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?

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?

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!!!

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.

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.

This week has been one of the most difficult weeks of my life. I made a major decision, and by acting on it, made a major change. Some of the ramifications of that decision have been extremely difficult to deal with.

And what I have discovered through all of this is that I have an amazing support system that is way better, way stronger, and way bigger than I ever thought existed. People have come into my life and been there for me in the most astounding of ways. The hand of God has been in my life every day.

This week has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

My life, as you know from previous blogs, has been highly stressful and hectic lately. In fact, the reason–not that it’s valid–why I didn’t write my blog last week was because of the pure “hecticness” I have been experiencing.

I woke up around 6 am to head down to my 7:30 MRI more than half an hour away from my house.  I laid there listening to Taylor Swift music blasting in my ears to offset the noise of the machine for about half an hour. Upon returning home, I got together my supplies to write a reply to a friend’s letter.  I got about as far as their name on the paper before realizing it was already time to get ready to go work at the athletic training room.

I dashed to put my uniform on and get together all my stuff then worked for about 7 hours. I was ready to take a hot shower and climb in bed, being exhausted from all the running about, when I learned I was to go with my brother to church and then stop by my sister’s house to practice a song we were singing the following night.

I was worn out beyond belief!   When I finally did get that shower and went to bed, you can guess:  all my blogging time had vanished. My point in telling you all this is to, one, apologize and to, two, illustrate what has been the constant fast-paced race I’ve been running for days. It’s barely stopped and I know it won’t until at least next Wednesday…the day when I am planning on going in for my third knee surgery. Then all this craziness will take a sudden halt where I am, as I put it, doomed to a couch for a few weeks until I can move around without crutches again. My doctors are moving bones and putting them where they should have been aligned when I was born. This surgery will hopefully heal me from the problems I’ve been dealing with for quite some time. As crazy and hard as it has been for me to get everything ready for the weeks when I won’t be able to live my usual life, a few things have really helped to keep the endurance going–for that has been a challenge. Sometimes I just want to give up, call the whole thing off. It’s so tempting for me to ignore the issues I have and move on with my life as if they are not there. That would be the easy way, not necessarily the right way. I’ve gotta figure out the best thing for me and go with it. The thing that gets to me most would have to be how much I know I’m going to miss this busy, wonderful life of mine when I’m on a slower, recovery-centered time. I take all these moments that I have and breathe them in, feeling them, experiencing them, loving them. Even the things that are difficult I find myself thankful for. It could be wiping off a table or folding laundry and I find myself appreciating wholeheartedly the ability I have to stand on two legs and do them. I haven’t been taking much for granted because I know deep inside me that they will not last forever. What has provoked that for me is having surgery and knowing that soon I won’t have both legs to stand on. Now one of the greatest things is that with time I will have both my legs back in full capacity; there is always a silver lining…

But seriously, I have learned a new level of appreciation for the things in my life which I hold dear, and even some of the things that I don’t. I know that each challenge comes with something good to get out of it.

Our guest blogger this week, Wydetth Maits, gives us great questions to ponder about our society.  She is wife to her dear husband, mother of two, and a great friend to many.  She is the type of person who would do anything for anyone.  We appreciate all her insight.  Enjoy!

We all have had at some point, the misconception that our earthly lives will go on forever. Some of us do not stop to think about writing down the experiences that we have had throughout our lives. We somehow fail to see the importance of passing down to our future generation our thoughts and experiences on important issues that might benefit our posterity.

Texting, e-mail, instant messaging, etc. are tools we all use today, and some of us would   be lost without them. However, these technological devices have almost taken away the need for a handwritten note, which is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

Historians can return and track the history of the Civil War, or any other historical event and find an abundance of letters, books, notes, and personal diaries from which to draw. However, what will become of our generation say, 50 to 100 years from now? Will there be any records of our existence? Will our great- grandchildren be able to describe our lives and draw important facts that will benefit them, such as our health records, our talents, our weaknesses, and our strengths? How will they be able to have all this knowledge if we do not write our own personal diaries, letters, notes, and so forth?

Martin Luther King, Jr. was not alone.  We all have dreams.  I am grateful that he expressed his dream so eloquently and powerfully.  Are we expressing our dreams to the ones in our lives that can help us see them come to pass?

This morning, I was doing some handwashing of various articles of my clothing.  I have said before on this blog that I enjoy handwashing because I feel more connected to the women who have helped give me life–my fore-mothers, if you will–who often used their hands to perform the work we now do mostly by machine.  This morning, I thought of them.  I thought of their dreams for me.  I wondered if, in their minds’ eyes, they pictured me, generations away, struggling and laughing while raising my six children in the best way I know how.  I wondered if they had dreams for their children–a “better” life than they had…less worry, more joy.  I could almost see and feel them calling to me in a difficult moment–”Hang on.  I did.  It was worth it for me.  It will be for you, too.”

Thank you, my mothers past.  I may not know all your names or your stories, but I feel your power.  I feel your strength.  I want to be like you–strong and able, willing to face my challenges and put fear behind me.  I want to love my children and dream of their better lives to come.

I have determined to write–as the Friday tip of the day suggested–my dreams.  I think I will start with the dreams I have for my daughters.  I am feeling close to them today, and to my mothers from generations past.  Someday I hope to thank them properly for their dreams for me.

Yesterday, I started wearing braces. Now, it is not unusual that adults get braces to straighten their teeth, but I wore braces 37 years ago. This time, I wear braces because we need to place an implant. So, I have decided that since I am getting new teeth, and now braces, I am living proof that a second childhood exists…

There are many advantages to my second childhood. The most obvious is that I have already lived through my first childhood. So, getting braces yesterday was not new to me. Yes, there have been advances in equipment; I watched a video on home care, I have brackets on most of my teeth, to name a few. Only one tooth will be banded, where all my teeth were banded 37 years ago. Basically, I was calm through the whole process. I remember how to use wax, and I was prepared for eating soft foods for a few days. I knew these things from my experience.

My support system is different. I was the oldest child and was first in my family to have braces. Now, I have children who are supportive and who have lived the experiences of braces. Last night, my daughters and I sang at a church meeting. I commented to my orthodontist that I wasn’t sure I timed it right to get my braces put on the afternoon before singing, but I did fine. When I walked into the room at church where the meeting was being held, my three daughters were sitting at a table and said, “Let me see!” So, the ice was broken. I was free to laugh (which we did a lot), and we sang together which is always fun.

My husband, as always, has been great. I love having a cheerleader in my corner. He made chili for me Wednesday night so that I would have soft food. Today, he made me carrot juice. He went with me to the orthodontist and bought me Tylenol on the way home to ease my headache.

My expectations now are based on knowledge. The reason I have braces again is not the same as before. I also have lived with me for a lot longer and know me better. So, I have very realistic expectations. Last night, one of the brackets came off while I was brushing my teeth. I didn’t panic because my doctor had said that this will be a possible problem. I also have learned to deal with the ups and downs of life.

Would I go back and relive my first childhood? No, I think I will stay with this one. The funniest comment came from my husband as we were talking about me writing this blog. He recalled that he knew me when I had braces before, but this time he gets to pay for them.

We have more things to go through until the process of restoration is complete. My second childhood could last for a long, long time. Who knows? Perhaps I will spontaneously break out into song…oh, I already do that. Well, maybe I never left my first childhood.

Have an empowered day realizing the lessons you have learned from your life. How can you share an experience with your family members or a friend to empower their day?