How Prayer Can Improve Your Sundays

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Do you enjoy feeling closer to God?

Do you find new experiences to be rewarding?

Are you interested in having more spiritual experiences?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, this blog post may your Sundays more delightful.

Prayer is one of our most unique abilities. There's no evidence that other creatures or physical objects can pray.

Unlike breathing and many of our automatic processes, prayer is something we have to choose to do.

Many people never pray except if their life . . . or the life of a loved one . . . is in danger. Many people have reported, "There are no atheists on a battlefield."

Others pray out of habit . . . before eating . . . or before going to sleep.

Most people pray when in houses of worship. The minister, priest or rabbi says, "Let us pray," and that invocation triggers a prayer.

I have another idea for you: Learn to pray for the joy of it on Sundays!

How might your life change if you experienced most of your joy from praying?

There's an easy way to find out: Try it for a day.

Here are some suggestions for joyful prayer.

1. Think joyful thoughts as you pray.

We all have different things that make us feel joy. Concentrate on remembering what those things are in your life. Imagine and experience those joys just before you start to pray.

As easy way to begin is to express gratitude for the joy that those activities and thoughts bring you.

2. Pray for guidance in how to make what now causes you sadness into a source of joy.

Many people feel sad when a loved one dies. Yet I have had the great good fortune to meet people who found great joy from being with someone while they died. Mother Teresa used to say that helping someone have a good death was a wonderful experience for her.

God can show you the way to turn anything into Divine joy. All you need to do is ask for guidance. He will show the way.

3. Think about your obstacles in life as opportunities to experience new joy and pray for the wisdom to pursue that joy.

Let's say that you don't like your job. You can think about a great job you would like to have and focus on how much joy you will feel when you gain that new job. .

4. Feeling love for others is a wonderful source of joy. Pray for as many people as you can in terms of your love for them and wish for them to have joy as well.

Start with the people you usually love quite well. Gradually add those you love only a little. But keep moving on until you get to those you don't yet love. And keep going to add people you don't like. And be sure to get to those who really make you angry . . . and give them all the love you can.

5. Pick positive reminders to pray more frequently.

Most of us let negative events trigger many of our prayers. I suggest that you add some new habits. Let positive events become prayer triggers as well. If someone you don't know smiles at you, say a joyful prayer for them. If someone does you an unexpected favor, say a thankful prayer with joy in your heart. If someone tells you that they love you, say a joyful prayer that others may hear the same message in the next few seconds.

6. Think of joyful prayer as your favorite activity on Sundays.

Sundays are a day of rest for most people. As you pursue those restful activities that you love best, include prayer as part of your happy, joyful activities. Let prayer be the best part of those activities. Let prayer lift your spirit to new highs. Let prayer bring a wider smile to your face. Let prayer might your heart feel light.

7. Let prayer be your response to seeing looming dark clouds.

Most of us see dark clouds and feel gloomy. But God has a positive purpose for those dark clouds. Think of the joy that finding that positive purpose will bring to you and others. Pray for guidance to find, grasp and share the silver lining to those dark clouds.

8. Add song and dance to your joyful prayers.

God wants you to enjoy prayer. You would be excited if you were in conversation with your favorite celebrity. You might dance right up to him or her and break out in song. Why not do the same with God?

9. Pray for Heaven on Earth.

Through faith, we are told that we can ask and we will receive. We haven't been to Heaven yet. Much prayer is spent on being sure that we get there. Add to that thought asking God's guidance for making Heaven available here on Earth. Imagine what joy that would bring!

10. Thank God at the end of the each Sunday for reminding you to use prayer to have greater joy.

During that prayer, reflect on all of the wonderful prayers you said that Sunday. You'll feel all of that joy again!

Please add your comments with ways that you've found to create joy through prayer. I'm sure that other readers will be interested. Thanks!

Can any billionaire do better? I doubt it.

When was the last time you saw a joyful billionaire? I cannot think of such an occasion. Billionaires are usually shown looking like they ate something sour.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell

Express Gratitude to Enjoy Your Spiritual Life More

Good morning, Happy Souls!

Are you feeling motivated this morning? I certainly hope so. I know that I am!

Do you enjoy feeling grateful for your blessings?

Do you find yourself spending more time wishing for more than being thankful for what you have?

Are you interested in enjoying life more?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, this blog post may make your days quite a bit brighter.

Gratitude is one of life's greatest emotions. Gratitude makes you feel special, appreciated, coddled and delighted. Where else can you locate such a wonderful bundle of benefits?

Most people feel gratitude briefly under some of the following circumstances:

- before eating an appealing meal
- after receiving a hoped-for benefit
- during applause
- while being honored for an award
- when someone helps them out of a pickle
- while a loved one shares their love

I'm sure that just the mention of those circumstances brings back happy memories and warm feelings of gratitude.

How might your life change if you felt gratitude 20 times as often?

You'll never know until you try. How about today?

Curiously, we rarely see moments of gratitude in the media. When we do see such moments, the focus is actually on the person who is receiving the gratitude. But the receiver may not actually be enjoying gratitude so much as being acknowledged or appreciated.

Why is that? I think it is to encourage us to spend money . . . the advertiser's perspective on the purpose of the media.

Here are some suggestions for expressing your gratitude.

1. Make a list of what you are grateful for and thank those who helped you receive those benefits.

Chances are there are many things that you feel grateful for which you have never expressed neither to any person nor to God.

Because you haven't expressed that gratitude, your gratitude is hidden except from God.

Some people don't even think you care about what they have done for you.

Think of this idea as "catch-up" gratitude.

But don't wait. Tomorrow isn't promised to any of us. Express your sincere feelings today.

2. Sit quietly and think about the things you don't consciously realize you are grateful for.

In your first thoughts, you probably came up with less than one percent of what you actually feel grateful for. Look around at the people and the objects around you . . . and think about whom you could express gratitude to for each item.

If you need a few things to get you started, how about the sun, the moon, the stars, the air, flowers, birds, song, music, friends, love and family?

3. Add to your lists of what makes you feel grateful.

This is important because it will help you to notice when you could feel grateful.

4. Seek out opportunities to feel grateful.

Whenever anything happens, ask yourself, "What can I be grateful about?" For instance, if you get into your car, you could feel grateful for those who taught you to drive, people who helped you avoid accidents in the past, others who assisted you with flat tires and other problems, drivers who showed you courtesy and the police who patrol the roads to keep dangerous drivers from harming anyone.

5. Learn to make the feeling last longer.

While you are feeling grateful, it's natural to look around while in that emotional state . . . and notice something else to be grateful for. See how many links you can make without letting the feeling of gratitude go away. With practice you will eventually be able to feel that way for several minutes. Take a deep breath as you think of each new reason, and you will find your mood will be deepened and reinforced.

6. Encourage your loved ones to express their gratitude more often.

Each time you hear someone being grateful, you will find that expression will remind you of things you are grateful for too. Then, your own gratitude will increase. For example, when I hear one of my children expressing gratitude to someone else, I feel grateful that they are experiencing and expressing this gratitude.

7. Praise others when you hear them express gratitude.

While you are walking down the street, you may hear or see someone express gratitude. That's a good time to praise that person. They will be more likely to be express gratitude in the future, and you will be grateful for having had this reminder to feel grateful.

8. Add new prayers of gratitude to your daily prayers.

I end my prayers with thanking God for as many things as I can think of that have happened recently to make my life more delightful. I always start with thanking God for giving me another day to do His will on earth.

9. Put up little notes of gratitude around your workplace and your home to remind you of your desire to be grateful.

The more conspicuous these notes are the more often you will be reminded to feel grateful.

10. Schedule time to feel grateful.

We all have moments of downtime in our lives. I once listened to 20 people describe what they did while their computer booted up. None of them used that time to be grateful. But it's a great time to do that. During commercials, at stop lights, while waiting for the bus, standing in line at the bank or watching your meal be prepared at McDonald's, you can just spend that time going over some great reasons to be grateful.

Please add your comments with ways that you've found to be grateful more often and for longer. I'm sure that other readers will be interested. Thanks!

Can any billionaire do better? I doubt it.

Billionaires often feel the opposite way. They often report that people don't feel enough gratitude for them. After all, if you give a $100,000,000 gift, how much more grateful can a recipient be than if you gave a $10 gift? The generous billionaire has to feel short changed.

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N.B. As you can tell, I'm experimenting with color. Let me know what you like and what I should change about my use of color. Many thanks to Linda Grace for her suggestions which I am following!

Please let me know what else you would like to learn, and I'll do my best to help in future blog entries.

Thanks so much for your support of this blog. I'm delighted that so many tens of thousands of people have made this blog part of their regular reading habit!

If you like this blog, please let others know who might also enjoy it. E-mailing your favorite post to them is a great idea.

Thank you to my many friends, students, clients and blog readers who are spreading the good word about this blog.

If you are visiting today because someone invited you, I'm delighted to meet you! Let's stay in touch.

Remember to also visit

Be More Successful than a Billionaire at http://bemoresuccessfulthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Mansions Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoymansionsbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/,

Enjoy Football Better than a Billionaire at http://enjoyfootballbetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/ and

Be a World Hero Better than a Billionaire at http://beaworldherobetterthanabillionaire.blogspot.com/.

I am available to you as a speaker on these subjects. You can find my background at http://livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars.blogspot.com/2005_08_30_livebetterthanabillionaireon5dollars_archive.html/.

May God bless you. I'm grateful for your interest.

Donald W. Mitchell, Your Dream Concierge

Copyright 2005 Donald W. Mitchell