the satisfaction that you have completed a task.
God was not in a hurry to create the whole world in a single day. He created a portion a day and rejoiced in His work. Instead of improperly doing a number of things, it is good to complete one or two jobs as best as you can to your utmost satisfaction.
Even if it is a lifetime project, divide your goal and apportion for a day. Finishing the day’s work will make your heart to dance and the completion of the task at any time of your life will be a crowning achievement. My dad, 84, has written and released a book now (1999)! His second book was published in 2004 and a CD in 2005! For Jesus the motivation was the task entrusted to Him by the Father. He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work” (Jn 4:34). “The works which the Father has given Me to finish” (Jn 5:36). “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (Jn 17:4). May be He divided His assignment in such a way so as to complete the task ahead of the deadline and save the last few days for the finishing touches. Oh what joy when He finally came to the grand finale and declared, “It is finished!” (Jn 9:30). His ultimate accolade was glorification. Procrastination is a vulture that eats away your being. Never put away for tomorrow what you can do today. Finish the day’s task and experience the thrill for the day.
Paul did not let anything move him but blew his life away so that he might finish his race with joy (Acts 20:24). He had to fight a good fight to finish his race. He died with the dream of his coronation in heaven! (2 Tim 4:7,8).
9. Accept interruptions as God-sent.
“There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand” (Prov 16:9). We can plan a day to the minute. But we must give a free hand to the Lord to add or delete according to His heart’s desire. An unexpected phone call, an unannounced visitor, an accident, a sickness and any such thing can throw the day out of gear. Sometimes (why sometimes, often) when there is some unexpected interference we act with unbecoming arrogance. We frown at unwanted guests. Dealing with such interruptions needs a lot of wisdom.
A young girl was at our doorstep at an odd hour. I spent an hour with her. She went home and sent me a letter. She had come to me with plans to spend some time and go back and commit suicide. After the get-together she changed her mind. The letter raised goose bumps on my skin. God-sent interruption indeed! And I wouldn’t have traded it for MY plans for the hour!
Interruptions may not be God-sent all the time. If we discern it is not God-appointed we must politely deal with the situation. James explains it in the fourth chapter of his letter. The crystals of his counsel are that our plans for the next day should be subject to God’s will. Or else it is arrogance. So be open-minded to accept God’s will for the day. We also need the wisdom and courage to say, “No” to certain pressure thrust on us. It is not wise to let people take advantage of our kindness. Gently but firmly put forward your “No’s” or else people will eat away your precious time.
10. Do what you like.
Your daily regimen should include 1. Time with and for God; 2. Time for the family; 3. Time for work; 4. Time for inevitable things like sleep; 5. Time for self. What is usually left out is time for self. A short time of half an hour to one hour of doing what you like enlivens your day and makes you fresh for the rest of the day or next day. You may disengage the telephone if you so desire. You don’t have to be at everybody’s beck and call all the time. It may be sitting on the porch with a book, TV, walk, meeting with friends, bicycling, swimming, singing, dancing, sports, cooking, letter writing, eating peanuts or anything clean under the sun. Go for it with gusto without feeling guilty. It can even be doing nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is more meaningful than the swirl of activity that fills our day. Make best use of this short life. Life is for living and having fun is just as important as work. So bring the lost fun back into your life. Let life be a barrel of fun. If you transform mundane humdrum jobs into rewarding work you will also like what you do. Love life. Celebrated pianist Arthur Rebinstein was right when he said, “I have found, if you love life, life will love you back.” He lived to be 95.
Good Days do not just happen by consuming Goodday biscuits. They must be made—made by us. Each God-given day may be transformed into a golden day by an act of our will. Will it!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
Have a Good Day!
Three hundred and sixtysix days are here, heralding the dawn of a brand new year. Seconds are ticking away towards a new era. It is up to us to transform these into 366 goody goody days or 366 rotten days. Not a single day should turn sour. Here are ten suggestions to turn each ordinary day into the most profitable and memorable day. The past has floated by. The future is yet to peep. But today is a gift from God. That’s why it’s called “present!”
1. Rise up early.
Rising up early and rising up in life seem to be mysteriously interlinked. “Early to bed and early to rise” —is laughing matter for the young generation. What usually keeps us from going to bed early are work, TV, books and friends. Even if we are late risers it is not impossible to discipline ourselves to switch over. If you cannot get to sleep at ten, avoid the afternoon siesta, reduce coffee and tea and have a long evening walk to tire yourself.
Late rising gives us puffy eyes. It makes us jittery and irritable because we are short of time to prepare ourselves to face the day. Great people like Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Mary Magdalene, Jesus and the apostles were early risers. But the most interesting thing is that pagans (1 Sam 5:3), evil doers (Zeph 3:7), business people (Mt 20:1), unbelievers (Judg 6:28) all rise up early. The children of this world are wiser! No wonder many believer birds leave the worms to unbelievers. Rising up early gives us a competitive edge. In this age of neck-to-neck race happy are the preternaturally early risers, for they shall be winners.
Early rising gives us enough time to finish our ablution properly, attend to our household work, exercise, have a good quiet time and then get to business. Getting up late leaves us tired, often with a backache and guilty for not having spent enough time with God, and an ill-planned day. Be dressed up not later than eight and that’s no doubt the start of a happy day!
2. Keep regular Quiet Time.
Talking to the Most High and hearing from Him should mark the dawn of a day. A happy day is one run according to God’s will. To know God’s will we must wait on Him. Waiting on God is not passively sitting, wriggling our toes, waiting to hear a voice from heaven. It is actively exercising our minds to understand the will of God for the day, for the year, for our life. All of us need reminders now and then to revamp our devotional life.
I had a reminder this month. I procrastinated my time with God after a brief tussle with my thoughts. I bicycled three kilometres taking lunch for my daughter who was attending contact classes for an extension course. I sat in the empty classroom next to hers. She missed me by a wall and went home spending 40 rupees for autorickshaw and returned. As I returned, I thought of the waste of time, money and energy. God keeps reminding us gently. When there is too much to do in a day, remember, an unhurried devotional hour will help us do the too much in a day.
The next day I had my devotions early. I ordered things in a shop that promised door delivery. Evening I came out of the house and enquired the neighbours if anyone had brought the things. They said, “Yes, but the man searched and left just now.” My! I dashed to the street just in time to see the man pushing his rickshaw and moving away. I hollered just in time to catch him. Otherwise I would have had to spend 50 rupees to go and collect the things from the shop. I remembered, I committed this particular purchase into the Lord’s hand that morning and praised Him for His care. I don’t mean to say the Lord will punish us if we miss our devotional hour a day. But certainly when we take the time to talk about the details of the day to the Lord and commit the day into His hands, He is mindful of it to run it smoothly.
Let not the devil defeat you first thing in the morning. As soon as you wake up, jump out of bed. Make your bed, brush your teeth, wash your face, comb your hair, powder your face and sing a song. Actively read the Bible. Commit the day and all its business one by one in perfect detail into God’s hand. Then be confident, nothing will happen that day that you and the Lord cannot handle together. If morning is a rush, then spend solid time with God in the evening or night.
3. Plan your day.
Many of us are grumpy and vague when we get up in the morning because we do not know the plan for the day and therefore fumble where to start. Bible meditation is disturbed, thinking about what to do next.
The best time to plan our day is the previous evening. Ladies should plan the breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner and check if they have all the ingredients the previous evening itself. Otherwise we’ll be scratching our heads at six in the morning and light the stove to make uppuma, only to find there is no rava. Use your digital or pocket notebook to note down a rough schedule and go by it. Samuel had exact plans for the next day and the day after, regarding Saul’s visit and even had his food ready (1 Sam 9:23,24). If we should not be anxious about tomorrow then we should plan our tomorrow. Jesus was a disciplined man whose plans for the morrow galvanised Him to action (Lk 13:33). Moses was well prepared to face the next day’s crisis (Ex 17:9).
Early planning saves a calamitous day. A ‘to do’ list should be at hand and as you finish each job keep deleting it off your list.
4. Exercise regularly.
As the modern generation gets more and more of mental exercise and less and less of physical, the tendency is for the mind to become wizardly and the body flabby. Exercise revs up the heart. A brisk walk in the morning or aerobics sends the blood racing through the vessels cleansing it of toxins. If you want to duck heart disease, diabetes, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis and even some cancer, you better exercise and have your weight under check. If morning exercise tires you, push it to the evening. Evening five to seven is a good time for an hour walk when you can pray and praise God for many items that get crowded out of your morning prayer. Exercise tones up our muscles and makes our body firm and therefore makes us look younger. It burns up food and helps us eat more, which is one of the pleasures of everyday (Eccl 2:24). An exercise programme, for some funny reason, gives us a discipline that we didn’t have before. In the beginning we may find it difficult. But we’ll improve as days and months roll by and we’ll actually start enjoying it. If we consider the pay off, it’s worth it and it is wise not to gamble with our health.
5. Eat well and sleep well.
There are many who go without a breakfast, instead downing coffee or tea now and then. A good breakfast boosts our efficiency. “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner and dinner like a poor man,” is a practical adage.
A good healthy meal should include carbohydrates, proteins and fats with good helpings of vegetables, uncooked food, fruits and plenty of water. To avoid flatulence: 1. Drink two big glasses of warm water after brushing your teeth; 2. Never overeat; 3. Don’t eat in between meals; 4. Avoid oily junk food.
Do whatever possible to avoid fractured sleep. Spending to keep the mosquitos away is worth it. Don’t worry in the night. Believe there is a God who cares for you. Memorise Philippians 4:6 and remember it if due to anxiety you are unable to sleep. Coffee, tea and catnaps may be contributing factors to fitful sleep. Do not skimp on sleep. Whoever cheats on sleep, working overtime is embezzling himself.
6. Look good.
Though we know we should not judge a book by the cover, experience tells us that books with attractive covers sell fast. Flamboyant modern dresses are not a must. Be clean and presentable. Housewives should not loiter around the whole day in nightie. Dress decently in good taste. Develop pleasant mannerism and learn social niceties. Walk straight without a hunch. Look people in the eye when you talk and always be found with a radiant beatific smile. Smile is the best thing you can do with your lips. You are not dressed for the day until you wear a smile. At the end of a journey wash your face, powder it, comb your hair, straighten up and then alight. Don’t worry about your natural appearance endowed by God. Keep that God-given body in the best possible shape. A little primp up, a touch of colour, a dash of powder, and a neat hair-do will do the trick. Our dressing and make-up are not for vanity; they are for self-esteem.
7. Be happy.
A happy attitude is natural only for a handful. Most of us have to handle depression most of the time. That’s why Paul reminds us to have depression on the run. There is either a mother-in-law or daughter-in-law or another woman or an acrimonious divorce, a business problem, a boorish boss, an image-wrecking failure, an emotionally distant partner, bereavement, the discovery of a devastating disease or an uncertain future. There are times you have to cross the bridge alone. It does no good to whine. Instead of imploding with self-pity, adopt the following strategies to slay the dragon of depression. Remind yourself that (1) You are a pilgrim on this earth (Psa 119:54; Heb 11:13; 1 Pet 2:11). Think of the brevity of life. This is not our eternal abode. Life on this planet is a very very temporary phenomenon. The tickets for our cosmic journey are booked already. Soon the curtain will be drawn on our earthly existence. Lift up your eyes and see the pearly gates. Look beyond your loss.
Then you can sing like David “in the house of your pilgrimage.” (2) Jesus is coming soon. All creation groans with birthpangs. It is a different kind of pangs for each. But we eagerly wait for the redemption and “hope... hope... hope... hope... hope” (Rom 8:22-25). So shout, “Maranatha” whenever depression clutches your throat. (3) We are called to suffer. We are to greatly rejoice in suffering because that’s the way our faith is tested and will be honoured when Christ returns (1 Pet 1:6,7). (4) Christ Himself suffered, setting up a model for us. We are partakers of His sufferings leading to exceeding joy (1 Pet 2:21). (5) Believe all things, even this suffering, work together to make you more Christlike (Rom 8:28,29).
Mother Teresa, the legend of our generation, writes, “The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.” When you remember these, you can truly bounce back. And bingo! You’ll be deliriously happy. An Yiddish proverb says, “He who can’t endure the bad will not live to see the good.” So you have got to hang on to life. What appears to be the end may really be a new beginning. Depression is a man-eater. Laugh uproariously, joke neatly, sing sweetly and drive it away. It is upto you to go on appreciating the gift of life and doing the best you can with it.
8. Finish one solid work.
Sometimes after a harrowing day we feel we didn’t accomplish anything. When there are too many jobs to do, sit back and pick up the three most important. If you cannot finish all three, finish atleast one. Then at the end of the day you will have the satisfaction that you have completed a task.
God was not in a hurry to create the whole world in a single day. He created a portion a day and rejoiced in His work. Instead of improperly doing a number of things, it is good to complete one or two jobs as best as you can to your utmost satisfaction.
Even if it is a lifetime project, divide your goal and apportion for a day. Finishing the day’s work will make your heart to dance and the completion of the task at any time of your life will be a crowning achievement. My dad, 84, has written and released a book now (1999)! His second book was published in 2004 and a CD in 2005! For Jesus the motivation was the task entrusted to Him by the Father. He said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish His work” (Jn 4:34). “The works which the Father has given Me to finish” (Jn 5:36). “I have finished the work which You have given Me to do” (Jn 17:4). May be He divided His assignment in such a way so as to complete the task ahead of the deadline and save the last few days for the finishing touches. Oh what joy when He finally came to the grand finale and declared, “It is finished!” (Jn 9:30). His ultimate accolade was glorification. Procrastination is a vulture that eats away your being. Never put away for tomorrow what you can do today. Finish the day’s task and experience the thrill for the day.
Paul did not let anything move him but blew his life away so that he might finish his race with joy (Acts 20:24). He had to fight a good fight to finish his race. He died with the dream of his coronation in heaven! (2 Tim 4:7,8).
9. Accept interruptions as God-sent.
“There are many plans in a man’s heart, nevertheless the Lord’s counsel—that will stand” (Prov 16:9). We can plan a day to the minute. But we must give a free hand to the Lord to add or delete according to His heart’s desire. An unexpected phone call, an unannounced visitor, an accident, a sickness and any such thing can throw the day out of gear. Sometimes (why sometimes, often) when there is some unexpected interference we act with unbecoming arrogance. We frown at unwanted guests. Dealing with such interruptions needs a lot of wisdom.
A young girl was at our doorstep at an odd hour. I spent an hour with her. She went home and sent me a letter. She had come to me with plans to spend some time and go back and commit suicide. After the get-together she changed her mind. The letter raised goose bumps on my skin. God-sent interruption indeed! And I wouldn’t have traded it for MY plans for the hour!
Interruptions may not be God-sent all the time. If we discern it is not God-appointed we must politely deal with the situation. James explains it in the fourth chapter of his letter. The crystals of his counsel are that our plans for the next day should be subject to God’s will. Or else it is arrogance. So be open-minded to accept God’s will for the day. We also need the wisdom and courage to say, “No” to certain pressure thrust on us. It is not wise to let people take advantage of our kindness. Gently but firmly put forward your “No’s” or else people will eat away your precious time.
10. Do what you like.
Your daily regimen should include 1. Time with and for God; 2. Time for the family; 3. Time for work; 4. Time for inevitable things like sleep; 5. Time for self. What is usually left out is time for self. A short time of half an hour to one hour of doing what you like enlivens your day and makes you fresh for the rest of the day or next day. You may disengage the telephone if you so desire. You don’t have to be at everybody’s beck and call all the time. It may be sitting on the porch with a book, TV, walk, meeting with friends, bicycling, swimming, singing, dancing, sports, cooking, letter writing, eating peanuts or anything clean under the sun. Go for it with gusto without feeling guilty. It can even be doing nothing. Sometimes doing nothing is more meaningful than the swirl of activity that fills our day. Make best use of this short life. Life is for living and having fun is just as important as work. So bring the lost fun back into your life. Let life be a barrel of fun. If you transform mundane humdrum jobs into rewarding work you will also like what you do. Love life. Celebrated pianist Arthur Rebinstein was right when he said, “I have found, if you love life, life will love you back.” He lived to be 95.
Good Days do not just happen by consuming Goodday biscuits. They must be made—made by us. Each God-given day may be transformed into a golden day by an act of our will. Will it!
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
