Catechism for Young Children

An Introduction to the Shorter Catechism

Q. 1. Who made you?
A. God.

Q. 2. What else did God make?
A. God made all things.

Q. 3. Why did God make you and all things ?
A. For his own glory.

Q. 4. How can you glorify God?
A. By loving him and doing what he commands.

Q. 5. Why ought you to glorify God?
A. Because he made me and takes care of me.

Q. 6. Are there more gods than one?
A. There is only one God.

Q. 7. In how many persons does this one God exist?
A. In three persons.

Q. 8. What are they?
A. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Q. 9. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit, and has not a body like men.

Q. 10. Where is God?
A. God is everywhere.

Q. 11. Can you see God?
A. No; I cannot see God, but he always sees me.

Q. 12. Does God know all things?
A. Yes; nothing can be hid from God.

Q. 13. Can God do all things?
A. Yes; God can do all his holy will.

Q. 14. Where do you learn how to love and obey God?
A. In the Bible alone.

Q. 15. Who wrote the Bible?
A. Holy men who were taught by the Holy Spirit.

Q. 16. Who were our first parents?
A. Adam and Eve.

Q. 17. Of what were our first parents made?
A. God made the body of Adam out of the ground, and formed Eve from the body of Adam.

Q. 18. What did God give Adam and Eve besides bodies?
A. He gave them souls that could never die.

Q. 19. Have you a soul as well as a body?
A. Yes; I have a soul that can never die.

Q. 20. How do you know that you have a soul?
A. Because the Bible tells me so.

Q. 21. In what condition did God make Adam and Eve?
A. He made them holy and happy.

Q. 22. What is a covenant?
A. An agreement between two or more persons.

Q. 23. What covenant did God make with Adam?
A. The covenant of works.

Q. 24. What was Adam bound to do by the covenant of works?
A. To obey God perfectly.

Q. 25. What did God promise in the covenant of works?
A. To reward Adam with life if he obeyed him.

Q. 26. What did God threaten in the covenant of works?
A. To punish Adam with death if he disobeyed.

Q. 27. Did Adam keep the covenant of works?
A. No; he sinned against God.

Q. 28. What is Sin?
A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the law of God.

Q. 29. What is meant by want of conformity?
A. Not being or doing what God requires.

Q. 30. What is meant by transgression?
A. Doing what God forbids.

Q. 31. What was the sin of our first parents?
A. Eating the forbidden fruit.

Q. 32. Who tempted them to this sin?
A. The devil tempted Eve, and she gave the fruit to Adam.

Q. 33. What befell our first parents when they had sinned?
A. Instead of being holy and happy, they became sinful and miserable.

Q. 34. Did Adam act for himself alone in the covenant of works?
A. No; he represented all his posterity.

Q. 35. What effect had the sin of Adam on all mankind?
A. All mankind are born in a state of sin and misery.

Q. 36. What is that sinful nature which we inherit from Adam called?
A. Original sin.

Q. 37. What does every sin deserve?
A. The wrath and curse of God.

Q. 38. Can any one go to heaven with this sinful nature?
A. No; our hearts must be changed before we can be fit for heaven.

Q. 39. What is a change of heart called?
A. Regeneration.

Q. 40. Who can change a sinner's heart?
A. The Holy Spirit alone.

Q. 41. Can any one be saved through the covenant of works?
A. None can be saved through the covenant of works.

Q. 42. Why can none be saved through the covenant of works?
A. Because all have broken it, and are condemned by it

Q. 43. With whom did God the Father make the covenant of grace?
A. With Christ, his eternal Son.

Q. 44. Whom did Christ represent in the covenant of grace?
A. His elect people.

Q. 45. What did Christ undertake in the covenant of grace?
A. To keep the whole law for his people, and to suffer the punishment due to their sins.

Q. 46. Did our Lord Jesus Christ ever commit the least sin?
A. No; he was holy, harmless, and undefiled.

Q. 47. How could the Son of God suffer?
A. Christ, the Son of God, became man that he might obey and suffer in our nature.

Q. 48. What is meant by the Atonement?
A. Christ's satisfying divine justice, by his sufferings and death, in the place of sinners.

Q. 49. What did God the Father undertake in the covenant of grace?
A. To justify and sanctify those for whom Christ should die.

Q. 50. What justification?
A. It is God's forgiving sinners, and treating them as if they had never sinned.

Q. 51. What is sanctification?
A. It is God's making sinners holy in heart and conduct.

Q. 52. For whom did Christ obey and suffer?
A. For those whom the Father had given him.

Q. 53. What kind of life did Christ live on earth?
A. A life of poverty and suffering.

Q. 54. What kind of death did Christ die?
A. The painful and shameful death of the cross.

Q. 55. Who will be saved?
A. Only those who repent of sin, believe in Christ, and lead holy lives.

Q. 56. What is it to repent?
A. To be sorry for sin, and to hate and forsake it because it is displeasing to God.

Q. 57. What is it to believe or have faith in Christ?
A. To trust in Christ alone for salvation.

Q. 58. Can you repent and believe in Christ by your own power?
A. No; I can do nothing good without the help of God's Holy Spirit.

Q. 59. How can you get the help of the Holy Spirit?
A. God has told us that we must pray to him for the Holy Spirit.

Q. 60. How long ago is it since Christ died?
A. More than two thousand years.

Q. 61. How were pious persons saved before the coming of Christ?
A. By believing in a Savior to come.

Q. 62. How did they show their faith?
A. By offering sacrifices on God's altar.

Q. 63. What did these sacrifices represent?
A. Christ, the Lamb of God, who was to die for sinners.

Q. 64. What offices has Christ?
A. Christ has three offices.

Q. 65. What are they?
A. The offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king.

Q. 66. How is Christ a prophet?
A. Because he teaches us the will of God.

Q. 67. How is Christ a priest?
A. Because he died for our sins and pleads with God for us.

Q. 68. How is Christ a king?
A. Because he rules over us and defends us.

Q. 69. Why do you need Christ as a prophet?
A. Because I am ignorant.

Q. 70. Why do you need Christ as a priest?
A. Because I am guilty.

Q. 71. Why do you need Christ as a king?
A. Because I am weak and helpless.

Q. 72. How many commandments did God give on Mount Sinai?
A. Ten commandments.

Q. 73. What are the ten commandments sometimes called?
A. The Decalogue.

Q. 74. What do the first four commandments teach?
A. Our duty to God.

Q. 75. What do the last six commandments teach?
A. Our duty to our fellow men.

Q. 76. What is the sum of the ten commandments?
A. To love God with all my heart, and my neighbor as myself.

Q. 77. Who is your neighbor?A. All my fellow men are my neighbors.

Q. 78. Is God pleased with those who love and obey him?
A. Yes; he says, "I love them that love me."

Q. 79. Is God displeased with those who do not love and obey him?
A. Yes; "God is angry with the wicked every day."

Q. 80. What is the first commandment?
A. The first commandment is, Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Q. 81. What does the first commandment teach us?
A. To worship God alone.

Q. 82. What is the second commandment?
A. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any things that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Q. 83. What does the second commandment teach us?
A. To worship God in a proper manner, and to avoid idolatry.

Q. 84. What is the third commandment?
A. The third commandment is, Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain: for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Q. 85. What does the third commandment teach me?
A. To reverence God's name, word, and works.

Q. 86. What is the fourth commandment?
A. The fourth commandment is, Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath Day, and hallowed it.

Q. 87. What does the fourth commandment teach us?
A. To keep the Sabbath holy.

Q. 88. What day of the week is the Christian Sabbath?
A. The first day of the week, called the Lord's day.

Q. 89. Why is it called the Lord's day?
A. Because on that day Christ rose from the dead.

Q. 90. How should the Sabbath be spent?
A. In prayer and praise, in hearing and reading God's Word, and in doing good to our fellow men.

Q. 91. What is the fifth commandment?
A. The fifth commandment is, Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

Q. 92. What does the fifth commandment teach me?
A. To love and obey our parents and teachers.

Q. 93. What is the sixth commandment?
A. The sixth commandment is, Thou shalt not kill.

Q. 94. What does the sixth commandment teach us?
A. To avoid angry passions.

Q. 95. What is the seventh commandment?
A. The seventh commandment is, Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Q. 96. What does the seventh commandment teach us?
A. To be pure in heart, language, and conduct.

Q. 97. What is the eighth commandment?
A. The eighth commandment is, Thou shalt not steal.

Q. 98. What does the eighth commandment teach us?
A. To be honest and industrious.

Q. 99. What is the ninth commandment?
A. The ninth commandment is, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Q. 100. What does the ninth commandment teach us?
A. To tell the truth.

Q. 101. What is the tenth commandment?
A. The tenth commandment is, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's.

Q. 102. What does the tenth commandment teach us?
A. To be content with our lot.

Q. 103. Can any man keep these ten commandments perfectly?
A. No mere man, since the fall of Adam, ever did or can keep the ten commandments perfectly.

Q. 104. Of what use are the ten commandments to us?
A. They teach us our duty, and show our need of a Savior.

Q. 105. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is asking God for things which he has promised to give.

Q. 106. In whose name should we pray?
A. Only in the name of Christ.

Q. 107. What has Christ given us to teach us how to pray?
A. The Lord's Prayer.

Q. 108. Repeat the Lord's Prayer.
A. Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Q. 109. How many petitions are there in The Lord's Prayer?
A. Six.

Q. 110. What is the first petition?
A. "Hallowed be thy name."

Q. 111. What do we pray for in the first petition?
A. That God's name may be honored by us and all men.

Q. 112. What is the second petition?
A. "Thy kingdom come."

Q. 113. What do we pray for in the second petition?
A. That the gospel may be preached in all the world, and believed and obeyed by us and all men.

Q. 114. What is the third petition?
A. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."

Q. 115. What do we pray for in the third petition?
A. That men on earth may serve God as the angels do in heaven.

Q. 116. What is the fourth petition?
A. "Give us this day our daily bread."

Q. 117. What do we pray for in the fourth petition?
A. That God would give us all things needful for our bodies and souls.

Q. 118. What is the fifth petition?
A. "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

Q. 119. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. That God would pardon our sins for Christ's sake, and enable us to forgive those who have injured us.

Q. 120. What is the sixth petition?
A. "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

Q. 121. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A. That God would keep us from sin.

Q. 122. How many sacraments are there?
A. Two.

Q. 123. What are they?
A. Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

Q. 124. Who appointed these sacraments?
A. The Lord Jesus Christ.

Q. 125. Why did Christ appoint these sacraments?
A. To distinguish his disciples from the world, and to comfort and strengthen them.

Q. 126. What sign is used in baptism?
A. The washing with water.

Q. 127. What does this signify?
A. That we are cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ.

Q. 128. In whose name are we baptized?
A. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

Q. 129. Who are to be baptized?
A. Believers and their children.

Q. 130. Why should infants be baptized?
A. Because they have a sinful nature and need a Savior.

Q. 131. Does Christ care for little children?
A. Yes; for he says, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."

Q. 132. To what does your baptism bind you?
A. To be a true follower of Christ.

Q. 133. What is the Lord's Supper?
A. The eating of bread and drinking of wine in remembrance of the sufferings and death of Christ.

Q. 134. What does the bread represent?
A. The body of Christ, broken for our sins.

Q. 135. What does the wine represent?
A. The blood of Christ, shed for our salvation.

Q. 136. Who should partake of the Lord's Supper?
A. Only those who repent of their sins, believe in Christ for salvation, and love their fellow men.

Q. 137. Did Christ remain in the tomb after his crucifixion?
A. No; he rose from the tomb on the third day after his death.

Q. 138. Where is Christ now?
A. In heaven, interceding for sinners.

Q. 139. Will he come again?
A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.

Q. 140. What becomes of men at death?
A. The body returns to dust, and the soul goes into the world of spirits.

Q. 141. Will the bodies of the dead be raised to life again?
A. Yes; "The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised."

Q. 142. What will become of the wicked in the day of judgment?
A. They shall he cast into hell.

Q. 143. What is hell?
A. A place of dreadful and endless torment.

Q. 144. What will become of the righteous?
A. They shall be taken to heaven.

Q. 145. What is heaven?
A. A glorious and happy place, where the righteous shall be forever with the Lord.

Just a Mom?

My mom forwarded this to me today. Very cute!!

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the Coun ty Clerk 's office,

Was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.

She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.

"What I mean is, " explained the recorder,

"do you have a job or are you just a ....?"

"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.

"I'm a Mom."

"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation,

'housewife' covers it,"

Said the recorder emphatically.

I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself

In the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.

The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,

Efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,

"Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."

"What is your occupation?" she probed.

What made me say it? I do not know.

The words simply popped out.

"I'm a Research Associate in the field of

Child Development and Human Relations."

The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in midair and

Looked up as though she had not heard right.

I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.

Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,

In bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.

"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,

"just what you do in your field?"

Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,

I heard myself reply,

"I have a continuing program of research,

(what mother doesn't)

In the laboratory and in the field,

(normally I would have said indoors and out).

I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)

And already have four credits (all daughters).

Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the humanities,

(any mother care to disagree?)

And I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).

But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers

And the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."

There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she

Completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.

As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,

I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.

Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,

(a 6 month old baby) in the child development p rogram,

Testing out a new vocal pattern.

I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!

And I had gone on the official records as someone more

Distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom."

Motherhood!

What a glorious career!

Especially when there's a title on the door.

------

Does this make grandmothers

"Senior Research associates in the field of Child Development and Human Relations"

And great grandmothers

"Executive Senior Research Associates?"

I think so!!!

I also think it makes Aunts"Associate Research Assistants."

-----

Please send this to another Mom,

Grandmother,

Aunt,

And other friends you know.

May your troubles be less,

Your blessing be more,

And nothing but happiness come through your door!

I love my fam!

I really do! There are tons and tons and memories we have, of growing up and hanging out with our parents and cousins and other extended family members.

If there is any place I can laugh, be myself, dance, make funny faces, it's with these folks. I'm the youngest of four girls, so you can probably imagine the depths of my silliness.



My husband teases me because, (almost) no matter how tense and upset I am, if I get a phone call from one of my sisters who has funny story or joke, that frown is instantly turned upside down!

It's funny that my husband is also the youngest of four (of four boys) and his immediate family is not much different from mine. That makes life so much brighter than the alternative. And I don't take that for granted.

Speaking of the fun I had growing up, we can already see (well, we hope) our children, nieces and nephews will have memories much like ours. The madness began with my nephew who's now twenty years old and a sophomore in college and that madness has continued, down to our youngest son.

I love it and wouldn't trade it for the world!

When I Accepted Me by Sonja Samuel

Today, I'm very excited to have my friend, Sonja Samuel, joining me in an interview about her new book, When I Accepted Me. You may have seen the previous post I shared about her last week. She's truly a wonderful person to know and I've been encouraged by her inspiring, power-packed words, many many times.

After the interview today, I will be giving away a copy of her wonderful book. In order to be included in the drawing for the book, enter a comment on this post. If you'd like to have an additional entry in the drawing, you may do one of the following: a) mention this post on your Facebook page, b) mention this post on your blog, c) send an email to 10 friends, mentioning this post, or d) add a comment on another post, here on the Joy n Pain blog. When you've done one of the above, add a comment here so I can get your entry. Your name can be entered up to 5 times (one for each method). Be sure to give me your email address so I know how to contact you.

Comments must be entered by midnight CST on January 6th.

Thanks for reading the interview about Sonja's exciting new book, and I pray many people are blessed by this life-giving message.

Sonja, thank you for joining me today for this interview. Let's get started.

1. Why self-esteem and what is it exactly?

Self esteem is the extent to which we like, respect and accept ourselves. It reflects our overall evaluation or appraisal of our self worth. It encompasses our beliefs, emotions and behavior. However, many people operate from the perspective of what others think of them and it fuels a cycle of dissatisfaction and discontentment. Instead of finding peace within themselves and being the unique and distinct person God created them to be, they live a life based on who they think others want them to be. As a result then of achieving high self esteem they find their self esteem constantly under attack.

It has been said that 2 out of 3 people at any given time suffers from low self esteem, and low self esteem can negatively affect every part of our lives. If the negativity goes unaddressed, it can completely ruin our lives. If at the core of it all is low self esteem, we must address this issue if we want to live joyous, productive, and purposeful lives as God intended. From my experience it all starts with changing the way we think. The way we think is essential to winning over negativity and boosting self esteem.

2. Why is self-esteem important to you?

Self esteem is important to me because after dealing with a difficult separation and divorce, I found myself struggling to rebuild my self esteem. That whole experience had taken me down a road of despair and depression like I had never experienced before. High self esteem had never been a problem for me so when life became difficult and it challenged me to question myself, I was completely thrown for a loop. It caused me to question my self- worth and value, and in the end I really struggled with accepting myself. I started thinking something must be wrong with me.

Now, based on the Word of God I knew this wasn’t true but I still struggled. Once I was able to regain my confidence and repair the damage to my self esteem, I begin to see that I had gotten lost in my emotions when it really was about what was going on in my head. High self esteem starts with what we think! Of course, sometimes we suffer from ‘thinking stinking’ and that can present a different set of issues; overall, I learned that to develop high self esteem we must examine what we think because that is what shapes our perspective and allows us to accept ourselves along with the challenges of life from a more positive perspective than negative one. That’s why I focused my book on positive affirmations for accepting me.

3. What can a person do to build high self-esteem?

I would recommend starting with what I call my ACCEPT Principles:

A – Learn to accept your strengths and weaknesses. As humans we are a work in progress. Everyone has an up side to who they are and a down side. It is our down side that continues to remind us of our humanity and keeps us seeking to be better and do better. Often our weaknesses are just unguarded strengths that we must continue to manage them if it is something we can’t change but our weaknesses DO NOT make us a bad person.

C – Concentrate on the positives. It is real easy to focus on the negative and our world is full of them. However, to focus on the positives it starts with making a choice to do so. From there you make a commitment to release any and all negativity; negative thoughts, negative emotions and negative relations. The Bible says ‘think on these things ...whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, and whatever is of good report.’

C - Connect to your passion and you’ll connect to your purpose. Find the things in life that you are really passionate about and involve yourself in them. That will do more to help you have the confidence that you need to succeed and win over any adversity life presents. Also you will notice how much happier your life will be because of it.

P – Persevere. It has been said when the going gets tough the tough gets going. In this life we will have trouble, as the Bible tells us so we must hold fast to the faithfulness of God and His promises to never leave us alone. When tough times now come my way, I often affirm and encourage myself with the scripture that says ‘this too shall pass.’

T – Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your understanding. We may not see the hand of God at work but we must trust that He is at work on our behalf. That is called the providence of God.

4. If the ACCEPT Principles helps us build high self-esteem, what helps us maintain it?

Here are seven simple steps that we all can do every day. Building or rebuilding self esteem is the most difficult. Maintaining high self esteem is a lot easier if we implement these steps.

1. Smile often to yourself and to others. Greet others when you see them and ask how they are and how their day is going. This helps build positive relationships with others.

2. Eliminate the negative. When a negative thought enters your mind, stop and immediately counter it with a positive thought about the same subject.

3. Be nice to others and be nice to yourself. Conversely, don't degrade others and don't degrade yourself.

4. Face your fears and forget your failures (after learning from them). Focus on your achievements and successes. Reward yourself when you succeed.

5. Quit thinking about trying to be perfect. No one is, so just accept that as it is. Don't be too competitive and don't compare yourself with others.

6. Don't worry about what others think of you. Just be the best you that you can be.

7. Hang out with positive and optimistic people who also have high self esteem and self confidence. But when you are around negative people, try to direct your positive and optimistic thoughts in their direction. Don't let them pull down your level of self confidence or self esteem.

5. Can you be a good person, a successful person, and still struggle with maintaining good self esteem?

Absolutely! Life happens to us all. Having high self esteem or good self esteem doesn’t exempt us from the trails and challenges of life. It does, however, puts us in a better situation to deal with them when they come.

Maintaining our esteem is easy but it is work. Sometimes our struggle comes because we are not putting in the work of being true to ourselves and what brings us satisfaction, joy and contentment. Remember, self esteem is not about our successes or failures but how we feel, see and accept ourselves. Living in a such a competitive and negative world that is constantly trying to get us to be something other than want we are can present be exhausting.

6. Does the focus on building and maintaining high esteem cause people to develop a false sense of security based on feelings that may not match reality?

I don’t think so. Self-esteem is a very powerful thing to have. When you have healthy self-esteem you are a more confident person, you are better at dealing with life disappointments, you build friendship with others more easily, you perform better in school and overall experience a more fulfilling life. It is an individual’s perspective on how they see themselves. No one can take that away or define that for the individual.

I guess any one of us could have a warped sense of ourselves but that would be an indication of low self esteem.

7. Tell us about the creative process of writing this book?

Initially, I started writing a book on leadership but as I started the process, I kept coming back to this issue of self esteem. How can we lead others if we are struggling to lead ourselves? The more I reflected on that I started to reflect on my own personal experiences not only in the area of leadership but self esteem in general. That lead me to start writing down what had helped me get to the path I’m on today. What things did I have to do to overcome my fears, deal with the challenges life had presented to me and manage my emotions. These are all essential elements of being a good leader as well as having good self esteem.

In the end, I ended up writing over hundred affirmations that has been broken down into two volumes under the title of “When I Accepted Me.” We’ve just release volume 1 and volume 2 will be released in 2010. I divided them up into two volumes because I wanted to give people an opportunity to really reflect and internalize each affirmation to boost their self esteem. I’ve suggested to people to just take one a week (that’s why there are 52 of them) and internalize that one. Pray on it, see how it reflects in your life; maybe use it as a guide to write your own for that week.

I’ve encouraged some people to take on the 52 day challenge of reading one every day for 52 days straight and see if their perspective isn’t changed for the good at the end of it. Again, it is all about what is going on in our heads and when we receive positive information inwardly, we respond with positive behavior outwardly that leads to success in life …however, you may define success.

8. How can people get the book and what is some of the feedback you’ve received so far?

My book can be ordered from my website at www.sonjasamuel.com. It would be a great way to start the year and to recharge for the coming year. We are extending it at our special introduction offer of $14.95 because we want to get the book out into as many hands as possible. For me it is a tool for empowering others which is my personal mission in life.

It makes a great gift book for your friends, family and coworkers. I just gave them out as stocking stuffers and will be sending many out for Valentine’s Day as a way of saying I love and affirm you.

I have really enjoyed the feedback from people on how it has been such a pick me up for them when their emotions started to get the best of them and send them into a downward spiral.

One lady said she carries it around in her purse and when her day starts going south and she is ready to stick it to someone, she whips out her book, reads a few affirmation and it gets her back on track.

A lady told me about her husband that lost his mother this year and has been struggling emotionally. She said about once or twice a week she sees him reading through each page. She said she knows he’s gone through the whole book at least four or five times and she can see the difference it has made in his emotional health in dealing with the lost of his mother.

Parmesan Fish Sticks

Ingredients for Fish Sticks

• 1 (18-ounce) center-cut salmon fillet, about 9 by 4 inches, skinned
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 egg whites
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• Olive oil, for drizzling

Ingredients for Dipping Sauce

• 1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
• 1/3 cup lowfat plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or chives

Directions For the Fish Sticks:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Rinse the salmon fillet and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the fish in half to make 2 fillets each about 4 by 4 1/2-inches in size. Starting on the longest edge, slice the fillets into 1/2-inch pieces. Lay the widest pieces, from the center, cut side down, and slice in half lengthways so all the pieces are equally about 1/2 by 1/2 by 4 1/2-inches in size.

Place the flour in a medium bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Place the egg whites in another bowl and beat until frothy, about 30 seconds. Combine the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a third bowl.

Coat the salmon pieces in the seasoned flour and pat to remove any excess flour. Dip the floured salmon in the egg whites and then into the Parmesan mixture, gently pressing the mixture into the fish. Place the breaded salmon pieces on a liberally oiled baking sheet. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.

Directions For the Dipping Sauce:

Mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, and parsley (or chives, if using) in a small dipping bowl.

Arrange the fish sticks on a serving platter and serve with the dipping sauce.

Cook's Note: The fish sticks can also be dipped in ketchup, marinara sauce, pesto, ranch dressing or vinaigrette.