From My Heart to Yours: Life Lessons on Faith, Family, & Friendship

By Robin McGraw

Gentle peer-to-peer counsel from the heart of Robin McGraw.

Whether dealing with our faith, our family, or our friendships, we create the life we long for through the integrity of our choices. In the beautiful gift book, From My Heart to Yours, Robin McGraw shares from her heart, with simple but powerful doses of “life lessons” that will encourage and inspire women from all walks of life. “We are defined not by the station in life into which we are born, nor by our pedigree, but by the choices we make. And it is through the integrity of our choices that we create the life we long for.”

Robin’s peer-to-peer advice, presented in beautiful four-color imagery, will help women embrace their feminine selves, to accept nothing less than being their best (no matter what they do), and to proactively choose how they will live rather than take life as it comes along.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Oct 28, 2007
• ISBN: 9781418536671

Robin McGraw

Robin McGraw, #1 New York Times best-selling author, has been married to TV talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw for over thirty years. His viewers have embraced Robin—whether she's discussing herexperiences as a mother and wife or dealing with issues that women facein their lives.

Book preview

1

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS: Life Lessons on Faith, Family, and Friendship

Copyright © 2007 Robin McGraw

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Project Editor: Jessica Inman

Art Direction and Design: Linda Bourdeaux, [e-mail]

ISBN-10: 1–4041–0521–2

ISBN-13: 978–1–4041–0521–

Printed and bound in the United States of America

www.thomasnelson.com

23

Contents

SECTION ONE : FAITH

Choose to Be Who You’re Meant to Be

When Something Inside Just Won’t Give Up

Choosing an Attitude of Gratitude

Giving Your Children up to God

Acting on Your God-Given Gifts and Desires

Embracing the Woman God Created

There’s a Reason for Everything

Working with Passion and Purpose

Speaking Your Mind—and Heart

SECTION TWO : FAMILY

Motherhood at Its Imperfect Best

The Keys to a Man’s Heart

Fifty and Lovin’ It—Life After Kids

Perspective on Parents

Imagine, Then Make It Happen

To Take Care of Your Family, Take Care of Yourself

Do What’s Right for You

Choose Forgiveness

Picking Up on Your Man’s Signals

The Best Gifts You Can Give Your Husband

Putting Heart into Your Home

Negotiating Differences

There Are Some Things Only a Mother Can Do

I’m on Your Side

SECTION THREE : FRIENDSHIP

What Friends Are For

Girls Just Want (and Need) To Have Fun

Wild, Wonderful Women

Don’t Give Away Your Power

Women of Grace

The Life You Are Meant to Live

1404105212_ePDF_Page_007_Image_0002

1

FAITH

NO MATTER HOW ORGANIZED AND

VIGILANT WE ARE, LIFE STILL HAS A WAY

OF BRINGING US TO OUR KNEES

5

CHOOSE TO BE WHO YOU ’RE MEANT TO BE

WHEN SOMETHING INSIDE JUST WON ’T GIVE UP

CHOOSING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

GIVING YOUR CHILDREN UP TO GOD

ACTING ON YOUR GOD-GIVEN GIFTS AND DESIRES

EMBRACING THE WOMAN GOD CREATED

THERE ’S A REASON FOR EVERYTHING

WORKING WITH PASSION AND PURPOSE

SPEAKING YOUR MIND — AND HEART

41404105212_ePDF_Page_009_Image_0002

WE MAKE OUR DECISIONS, AND THEN OUR

DECISIONS TURN AROUND AND MAKE US.

— Francis Boreham

CHOSE TO BE

Who You’re Meant to Be

1404105212_ePDF_0010_003

I believe that in order for a woman to experience true happiness, fulfillment, and peace, she needs to know two things: who she is, and who she is meant to be. They’re not the same thing: the first one has to do with the reality of your life, and the second one has to do with your purpose for being in this world, which is something each of us has to discover for ourselves and cannot be dictated by any other person in our lives—not by our husband, parents, children, employers, or friends.

I believe it’s gotten harder and harder to tell the difference between who we are and who we’re meant to be. So much of the time, we lose ourselves just trying to keep up with the frantic pace of life. We drag ourselves out of bed in the morning, already half an hour behind, and spend much of the day responding to the needs and demands of others. Somewhere along the line, we often lose track of the essential feminine self—that unique, life-giving entity that invigorates our beings and warms the souls of the people we love. But we don’t have to lose that feminine self, and the way to hold on to her is to accept nothing less than being simply the best—the best we can be in the roles we choose for ourselves: wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.

I also believe we were put on this earth to enjoy lives of joy and abundance, and that is what I want for you and for me. I hope you’re excited about whatever phase of life you’re in: excited about being a woman in this day and time, excited about being the woman God created you to be. It’s all there for the choosing, because, in the core of my soul, I believe that how you live, how I live, how we all live as women is largely a matter of choice. We have the power to choose joy in strenuous circumstances. We have the ability to choose a good attitude when everyone around us is grumpy. We have the privilege to choose the words we speak and how we speak them, or to simply remain quiet.

---

I believe that how you live, how I live, how we all live as women is largely a matter of choice.

---

I imagine that a lot of women who hear me say this may think, That’s easy for you to say. You can choose whatever you want because you live in a wonderful house with a successful man who loves you, and you can probably have anything you want—you’re a privileged person. And all that is true. But do you know what the real privilege is? The real privilege is being free to embrace the joyful aspects of life and reject the hurtful ones—to choose to do what’s working, and to turn your back on what isn’t. It’s a privilege to have the right to take charge of your existence and be excited about your life.

Too often, people think they need a lot of costly stuff to be happy. The first apartment Phil and I moved into was a whopping 420 square feet of linoleum and worn nylon pile, and I used to drive a 1962 Comet with bright turquoise paint that looked as if it had been brushed on. When I was a kid, the only spoons I had in my mouth were stainless steel, not silver. Still, I always felt fortunate to be who I was, and excited by the prospect of what life held for me.

We are defined not by the station in life into which we are born, nor by our pedigree, race or religion, but by the choices we make. And it is through the integrity of our choices that we create the life we long for. Embrace the privilege to choose how you will live rather than taking life as it comes along—not so you’ll make the same choices I made, but so you will make the choices that are right for you.

61404105212_ePDF_Page_013_Image_0002

GOOD INSTINCTS USUALLY TELL YOU WHAT TO DO

LONG BEFORE YOUR HEAD HAS FIGURED IT OUT.

— Michael Buske

WHEN SOMETHING INSIDE

Just Won’t Give Up

1404105212_ePDF_0014_003

It’s not always easy to stick up for yourself. People in authority can be intimidating, especially when they’re not accustomed to being challenged. And there’s always a