Amidst the long list of duties we are faced with each day, spending time with our children can often be difficult. Yet, it is one of the greatest things we can do to safe-guard our home and our families. Here is a list of 10 creative ways we can make time for our children.

Do chores together

Chores need to be done every day, so why not do them with your children? Folding the laundry, cleaning the bathroom, or weeding the garden, allows time for conversation and tender teaching moments.

Cook meals together

Meals come three times a day, and preparation goes into those meals. Assign each child a day of the week to help with the cooking. This allows you one-on-one time with each child, and also lets you teach them important life skills that will benefit them when they are on their own.

Exercise together

Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. By exercising with your children, you are teaching them just how important it is. It doesn't have to be a strenuous routine. My kids' favorite exercise is cranking up the radio to and dancing together. It burns calories and we have fun while doing it.

Go grocery shopping together

You can do it as a family, like we do. Half of the kids go with my husband with half of the shopping list, and the other half go with me. We then have a race to see who can find the items on their list first. We usually follow it up with a stop at the ice cream shop. If this sounds a little too hectic, then take turns taking one child out at a time and make that child feel special while you are out together.

Eat meals together

It is a good time for great conversation.

Spend a few minutes tucking each child in at night

When they get older, it's not "tucking them in" but it is still the same idea. Go to them in their room and spend a few minutes talking with them. Doing so will let your children know that you care about them.

Read a book together

In addition to the scriptures, my family reads other books, like The Chronicles of Narnia or Peter Pan. It's fun for all of us to cuddle up together and listen to a fantastic story. It also allows younger reader to practice.

Play a game together

This is my children's favorite thing to do. Whenever we have free time, they ask if we can play a game. To them, it's not just a matter of playing and winning; it's a time when we can sit together and laugh with one another.

Do a craft together

Not only is this fun for your children, but it is also fun for parents to see the creative side of their kids. We have a craft bin that has all kinds of fun things in it such as construction paper, stickers, and glue. When the lid comes off, the ideas start flowing.

Do homework together

Rather than send your kids off to their room to do homework, sit down and talk through it with them. This is a great opportunity for parent-child bonding. We are a homeschooling family, so doing homework together is a given, but I would recommend it to everyone. I treasure this time with my children.

Put these suggestions into practice, and you will see that making time for your kids is one of the greatest things you can do for yourself and your children.

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But it is on those days that remembering is the most important. It's much easier for me to love them, temper tantrums and all, when I remember who they are and whose they are.

I have been a mother for many years. And over those years, I have learned a thing or two about raising God's children. Although I am not perfect, by any means, I have discovered how to be successful as a parent to God's children. Here are the lessons I've learned.

1. Remember who they are.

Our children are children of God. They were His sons and daughters before they were ours. He knows them better than we do and He has a wonderful plan that will help them find their way home. Our part in that plan is to love them, to teach them of God, to pray with them and to help them become men and women of sound character.

2. Remember who we are.

Although we are the earthly parents of our children, we are also children of God. He loves us and He will teach us how to care for His children. If we seek His guidance and listen to the still small voice, He will teach us exactly what we need to do to raise His child successfully. God sent us our specific children for a reason. He will lead, guide and walk beside us as we lead, guide and walk beside them.

3. Remember who God is.

God is our Father. He wants what any good father would want, for us to be happy, for us to know love and for us to all return home safely. We can ask Him for help and He will help us. We do not have to fight the battle with our children, because God will fight them for us as we go to Him in earnest and faithful prayer. God is waiting for us to include Him in our parenting, and when we do, we will realize that He can do so much more with our children than we can.

4. Remember that life brings experience and experience is good.

The more we understand that every experience God gives us or our children is for our good, the quicker we learn from those experiences and the less we have to wander in unfamiliar territory. Every trial or challenge that is brought before you or your child, face it with a positive attitude. Ask God what the lesson is that you both need to learn from it. Choose to see the good in every situation and in every person, and you will have a happy and cheerful countenance and an abundant life.

5. Remember that Jesus already fought the battle and won.

Remind your children that Jesus' atonement is real. Forgiveness is real. There is nothing that Jesus' sacrifice doesn't cover. No matter what they do, there is always a way back through Jesus Christ. He is called Savior because He saves us. He saves us from sorrow, He saves us from sin, and He sometimes saves us from ourselves. Teach your children hope. Hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ, hope in His power to save and hope that they can be forgiven because of Jesus.

6. Remember that men are that they might have joy.

Learn to love God's children, for they are also your children. Learn to laugh at your mistakes, and don't be afraid to admit when you're wrong. Teach your children to laugh at their own mistakes and not to take life too seriously. The greatest love we can feel here on Earth is the love that exists in families. Seek to fill your home with that love and God will always be with you. For where love is, there God is also.

There will be times when we make mistakes as parents, and there will be times when we forget who we are and whose we are. But let us strive to see our children as they really are and as they may become. We are all children of God and He loves us so very much.

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Most senior proms are dances filled with high school students nearing the end of their high school career and preparing for better days ahead. But that is not the kind of senior prom that high school students from Terra Environment Research Institute had in mind when they planned their dance party.

The prom was not held at a high school and the seniors were not students.

The prom was held at The Palace Nursing and Rehab Center and included the 75 residents that call the center home. The seniors were not high school students but instead ranged in age from 80 to 101 years old.

Rather than just beginning their life experience, the seniors in this prom brought to the party a wealth of knowledge and experience they had gained though a lifetime of joy and pain.

It was a celebration of both young and old coming together to lift and support each other.

When planning their prom, the students wanted to do something that honored the elderly and so came about this very special "senior" prom.

The evening was filled with good food, beautiful flowers, lots of friends, upbeat music and dancing, and special portraits to help the seniors remember their special evening.

Of course, a senior prom would not be complete without a king and queen. While there were two queens who won the popular vote, just one caught the eye of the king who spent most of the evening holding her hand.

According to Debbie Horvitz, the nursing home's activities director, it was an incredible experience for the residents and everyone had a great time.

The oldest senior who attended the event was 101 years old and still had a picture from her original senior prom in her possession. Thanks to these high school students, she has a new prom picture to proudly display by its side.

Today's youth are not who we think they are. They are kind; they are giving; and they are filled with goodness. As we recognize and celebrate those youth who are making a positive difference in the world, we show the world just how remarkable our rising generation can be. We give them examples of how they can lift and bless those around them through small and simple means.

These high school students could have spent their time focusing on what they wanted from their senior prom and what they could get out of it. But, instead, they stepped outside of themselves and made it about what they could do for others.

By looking at life through a different perspective, these youth were able to create a senior prom for senior citizens. And, in doing so, they showed their new senior friends love and respect.

The principal of the high school said the idea was one that came directly from the hearts of her students and was a wonderful way to show respect for the elderly. It was the students who came up with the idea. For both the high school and nursing home seniors, a gift from the heart is what made the night memorable.

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Everyone who has ever lived on earth has experienced suffering. Suffering is a fact of life no one can escape. Even Jesus, the most perfect person to ever live, suffered greatly while He sojourned here.

So, if God's love for His children is infinite and eternal, why does He let them suffer?

The reason may surprise you and the answer can be found within the definition of the word suffer itself. The definition of suffer, according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is "to submit to."

The definition of submit is "to stop trying to fight or resist something: to agree to do or accept something that you have been resisting or opposing."

By the very definition, when God makes us suffer, He is simply asking us to submit to Him, to come to Him and to stop fighting Him. He is helping us remember we don't have to walk this life alone because He is our Father.

There is goodness in suffering because it gives us blessings we can receive no other way. Those blessings can be found in the very synonyms that are listed under the word suffer in the dictionary. These synonyms teach us exactly what suffering can do for us.

Suffering allows us to feel

Often we harden our hearts to the spiritual side of life because we get so caught up in the chaos of everyday living. When this happens, we lose essential communication with God and find ourselves trying to trudge through life on our own.

When suffering comes, we are driven to our knees because we have nowhere else to go. This allows us to once again feel the quiet inspiration of God and align ourselves with our Father.

Suffering allows us to have

Sometimes when we are allowed to suffer, it is because we need a better relationship with our Father.

As we are driven to our knees, we learn to recognize God's hand in our lives and no longer take His blessings and miracles for granted. We see them as acts of God rather than chalking them up to coincidence. We begin to have a rich and loving relationship with our Father and we learn to trust Him.

Suffering allows us to know

Sometimes we are allowed to suffer so we not only know God but also know His plan for us.

We can get so focused on our own desires that we create plans for our lives that are not at all aligned with God's plans for us. When this happens, suffering comes so we can know what God wants for us and learn to stop fighting against it.

Suffering allows us to see

Suffering allows us to see life differently. It allows us to see people differently. And, most importantly, it allows us to see ourselves and our relationship with God differently.

Suffering reveals to us our weaknesses and shows us the need for a Savior in our lives. It reminds us all things are possible only when we combine our strength with God's strength. It helps us to better learn how to see through the eyes of love.

Suffering allows us to experience

There are some things in life we can never learn until we experience them for ourselves.

How can we value the food we eat if we have never known hunger?

How can we understand how to console a friend in mourning if we've never lost a loved one ourselves?

How can we know joy if we've never felt pain?

Just as the Bible states, we were sent here to gain experience; and suffering is an important part of this earthly experience.

Suffering allows us to taste

Jesus suffered everything we all will ever experience. He suffered pains so unspeakably agonizing that we will never truly understand his suffering.

When we suffer, it is only a portion of what Jesus suffered. We are given a small taste of what Jesus suffered out of love for us. As we suffer and submit to God's will, we are, in turn, showing our love for Him.

Suffering allows us to witness

Most miracles come in the middle of a great trial.

And, when those miracles come, those who experience them can then testify of the things they have witnessed. Most people don't pray for miracles when their days are sunny or when their lives are perfect. Miracles aren't needed in a perfect world.

Suffering allows us to exercise our faith, believe in God's miracles and testify or bear witness of God's hand in all things.

Suffering allows us to endure

We can't know what we can endure until we are faced with what feels like an impossible task. Then, as we endure, we learn what we are capable of. We develop our character, strengthen our faith and learn how to see the good in every situation.

Suffering teaches us to keep moving forward.

Suffering allows us to sustain

When we suffer, we learn, with God's help, to sustain not only ourselves but also those around us. We learn to have compassion, to be sad with those who are sad and to comfort those who need comfort.

We recognize the needs of others because we have experienced the needs ourselves.

Suffering allows us to pass

It has been said that this life is a test. Suffering allows us to pass that test.

In suffering, we learn to submit to our Father who truly does know and want what's best for us. Jesus was our greatest example. He was bruised and broken; yet, He suffered it. In all things, He submitted to the will of the Father. Are we greater than He that we should not have to experience the same? For, Jesus is the greatest of all and suffering brings us closer to Him.

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What if music is the tongue of angels? What if, when we sing, we communicate with heaven?

In the Bible, psalms were often used as prayers put to music, and David's Psalms were the highest form of prayer. Chanting prayer was an acceptable way to pray in the early church, and many churches still practice musical prayers.

If we send prayers up to heaven through music, is it possible that heavenly messengers reply back to us the same way? After all, it was through song the angels declared to the shepherds that Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

Here are four reasons I believe music is the language of heaven.

1. Music is an international language

No matter where you live or where you travel, if you hear the tune to "Amazing Grace," you recognize it. Even if you don't understand the words, you feel the music and that music speaks to you.

When you feel it in your heart, it moves you to be better than you are, to love your brother and sister and to serve your God. The music alone is a message from God to His children and when words are added, the message becomes even more profound.

2. Music speaks to everyone

No matter who you are or what you do, music speaks to you. Even Beethoven, who was deaf, felt music.

Music can lift you to a higher level of thinking. It can clear your mind and speak peace to your soul. It can comfort you, bless you and allow you to feel God's love.

If you listen to divinely inspired music with your heart, you will hear God speaking to you by the words and feelings of your heart as the music flows through it.

3. Music was sung by angels throughout the Bible

As you sing praises to God, you join the angels in their song.

If you sing with your heart, as if the song is a prayer, gratitude will rush through your entire being and you will feel elevated and filled with light.

God is light and His music is light; and, as you sing it, you will be filled with that heavenly light.

4. Music is powerful

Imagine what a movie would be like without music. Music is what sets the mood and it is what triggers your emotions. Music is what speaks to your very soul. It is music that taps into your senses and gives depth to every experience tied to it.

The power of music can be used for good or ill, depending on the music you listen to. There are even studies that prove that music is healing to both your mind and body.

I challenge you to experiment on the power of music. Play and sing divinely inspired music every day for one week; see if it makes a difference in your life. I guarantee you will be happier, your children will fight less, your marriage relationship will grow and you will be able to overcome trials you thought were insurmountable. This will be because you will be communing with angels as you sing. I know this is true because I have experienced it in my own life.

And maybe, just maybe, you will hear the voice of angels as they sing back to you. For as the popular Christmas tune "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" says,

"For lo! The days are hast'ning on, by prophets seen of old,

When with the ever-circling years shall come the time foretold.

When the new heav'n and earth shall own the Prince of Peace their King,

And the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing."

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Christopher Ward Jr. has lived his entire life unable to see the face of his mother. Born with an underdeveloped optic nerve, he can only recognize colors and shapes and watches television by touching the screen with his nose.

So when Christopher was able to try a pair of electronic eSight glasses, it was an emotional moment for both Christopher and his mother Marquita.

Marquita first learned about the glasses through a news show demonstrating the new technology. Although she was skeptical that it would work for her son, when she heard of the technology again a short time later, she decided to ask Christopher's vision teacher about it.

The glasses work by recording live video through a tiny high-speed camera in the glasses and then flashing that video onto a small LCD screen directly in front of the wearer's eyes.

Marquita was hopeful the technology would allow her son, who is legally blind, to finally see.

Though the glasses can't help everyone, Marquita set up an appointment in Washington, D.C. for Christopher to experience wearing them in a one-hour demonstration.

With the help of the glasses, Christopher was immediately able to see once he put them on.

"The very first thing he did was turn to me and say, 'Oh, Mommy! There you are!'" Marquita said. "And then to hear him say, 'I saw my mom, and she was very pretty,' was so heartwarming. And aside from pretty, just the fact he could even see me meant the whole world to me."

Marquita had waited 12 long years to see eye-to-eye with her child.

The technology does not come cheep; it required $5,000 for Christopher to obtain his own pair, a price Marquita could not afford. But thanks to generous donations of both friends and strangers, within minutes of the world hearing their story, they were able to raise more-than-enough money for Christopher to get his very own pair of the high-tech glasses.

We live in a world where what might be considered weaknesses can be made into strengths and where our reality can be anything we want it to be if we dream big and work hard.

Christopher spent the first 12 years of his life unable to see all the beauty around him. But with one simple pair of glasses, he can now see the face of his mother and so much more.

His story teaches us that we can achieve impossible things. We are not defined by what appear to be limitations. And, as we learn to break free from those things, we can find true freedom. We can see with new eyes and feel with a new heart.

To Marquita, the entire experience was heartwarming as she watched her son open his eyes to see. It is a call to all of us that if we open our eyes to see those tender moments around us, they will warm our hearts and touch our very souls.

When we witness the impossible become possible, life becomes richer; we realize there is no such thing as impossible. "The word itself says, 'I'm possible.'"

Blind 12-Year-Old Sees Mom For The First Time Through Electronic Glasses / via Sunny Skyz

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God is your Father and He loves you so much. He is always there, always watching and always aware of your needs. He constantly reaches out to you to show you His love. But because you live in a fast-paced and crazy world, sometimes you can miss those special moments when God is trying to connect with you.

Here are five ways you can reach out to Him and invite His love into your life.

1. Spend your days in service

One of the easiest ways to feel God's love for you is by serving His children. God loves His children; and, as you serve them, it is as if you are serving God, Himself, and He will reach down and bless you.

You will feel Him in your heart and hear Him in your mind. He will lead you to those who are in greatest need.

As you dedicate your time to those whom God directs you to, you will feel an undeniable love that will wash over you as you see the gratitude in their eyes for your service. It is a feeling like no other. The love you will feel is profound. Not only will you feel God's love for those you serve, but also you will overwhelmingly feel God's love for you.

2. Spend your days in nature

God is in every fabric of nature. His heart is in the water as it flows; His voice is in the gentle breeze as it blows; and His love is in the beauty that surrounds you.

As you spend time in nature, you can become one with your Father in heaven. It is a place where you can be still and simply think about the goodness in the world God has given you.

3. Spend your days listening to divinely inspired music

One of my favorite quotes about music says, "Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from Heaven to the soul."

Music truly is a gift from God. As you allow the beautiful melodies to flow through you, you will change. Your heart will open and you'll feel like you've never felt before. Music will inspire you to be better than you are. You will feel God's love flow directly from heaven to your heart if you sit still and listen.

Choose to listen with your heart; you will hear God speaking directly to you through the music.

4. Spend your days in prayer

If you want to feel God's love, ask Him for it.

As you pray, envision yourself standing before Him. Look at His face as you speak the words of the prayer. Feel how deeply He loves you and imagine what He would do if He were with you in person. Envision yourself reaching out to hug Him as He is reaching back to you.

Some of the most powerful prayers I have prayed have been like this. Every time I come away with an undeniable knowledge that God loves me.

5. Spend your days devoted to God

When you wake up in the morning, devote your day to God and to accomplishing what He wants you to do. Ask what He desires of you; you will be surprised at the very clear and direct communication that comes into your mind.

If you listen to those things most people consider as their conscious, you will recognize it is not your conscience at all but God directing your path. You will come to recognize His voice and look forward to communing with Him.

The more you listen and obey His inspiration, the more you will feel His love and gratitude for who you are and how you live your life.

God loves you with a pure and unyielding love. The more you align your life with Him, the more you will recognize that love. God's love is always present in your life; you simply have to open your heart and feel.

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Sometimes marriage is a battleground. But because battles in marriage are always with someone you love, you have to fight differently. You want the outcome to be one where both sides are satisfied. Battles like this are rare in the real world, but if you want your marriage to work, you have to change how you view the battle.

In 2 Chronicles 20:15 it says, "Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed ... for the battle is not yours, but God's."

If you devote your life to God and dedicate your marriage to Him, the battle becomes God's battle and you become His soldier. All you have to do is listen to God for directions and He will direct your path. He will help you fight the battle and even fight for you. Once you turn the battle over to God, your marriage can heal.

Here are six ways you can let God heal your marriage.

1. Pray

The best way to fight any battle is on your knees. That way, you have God as your general. Pray to Him and ask for specific blessings you need. Pour your heart out to Him and let Him know you are dedicated to making your marriage work.

Pray for your spouse and ask God to help heal his/her heart. Remember, it's God's battle; He knows exactly what the marriage needs to succeed, so ask Him for it.

2. Be still

When fighting God's battle with Him, sometimes you can do the most good by being still. Let go of the anger, hate, jealousy and pain, and simply be still. Allow His love to wash over you and bring peace to your troubled heart.

When you are still, God can speak to you. And, like the perfect general, He will tell you where to be and what you need to do in order for both you and your spouse to win the battle.

3. Trust God

If you want God to be your general, it is vital to trust Him. Be patient as He heals your marriage and be open to those things He directs you to do.

God will do all He can to help your marriage succeed if you turn your marriage over to Him and trust Him.

4. Face the battle

Sometimes you may feel running away from difficult things is better than facing them, but this is not the case. When you face hard things with the Lord by your side, you are given the strength and power to overcome them.

When you recognize the battle as His, you rely on His strength to fight it. All He asks of you is to face the battle with Him and He will make miracles happen.

5. Let God do the talking

Rather than say those hurtful things that often go through your mind in a marriage battle, only say the things you are led to say through the inspiration of God.

If you have the courage to open your mouth, God will fill it with the words you need to say that will help defuse the situation. His words are words of love and kindness. Look for the good in your spouse so you can give him/her words of encouragement and love.

6. Give thanks

Show gratitude to God for walking with you in your battle, and He will continue to guide you.

Show gratitude to your spouse for who he/she is and the strengths he/she brings into your marriage. Not only will this open your companion's heart, but also it will soften yours. Showing genuine gratitude is one of the greatest ways to defuse battles.

When you learn to see the battle as God's battle and not your own, you will have the ability to rely on Him to strengthen and bless you as you strive to strengthen your marriage. God knows what your marriage needs. He wants to bless you with those needs. When you fight the battle with Him, He will heal your marriage and make it whole.

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When Jesus walked on the troubled water towards His disciples in the boat, Peter asked if he could come out and meet Him. The Savior said, "Come."

Without hesitating, Peter left the boat, walking on the water just as Jesus was doing. But before Peter could make it to Jesus, he lost faith and began to sink, crying out to the Lord to save him.

Often, we are like Peter. When the Lord calls, our faith is strong in the beginning. But somehow, in the process, we take our eyes off the goal and lose our footings.

Sometimes life tests us to see whether we will sink or swim. We can learn much from Peter's example that can help us not only swim but also actually walk on water.

Here are five actions you can take to make it safely to Jesus.

1. Keep your eyes on Jesus

Peter doubted only when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the storm instead.

Storms are going to blow through your daily life. As a matter of fact, life is nearly a constant cycle of storms coming and going as they please. It is when you choose to focus on those storms that you start to sink.

But, the storms aren't given to you so you can be consumed by them. They are given to you so you can learn to remain focused on Jesus.

If you can focus on Jesus and learn to drown out distractions, you will safely walk on water.

2. Be of good cheer

One of the only phrases Jesus said to his disciples in the boat was, "Be of good cheer."

When you learn to have a cheerful heart, it is easier to drown out the storms. Storms are only storms because you choose to see them that way. When you make a conscious decision to see the good in the storms, the storms no longer negatively affect you.

After all, every sail needs wind and every plant needs rain. When you cheerfully do all you can do, you can stand still with complete confidence that God will do the rest.

3. Do not doubt

Peter asked the Lord to allow him to come to Him, and Jesus responded by telling Peter to come. But, because he relied only on his own understanding of the world, Peter doubted that he could make it to Jesus. It was his doubt that caused him to sink.

You need to believe that if God asks you to do something, He will create a way for you to do it. There is no trial, no hardship, no test that God has asked any of us to get through that does not have a way to overcome.

The way is provided by God, Himself. You can trust in Him. Do not doubt His plan for you.

4. Do not fear

Peter feared the waves. He feared the wind of the storm. Perhaps he even feared his inability. And once his fear was paired with his doubt, he could no longer walk on water.

You cannot fear those things God has brought into your life. Fear does not come from God; it comes from Satan, and Satan uses it to keep you from being remarkable.

When you learn to overcome fear in your life, you learn to overcome Satan's hold on you. You are free to become who God needs you to become, even if that means walking on water. You can do all things through God; but, if you are susceptible to the tools of Satan, you cannot fully embrace God's power to save.

Have the courage to do hard things and never fear them. All things are possible with God.

5. Reach out to Jesus

There will be times when you lose the very foundation you're standing on. In those times, make sure you reach up, as Peter did, and hold on to the hand of Jesus. He is standing ready to save every single one of us.

Sometimes you may not be ready to walk on water; in those times, if you choose to hang on to Jesus, He will never let you drown.

Jesus lifted Peter from the water and rescued him. By holding on to Him, Peter walked safely back to the boat on the water that alone he could not tread. When you choose to hold on to Jesus, He can help you do those things you thought were impossible. With Him, you can do those things you could not do alone.

Jesus is your Savior, which means He will save you when you're drowning, when you're sinking, when you're falling and when you feel you're failing.

He will give you strength, lift you up, fight your battles and even carry you if necessary. His love is perfect, and so is He. Keep your eyes on the Savior and let Him rescue you.

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Born without hands, 15-year-old Alexei Romanov is changing the way the world looks at people with disabilities.

With a strong determination and a love for classical music, Alexei is living proof that hands are not required to be an accomplished pianist, something that seems almost unbelievable.

It was just two years ago when Alexei decided he wanted to play the piano and began a journey that has inspired many. Since then, Alexei's fame has spread throughout television and the internet, giving him opportunities to touch lives with his unique story and beautiful music.

After playing with Kazan's La Primavera orchestra, a music school in Moscow recruited Alexei to study in their music program.

"During the concert with the orchestra I was shaking from the tension. I can't even remember what was happening," Alexei said in an interview with Russia Beyond the Headlines. "But there was nothing I could do: I walked onto the stage, sat down and started playing. I felt my knees shaking. Then I realized that I was doing well - it's as if the melody started flowing by itself. And so I calmed down."

Alexei taught himself how to play the piano by first listening to the music pieces he wanted to play and then finding the corresponding notes and chords on the piano. He began reading sheet music formally for the first time well after he had already played with the well-known Kazan orchestra.

Alexei's journey began with a synthesizer from his adoptive parents and with the help of a teacher in his Russian boarding school. On occasion, his friends would also help, sharing with him their favorite music so he could play it on the piano.

"I was particularly helped by two of my female friends. The girls taught me the basics of music - they told me how to read notes. They still help me. They send me sheet music, which I study and if I like something, I let it settle inside me."

Alexei's story reminds us that if we let our passion "settle inside" us, we can accomplish great things. Our inabilities do not define us; our minds stop us from accomplishing impossible things. We are capable of so much. If we allow goodness to settle inside of us, we can become an inspiration to all. It is when we live from the heart that we can do the most good for others and ourselves.

One of the most remarkable things about Alexei is that he does not take the credit for his talent.

"I personally receive inspiration, well, basically out of nowhere. Sometimes it seems that there is a sort of invisible, endless spiritual source out of which I can draw strength," he said.

With an outlook like his, is it any wonder he can do impossible things? When we believe the impossible, everything becomes possible.

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