Watchman Nee was a Chinese Christian leader who established house churches across China until the communists arrested him in the early 1950's. He eventually died in prison His books are wonderful! Get them and read them.

My favorite is "The Normal Christian Life". His theme is that we don't see much normal Christianity in our day. Our Christianity is sub-normal. Watchman Nee says: "By the time a Christian gets his temperature up to normal, most people think he has a fever."

Another great book by Nee is "The Spiritual Man". It is a three volume set that deals with Christian spirituality.

"It is important that people should know what you stand for. It is equally important that they know what you won't stand for." --Mary H. Waldrip

"Never for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions." --Dag Hammarskjold

"Be bold in what you stand for and be careful what you fall for." --Ruth Boorstin

"Pity the criminal all you like, but don't call evil good." --Feodor Dostoevsky

"It is not without reason that writers in our country are called 'engineers of the human soul.'" --Nikita Krushchev

"Just the knowledge that a book book is waiting one at the end of a long day, makes that day happier." --Kathleen Norris

You park your car at night; turn off the ignition;: lock the door. And your car just sits there --idle--doing absolutely nothing until you're ready to crank it up and drive it again the next day! Not so with your mind! When you park your mind at" night (by going to sleepy land), it keeps right on working and churning. (That's where dreams come from.)

And what does your mind work on when you are asleep? Well, there are several factors that determine that, but the most important one is the "Last Thought Principle."

The "Last Thought Principle" states: "The last conscious thought before falling asleep will strongly influence the content of the mind's activity though out the night. Usually that last thought will be amplified in the morning!"

So what does it mean? Simply this: People don't get up on the wrong side of the bed. (I can't. There's a wall on the other side of my bed. And I sure don't want to wake up climbing the walls!) People go to sleep in the wrong state of mind.

If you go to sleep thinking depressed thoughts, you will almost always wake up even more depressed. If you go to sleep thinking angry or worried thoughts, you will wake up even more angry or worried. (After all, your mind has been churning that stuff all night! And your body has been tossing and turning!)

There is good news though! If you go to sleep thinking about happiness, you'll wake up even more happy!

So why plant negative thoughts in your mind just before you fall asleep? Instead, park your mind in positive! I like to think one positive thought over and over again until I fall asleep. I mentally repeat the word; "joy" or "peace" or "success." And guess what? I wake up feeling good!

So why wake up grouchy? (Just let him or her sleep.) Why wake up with gloom and glum? Now you know the secret of waking up with gusto in your heart and a gleam in your eye! The rest is up to you!
It's simple but difficult! Take control of your mind every night and park it in positive!