"To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest to you that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous education effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many--now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings." --President Gordon B. Hinckley

"Of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest of these: 'It might have been!'" -John Greenleaf Whittier

I've heard this quote a lot over the years and it always kind of haunts me.  I'm a hesitater, or in other words i don't make decisions quickly or easily and often let opportunities to do something good pass me by...I want to be able to live each moment without regrets...now i know that mistakes are a part of life, but i don't want to not do something and wish i had later when it comes to doing something kind for someone else. I just read this quote in President Monson's general conference talk on "Love-the essence of the Gospel."

"While my breath is in me,...I will not remove mine integrity from me." -Job (of the Old Testament)

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." -Scott Hamilton

I recently watched a profile on mormon.org about a man how had his leg amputated as a teenager because he had bone cancer.  He said he could honestly say he was grateful to be an amputee.  For his life's work he engineers and manufactures prosthetic limbs that make it possible to do all the things he loves (ie...ski, hike, run...) that would make his soul feel whole.   Pretty amazing attitude.

"I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes that weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspirations; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming."

~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I just came across this quote on another blog.  It really rings true as a mother.  As a wife.  As a neighbor.  As a friend.  As a stranger.  And as an individual.   

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My husband forwarded me this quote. He is a college professor and has to write tests for his students. Gosh, i remember those scantron tests back in my college days. Sure kept me on my toes.  My husband says he can always tell when students just go through and fill in all the bubbles without even reading the questions...he puts one question in the middle of the test that in the question he gives them the answer (ie...mark A if you want to get this right) and they still miss it.   

 "If we could look into each other's hearts and understand the unique challenges each of us faces, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance and care."

-Marvin J. Ashton