Do Something Good

I wonder what our world would be like if every person would find some way to do good every single day. What would our cities be like? What would our offices be like? What would our schools be like if we made it a priority to brighten somebody else’s day, to do something good for somebody else?

Every opportunity we have we should do something good for the people we meet. That means we need to be proactive by being on the lookout for opportunities to present ourselves in a positive, happy mood.

Ask yourself, “Who can I be good to today? Who can I do a favor for?” You can sit back and wait for a need to come to you, or you can make it happen. Give that extra tip to a kind, or not so kind, waitress. Let that extra car in the line when they are waiting to get out. Give your co-worker a helping hand by leaving money on their desk at work without your name on it.

If you see a friend wearing the same clothes over and over, get them a new suit or a new dress. Offer to pick up a co-worker if their car is broke down. Listen to what people are saying around you. Lend a helping hand during these hard times we are all encountering.

People know us by our actions, not by what we say. How do you think children learn how to be adults? They learn by watching us every day. I know of a family that is having a very hard time now with their daughters. The parents are not acting in a loving manner and the children are all upset and having a very difficult time coping with the problems.

We need to really watch what we say and do around children. Be happy, make their life easier. Think about how they will react to what you are doing and saying. Do something good during the Holidays and the New Year.

Let happiness shine through you!

Thank you,
Brie Tyler,
Publisher/Owner

Finding Happiness

To find happiness we have to understand the selfish part of ourselves. The ego is what motivates us to survive and through ambition and competition enables us to prosper and achieve our goals in life. We can control our selfish instincts by making an effort to be generous rather than mean-spirited. By being open to new ideas and influences and always ready to learn from our experiences, we can become less conceited. We need to develop the ability to see ourselves objectively. Feeling continually sorry for ourselves can lead to feelings of depression. We can avoid this by taking responsibility for ourselves, a liberating experience which will make our lives richer.

Self-centeredness is another form of the ego that is different from selfishness. A self-centered person can be generous to those he or she cares for but likes to be the center of attention and receive appreciation and flattery. When he is not, he feels disappointed and frustrated and this causes stress.
Those of us who enjoy good friendships, happy relationships and love the emotional support of others can cope better with everyday pressures. When we are faced with a sudden crisis such as unemployment, bereavement, the break-up of a relationship, or a serious illness,
having caring and understanding partners and friends makes it less likely that we might need professional help.

Pride is yet another form of self-importance. We are perfectly justified in taking pride in a friend or partner’s success, but being excessively proud about our own achievements is a sign of superficiality.

If we lack a proper sense of ourselves, we are more likely to be exploited by people with stronger and more cunning egos.

Don’t Magnify Your Problems

I don’t mean that you’re going to feel on top of the world all the time. That’s not realistic. I’m talking about being content. In fact, one definition of joy is “calm delight”. That means you are at peace, you have a smile on your face. You are excited about your future. Sure, you may have some problems, we all have obstacles to overcome. But, we know God is in control and he has us in the palm of his hand to help and care for us.

The key is to retrain our mind to move away from negative conditioned responses. I know some people who actually get depressed every Monday morning. They don’t like their jobs, they dread going to work, and every week they develop a bad case of the Monday Morning Blues. Oddly enough, researchers report that we are 70% more likely to have a heart attack on a Monday morning than any other time of the week because people are more uptight and stressed out on Monday than on any other day. Learn to be content with your life. This doesn’t happen automatically. You have to train your mind to stay at peace. Train your mind to look on the bright side and focus on the good.

Happiness is not going to fall on us. It’s a choice we have to make. Being positive doesn’t necessarily come naturally. We have to make that decision daily. If our mind is left alone it will drift to the negative. Little by little we will grow more sullen, we don’t smile as much. Soon, we’re not as much fun to be around. We start to find fault and get very critical with everything. Make the decision TODAY that you are going to live your life happy.

Start Being Grateful For What’s Right In Your Life!

Everything may not be perfect in your life, but if you don’t learn to be happy where you are, you will never get to where you want to be. You may not have the perfect job, but you should thank God that you at least have a job. Some people would love to have your job. So get up, get excited, and go to work with a new enthusiasm.

Don’t come into work with a long face and waste half the day on the internet or daydreaming about where you would rather be; give your employer 100% and do your work with all your heart, to the best of your ability. Everyone else may be slacking off and having a bad attitude. Don’t be part of the problem; be part of the solution.

Enthusiasm is contagious. If you go into your workplace with a smile on your face and full of life, full of joy, full of victory, you’ll start to rub off on others. The whole office will come up to a higher level, thanks to you.

Do you get up each morning passionate about your dreams? Are you grateful for the home you live in? I’m living in a tiny house and I can’t stand it. I want a bigger one! No, you must learn to be happy right where you are. Don’t go around complaining and thinking about everything that’s wrong with your life. You may not be living in your dream house, but you should be thankful you have a roof over your head. Thank God you are not homeless. I go down the street and see people holding up signs for money or for food. Where do they sleep? I am always in my soft bed with a pillow and nice sheets. Where do they lay their heads at night? I am so thankful that I am not in the same position. Be thankful for what you have. Maybe your car is old, but you have a car. Where is their car? We need to recognize how much we really have and be thankful and happy.

Certainly, we all have obstacles in our path and challenges to overcome, but your attitude should be, “Thank God I’m Alive.” I live in a great country. I have a great family. I have a lot of opportunities. So make the most of your day and give it your best.

We always say, “I’ve got to do this, go here, do that.” No, you don’t have to do anything, you get to do it. We need to change our perspective. Don’t do things out of obligation or because you have to, do them with an attitude of gratitude. I don’t have to go to work or take care of the kids; they should be a blessing. I get to take care of them. Remember, be grateful for what you have!

Are You Where You Want To Be?

Do you know someone who is not happy where they are in their life, whether it’s in their marriage, a single person, their job, kids? You really don’t want to be there in your life!

Is your inner-self shouting, telling you that you need to change your job, change what you are doing with a certain person? Or are you upset because you think someone is not treating you fairly? Are you constantly worried, trying to reason things out, trying to change things that only God can change?

I believe that we create much of our own happiness and frustration by constantly resisting and fighting against situations occurring in our lives. “Why has this happened to me?”, you may ask. Therefore, we live in unrest and uneasiness on the inside all the time.

You need to learn to relax and enjoy the place where you are in your life right now. It may not be the perfect situation, but we all have things we want to see changed and we always want the change to happen right now. However, changes take time and we must often wait for the right opportunity to make these changes happen.

We should resist sickness and unhappy people around us. If we believe that we are exactly where we need to be and let go, God will direct our life and we don’t need to be resisting all the time. Some people seem to wear themselves out by constantly resisting things that happen in their daily lives. We need to let go and trust our life is going in the right direction.

If you can get to a place of peace your troubles will turn into positive things. Let go and trust that you are living the way you are supposed to be. Whether you are in good or bad circumstances that is where you are supposed to be. Have a little faith! God will use what comes into your life for the good if you will trust and let go

Joy Starts In The Heart

Have you ever heard your spouse humming or whistling? Make melody in your heart even if things are bad. Don’t meditate on the bad things in life, focus on what good you can do today. Focus on the positive and not the negative. Find within you the peace and joy.

We all have bad thoughts, bad days, but if we dwell on them we will stay there. How would our attitude change if we did not take everything so seriously, and refocused, to allow every setback or disappointment depress us for weeks? How much better our lives could be if we’d simply keep the song of praise in our hearts. Maybe lately you have noticed that you don’t smile as much as usual; you don’t laugh much anymore. You have allowed the burden of life to weigh you down. Perhaps you have settled into enduring life and not really enjoying it. You don’t have the fire and enthusiasm you once had.

You can change all of this, but it requires a decision on your part. You must develop some new habits. Develop a habit of smiling on purpose. Even if you have problems and a lot of things going wrong. Sometimes we have to smile by our faith. If you do, soon the joy will follow. Smiling sends a message to your whole body that everything is going to be okay. When we smile, chemicals are released throughout our physical body, that makes you feel better. When you smile, it will help you at work as well as in your personal life. Smiling will help you deal with people better.

Studies show that people who smile, are friendly, pleasant, and get more breaks than people who don’t. Somebody has said, “your smile is a million-dollar asset.” If you’re not using it, you’re doing yourself a great disservice. When you smile people want what you have. They will want the happiness you have. So start smiling today!

Embrace The Place Where You Are

Do you ever feel like how do I get through this situation? Well, I guess we just take it one day at a time. You face your fears. You keep your promises. You deal with challenges. You get the best possible help and care…You turn to caring positive people you know will be there for you; your husband, your friend, your pastor, your church. You believe. You take steps, to change what needs changing. You talk it over with someone. You laugh. You go ahead and cry. You play. You stay involved. You live the best life you can today.

Do you ever notice that it is in the difficult times that we grow stronger? That’s when we are being stretched. That’s when God is developing our character and preparing us to get that family member taken care of, or our job taken care of. The key to passing the test is to remain in peace, at rest. When we are in peace we have power. When we are at rest, God can fight our battles for us.

I know I wear myself out, frustrated because I don’t call that business to advertise, or I have a situation that is hard to work through. Making the right choices are hard. It’s easy to keep complaining about the problem. I know I worry about my health and family members too much. I need to turn all that over to God and be willing to go though tough times with a good attitude. I pray I have the strength to endure whatever comes my way. Strength is a big thing in all our lives today. It is easy to not work through the situation. I pray God please give me the strength to go through this situation with a good attitude. Help me keep my joy. Help me keep my peace.

Our circumstances are not going to change until we change. If we have God inside our hearts we can withstand anything that comes our way. We should make a decision to turn the situation over to God and take the necessary steps to make the changes and stop worrying about it. Don’t allow it to dominate your thoughts and words, instead move to that place of peace and rest. We may not like it but we are growing when this happens to us.

Thank all of you for being so faithful to Our Town Magazine. You are why we are here. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Your Friend and Publisher, Brie Tyler

The Best Use of Life is to Love

Written by: Brie Tyler

Love should be your top priority, primary objective, and greatest ambition. Love is not a good part of life. It is the most important part. Let love be your greatest aim. It’s not enough to say one of the things I want in life is to be loving it should be in the top ten list. Relations must have priority in your life above everything else.

Life without love is really worthless. Often we act like relationships are something to be squeezed into our schedules. We talk about finding time for our children or making time for people in our lives that gives the impression that relationships are just part of our lives along with many other tasks. But relationships are what life is all about.

If you read the Bible, four of the Ten Commandments deal with our relationships with God while the other six deal with relationships with people. They state love God and love people. Relationships, not achievements are the acquisition of things, are what matters most in life. So why do we allow our relationships to get the short end of the stick?

When our schedules become overloaded, we start skimming relationally, cutting back on giving the time, energy and attention that loving relationships require. Busyness is a great enemy of relationships. We become preoccupied with making a living, doing our work, paying bills, and accomplishing goals as if these tasks are the point of life, they are not. The point of life is learning to love, God and people. Life without love equals zero.

Love will last forever. Love is our top priority. Three things continue forever; faith, hope, and love. And the greatest is love. Love leaves a legacy. How you have treated other people, not your wealth or accomplishments, that is the most enduring impact you can have on life.

My daughter and I were just talking about how and what we want people to remember about us when we die. She said she wants people to remember all the good and love that she has given to her family, church and other kids and their families. She said “It’s not what we do, but how much love we put into it that matters. Love is the secret of a lasting heritage. When life on earth is ending, people don’t surround themselves with objects. What we want
around us is people, the people we love and have had relationships with.”

So this is a new year for all of us. Think about what really matters in your life.

Letter from the Publisher: Do You Gossip?

Written by: Brie Tyler

A person’s words can poison your life if you allow them to. The longer you think about what they said to you or about you the more it will eat you up. You don’t want to ever give them a minute of your thoughts. If someone says something about you or your family that is unkind, try to stop them as quickly as possible. Tell them you don’t really want to hear that. I find it is a lot easier to shake things off if you don’t know all the details. If someone is talking about you don’t go home and call your friends and tell them. Just shake it off. Remember most of the time it’s not really about you. It’s about the fact that they haven’t dealt with that jealousy on the inside.

We can’t live our lives thinking that “I’m kind and loving and no one is going to talk badly about me.” Unfortunately, sometimes the nicer you are, the more people will talk about you. The good in you seems to stir up the bad in them; you can help the poor, mow your neighbor’s grass, take groceries to the sick and people will still talk about you. You’d think your critics would be happy for you. They think, “Why is she so friendly to everybody all the time? She’s just trying to get something.”

The best thing you can do is to ignore these people and what they are saying. They won’t put an effort to be their best so they feel like they need to tear you down. When you hear those negative comments or false accusations, just remind yourself, “No big deal. I am going to live my life in freedom.”

With the holidays coming remember to be there for your family but also remember to help the people less fortunate than you.

Merry Christmas to you and your families and a Very Happy New Year from me and my wonderful staff!