Today's thoughts from Hazelden are:

Attitudes and Limitations

What we consider our greatest strengths can also be our greatest weaknesses.

Excessive pride in "being able to handle everything," for example, may result in our taking on other people's responsibilities. In "taking over," we often lessen another's desire to meet his or her own obligations.

A boastful "I'll do it myself!" attitude can also mask a desperate feeling of inadequacy. Having a constant drive to prove our worth to others, we may trample on, or ignore, the needs of those around us who are just as eager to exhibit their competency and worth.

What are some other examples of virtues becoming vices?

Determination, to excess, becomes obstinacy and stubbornness. Honesty, when misdirected, is synonymous with gossip and slander. Sympathy and concern, overdone, can cripple and smother.

TODAY I will make a list of ten of my strengths and weaknesses. How has acting on each of these virtues and vices created joy or sorrow in my life? I will be aware that my strengths can be my worst enemies if I abuse them.
From: The Reflecting Pond by Liane Cordes



I think I learned this lesson the hard way in regards to my family. I crippled them when I did everything for them. Now they are struggling to do things for themselves and I look like the villian because I have stepped out of the picture.



We all Need a Tree

I hired a plumber to help me restore an old farmhouse, and after he had just finished a rough first day on the job: a flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his electric drill quit and his ancient one ton truck refused to start.

While I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. On arriving, he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation... His face was wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.

Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

'Oh, that's my trouble tree,' he replied 'I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, those troubles don't belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home and ask God to take care of them. Then in the morning I pick them up again.'

'Funny thing is,' he smiled,' when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before'

THIS ONE IS WORTH SENDING ON.

God Bless,
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we are here we might as well dance. We all Need a Tree!


I need a lot of prayer for this week. I will be reading the T-CAP test to an autistic child who I am the case manager for but whom I've never worked with and I've got 5 M-teams this week. Plus, the assistants will get the results of their evaluations from the principal. I'm not sure how all of that will turn out. I tried to be as honest as I could but I'm not so sure it will come off that way. It's been a tough year but it's also been a year of growth.

One of the things I've had to rein in are my frustration and disappointment in my assistants. I have never felt comfortable enough to totally trust them. It affects how I communicate with them. In retrospect, I'm learning to keep my personal life to myself and I've also learned to keep anything others tell me under wraps.

I've got some new connections and some potential friends from this job. I've gained the respect of Mrs. Murdock, Missie who is Logan's assistant, Laura the new speech teacher and Dawn Lugart. I don't know what I did to earn it but there you have it. And I think I've found a friend in Sam and maybe Nickie, who also attends church where I do. I think that's great.

Lately I've felt kind of stifled. I don't feel like I have anyone I can be myself around and so I've been isolating myself more and more. I really wish I had a friend I could do things with and could tell my stuff to. I'm thinking I may increase my therapy sessions just to have talk time. I'll be meeting with Melanie next month. I'll run it by her then. It's not that I need the therapy so much as I think I need someone to talk to on an intimate level- to spill my heart to. I haven't had that in a while. Linda and I no longer have it. I lost my trust in her. It's hard to get it back once it's gone.

There are a lot of good things coming up and a lot of scary things. The bankruptcy review is next month I think. I'm hoping I'm off of it for good. I'm also hoping that I can get the pink slip to the black truck so that I can just give it to Gibson Brothers. It hasn't run in two years. But I missed some payments and they may not let me out scot free.

I've got a summer job and some other opportunites coming up. I'm looking forward to so much.