A very dear friend shared this prayer today. I think it fits very nicely with the idea of being faith-filled, optimistic, and joy-forwarding. Thank you, dear Cynthia for this prayer.
“A Prayer
Give up complaining; Be grateful.
Give up pessimism; Be an optimist.Give up harsh judgment; Think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry; Trust in Divine Providence.
Give up discouragement; Be full of hope.
Give up anger; Be more patient.
Give up pettiness; Be more mature.
Give up gloom; Enjoy the beauty around you.
Give up jealousy; Pray for trust.
Give up gossiping; Control your thoughts.
Give up sin; Turn to virtue.
St. Paul encouraged us to fill our minds with everything that is true, good, and pure. He realized it wouldn’t be easy but He knew there is always be grace. All the saints agree on this: holiness is possible. Your holiness is possible, so don’t give up on yourself.
No matter how sinful or unworthy your life may be, remember Jesus takes all those sins away; He heals and purifies, and leads you to holiness.
A holy life is possible.
Pray as you can, do not pray as you can’t. The only way to pray well is to pray often. The less one prays, the worse it gets”.—-Abbott John Chapman
I think this is a poignant prayer. It is reassuring to know that St. Paul knew it would not be easy to follow God to holiness. God reassures us that He will protect us and guide us.
So we mustn’t give up on our faith walk. Rather, we must give up on the things that come between us and God.
Believe Anyway 
Brilliantly written dear Kate. I enjoy your really positive posts.
Have a fabulous day full of many blessings.
boy oh boy do your affirmations lift me up! Have a fabulous day too, my dear!
I forgot to say, I love the Joy- Forwarding Badge and am praying and thinking of ways to help you manage the challenge.
It’s difficult because I have no idea what you are thinking of course, what the goal is for the management of the challenge, I am unsure of.
i have to say DITTO! no idea what I am doing either. other than a nebulous non-specific joy of spreading joy through loving thoughts, words and deeds, i am unsure what would be the best. giving prompts or specific ideas for the week? brainstorming? how to communicate the experiences back and forth??not sure how they managed the postaday2011—i know i often got specific posts that were forwarded because people posted them on the daily post site. no idea how they made that happen!
By letting God in to guide and control the pressure to “succeed”, “do it all” and “be perfect” is lifted and we can truly grow. We are called to be faithful all the rest follows in God’s way and God’s time.
I am putting this in front of my computer today so I can look at it over and over again. Thank you!
Thanks Madeline! I am taking a copy of it with me when I tutor today….God’s time, God’s time, God’s time….You are welcome, Madeline.
Excellent and a wonderful reminder for all! 😉
thank you so much! I need reminders 🙂
I so love this prayer. so much so that it’s an plague on my dresser for self affirmations each day while kick starting my day. I am grateful for how small our world really is.
Well! whaddya know about that :-). Amazing.
The things that come between me and God?! Same word different page…I think that there is a theme going on in my life! Hope I am paying attention.
Thanks for sharing.
Mine too!! That’s why the prayer felt SO appropriate to me!
Thanks for visiting my blog. There are many people of faith here. Yes give up. Surrender. When the Holy Spirit may dwell in us we win. Blessings.
I found your blog when I was notified that you were given my Candle Lighter Award. Your blog is uplifting, delightful, creative, faith filled and FUNNY. We need all of that, don’t we. The blessings of the Holy Spirit to you today, Carl! With each prayer, uplifting post, candle lit, and love spread—He wins.
Very touching…I’m blessed by your prayer. God bless your heart.
thank you for your kind words. God bless you, too Joseyphina ❤
Thanks for sharing Kate. This is such a beautiful prayer 🙂
thanks Gracie! Glad you are feeling better today 🙂