TOYS FOR TOTS * CANDY CANE LANE

Hi Jolly Roger, MCH, trolls, Volt and JP!!

My husband and I are sitting in Barney's Beanery right now watching the Packers game. Steeler fans are stomping on the floor above me. We have 39 TV screens surrounding us.

Will -- I have not posted an opinion on Rick Warren but my sister (who is gay) filled me in on how truly homophobic he is. I thought he was one of the more enlightened preachers, but I hear he won't allow gays in his church. If this is true and I have yet to investigate this-- then it is HORRIBLE and he is not fit to be Obama's inauguration-giver.

Why didn't Obama pick Jim Wallis? Sojourners???

We had a houseload of kids over every day since Christmas and a party before Christmas. Mom sent us a Costco Card for tons of food and we had 90 people.

I have been baking, scrubbing and cleaning forever!! Then on Christmas eve, stayed up with hubby and wrapped gifts until 3 AM for the kids, stuffed stockings.. and put out cookies for Santa.






Okay I admit it, I'm actually Chevy Chase in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I really wanted a lighted sleigh on our roof with some reindeer, but even the kids thought it would be too gawdy for our neighborhood.

Here is a photo of Candy Cane Lane in Woodland Hills. I force the family to drive through it every year so I can ooh! and aah over the holiday lights.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Channukah, Happy Kwanza and Happy New Year! I love Christmas more than any other time of year. I love seeing the kids' faces when they wake up (in 2 hours!)




God Bless you!
Love,
Lydia and Family
We couldn't get Chazzie to sit still for the camera and you can see he threw off his reindeer antlers.

CAROLINE KENNEDY vs. HILLARY SUPPORTERS

Please give us your opinion on whether Caroline should be given the New York Senate seat vacated by Hillary Clinton.

And please give us your opinion on the economic crisis, the "ponzai" scheme in Florida - and how you think people who have lost everything will survive in retirement. Should we set up free senior housing centers and free kitchens for retirees who have lost their life savings? What is the solution to massive unemployment — if millions more jobs are lost? I am interested in hearing inspiring, workable solutions to saving lives and sanity.

And please give us ideas on what you are doing to save money for the holidays. Is everyone cutting back? We are more excited about Christmas than ever because the spirit of giving is in the air.

BUSH'S SHOE HIT * SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE BEST MOVIE

"This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”

Everyone is talking about Bush being hit with the size ten shoes. But what I want to know is WHERE WAS THE SECRET SERVICE??? Normally, if anyone merely twitches in the audience of a presidential speech, the secret service pounces. But this Iraqi journalist had time to throw not only one shoe, but he had time to throw a second shoe!! And here is what he said: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq!”

Dec. 14 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush ducked two shoes thrown at him by a man during a press conference in the Iraqi prime minister’s office to mark the signing of a security agreement.

Bush wasn’t hit by the shoes, which both sailed over his head after they were thrown one after the other. The president shrugged and said “I’m OK” after the incident in Baghdad today. “All I can report is it is a size 10,” Bush said afterwards.

In Arab culture, throwing shoes is a grave show of disrespect. “This is the farewell kiss, you dog,” the man shouted in Arabic.

After U.S. troops pulled down a statue of former dictator Saddam Hussein in 2003, Iraqi bystanders tossed shoes at it, according to news reports at the time. Bush said today’s incident was an example of free speech in a democracy.

The man threw the shoes from about 25 feet away as Bush, standing with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, made formal remarks before the signing of the Iraqi-U.S. agreement. Maliki tried to block the second thrown shoe as it flew toward Bush, according to video of the incident shown on television.

Wrestled to Ground

The shoe-thrower, who was in a group of journalists, was wrestled to the ground and taken away. “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq,” shouted the man, later identified by the Associated Press as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi- owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.

I have seen a couple of great films recently. One of the BEST films I've ever seen is "Slumdog Millionaire" by the great Irish director Danny Boyle, who did "Trainspotting."





The other film I cannot get over is "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and the ending will absolutely shock you. No one who has seen it will reveal the ending — and I was totally unprepared for it. We took the kids on Thanksgiving evening, and I can't think of a better way to realize how grateful we all should be for our lives.



We also saw "The Day the Earth Stood Still" which we loved. The kids loved it almost as much as I did, but they are bit more mature than I am, so that makes sense.

Tonight we watched the Video Game Awards with Jack Black in his underwear. My 14-year-old raves about Unchartered and can't wait for Unchartered 2. The kids argued over which is better: the PS3 or XBOX 360.

Here are some review excerpts of my current favorite movie:

Slumdog Millionaire" is an emotional roller coaster, a "ticking clock" thriller, a tragic-comic blend of the modern and the ancient. Like opera and soap opera, it tugs at the heart and flings obstacles in the way of our star-crossed kids. Like many an ancient tale from the Far East, it embraces fate. And never has the phrase "It is written" taken us on a more thrilling ride. - Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

For six months, Boyle and about a dozen colleagues traveled to Mumbai, India, to create "Slumdog Millionaire," a sometimes intense but ultimately buoyant account of an orphan's remarkable performance on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," where the top prize is actually closer to $4 million.

"They are the fourth largest nuclear power in the world and yet they don't have working toilets," Boyle says of the startling disparity between India's haves and have-nots. "It has all of this emerging technology and no clean drinking water."

Those dramatic juxtapositions form the backdrop of Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy's ("The Full Monty") adaptation of Vikas Swarup's novel "Q and A." Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) may be enjoying an incredible run on the quiz show but the question he most wants answered is: What has become of his one true love, Latika (Freida Pinto)?

Boyle says the movie's message is not unlike the spirit of the people he encountered making it. "They have this amazing belief in faith and the organic nature of life," Boyle says. "That things will happen." -- John Horn, L.A. Times

•SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is a Fox Searchlight release directed by Danny Boyle with Loveleen Tandan from a script by Simon Beaufoy based on the novel Vikas Swarup. Running time: 118 minutes. Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language.

LOU GOSSETT'S ERACISM FOUNDATION

Our guest Wednesday on the Basham and Cornell show will be Academy Award Winner Louis Gossett, Jr.

INSPIRATION

Pain is the touchstone of all spiritual progress. - Anonymous

Photo: In memory of my sweet brother Paul at the Grand Canyon, who passed away December 1, 1995. Photo of our boys a couple of years ago.

"We aren't simply an isolated collection of atoms and molecules, but are an inseparable part of the infinite field of intelligence." David Simon, M.D.

"When you know that you are an inseparable part of the field of all possibilities, you can easily fulfill your desires. You no longer worry about money — getting it, losing it, or not having enough — because you know hte supply is inexhaustible. This understanding is the source of all abundance." - Deepak Chopra, M.D.

"Within you rests the universal answer to every question that you could ever ask yourself. It's been said that prayer is talking to God... meditation is listening. Can you hear the universe whispering to you?" - Davidji

"Love is the unified field" - me

"You'll SEE it when you BELIEVE it." - Dr. Wayne Dyer

"All boundaries melt in the warmth of love and we know that we are part of an indivisible whole — an expression of the eternal Divine." - Deepak Chopra, M.D.

"I think there needs to be a change of consciousness with the news ... to try to seek a higher ground. Why can't it be more representative of the way the world really is? I think we don't know what the bombardment of crime and violence does to our minds, I think we're in denial about it." - Oprah Winfrey

Your life is right now. It's not later. It's not in that time of retirement. It's not when the lover gets here. It's not when you've moved into the new house. It's not when you get the better job. Your life is right now. It will always be right now. You might as well decide to start enjoying your life right now, because it's not ever going to get better than right now — until it gets better right now! -
Jerry and Esther, Abraham-Hicks

"All the strife in the world is happening to bring us closer to our spirit, our humanity. For years we've been snowballing toward excess, chaos, materialism, violence and porn. There will never be enough perversions to satisfy us. There is never enough sex, drugs, i-pods, plasma screens or edge-of-death experiences to fill us up. You can't paste fulfillment on like a bandaid from the outside. It's an inside job. Sometimes you have to lose everything to become free. There is only one way to go: toward healing, toward love which is the spiritual kingdom within us. The more we focus on the good in others, even our enemies, the more the good increases. This is a law of the universe, and it's the only real way to pray." - Me

But on that note, it is okay to point out dishonesty when you see it. For example:

Milwaukee's Dan Shelley Exposes How 'Conservative' Talkers Create Their Phony Narrative on the Publicly-Owned Airwaves...

The former news director/program manager at one of Milwaukee's largest and most powerful radio stations offers some remarkable inside skinny on how Rightwing Radio chooses its slanted topics, marches in lockstep with GOP talking points, sets up its "conservative" listeners as victims, and shuts out all but the most artfully selected opposing viewpoints.

I'll take this moment to mention, yet again, that this is all being done on the publicly owned airwaves, which we grant license to out of the kindness of our public hearts, and which the wingnuts enjoy as public welfare queens to bludgeon Americans into voting against their own self-interest...

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6708
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Quote of the Day
"We have a great life here in Alaska, and we're never going back to America again!" - Homer Simpson

Bush, the self-proclaimed "War President" says: "I Was Unprepared For War," "I'm Sorry" For The Economic Crisis. ABC News/AP/CNN | December 1, 2008 at 11:32 AM

President Bush let it all out today during an interview with ABC News' Charlie Gibson. Bush delivered a mea culpa on Iraq, the economic crisis and the 2008 election outcome for Republicans.

My take: He passes the buck and doesn't apologize for cooking the books and cherry-picking the intelligence. Bush and Cheney did everything in their power to silence Ambassador Joe Wilson, destroy the cover of CIA agent Valerie Plame and keep the National Intelligence Estimate quiet. By the way, who leaked the NIE report which said Sadaam DID NOT have WMD? I think it was Gates. And it was sinister the way the Bush- Cheney cabal painted everyone as unpatriotic who wore a Peace T-shirt or was against the 'shock and awe' bombing of the ancient Babylonian lands, innocent Iraqi civilians who could not flee Falluja in time -- including children. Bush and Cheney destroyed hospitals, colleges, schools, Mosques and infrastructure. They claimed Sadaam had WMD when clearly he did not. And they knew it. To pretend that now he didn't know the intelligence was cooked, is a crime.

I agree with Chris Matthews, who says that WMD was not the actual reason Bush drove this war fever. He had other imperialistic motives, so the whole thing is an unconscionable lie -- or rewriting of history — even this apology.

More below.... but first, some funny pictures from HUFFPO:

Big Three CEOs Drive Hybrids To Washington



Doctor Zhivago

GIVING THANKS * HELP IS ON THE WAY

Think about this tomorrow as you sit down to your Thanksgiving Feast! And remember your local Food Bank!

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.

And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who has that opportunity.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness .... you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.

If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation .... you are ahead of over 700 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in the world.

If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare.

If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique to all those in doubt and despair.

And if you can't seem to rev yourself up and out of depression, just quietly say "thank you." Just find ONE SMALL THING to be grateful for. Then go outside, look up and breathe. The more you are grateful, the more you get out of yourself. "It's by self-forgetting that we find..." - Lydia

If you can read this you are very special and you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, and count your blessings!!- Anonymous

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Obama: 'HELP IS ON THE WAY' .... and 'Change will come from me' (despite keeping Gates on as Secretary of Defense)

Designates Former Fed Chair Volcker As Head Of New "President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board"... Third Straight Economic Conference This Week...

President-elect Barack Obama said today that "people should understand that help is on the way" for the nation's ailing economy. Obama held his third press conference in three days on the economy. He named former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker to lead a new economic recovery board. developing story... Obama stresses patience

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New link to my cover story: http://www.retroality.tv/retrohotLydiaCornell.html

GIRLS LIKE EROTIC TWILIGHT

I have to admit I'm obsessed with "Twilight," which I saw this weekend. Maybe I'm 14 years old — oh yeah, that's right I am. I'm very interested in vampires that hold back, and in the erotics of abstinence. Teenage girls are my cause lately. Girls are in a lot of pain, with the highest suicide rate of any other group. I blame a culture of materialism, but it's an "inside job" and we each have to work out our own dark forces. According to the CDC, suicide attempts tripled in the past three years for girls ages 10-14. I really want to help them navigate life better than I did.

As a Harry Potter freak, Lord of the Rings fanatic and a lifelong Trekkie, I think films like this are great for girls. We need our own Harry Potter.


"We are in the business of love. Put "love" into what you do for a living."

By 2010 the number two form of disability will be depression. What goes on inside you is the cause of your outside experience."

"No one can be successful alone."

"The purpose of marriage is to learn how to be a compassionate human being." - Bob Lancer

Remember, if the time should come, when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory.* - Albus Dumbledore

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. — Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)

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TWILIGHT CULT PHENOMENON (The Christian Science Monitor)
Tween bibliophiles are armed with antecedent knowledge of the storyline, courtesy of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling 2005 novel. It was the first of a tetralogy, which has been translated into 37 languages and collectively sold 25 million copies worldwide.

Excited fan girls queued up for sold out Thursday midnight showings, generating a $70 million gross. Made on a modest budget of $37 million, Twilight swept into the number one box office spot for the weekend, playing on 6,000 screens and pulling in $70 million.

You have to hear Carter Burwell's haunting score, especially, "How Will I Die?"
Go to http://www.twilightthemovie.com/ and click on the movie trailers, but if you want to hear the score, go to Soundtrack and pause the songs, but listen to what plays automatically.

THEY CAN'T STEAL THIS ONE

Keith Olbermann talks with Richard Wolffe about the infighting within the McCain campaign about Palin’s going off script. On her “fruit fly” gaffe, Richard Wolf says: "Keith, I’m going to be as restrained and measured as I possibly can about this. This is the most mindless, ignorant uninformed comment we’ve seen from Governor Palin so far, and there’s been alot of competition for that prize."

OBAMA has so many Republicans jumping ship and supporting him — including Colin Powell, White House former Press Secretary Scott McClellan, Andrew Sullivan, Christopher Hitchens — and McCain's former advisor. And he has some of America's most beloved icons supporting him.

Look at this: Andy Griffith, Ron Howard and Henry Winkler publicly endorsed Obama?

From Republicans For Obama.org

Republican Elected Officials supporting Obama:

Jim Leach, Former Congressman from Iowa

"For me, the national interest comes before party concerns, particularly internationally. We do need a new direction in American policy, and Obama has a sense of that."

Lincoln Chafee, Former United States Senator from Rhode Island

"As I look at the candidates in order who to vote for, certainly my kind of conservatism was reflected with Senator Obama, and those points are that we're fiscally conservative, we care about revenues matching expenditures, we also care about the environment, I think it's a traditional conservative value to care about clean air and clean water."

William Weld, Former Governor of Massachusetts

"It's not often you get a guy with his combination of qualities, chief among which I would say is the deep sense of calm he displays, and I think that's a product of his equally deep intelligence."

Arne Carlson, Former Governor of Minnesota

"I think we have in Barack Obama the clear possibility of a truly great president. I would contend that it's the most important election of my lifetime."

Wayne Gilchrest, Congressman from Maryland

"We can't use four more years of the same kind of policy that's somewhat haphazard, which leads to recklessness."

Larry Pressler, Former Senator from South Dakota

"I just got the feeling that Obama will be able to handle this financial crisis better, and I like his financial team of [former Treasury Secretary Robert] Rubin and [former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul] Volcker better."

Richard Riordan, Former Mayor of Los Angeles

"I'm still a Republican, but I still will always vote for the person who I think will do the best job."

Lowell Weicker, Former Governor and Senator from Connecticut

"At issue is not the partisan politics of two parties, rather the image we have of ourselves as Americans. Senator Obama brings wisdom, kindness, and common sense to what is both his and our quest for a better America."

Jim Whitaker, Fairbanks, Alaska Mayor

"If we are as a nation concerned with energy, then our consideration should be a national energy policy that is not predicated on crude oil 50 years into the future. We need to get to it, and I think Barack Obama is very clear in that regard."

Linwood Holton, Former Governor of Virginia

"Obama has a brain, and he isn't afraid to use it."

Republican Government Officials Supporting Obama:

Colin Powell, Secretary of State under Bush 43

"...he has met the standard of being a sucessful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world-- onto the world state, onto the American stage, and for that reason I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama."

Douglas Kmiec, Head of the Office of Legal Counsel under Reagan & Bush 41

"I was first attracted to government by Ronald Reagan, who lives in our national memory as a great leader and an inspiring communicator. Senator Obama has these gifts as well, but of course, more rhetorical flourish without substance would be worth little. Is there more to Senator Obama? I believe there is."

Charles Fried, Solicitor General of the United States under Reagan

"I admire Senator McCain and was glad to help in his campaign, and to be listed as doing so; but when I concluded that I must vote for Obama for the reason states in my letter, I felt it wrong to appear to be recommending to others a vote that I was not prepared to cast myself."

Jackson M. Andrews, Republican Counsel to the U.S. Senate

"Barack Obama is a thoughtful visionary leader who as President will end the decline of American law, liberty, and fiscal responsibility that are the hallmarks of the extremist policies of the current Administration, now adopted by John McCain."

Susan Eisenhower, Granddaughter of President Eisenhower & President of the Eisenhower Group

"Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole."

Francis Fukuyama, Advisor to President Reagan

"...Obama probably has the greatest promise of delivering a different kind of politics."

Rita Hauser, Former White House intelligence advisor under George W. Bush

"McCain will continue the wrong-headed foreign policy decisions of Bush, while Obama will take us in a new direction."

Larry Hunter, Former President Reagan Policy Advisor

"I suspect Obama is more free-market friendly than he lets on. He taught at the University of Chicago, a hotbed of right-of-center thought. His economic advisers, notably Austan Goolsbee, recognize that ordinary citizens stand to gain more from open markets than from government meddling."

Scott McClellan, Former Press Secretary to President George W. Bush

"From the beginning I have said I am going to support the candidate that has the best chance for changing the way Washington works and getting things done and I will be voting for Barack Obama and clapping."

Bill Ruckelshaus, served in the Nixon and Reagan administrations

"I'm not against McCain, I'm for Obama."

Ken Adelman, served in the Ford administration

"The most important decision John McCain made in his long campaign was deciding on a running mate. That decision showed appalling lack of judgment... that selection contradicted McCain's main two, and best two, themes for his campaign-- Country First, and experience counts. Neither can he credibly claim, post-Palin pick."

Lilibet Hagel, Wife of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel

"This election is not about fighting phantom issues churned out by a top-notch slander machine. Most important, it is not about distracting the public-- you and me-- with whatever slurs someone thinks will stick."

Republican Columnists and Academics Switching to Obama:

Jeffrey Hart, National Review Senior Editor

"It turns out that these political parties are not always either liberal or conservative, Democratic or Republican. The Democrat, under certain conditions, can be the conservative."

Andrew Bacevich, Professor of International Relations at Boston University

"For conservatives, Obama represents a sliver of hope. McCain represents none at all. The choice turns out to be an easy one."

David Friedman, Economist and son of Milton and Rose Friedman

"I hope Obama wins. President Bush has clearly been a disaster from the standpoint of libertarians and conservatives because he has presided over an astonishing rise in government spending."

Christopher Buckley, Son of National Review founder William F. Buckley & former NR columnist

"Obama has in him-- I think, despite his sometimes airy-fairy 'We are the people we have been waiting for' silly rehtoric-- the potential to be a good, perhaps even great leader. He is, it seems clear enough, what the historical moment seems to be calling for."

Andrew Sullivan, Columnist for the Atlantic Monthly

"Obama's legislative record, speeches, and the way he has run his campaign reveal, I think, a very even temperament, a very sound judgment, and an intelligent pragmatism. Prudence is a word that is not inappropriate to him."

Wick Alison, Former publisher of the National Review

"I made the maximum donation to John McCain during the primaries, when there was still hope he might come to his senses. But I now see that Obama is almost the ideal candidate for this moment in American history."

Michael Smerconish, Columnist for the Philadelphia Enquirer

"...an Obama presidency holds the greatest chance for unifying us here at home and restoring our prestige around the globe."

CC Goldwater, Granddaughter of Barry Goldwater

"Nothing about the Republican tickets offers the hope America needs to regain its standing in the world, that's why we're going to support Barack Obama."

Please comment and about other Republicans for Obama. I will post a commenter's list of the current McCain-Pain circus lies shortly... but first these healing thoughts that can change your life.
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LOVE HEALS because it’s so powerful. It’s so big, it’s ever present. It has no hint of confusion, fear, or hate. It just wipes those out. Ignorance, fear, and sin—those are the foundations of illness. And what Love does—it’s the divine eraser that removes each one of those.

Interview with Keith Wommack on Spirituality.com:

This website is the ancient metaphysical truth behind The Secret, Emmet Fox, The Law of Attraction, and Eckhart Tolle's beautiful books. It's all the same truth, the law of life. It is as simple as turning your heart to love no matter what the external appearance is. And no matter who the "enemy" is.

Caller: “If Divine Love is here for us 24/7, when and how does hatred and fear come about?”

Keith: Good question. You know, hatred and fear come about when we are accepting that love is absent. Darkness is the absence of light. We pour in light and the darkness flees. So the more that we acknowledge and cherish that God is that ever-present 24/7 Love, that we express that Love dynamically and effortlessly 24/7, then we’re going to see an abatement of fear and hate.

This reminds me of when I was performing in the band, and one night after a performance, I walked out the backstage door of an auditorium, headed to a parking area. And I found myself right in the middle of a race riot. The back door of the auditorium slammed shut. And I was immediately surrounded by a group of young men, and their anger just turned on me. Everything happened fast, but what came to my thought was the idea, “Love has no opposite sides.” It just came whooshing into my thought. And surprisingly, I felt spiritual peace.

I was then poked in the back, and when I turned around, a large man hit me in the face with his fist as hard as he could, but it only felt as if I had been tapped with a balloon. My head didn’t move at all. The man who hit me looked me in the eye, looked at the others, and then he walked away, and every one of them followed after him. If I had tried to fight back, the situation would have turned out quite differently. I’d probably be a little grease spot on the asphalt. But my nonreaction was an act of love. “Love has no opposite sides,” the anger and danger just disappeared. All that remained was love.

These are six simple things that can help fill an empty heart

1. Stop being critical. Criticism closes our eyes to the good that has always been present. Critical states of thought lead to critical mistakes, as well causing critical states of the body. So let’s stop being critical.

2. Stop keeping score. It’s not how someone else is acting, but how much of God’s love you are expressing that will satisfy you. That’s two, stop keeping score.

3. Stop trying to prove you are right. Instead of telling others you are right and they are wrong, live what is right and you will begin to sparkle. Let’s stop trying to prove you’re right.

4. Be honest. Honesty allows you to be at peace, even in the middle of turmoil. It keeps you strong, and it keeps a relationship strong. "Honesty is spiritual power. Dishonesty is human weakness, which forfeits divine help.” That’s number four—be honest.

5. Start forgiving. Forgiveness means starting over with love. Forgiveness is learning to see others as God made them. That’s important. Number five, start forgiving.

6. Be grateful. Pain and gratitude are incompatible. Be grateful for everything good in your relationships and your home and in your life. Gratitude completes the circuit in every healing.

That’s six things. One, stop being critical. Two, stop keeping score. Three, stop trying to prove you’re right. Four, be honest. Five, start forgiving. Six, be grateful.

And then the characteristic traits that are bad—what we call personality traits that are kind of harmful—will begin to fall away because we’re not holding on to them. They’re not a part of God’s being, therefore, they cannot be a part of ours. We can refuse to live our life with them any longer.