Naughty or Nice?

READY8 “Somehow, not only for Christmas, but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others, is the joy that comes back to you. And the more you spend in blessing, the poor and lonely and sad, the more of your heart's possessing, returns to you glad. ~ John Greenleaf Whittier

AIM8 Children everywhere are double-checking their behavior this month. Santa will be taking an inventory soon of their actions to determine whether they were mostly naughty or mostly nice. If the children are deemed nice, they will receive toys and treats Christmas morning. If the children are deemed naughty, they will wake up Christmas morning to lumps of coal underneath their trees. Hmmm…seems like a pretty easy decision. Be nice!!

What if adults were held to the same naughty and nice standards at Christmas as our children? OUCH! That sure makes some of us wince when we think about our behaviors over the past year. Were we mostly nice? Doing activities to help others, speaking kindly to family members and co-workers and taking care of ourselves? Or were we naughty? Telling little white lies, giving in to addictions or shaking our fists and screaming in road rage moments?

There is good news, my friends! It is never too late to redeem your “nice” status before Christmas. Choose to be a person of integrity and make excellent choices with your behavior, actions and activities. Just think, if “he sees you when you’re sleeping and he knows when you’re awake” then I know I am going to make sure I’m nice even when no one else is watching. Wow, seems like a lot to change in a short amount of time. Even if you simply focus on changing one small action, your positive improvement will make you feel better, and if nothing else, you’ll sleep better at night.

“So, you better watch out…”

FIRE!8 Choose at least one thing you can do today to be NICE to someone else. Better yet, choose to be NICE at least once a day until it becomes a habit. What a fun challenge to bless others when they least expect it!

Be Excellent!
Lori