Valuing Yourself and Your Needs (As a Parent): This is about taking care of your OWN needs as a parent because when you consistently put yourself last to be taken care of and habitually continue to sacrifice your basic necessities to make everyone else happy…Essentially, what you’re teaching your children is that they’re here to be of service to others, then themselves. In other words, you’re teaching them to take advantage of you and use you as they please, which in turn communicates to them that they’re most likely to be used. To prevent this from happening, you need to set consistent limits that protect you from demands that could be overbearing and unfair. That way, you’re communicating that your basic needs are just as important as theirs. It’s true…often times parents that are constantly sacrificing themselves are idealized and praised by other parents. You know… the ones that have no hobbies, no friends and no avenue of enjoyment. Is this really desirable? Parents constantly stressed about the needs of others in the family are usually irritable, and unmotivated to try anything new, fun or exciting. How can parents do this long term with no outlet? Instead, us parents need to enjoy ourselves and focus on being re-energized. When you take good care of yourself, you provide the means to take better care of your children. Going out to dinner or cocktails, trips to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, date night with your spouse or even some alone time reading or going for a walk allows you to be a more productive, interested and patient parent.”

“With great abilities come great responsibilities; great power comes with great assignments. With great age comes great reasoning; great actions come great experience. With great battles come great victories; great trees come with great tap roots. However, if a little faith can move great mountains, what then will a great faith do? Mysterious things... I guess”

“Nobody has a perfect life and it's entirely possible that if you want someone else's life they are busy wanting someone else's too–maybe even yours.”

“Well, I went for a ride but I didn't find my car”

“Some women have a weakness for shoes... I can go barefoot if necessary. I have a weakness for books.”

“No great wisdom can be reached without sacrifice.”

“Perhaps your own reiterated cries deafen you to the voice you hoped to hear”

“Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion.”

“I see us giving love to each other in a time of quiet between storms. It's what we were meant to do.”

“James said, “Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning.” 

“well as programs like the GI Bill that made a college education available to millions, government”

“The closer you get to the Lord, the more you see that He has to be your Source in all things.

“A definite purpose, backed by absolute faith, is a form of wisdom and wisdom in action produces positive results.”

“For every one pupil who needs to be guarded against a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. The right defence against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments. By starving the sensibility of our pupils we only make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head.”

“They compose poems to their knives.”