FORGIVENESS IS THE KEY TO EVERYTHING

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Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime;
therefore, we must be saved by hope.

Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes
complete sense in any immediate context of history;
therefore, we must be saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, could be accomplished alone;
therefore, we must be saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint
of our friend or foe as it is from our own standpoint;
therefore, we must be saved by the final
form of love, which is forgiveness.

—Reinhold Niebuhr

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

You Are Strong

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WHAT IS STOPPING YOU?

The brick walls are there for a reason.
The brick walls are not there to keep us out.
The brick walls are there to give us a chance
to show how badly we want something.
Because the brick walls are there
to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough.
They’re there to stop the other people.

—Randy Pausch

JUST KEEP PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER

You never know what’s around the corner.
It could be everything.
Or it could be nothing.
You keep putting one foot in front of the other,
and then one day you look back
and you’ve climbed a mountain.

—Tom Hiddleston

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Live and Love and Forgive Yourself

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I will write a letter to someone I haven’t spoken with for a while.
I will send a message to someone I love dearly.
I will write a poem. I will make art.
I will play my guitar and sing.
I will volunteer myself to help loved ones and friends.
I will eat and drink healthy to show my body
my deep gratitude for its existence and the role
it plays in protecting my soul and spirit.

I will recite my mantras any time I feel
overwhelmed by thoughts that cause anxiety.
I will listen to someone who rarely has
the opportunity to be heard.
I will be aware of my breath and the rhythm of my heartbeat.

I will laugh and forgive myself when I forget
that I made these promises at the beginning of my day,
and at the end of my day I will celebrate and congratulate
myself for what I was able to accomplish.

—Julie Henderson

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

NEVER GIVE UP!

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When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
when the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
when the funds are low and the debts are high,
and you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
when care is pressing you down a bit,
rest, if you must—but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
as every one of us sometimes learns,
and many a fellow turns about,
when he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow…
You might succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems
to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
when he might have captured the victor’s cup,
and learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
the silver tint to the clouds of doubt—
And you can never tell how close you are.
It may appear when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit!

—Anonymous

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Infinite Peace to You

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INFINITE PEACE TO YOU

Deep peace of the running wave to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the shining stars to you.
Deep peace of the infinite peace to you.

—Gaelic Blessing

Sometimes it seems when I’m talking to people about prayer
that one of the main points I have to keep making
over and over is there is no right way.
The important thing is to find your way…
You don’t need any kind of noble or
highfalutin‘ or serious reason.
Any reason to begin a pattern of prayer is a good
reason because prayer is about everyday life.

—Roberta Bondi

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Healing, Beauty, and Grace

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THE HEALING POWER OF BEAUTY

Today, like every other day,
we wake up empty and frightened.
Don’t open the door to the study and begin reading.
Take down a musical instrument.
Let the beauty we love be what we do.
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.

—Rumi, 13th century Persian poet

GIFTS OF GRACE

Sometimes we may ask God for success,
and He gives us physical and mental stamina.
We might plead for prosperity,
and we receive enlarged perspective
and increased patience,
or we petition for growth
and are blessed with the gift of grace.
He may bestow upon us conviction and confidence
as we strive to achieve worthy goals.

—David A. Bednar

TRY LOOKING AT THINGS A DIFFERENT WAY

Mindfulness: taking a balanced approach to negative
emotions so that feelings are neither suppressed nor
exaggerated. We cannot ignore our pain and feel compassion
for it at the same time. Mindfulness requires that we
not “over-identify” with thoughts and feelings so that
we are caught up and swept away by negativity.

—Brené Brown

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

WHAT GOD SOWS IN THE HEART

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Give over thine own willing;
give over thine own running;
give over thine own desiring
to know or to be anything;
and let that grow in thee,
and be in thee,
and breathe in thee,
and act in thee,
and thou shalt find by sweet experience
that the Lord knows that,
and loves and owns that,
and will lead it to
the inheritance of life,
which is its portion.
—Isaac Pennington, 1661

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Seek Gratitude

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FOR EVERY CARE, A PROMISE

May God give you
For every storm, a rainbow
For each tear, a smile
For every care, a promise
And a blessing in each trial.
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.
May the blessing of God’s soft rain be on you.

—From Irish Oral Tradition

THE BUDDHA’S GUIDE TO GRATITUDE

Give thanks
For what has been given to you,
However little.
Be pure, never falter.

—Buddha

SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND

Ask, and it shall be given you;
Seek, and you shall find;
Knock, and it shall be opened to you.
For whoever asks, receives;
And he who seeks, finds;
And to him who knocks, the door is opened.

—Matthew 7:7

ALL LIFE IS BOUND TOGETHER

Humankind has not woven the web of life.
We are but one thread within it.
Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.
All things are bound together.
All things connect.

—Chief Seattle

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

Color Your World

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DON’T FORGET TO COLOR OUTSIDE THE LINES

Your attitude is
like a box of crayons
that color your world.

—Allen Klein

PUT ASIDE ALL ANXIOUS THOUGHTS

Do not look forward to what may happen
tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares
for you today will take care of you tomorrow and
every day. Either He will shield you from suffering,
or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace, then. Put aside all anxious thoughts and
imaginations, and say continually:
“The Lord is my strength and my shield.
My heart has trusted in Him and I am helped.
He is not only with me but in me,
and I in Him.”

—St. Francis de Sales

This post is an excerpt from Prayers for Calm by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon.

I Am Amazing in Every Way

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“I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything
other than real, unconditional love…there is no mistaking
love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the
flame that heats our soul, energizes our spirit, and supplies
passion to our lives.”
—Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, psychiatrist and pioneer in near-
death studies, and author of the international bestseller On

Death and Dying
“Lust is temporary, romance can be nice, but love is the most
important thing of all. Because without love, lust and romance
will always be short-lived.”
—Danielle Steel, author known for her popular romance
novels that have sold over 180 copies

“Romance is the glamour which turns the dust of everyday life
into a golden haze.”
—Elinor Glyn, novelist and scriptwriter who specialized in
romantic fiction (considered scandalous at the time)

Affirmation Station

I will love who I love.
I am amazing in every way.
I embrace all of my imperfections.

This post is an excerpt from Positively Badass by Becca Anderson, which can be found at Amazon and Mango Media.