Inspiring Thoughts to Jump Start Your Day

By Simeon P. Rosete DBS Jr.

Inspiring Thoughts to Jump-Start Your Day is a collection of thoughts, short stories, and materials that are designed to inspire everyone in their journey through life. They cover virtually every aspect of life and give ideas on how to live a meaningful, healthy, and happy life. They have initially appeared in weekly church bulletins that were written by the author to his congregation but have been revised and edited to suit the general public.

Those who will take the time to internalize these thoughts will find a new motivating force and power for daily living. They will be consumed with a renewed vision and a clearer outlook on life that will put a sparkle in the eye, a spring in the gait, and a healthy disposition that will allow them to enjoy every moment of their journey. It will keep them focused on their life's goals and maintain a steady sense of direction in their lives. And this will help get them over every obstacle on the way and move them swiftly and safely through to their desired haven.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645440482

Book preview

Have a Fun Day!

The good news for today is that if you are having fun, chances are you will stay healthy. Arthur Stone, a psychologist at State University of New York, has done studies to show that pleasant experiences improve the functioning of the body’s immune system for three days—the fun day plus two freebies. A negative experience has the opposite effect, but it lasts only for one day.

So plan your day and be sure to make it a fun day. Having at least two fun days spread three days apart can take care of the body’s immune system all week.

Isn’t this what the Bible is talking about when it says that a merry heart does good like a medicine and that a broken spirit dries up the bones? (Proverbs 17:22).

Then put fun into your day. Plan happy times. Think joyful thoughts. Wear that smile on the face. And enjoy your good health.

Just for Today

Oftentimes we worry too much about tomorrow and the days ahead. If our company downsizes, will we be able to keep our jobs, or are we going to be the first to go? When we retire, will there be enough funds left to pay our social security pension? Will our retirement money be sufficient to sustain the lifestyle of our choice? Will our health sustain us and carry us to the ripe old age of the eighties or even nineties? Or will some ailment of a terminal nature sneak up on us, cutting short our earthly pilgrimage?

These and many more unnecessary concerns about the future crowd out our minds to such extent as to rob us of the joys and pleasures of the moment. And to think that tomorrow is not yet and the only thing we have in our hands is today. How about simply thanking God for his precious gift of today and living it up to the fullest in the way he wants us to live.

Someone wrote the following material about what we can do just for today…

Smile at a stranger.

Listen to someone’s heart.

Drop a coin where a child can find it.

Learn something new, then teach it to someone else.

Tell someone you’re thinking of them.

Hug a loved one.

Don’t hold a grudge.

Don’t be afraid to say I’m sorry.

Look a child in the eye, and tell them how great they are.

Don’t kill that spider in your house. He’s just lost, so show him the way out.

Look beyond the face of a person into their heart.

Make a promise and keep it.

Call someone for no other reason than to just say hi.

Show kindness to an animal.

Stand up for what you believe in.

Smell the rain, feel the breeze, listen to the wind, enjoy the sun.

Use all your senses to their fullest.

Cherish all your todays!

Great advice for today, any day, and every day.

Jesus said, But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:33–34).

Slowing Down

Each new day is a gift from God. What we do with it is our gift to him. And what better gift can we present than to live a life that honors God and be a blessing to others.

The psalmist prays, Teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom (Psalm 90:12).

We have to admit that the dizzying pace of life is taking away the joy and zest for living. And life in the fast lane has also blurred in our minds the very reason for our existence. Constant exposure to the hustle and bustle and hurry and worry is what is causing so many physical and emotional problems such as angry outbursts, anxiety, depression, fatigue, rashes, insomnia, hair loss, and sharp weight gain or loss.

As we begin each day, I have some suggestions for us to be able to recapture the purpose of living and have a happier, healthier life. Here are the following:

Develop a mind-set. Have a philosophy of life. Establish your goals. Set your priorities. Ask yourself the purpose of your life. Then reorder your life to the achievement of that objective.

Have a daily quiet time. This could be anytime, but for most, the early morning hours would be best. This could be the most productive time in your day. Use this time to pray to God, commune with your soul, and plan your day. This can even be a buffer zone in the midst of your appointments to give your brain and body some stress-free breathing space.

Balance your activities. If your job is mentally demanding, do something that is physical and vice versa. This gives you more energy and well-being as all your faculties are put to use.

Laugh more. Studies show that laughter promotes better blood circulation, stimulates blood pressure, and prompts the brain to release endorphins and other compounds that reduce pain.

Be a child again. Children know how to have a good time. They act spontaneously, laugh, are trusting, are not afraid to make mistakes, and accept life as it is.

Get away and do nothing. Change locations. See the world. Even an afternoon drive into the country or along the coast can soothe a frenzied mind and troubled spirit.

Cultivate the attitude of gratitude. Happy people are thankful people. It is impossible to be uptight, tense, and frenzied when your heart is overflowing with gratitude.

What’s Your Life’s Purpose?

Josh McDowell tells about an executive headhunter who recruits corporate executives for large firms. This headhunter once told McDowell that when he interviews an executive, he likes to disarm him. I offer him a drink, said the headhunter, take off my coat, undo my tie, throw up my feet, and talk about baseball, football, family, whatever until he’s all relaxed. Then when I think I’ve got him relaxed, I lean over, look him straight in the eye, and say, ‘What’s your purpose in life?’ It’s amazing how top executives fall apart at that question.

Then he told about interviewing one fellow recently. He had him all disarmed, had his feet up on his desk, talking about football. Then the headhunter leaned over and said, What’s your purpose in life, Bob? And the executive said, without blinking an eye, To go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.

For the first time in my career, said the headhunter, I was speechless. No wonder. He had encountered someone who was prepared. He was ready.

His purpose—to go to heaven and take as many people with me as I can.

Life’s purpose is what gives meaning in life. It is the destination at the end of the road. It is what makes the journey bearable when the road becomes bumpy and when the sailing gets rough. It is the spring in the gait, the quickening of the pace, the sparkle in the eye, the smile on the lips, and the enthusiasm in the voice. It is the light at the end of the tunnel, and the hope when all around is gloom and doom.

The question for you is, Do you have a purpose in life? And is your purpose like that of the executive to go to heaven and take as many people with you as you can?

Living a Balanced Life

In life, we experience a variety of contrasts and opposites. There are night and day, hot and cold, high and low, pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow. We may have a preference for one and a discomfort for the other. But just the same, patiently enduring one prepares our hearts and minds to savor the other.

Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist, writes, There are as many nights as days, and the one is just as long as the other in the year’s course. Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word ‘happy’ would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness.

In a less-than-perfect world, this is our lot. One day soon, Jesus will come to bring all things to their original perfection. But until then, let us be grateful for everything we experience that helps put balance into our earthly lives.

Advice for a Life of Fulfillment

If you are like most people, you may have made resolutions at the beginning of the year. You have set goals you want to achieve and have mapped out strategies that would help you make these dreams come true. I trust that you are doing well in the context of these goals, by the grace of God.

I just want to share with you something that got my attention that can inspire and assist you as you move on in life. It comes in the form of a general advice on how to live a successful and fulfilling life. Consider the following:

Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.

Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can carry easily.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been but also where you are going.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give it away; the faster way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risk. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t be afraid to admit you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.

Don’t take for granted the closest things to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

I am very sure that if you heed these instructions, you will find happiness and success in life. So grab life by the horns, and relish each moment that it brings.

Twenty-Five Things Life Has Taught Me

I woke up today with a bad headache- something I haven’t had for a long time. I wondered why, though I knew I was somewhat under the weather all week last week, what with the rains and the frigid temperatures. And the long day at church yesterday didn’t help much—preaching, chairing committees, teaching Bible classes, and holding a board meeting that lasted well into the night.

But today is my birthday and I am determined to make it a rather special and memorable one. Not wanting to simply lament my situation and to engage in self-pity just because things were not going the way I wanted them to go on my special day, I pulled my tablet from the nightstand and started to gather my thoughts, putting down what sixty-five years of life have taught me.

And here I share them with you. They come in no sequential order of importance. I have them down as they occurred to me while trying to ignore the pain:

I learned that some friends may be good for only a season and for a specific purpose; so cherish them while you may.

I learned that relatives are a safety net in an unpredictably crazy world.

I learned that the world is a mirror that reflects attitudes and promptings of the innermost core of one’s being.

I learned that grandkids are a comfort to the aches and pains of old age.

I learned that service is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on earth.

I learned that children serve as the biggest reason that propels us to bigger and better things.

I learned that success in life doesn’t come in the form of possessions acquired or academic degrees earned; it comes rather in the amount of contributions we have made to make the world a better place.

I learned that Christianity is not a religion of do’s and don’t’s. It is simply living the life that Jesus lived.

I learned that church is not a place where one comes to listen to wonderful music and great preaching. It is a place where one comes to worship God and gets filled with his presence to a point that he is eager to go out to serve a world that is desperately in need of his witness.

I learned that relationships complete and enrich our lives. Take time to grow and nurture them.

I learned that humor and laughter bring healing to the soul. And they make the journey seem a lot shorter.

I learned that life is what we make it—given the building blocks of our heredity and environment.

I learned that happiness is a by-product that comes to us from serving others and doing God’s will in our lives, not something that we catch at the end of a long chase.

I learned that true wealth is not measured in dollars and cents, or even in the number of cars and other material possessions. It is measured by the degree of contentment we have with the blessings of life and the absence of the desire for evanescent and transitory things.

I learned that real poverty comes the moment one surrenders all aspirations and dreams for a better and more meaningful life.

I learned that troubles in life push us to limitless heights—in much the same way that the wind catapults a kite to the heavens.

I learned that life’s blessings are to be enjoyed to show gratitude to God who is the giver and source of every good and perfect gift, and to be shared with others who are desperate for a lift in their journey.

I learned that time is what God allows each one to accomplish the task he has for us on earth.

I learned that a little more cash gives one the ability to open more doors and go farther in life.

I learned that a smile on the face is the most important article in one’s makeup kit.

I learned that health is a treasure that should be preserved and cherished at all costs. Without it, length of years and abundance of possessions do not count for much.

I learned that work is what we have to do to be able to afford the things we like to do. But he who loves his job saves himself lots of money and finds looking for a reason to retire difficult.

I learned that retirement is what we get into when we think we will be happier not having a job as opposed to having one.

I learned that freedom in the realm of the spirit is not the ability to do anything you want any which way you like but the power to do what needs to be done in the battle for the right.

I learned that destiny is where we find ourselves as a result of God’s saving grace and the use of our gift of choice.

I praise God for his abundant blessings and for all the joys that have been mine through the years. I look forward to the years ahead as I put my hand in his and trust him to lead all the way.

Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee Beans

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her