And, okay, I liked it.  (Wouldn’t you?)  In fact, I even have a “superhero” pose, where I stick my hands on my hips and look off into the distance, well, heroically.  I’m not sure if the pose preceded or followed the nickname, but I do know this:  when I hear her call me her “superhero,” or even anytime I feel semi-heroic, and I do the superhero pose, I feel awesome.  Like it’s some sort of symbol or representation to the world that YES!  I AM this awesome!  And I am pretty, and talented, and brilliant, and amazing!

I, Marta, AM a superhero.  I CAN change the world.  I WILL change the world.

I AM ALREADY CHANGING THE WORLD AND MAKING IT A BETTER PLACE.  Every. Single. Day.

Gee whirlikers, that felt good!  I never put into words what that pose really meant to me.  I should do it more often!

So here’s the challenge:  copy me–or at least copy my superhero pose.  Or, alternatively (and maybe even better), make up your own.  See what wonders it does for your feelings of self-worth.  You can even wear a cape and funny tights, and run–I mean, fly–around your house humming your very own theme music if you feel like it…because you ARE a superhero, and you deserve to feel like one.

Or at least feel lusciously ridiculous while running like a maniac through your house singing an original melody at the top of your lungs, hoping your neighbors won’t notice the brightly colored, noisy thing rushing around your property.  Whatever works

In 1776, after much discussion and debate by representatives from each of the thirteen original colonies (check your history memory, can you name them all?), the text of the Declaration of Independence was signed and independence from Great Britain was proclaimed.

A long war was fought by soldiers who loved their country and their families so much that they were willing to give their own lives to protect the freedom of those they loved.

Today, we live in a country where we still have men and women willing to give their lives for us to enjoy freedom. Not only are they willing to help us, but they are willing to help all who need help.

To me this is the true American Spirit–helping each other enjoy the freedom given to us by God. I love America. I love to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, I love to sing the Star Spangled Banner (I even know all the words), and I love to live in this “land of the free and home of the brave.”

Thanks to my mother who empowered me with this great love for my country I feel. I hope to share this love with my children and grandchildren, as my mother has shared with our family.

Here at MPower Generations, we wish for you and your family the blessings of freedom, love, and happiness. Happy Independence Day!

Okay, so maybe I go on too much. But, I think that I don’t hear often enough the joy of being a mom and grandmom. There are always so many things on the schedule that it is easy to forget just why we do them. So, today I will share with you some of the reasons I love being a mom.

I love reading stories, singing lullabies, hearing prayers, listening to downloads of the activity they just participated in, baking together, reading scriptures, kissing booboos, hugging a crying child to calm and comfort him or her, planning outings, making lunches, reading or reciting poems, memorizing passages together, reading journals (only when requested), waiting on the news of passing a test, praying for my child, dancing together, watching them participate in cultural and sports activities, looking at pictures of memories, remembering the good times and remembering how we have made it through the bad times, taking yoga classes together, watching rainstorms from the window, taking sign language classes together, rejoicing with my child over triumphs and watching them grow into productive, happy, independent, self-sufficient adults.

I could go on and on. So, today, will you share with us the things you love most about being a parent or the things you love most about your parents? Have an MPowered Day!

Our guest blooger for this Friday is Davina. She is an amazing woman, balancing genius, dear wife, and awesome mother to three (with one on the way). We are so grateful for her insights on personal motivation and goal setting! Enjoy!!!!!

When I was on the high school cross-country team, I had a coach that would often follow behind us while we were running long distances in his van. Sometimes, he would be there at the beginning, other times we wouldn’t see him until we were almost done. We never knew at what point during our run he would appear and “motivate” us. This unknown led us to run harder and faster than we normally would have chosen on a hot, humid Florida day. Who wants to be the person the coach finds walking and not doing their best?

Unfortunately, as adults we don’t always have someone who’s going to show up at some point and make sure we’re doing our best. No big bearded guy in an oversized van is going to stop by give us water and tell us we’re not living up to our potential. We have to motivate and push ourselves; we have to be our own coach. We have to find the “team” or dream that inspires us and we have to be the one who makes sure we reach the finish line.

Unfortunately, I’m not built like a runner. I’m not tall, skinny, or lean. I’m actually short and a bit chubby. I’m sure when I show up to a race, people might think, “good for her, ” or “it’s great she’s trying something like this.” I’m also sure I’ve surprised them when I’ve walked up during the awards ceremony and claimed my prize. But I have something others might not; I’m my own coach. I know when I’m doing my best and more importantly I know when I’m not. I no longer need the man in the oversized van checking up on me. I’m my own coach.

I challenge each of us to push ourselves just a little harder each day, to find goals that seem out of reach, and to do things we aren’t “built” for while making time to coach our children and prepare them to one day “be their own coach” as well.

How can you be your own coach? What “race” are you working toward?

It really wasn’t the milkshake that was the best part though; the milkshake was simply something that sounded good to me after realizing the achievement which I had made. It was something I had been working toward for a long time and was so happy to finally reach this point.

I am not finished with this endeavor, but with each step comes a realization that I am closer to my final goal. Each significant landmark that I reach means that I am getting to where I am trying to go. Time goes by each and every day and it’s the choices we make that determine whether that time brings us closer of farther away from the dreams we are chasing. So my thoughts for you today are to take those steps and savor those proverbial chocolate milkshakes along the way.

What goal will you work toward accomplishing today?

Recently in a Sunday School class I was really struck at how much a story in the Old Testament related to me–and it really got me pondering.  My background consists of moving a lot when growing up.  I have lived in many places within the continental United States.  The majority of my time has been spent in two states in particular–Florida and Washington State.  Both have great advantages and disadvantages.  While in high school, I lived in eastern Washington and only applied to one college–located in sunny Florida (because I wanted to be in more sun and less snow).  My years in college were great.  I met wonderful people, had great experiences, and a lot of sun.  The disadvantage surprised me:  I missed the mountains terribly.

After college and some random traveling, I found myself back in Washington State again.  Western Washington surprised me at how green it was and how pretty it could be despite being a VERY urban area.   The spring and summertime here can hardly be beat in beauty and the amount of activities that can be enjoyed here.  However, come winter the drizzly and dreariness that the Seattle area is famous for starts to grate on me and my memories of sunny Florida surface.   Seriously, Miami gets more annual rainfall(67”) than Seattle (36”).

Now back to that Sunday School lesson.  We were discussing the Israelites and their inability to be grateful for what the Lord had given them.  They had been given manna daily for their hunger.  Well, after having just manna for a rather long time, those memories of fish and other types of food surfaced.  They wanted something different, some meat.  (This story can be found in the Old Testament in Numbers chapter 11.)  The Lord had to remind them to be grateful–and in not a pretty manner.

I need to be more grateful for the things in my life, not what I think I am missing.  Running across this quote summed up what I need to do:  “The gospel of Jesus Christ has been restored to bring blessings to our Heavenly Father’s children. You are planted in your country, your community, your family to facilitate these blessings. I urge you to bloom where you are planted!”  (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Bright as the Sun,” New Era, Jun 2006, 2–6)

I was thinking to myself about the things I am most motivated to do…Work out, clean my house, cook, write books, be outside ect. And then about the things I’m not very motivated to do…Like to study, sew, do grueling chores, paperwork ect.

The things I am motivated to do are often things I already know a lot about. I could tell you how to do lots of great workouts because it’s something I’ve taken a lot of time to learn how to do. I feel comfortable working out at home and I do it often because I know what I’m doing and that feels good. The things I’m not so motivated about like studying have to do with things that I don’t know yet. I think it bothers me to study because it requires me to step into things I don’t already know, out of the comfort of things which I already know.

But really the only way I can know what I’m doing when it comes to working out and housework is because I have already entered into the unknown and made it into something I now know. If to know and not do is to really not know, perhaps to do is to truly know or seek to discover. Think about it…

I am studying to become a special education teacher. I learn that all of my students will learn differently, and I think everyone learns differently anyway. So, if everyone learns differently why when we get a paper back do we say, “What did you get? What did you get?” You know you have been there before: when someone gets one point lower than you, and this person always gets a higher grade, but when you get that extra point you sort of smile inside and think “haha I win.” Yet, if we all learn differently, why are we comparing ourselves to each other?

I have done that my whole life. Stressed for success, I call it. This semester has been the worst. I have skipped church and Sabbath rest days (or rest times cause some of my friends cannot take a whole day so they take 1/7 out of everyday). I have pulled all nighters and skipped meals. Just to have the best grades, and to make sure I was the best. I would cry when I got and A- because it wasn’t perfect.

Then I read this… “Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else” (Galatians 6:4). Wow! What an amazing and powerful statement. Father wants me to pay attention to my own work, and try my best, and that is all he asks. He knows I am different from everyone else, and he knows what my honest best is, and he doesn’t care about the letter grade. I would never expect my students to be perfect all the time, so why do I hold myself to such a secular standard instead of God’s standard?

A few weeks ago I heard a talk about this woman who wanted to go medical school. She wrote to an to her friend and said, “Now I have time to go medical school but it will take forever, after all the field experience and the classes, it will take ten years, I will be forty.” Her friend replied, “You will be forty in ten years anyway.” This conversation really hit me. Why am I not living my life? Why am I so worried about a letter that by the time I am forty won’t matter?

So, I pulled out a post-it note (an orange one) and on that post-it note I wrote Sundays are for resting, spending time with God, and building upon relationships. I look at that post-it when I am stressing over homework or a test I have. I think to myself it doesn’t have to be perfect; just try your best, because that is all that Father asks, and Sundays are his time to grow in him and rest!

There are different periods of time we all have to go through in order to live through our lives, childhood, high school, adolescence, middle age, and old age, to name a few. With each phase of life there are new challenges, new sights to behold, new things to learn. Unfortunately, most times when I think back on my high school experience, I think of all these horrid moments filled with regret. These memories have been setting up camp in my mind lately. Something I am starting to figure out though, is that it’s over now, and I don’t need to be troubled with it anymore. IT’S OVER NOW AND I DON’T NEED TO BE TROUBLED WITH IT ANYMORE!!!!!

I can say that over and over, and sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t. I can remember so vividly the clothes that I wore, which might not have looked so good on me, the makeup I wore that accentuated the wrong features, the hair I never seemed to be able to get to look normal and that’s just the beginning. I can remember the people I so desperately wanted to hang out with, the crowds I wanted to fit into, and so many things that just went wrong day in and day out. Why did I say those things? What was I thinking when I did that? How much more obvious could I have been about liking that guy? It’s easy for me to hate who I used to be and drown myself in guilt for how things happened, but it doesn’t get me anywhere…except maybe back into those ugly clothes and not good enough feelings—back in high school. Which, if you’re like me, is one of the last places you want to go back to.

Let me give to you a thought that has come into my mind…It’s stupid to beat yourself up over things you did in the past because you did the best that you could with the knowledge and resources you had at the time. I didn’t know how pick out good fitting clothes or do my hair as well as the teen magazine star at the time. Here’s another thing to remember if you are looking back and hating yourself: You are a different person now than the one you were when you made those decisions. You have grown and changed and are so much better than that now. If you are different than you were, then the most important thing you could have gotten out of the experience happened, you changed, you progressed and now you have moved on from whatever wasn’t quite right about you before.

So maybe the two of us can forget about the things we did wrong a long time ago, and bask in the happiness that comes with moving on and growing up and most of all…getting better.

Preparing to move can seem daunting, to say the least. You would think someone who has moved as often as I have would be better prepared. There are many thing to consider in making a major move across the continent, which I have done 5 times and am about to do again. I have complained and fought most of these moves, but have come to realize they have helped to make me who I am today. I have lived in the following places in consecutive order (coming home in-between, as you will see):  Lakeland, FL (1957 – 1960); St. Petersburg, FL (1960 – 1963); Lake Wales, FL (1963 – 1967); Lakeland, FL (1967 – 1980); Memphis, TN (1980 – 1982); Lakeland, FL (1982 – 1983); Anniston, AL (1984 – 1985); Augusta, GA (1985); Panama City, Republic of Panama (1985 – 1988); Odenton, MD (1988 – 1991); El Paso, TX (1991); Lakeland, FL (1991 – 1993); Las Cruces, NM (1993 – 1994); Lakeland, FL (1994 – 1995); Chandler, AZ (1995 – 1997); Lakeland, FL (1997 – 1998); Albuquerque, NM (1998 – 2000); Sacramento, CA (2000 – 2005); White Mills, PA (2005 – 2007) Lakeland, Fl (2007 – Present). I am now preparing to move to Gilbert, AZ. The first and most important step in this process for me is to pray. I pray to Heavenly Father for approval of this decision, physical strength to either direct the movers or for me to purchase the supplies and pack our belongings, emotional strength to enable me to accomplish the many tasks involved in a calm manner, and wisdom to not miss anything that must be done. I then make a general list of things that need to be done, which gets refined many times before the feat is accomplished. The way this has worked for us is that my husband goes ahead of the family and secures a new dwelling place for the family to follow. The corporate moves were the best because there was a moving company that moved everything including the vehicles, and I just had to monitor the packing and loading of all my worldly possessions and then clean the home we were leaving, stay in a hotel until time to get on an airplane to fly to my new home, then again monitor the movers as they unload and unpack everything. That was great! I have, however, had the daunting task of researching the cost of self moves, then creating and implementing a plan of action. There are so many things to consider:  schools for the children, proximity to a congregation of my faith, access to shopping, rents within the budget, etc. My husband and I each made these initial researches, then we would discuss the most viable option from the information we had obtained. This next move does not require as much investigation since the kids are now grown and we don’t have to worry about the best area for them to adapt to the new climate. You wouldn’t think that a move within the bounds of America would be a culture shock, but I can attest to the fact that it is. Each area is part of a neighborhood, which is part of a city or town, which is part of a region, etc. Each one of these divisions or separation has its own characteristics. There are generalities that exist, but we have moved east to west and south to north, from small rural communities to large metropolitan areas — and they have left their impressions upon us. We have lived in conservative areas and liberal areas, lower-income areas, middle-class American areas and just about anything in between. The kids complained:  they were leaving their friends, they wouldn’t fit in, they couldn’t go on, etc. It was my job to make each move an adventure, a new beginning, and to encourage continued contact with old friends and making new friends. It was not easy, and over the years I have found that we have become accustomed to moving every 18 -24 months.  If we don’t, there is a restlessness that sometimes goes undefined until someone mentions that it is time to move again. Then, everyone says, “Ah, that is what that nagging feeling was!” I, on the other hand, am tired and don’t want to move again. We had thought this last move would be just that, the last move. However, with the current economic climate, it is a matter of survival. I will miss many things from Lakeland, many people…but I will make new friends in Gilbert and find new hobbies and adventures to make this move a new experience. The key is to make the Lord the head of every decision and the center of your family, remaining optimistic, looking at newness as opportunity and encouraging love and acceptance of things different.