Giving time and effort to assist others to be successful shows capacity for sincerity.

Being curious about life, its people and its mysteries, shows capacity for learning.

Praying for welfare of family, friends, and all of humanity shows capacity for love.

Waiting for God's answer to a prayer shows capacity for faith and patience.

Accepting answer to a prayer, whatever it might be, discovering its blessings, and then moving on shows capacity for gratitude.

Believing in a God-given purpose throughout long and difficult seasons of scarcity shows capacity for determination and hope.

Taking risks, making mistakes, and learning from all experiences show capacity for being human.

Getting up after having fallen down or suffered failure shows capacity for resolve.

Persisting resolutely to navigate life's rapids, scale its mountains, move beyond its perceived limitations, and arrive at its finish line with faith and dignity shows capacity for achievement.

When we use our mental and spiritual capacities, our lives will be filled with more love, contentment, and achievement than we can imagine. When we cultivate a deep faith in a Power greater than ourselves, we never have to travel life's journey alone. There will be powerful sources of wisdom and guidance walking with us every step of way.

Of course she doesn’t. She’s a girl. But he doesn’t know that yet. One day, if we are all lucky, he might. And at on that day he will not only see and understand differences, he may even appreciate those differences. Just like Mom should now.

I think that’s why God gave us moms sons. To teach us that once in awhile it’s all right to break out of our safe, little, don’t-do-that existences and show us a whole new exciting wonderful world ready to be explored. Trees to climb. Trampolines to jump off of. Cars to drive. Rockets to build. Caves to investigate. Lakes to swim. Mountains to ski. Might we get hurt? Yes. Might we fall down? Yes. But think of all fun we’ll have.

Many years ago I heard story of a small boy I knew while I was growing up. One day his mother found him climbing nearly to top of a very tall windmill at their home. Immediately she panicked trying to figure out how to get him down without a broken bone or worse. Before my son came along, I always thought of that story from mother’s perspective. From that perspective I felt fear and danger and disaster looming. I thought of who I would call: his father, law, ambulance. Thoughts of what I would say and how I would say it to get him down swirled every time I heard story.

Since I’ve had a son, however, I’ve had insight to look at that journey up windmill from boy’s perspective and from that perspective, I don’t see fear and danger. I don’t think of all trouble he has caused. No. From boy’s perspective up on windmill, I can see for miles in every direction. I can see things like I’ve never seen them before. I can feel wind in my face, and it seems like whole world is at my feet. Of course Mom is at bottom yelling at me to get down, but from up here even that doesn’t matter because up here I’m free. To tell you truth, it’s a perspective that I kind of like. Yes, a boy can make a huge difference—even in a mom.