Can you afford ice cream and cookies? Your kids love these things, and they are readily available. You can probably afford more of them than you, or your children should eat. Do children think they are being deprived if their parents limit their access to these things and regard them as special treats? Yet wise parents will do so. Do you think you are getting your fair share of blessings? Can you see how the same arguments apply? Don’t think that I have a limited budget from which to bless you.

Have you noticed a new emphasis on core strength? This is an important aspect of fitness. Have you noticed that everyone has a particular area of emphasis in their life? Based on education and even more so experience they have become an expert on that subject. Have you seen that this is true in the people you meet, even apart from academic credentials? In my body are many members and like the organs in your body each serves a unique purpose. Each is necessary and all should be honored and respected for what they contribute.

Do you desire to acquire as much information and knowledge as possible? Inquisitive curiosity is a good trait. Are you willing to change according to what you find? This is a more difficult step, and not as many take it. Is it beneficial for you to eat your vegetables? It is one thing to know that they are good for you and another to have them for lunch or dinner. No degree of knowledge about their nutritional value will help you if you don’t eat them. This is obvious, but can you extend the principle to other areas of truth? Question all things, and embrace that which is good.

Do you tell everything to everyone? Only a fool utters all his mind. Yet you do need people in your life in whom you can confide; to whom you can tell everything. This is a human necessity. Otherwise your secrets will eat you from the inside out. You have experienced the release of verbally sharing your burden with someone else. Yet you are selective in whom you choose to do this with. What criteria do you use for selection? Does it have to be someone you have known for a long time? You can unburden yourself to a stranger if you sense trust, interest, compassion and empathy.