Go For It!!!

Maybe it’s an incorrect assumption that our fashion often determines, at least in some degree, our personalities…or maybe, more correctly, our personalities are drawn to particular designs, trends, or colors to determine our fashion. Whatever the case, the way we look, whether we like it or not, sends messages to others around us (& quite possibly sometimes to our own psyche) about who we are or who we want to be.
When I was a teen, I used to quote a poem back & forth with my mom about growing older & breaking fashion rules. We used to laugh together about not matching as we age, and we still share a snicker about it from time to time.
While I do try to dress more conservatively, I have a few “fun” fashion statements…like red, peep-toe pumps I got from my sister-in-law, and my strappy black spike heels that I bought with my sister that I often wear with a sleek black satin skirt (that has a bit of a train). Last week, I attended an event in an Indian-flavored rust top with gold outlines & sequins. I borrowed it from my sister…& had fun wearing it!!!! I totally enjoy having a little fun with “different” fashions I have gathered from the amazing women in my life and the support my friends give me when I am a little daring!
So…if you’re wondering if you can “pull it off” to wear something a little out of your ordinary fashion sense…go for it!!! Who knows, you might just feel empowered!!!

That’s What Friends Are For

There is a song that says “that’s what friends are for” and I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of friends in our lives. We have social networks like Facebook (by the way the mpowergen.com has 200-fans Hurray!) to help keep us connected and to open the door to re-connecting with friends from long ago. We had a blog from Wyddeth talking about the power of the written word to keep us connected through generations. We have cell phones and home phones with unlimited calling times available. All these things and others, keep us connected to the people we love.
Dictionary.com states that a friend is a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard; a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter; a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile; a member of the same nation, party, etc.
Friends are the golden threads in the tapestry of life. They bring the color, light and sometimes even life to our lives. Friends tell us what we need to know about ourselves. They encourage us when we are struggling, they lift us when we are low; they tell us how we truly look, in a nice way; and they are always there to listen to our thoughts, concerns and triumphs.

Yesterday was a particularly hard day for me.  Yet, I was surrounded by my friends, my family and people who care about me.  Even those who were far away were praying for us.  I felt the strength that comes from prayers others offered in my behalf.  The day was hard, but the support of my friends made it possible for me to have the strength and the courage I needed.  I will be forever grateful to those beautiful people in my life.

Best of all, friends become a part of our family.  Some, like sisters, are kin by blood and also by friendship. We love them and want to share in their lives too. How blessed we are to have wonderful friends. My mom always told me to be careful who I chose to be my friends. I am glad I followed her counsel. I have the best friends in the world!

How can you share your love with a friend today?

Filling with Joy

If you haven’t figured it out yet…one of my favorite things to blog about is baseball. Everything from the national anthem to the final strike out fills me with a sense of pride and gratitude to be there witnessing such a fun game. I love the steps of a proper pitch and the graceful slides to reach a base in time. I love the form and strength that the players show. I even eat some sunflower seeds. To me, it’s so much more than a game-I’m not obsessed, just a good fan-because I see what those players have put so much into. They have spent hours upon hours perfecting their skills and becoming the best that they can, and I love that! Often when I’m sitting there watching, I realize just how lucky I am to really be sitting there-me-personally being able to wholeheartedly enjoy one of my favorite things of all time. My life is so awesome. Sometimes it seems like the opposite is true though…; each day of our lives, we have the choice to notice everything that is wrong or amiss or to focus on the constant good things that can be found with just a little bit of effort. Yours and my life both have stress and drama and misfortunes…everybody does. But we also have oodles upon oodles of blessings to enjoy if we just take the time to find them. My life is a whole lot happier when I spend time watching baseball games, listening to some good ol’ country music and doing countless other things that I love. Now is the time to fill your days with goodness and find a little less to complain about….even in the hardest of times.

Contest Update

Here is a contest prize update:

First prize (1)–MPower Music CD (tunes will be announced shortly)

Second prize (2)–MPower Flower designer tshirts (choice of black, brown, pink, blue, lime)

Third prize (3)–MPower Flower logo bags (large enough for groceries or beach/yoga/exercise stuff)

To enter:

(A) write a guest blog (topic can be anything appropriate to Mpowering yourself, your marriage, your children, your friends, or an empowering moment). 200-400 words (edited). Submit blogs through FB message to one of us or through Contact Us on our site.

(B) cut and paste the following on your facebook status–and for every fan we gain because of you, you will both be entered to win (note: please remember to write your name & your referring friend’s name on our wall so you get credit for your awesomeness!):

Become a fan of http://mpowergen.com like me & you and I will be entered in a contest to win a fabulous prize!!!! Paste this as your status, fan us, write your name & the person who referred you on our wall & you are both entered to win!!!!

Now, get busy and be Mpowered!!!

Scatter Sunshine

So, today February begins…the month that’s hard to spell, the month we celebrate with pink & red, the month we think of warming our hearts with love.

As I am thinking of February, I am pondering the ways I can show love to those who mean so much to me by scattering some sunshine. Yesterday, I took a meal to a dear person whom I love. She has done much for me over the years, and, though I didn’t see her when I delivered a meal for her family, I felt blessed to return some of the sunshine she has scattered in my life.

Sometimes, I feel sunshine scattered into my life through a kind word, a gentle touch, or a sweet smile. I hope that, in the moments I spend with others, I am scattering sunshine as I read a story, share a treat, or laugh with a loved one till my cheeks hurt!!

In this month of hearts of pink and crimson, take a moment to scatter some bright yellow sunshine along your area of the world. You never know what may happen when you blend your red hearts with golden sunshine–you just might glow till March!!!

You Are My Heroes

Oh well… (I borrowed this phrase from a very dear friend of mine), I am posting my blog contribution a day late again. Our family has been under siege, as of late, and I promise, promise, promise that after we get through this, things will get better (this phrase is for my sister) and I will be able to post my blog on time. Ha! Ha!

I have been thinking a lot about what I would say today. The words which come into my mind are “thank you.” I cannot think of anything more profound or important to say than “thank you.”
My heart is full to overflowing with gratitude for the love, comfort and help we have been given recently.

As we have gone through this experience, I have been awed and amazed at how many friends we have; amazed at how we can be connected with people from far away, not having kept in daily contact, but still have the same love and attachment that we felt years ago. We are family. We are one, big, gigantic family. We are the family of God.

I hope I remember always that we are brothers and sisters. I actually don’t think I ever forgot it; I just didn’t always pay enough attention to the connection which occurs at each of our births. But now, my eyes are wide open, and I am fully awake. So, I won’t write a long blog. After a while, you will understand our experience because I believe we have to share our experiences with each other so that others can benefit from our mistakes and benefit from the growth we experience as a result of learning from those mistakes.

I also want to express my gratitude for a loving Father in Heaven who takes good care of us. Without Him in my life, I don’t know how I would be able to look forward and keep moving in that direction.

Our family has been strengthened. We have reopened doors wide to reconnect with the people we love. Thank you to each of our family members and friends who have supported and sustained us. You have empowered us to continue and to fight, even when we were too tired to go on. Your encouragement and your love nourish us daily. Thank you.

How can we help to sustain and support you?

Missing Screws

Lots of screws have been missing in my everyday life…
Several months ago my bed that I sleep on had to be moved into the middle of my floor due to some enormous remodling that had to be done in order to fix a leak underground. Once we moved my very old and fragile bed frame, I was scared to move it back, knowing that it might not survive the trip to it’s origanal home. So for about 6 months I have carefully gotten on and off of my bed that has resided as an island in my room. Needless to say, this was difficult to live with, and I was never sure if I would wake up dropped to the ground.
This last week I had to move my bed back to the wall…enough was enough! My brother helped me move it back and discovered that there were some loose and missing screws. He grabbed a screwdriver, tightened them, and my bed has sat straighter ever since. I was not aware that this little adjustment would make such an enormous difference, but it has.
I’m convinced that there is meaning in this experience, and I think I’ve figured out at least one of the ways it can apply. There are things in our lives that can be thought of as screws that hold everything in place. These things can be time with family or a friend, exercise, time spent toward an important dream or goal, prayer, just about anything that you consider an important part of your day or your week. If we forget, put off, or run out of time for these things, it’s like a missing screw in the bedframe of our existence. What screw can you tighten this week?

MPower Music Contest

So, instead of our traditional Tuesday Guest Blog, we are announcing the first MPower Music contest. We are gathering lists of Mpowering songs (if you have any ideas, you can post in comments here or on our Facebook fan page). There are two ways to enter, and you can do either one as often as you would like.

The first way to enter is to write a guest blog. The blog topic can be anything appropriate to Mpowering yourself, your marriage, your children, your friends, or an empowering moment. The blog should be 200-400 words and will be open to our editor’s assistance. Submit blogs through FB message to one of us or through Contact Us on our site.

The second way is to cut and paste the following on your facebook status–and for every fan we gain because of you, you will both be entered to win (note: please remember to write your name & your referring friend’s name on our wall so you get credit for your awesomeness!):

Become a fan of www.mpowergen.com on Facebook like me & you and I will be entered in a contest to win a fabulous prize!!!!

“The prize?” you inquire…well, the prize is a free to you amazingly awesome CD of Mpower music, of course–just for you for guest blogging or spreading the word about us to your friends!!!
Now, get busy and be Mpowered!!!

Lessons from a Butterfly

Last week, we ventured out to a fabulous local park. This park has so many amazing activities–swings, slides, an AstroTurf hill to climb & slide down, moving balance beams, a spider web, a water pump, and a butterfly garden.

 As we were leaving the park, though, our six-year-old discovered a butterfly on a plant. The butterfly’s wings were wet from the recent rains, and our son could hold it as it crawled and creeped from hand to arm to hand. He did not want to leave this beautiful creature that had trusted him enough to hold it.

We talked of what would happen if we took it home. Would it be safe in the car? Probably not. Do we have the right kinds of plants for it to drink? No. He continued to long for the connection he felt, yet he urged the butterfly from his grasp onto a bunch of fuchsia flowers. I felt relieved that he did what was best for the butterfly even though leaving it was difficult for him. I began to walk toward our car with a weight off my shoulders.

Then he called me back. Oh, no. Maybe he had reconsidered. I braced myself for a further plea to take it home, when, as I approached, he said delightfully, “Look, Mom, it’s drinking!” He was an enchanted witness to the beautiful butterfly sipping nectar from the soft deep cove within the flower. His letting go of the butterfly allowed the creature to live and be what it needed to be.

I am grateful for the wisdom of my six-year-old and for the lessons we have learned from a butterfly.

One of My Teachers Who Changed My Life

Although I am not a person who would ever choose to go back, even if I had the choice, I am grateful for the people who have helped to shape my life and who have taught me, in classes and by their lives, to be a good person.

Even though I don’t want to go back to my childhood, I love to remember. Memories warm my heart. Last week, I began writing this blog. I don’t know why I had Melba R. on my mind, but I did. She was the first teacher I remember who taught me without me knowing that I was being taught. She also influenced my own teaching style as I have taught various classes within my church and when I have been a substitute teacher.

I received a phone call this week from my parents telling me that Greg, Melba’s husband (of probably close to 70 years, I don’t really know) had passed away. I don’t know many details, but I have the email address of their son and I will contact him. An older son is married to my cousin, so we, as I have found so often in life, have many connections to the people who most influence us and change our lives.

Melba R. was my church teacher when I was 14 and 15 years old. Each week, she taught us a well prepared lesson. I looked forward to attending her classes. Even when I was sick, I hated that I had to miss her class. She was very wise. She always brought a picture of a rose for us to color. (It was the symbol of our age group.) I didn’t realize until years later that I learned more from her because she kept my hands busy while she shared her inspirational message. When learning styles became popular, I enjoyed studying how we learn; now I can watch someone or talk to a person for just a few minutes and am able to discern his or her learning style. When she taught us, she just knew it. She didn’t have to study learning styles. She understood what learning styles were, and her goal was to help each young woman in her class to know she was loved and that she could make good decisions that would give her happiness in her life.

She took us to her house and helped us perfect our cooking skills. I remember looking through a stack of music–she allowed me to do that–because I love music. I now have a stack of favorite music of my family sitting by my piano. I loved being with her because I felt the love she had for me. Even now, as I think of her, I have a warm feeling of being loved that fills my heart. My only regret is that I didn’t tell her what an impact she had on my life.

I am a kinesthetic learner. I learn best by doing. And in a traditional classroom situation, I learn best by taking notes or drawing or doing something with my hands. Long before we discovered learning styles, I was captivated and learning lessons I would need in my life because I was coloring a picture every week.

I miss her and think of her often when I am preparing a handout or activity for a class I will teach. I think of her husband playing the organ beautifully. He always wore soft-soled shoes to play.

January is thank you month. To whom will you say “thank you” for influencing your life for good? Thank you, Melba R., for teaching me about love.