Inspirational Thought

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary 

so that the necessary may speak."

~Hans Hofmann

Inspirational Thought

"First say to yourself what you would be;

  and then do what you have to do."

~Epictetus

Inspirational Thought

"There is no dignity quite so impressive, 

and no independence so important

 as living within your means."

~Calvin Coolidge

Motivational Monday

"Provident living requires us to develop proper attitudes—a willingness to forego luxuries, to avoid excess, and to fully use what we have—learning to live within our means.

Unrestricted by programs and projects, bricks and mortar, the Lord’s real storehouse is indeed in the homes and the hearts of His people. As the members of the Church follow the counsel to become self-reliant, they represent an immense pool of resources, knowledge, skills, and charity available to help one another. This storehouse, the Lord has said, is “for the poor of my people, … to advance the cause, which ye have espoused, to the salvation of man, and to the glory of your Father who is in heaven.” (D&C 78:3–4.)"

~Robert D. Hales, “Welfare Principles to Guide Our Lives: An Eternal Plan for the Welfare of Men’s Souls,” Ensign, May 1986, 28

Motivational Monday

"Each age has deemed the new-born year 

the fittest time for festal cheer."

~ Walter Scott

source

Motivational Monday

"Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.  

To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, 

is to have the real spirit of Christmas"

~Calvin Coolidge

source

Merry Christmas!

Motivational Monday

"Courage is resistance to fear,

 mastery of fear,

not absence of fear."

~Mark Twain

source

Motivational Monday

"Decisions determine destiny. 

That is why it is worthwhile to look ahead, 

to set a course, to be at least partly ready 

when the moment of decision comes."

President Thomas S. Monson, 2004

Motivational Monday

"Work is honorable. Developing the capacity to work will help you contribute to the world in which you live. It will bring you an increased sense of self-worth. It will bless you and your family, both now and in the future.

One of the blessings of work is developing self-reliance. When you are self-reliant, you use the blessings and abilities God has given you to care for yourself and your family and to find solutions for your own problems. Self-reliance does not mean that you must be able to do all things on your own. To be truly self-reliant, you must learn how to work with others and turn to the Lord for His help and strength."

For the Strength of Youth, Work and Self-Reliance

Motivational Monday

 “Children need to work with their parents—to wash dishes with them, to mop floors with them, to mow lawns, to prune trees and shrubbery, to paint and fix up and clean up and do a hundred other things where they will learn that labor is the price of cleanliness and progress and prosperity” 

President Gordon B. Hinckley 

Motivational Monday

Come, Ye Thankful People

Come, ye thankful people, come; 
Raise the song of harvest home.
All is safely gathered in
Ere the winter storms begin
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied.
Come to God's own temple, come;
Raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God's own field, 
Fruit unto his praise to yield,
Wheat and tares together sown,
Unto joy or sorrow grown.
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear.
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.

~ Henry Alford

Inspirational Thought

" A small daily task, if it be really daily, 

will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules."

-Anthony Trollope

Motivational Monday

"It is around the family and the home

 that all the greatest virtues...are 

created, strengthened and maintained."

Winston Churchill

Motivational Monday

Elder James E. Faust taught: “An essential part of teaching children to be disciplined and responsible is to have them learn to work. … The best teachers of the principle of work are the parents themselves. For me, work became a joy when I first worked alongside my father, grandfather, uncles, and brothers. I am sure that I was often more of an aggravation than a help, but the memories are sweet and the lessons learned are valuable. Children need to learn responsibility and independence. Are the parents personally taking the time to show and demonstrate and explain so that children can, as Lehi taught, ‘act for themselves and not … be acted upon’? (2 Nephi 2:26)” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1990, 42; or Ensign, Nov. 1990, 34; see also page 50 in the Marriage and Family Relations Participant’s Study Guide).

Motivational Monday

“Teaching children the joy of honest labor is one of the greatest of all gifts you can bestow upon them” 

Elder L. Tom Perry of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles 

 (in Conference Report, Oct. 1986, 78; or Ensign, Nov. 1986, 62).

Motivational Monday

"We encourage you wherever you may live in the world to prepare for adversity by looking to the condition of your finances. We urge you to be modest in your expenditures; discipline yourselves in your purchases to avoid debt. . . . If you have paid your debts and have a financial reserve, even though it be small, you and your family will feel more secure and enjoy greater peace in your hearts."
—The First Presidency, All Is Safely Gathered In: Family Finances, Feb. 2007, 1

Motivational Monday

"It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. 

The question is: what are we busy about?

Henry David Thoreau

Motivational Monday

“We stand at the crossroads, each minute, each hour,
each day, making choices. We choose the thoughts we
allow ourselves to think, the passions we allow ourselves
to feel, and the actions we allow ourselves to
perform. Each choice is made in the context of whatever
value system we’ve selected to govern our lives. In
selecting that value system, we are, in a very real way,
making the most important choice we will ever make."

Benjamin Franklin
1706-1790

Motivational Monday

"We are all self-reliant in some areas and dependent in others. Therefore, each of us should strive to help others in areas where we have strengths. At the same time, pride should not prevent us from graciously accepting the helping hand of another when we have a real need. To do so denies another person the opportunity to participate in a sanctifying experience."

Marion G. Romney, “The Celestial Nature of Self-Reliance,” Ensign, Mar 2009, 61–65

Motivational Monday

"Behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise."

 

Alma 37:6