If anything worthy of praise...

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.
Philippians 4:8 

Boy! We could camp on this phrase for awhile!  Something worthy of praise, according to Strong's Concordance, means recommended as worthy of confidence or notice. But let's stop and think about the people we come into contact with on a daily basis.  Let's start with our families.  It's so easy to get caught in a negative downward spiral when it comes to our relationships with our family members.  A suggestion would be to print a picture of each member of our family on a piece of paper and jot down words and phrases describing the good things about each one. (Anyone thinking about scrapbooking?!) When we are having a conflict with one of them, we can get out their paper and think about the good things we wrote about them.  We can do the same with our co-workers, neighbors or fellow church-goers. 

What a wonderful family birthday tradition it would be to print out the birthday person's picture on a piece of paper and have the whole family write good things about them and give it to them as part of their gift.  Hmm... I just might have to start that with my grandkids.

If one of our family members or another person we have a relationship with does something that is worthy of praise, we can be the first to acknowledge them publicly.  What a lovely thing to do!

More Vacation Pics
The gardens at Biltmore Estate were beautiful and so large.  I can't imagine how many people are required for its upkeep!  The first picture is of the house from across the massive lawn.  The rest of the pics are from the amazing gardens.

Today's Recipe - Wild Rice Salad
Taste of Home

1 cup uncooked wild rice
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups halved green grapes
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 cup cashews
lettuce leaves

Cook rice according to package directions.  Drain well; cool to room temperature.  Spoon into a large bowl; add chicken, grapes and mayonnaise.  Toss gently with a fork.  Cover and chill.  Just before serving, add cashews.  Serve on lettuce leaves or line a bowl with lettuce leaves and fill with salad.  Makes 6 servings

Tip:  For a fancy luncheon or brunch, spray a small bowl or measuring cup and use to mold the salad before turning it out onto the lettuce leaf on individual plates.  Garnish with a parsley leaf.