Optimism “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8   As I was trying to figure out our last lesson in optimism, I was considering an optimism word picture. I love word pictures. I began to think of the phrase, “Is… {Read More}

Yesterday I was able to expose my children to one of my own favorite childhood movies, Pollyanna. Today, we decided to adopt her game, the glad game. I’m a tad competitive, so we kept points. Throughout the day, I wanted to encourage them to find things that were making them glad. Even if the situation was not ideal for them, I encouraged them to focus on the positive. I probably… {Read More}

Optimism “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8 Pollyanna – a favorite childhood movie. I was nostalgic watching it again with my kids. I definitely had happy thoughts while watching it. When we were headed into the optimism week, I… {Read More}

Optimism “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8   Today I wanted to emphasize trying to find the positive in all situations. I took a handful of some of the books we had (about 10 different pictures) and found situations… {Read More}

Optimism “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8   One of my good friends and old roommates lives on the East Coast. She comes “home” (a couple hours away), and we always try to make it a priority to see… {Read More}

Optimism “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8   Bonus points if you caught that I changed the verse from yesterday. I absolutely love this verse, and I can’t believe I didn’t think about it when trying to find a… {Read More}

Optimism “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28   Definition: Hopefulness and confidence about the future or the successful outcome of something. Children’s Definition: Seeing the good in things.    Reason Chosen: Optimistic people have vision for the future, are more enjoyable to be around and help create hope for this world.… {Read More}