As I have puzzled over a blog topic for the day, I thought about many subjects. I have written one on spring, one on judgement, and had a few other thoughts bouncing around my brain waves…but nothing felt right. Then I thought about blogging about death. No. I couldn’t do that. It would be too heavy. Too serious. But the thought continued…& then came a phone call. The familiar voice on the other end of the line shared news of a loved one’s passing. And so I share a few thoughts:
We have many gifts to rejoice about through this existence–life itself, opportunities to grow, learning, relationships, connections–the list goes on and on and on…and then, our time for learning in this life shifts, and we move onto a different sphere. Whatever you believe, I hope you feel that this moving on is a blessing and not a curse. I do.
And so we live, and we die, and we leave a legacy. What are you leaving? Our loved one left a legacy of laughter, of love for God, of loyalty to family. I pray I will build upon her legacy and that all who know her will be comforted.
One of my favorite songs shares the sentiment of what would happen if today was the only day you had on earth. What would you do? How would you spend today? What have you neglected to say that you need to share? Will you have the courage to share it today?
I hope you will feel this message: live life with laughter; live with loyalty to those you care about; live with love and LIVE TODAY. You never know…

This week, our family has the most amazing opportunity: I have met a new friend, reconnected with a neighbor, and lost myself in the service of others during a most difficult and trying time. Let me tell you about it…

Our twins wanted to go to Disney. We thought about going to celebrate their birthday. I had heard about giving a day of service and getting a day to go to Disney. What a wonderful program! (They are definitely getting a thank you note.) I felt that giving service was a great idea and I wanted our family to be a part of this experience. We can give something to help someone, and, in the process, we get to celebrate as a family.

So, my son did some research, and we went through the list of possible service opportunities. My daughter is recovering from surgery, so we needed an opportunity to serve while being at home. Conkerr Cancer had the opportunity to serve by making pillowcases for smiles. We purchased bright colored fabric, followed the directions for making the pillowcases and set out to make pillowcases for children who need to have good things in their lives.

This opportunity for service also appealed to me because our family has been through a difficult experience with a sick child last summer. Daily trips to the hospital over an hour away from home, caring for the older siblings of the sick child, just not knowing what was going on, and wanting more than anything to be able to do something to help (yet feeling the hopelessness of not being able to help), and remembering this experience all made us want to help other families with children struggling with serious diseases.

I approached my family. Everyone was in agreement. A Saturday would not work for us, so we have spent this week making pillowcases. We have learned a system, and each person in our family contributes what they can. Even the children too young to participate and get the Disney prize have been involved in our family service project. The members of our family serve as they can–before or after work, after school; they come and they go, and we work together. We have made several trips to the fabric stores and have perfected a process of cutting and sewing. Our smaller children turn and fold the pillowcases; our older children pin and cut the fabric. We had a little resistance which had to be overcome, but we have been so blessed by this project.

One of the highlights of the week was when one of my grandsons asked if we can keep making pillowcases even after we are finished with our Disney pillowcases. I had already decided that this was a cause we could keep serving. My daughter shared that we could ask the women at church to set aside a night to sew pillowcases and make a project of helping each other.

I have met Carol, the local coordinator for this project. We had a lovely phone call where we became acquainted, and now I have a new friend. I am so excited to meet her in person as I drop off the pillowcases. I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience. I will not tell you that it has been easy. It has not. We have had many problems arise, not from sewing pillowcases, but from life. Carol has been encouraging and accommodating to help us reach our goal. I discovered that a group of ladies will be meeting this Saturday to make pillowcases at a local fabric store. How blessed we are to live in a community where service is important!

All of these blessings have come to us because we said “yes” to the opportunity to serve. It started out as a way to “earn” a day at Disney, but it became a bigger, more important cause to us. I think we will even discuss it as we take our children to Disney. How grateful I am that our children and grandchildren have seen the higher purpose and want to help others. I recommend this cause to everyone. The website is www.conkerrcancer.org. Explore the site. Watch the powerpoint and see if you can help.

I encourage you to find a way to serve. It is the most rewarding experience we can have, to give back. I have wondered how the children who receive the pillowcases will feel. I hope that they understand the loving care that we have given and that they feel that someone somewhere out there is praying for them and hoping that their day is a little brighter because of a pillowcase.

How have you served someone today?

Hello, blog readers! I just want to tell you that I am having pretty much the coolest experience of my life ever right now, which I will tell you all about another time. I am on this total high. It’s so great!!

So if I’m not blogging about my right now, what the heck am I blogging about? Good question. I told someone recently that I felt like I’d lived a week in two days. It’s been that crazy and non-stop. (Anybody feel the same out there?) I come home every day, exhausted and sore (I’ve decided I need new shoes, because none of the 500 pairs I own are professional, comfortable, and supportive all at once). And you know the funny thing? I love it! It feels good to know that my energy has been spent on something that benefits me as well as other people. Although I’m really tired, I’m also energized not only because I’m helping others, but because I love what I’m doing. It makes me happy.

Plus, I look super cute all dressed up for work – I mean, this is a no-lose situation here!

Marissa is on a leave of abscence today and so we are posting a previously posted blog.  Enjoy!

I’ve pretty much always loved baseball, as well as most sports, and country music. Until recently, no one really knew of my love for these things. Somehow, when I was a kid I got this funny idea that if I liked these things no one else would like me. This is a weird thing, I know…but that’s what I thought.

I’m guessing that this funny idea came from the fact that during a particularly impressionable time in my childhood the people around me just weren’t into baseball, most other sports, or country music. I’m not quite sure how this idea, that if I liked these I would be rejected, stuck with me but it was so important to me to fit in that I suppressed my love of baseball, most other sports, and country music.

Thankfully in recent months, I have slowly allowed myself to love these things for real and spend time learning about and listening to them choosing not to care too much about what other people thought. I created a Taylor Swift station on Pandora Radio and listen to it often. I purchased a Tampa Bay Rays hat and wear it almost everywhere. I watched part of the World Series on television and a handful of college football games when my schedule allowed. I embraced without reservation the fact that in my Athletic Training major I get to associate with athletes on almost a daily basis. I started going to more of their games.

And do you know what? My family didn’t kick me out for liking different things than they do and have still supported me with my love of sports and country. My friends still talk to me and I’ve made dozens of new ones just by possessing these interests more openly. I now know way more about baseball, which I love learning about. I like country music more than I ever thought I would now that I know more songs and artists, and most of all I love my life way more by being myself.

So whatever part of you there is that you might be scared to admit and share, I say go for it! You will be so much happier being true to yourself and those who really love you will love you still. I know…I tried it. There is such an invigorating feeling that comes when we choose to be who we really are and want to be. Whether it’s baseball and country music or flamingos and parasailing, I say go for it. Live your life fully and completely going confidently in the directions where you find joy.

How will you show others how awesome you are by being true to yourself this week?

Pauline is our guest blogger today. She is the mother of 4, grandmother of 15, great-grandmother of 9. She is known for generosity—and her biscuits—and she is a true southern girl who cooks for those she loves. Pauline shares an experience with her great-grandson from a few years ago.

I have had problems with my eyes for years. I needed cataract surgery and we had to postpone it until the inflammation in my eyes calmed down. When I finally was able to have the surgery on my eye, I had to wear a patch for seven weeks. It was a long time. I worried that my grandchildren would be afraid of me. I didn’t want the patch to scare them. Our favorite activity is for me to read stories to my grandchildren. I love for them to sit on my lap or by my side as we read. I didn’t want to miss that because they were afraid of me with a patch on my eye.

I came to my daughter’s house for dinner one Sunday after my surgery. I was sitting on the couch in her living room and John, then 3, said to me, “Eye hurt?” pointing to the patch. I said it did. None of my great-grandchildren were afraid of me. During the next seven weeks, our relationship was the same.

After the seven weeks were over and my patch was removed, I was again at my daughter’s home for Sunday dinner. I was sitting on the couch and John came up to me and said, “Eye all better now?” None of the other children ever asked about it. None of them were afraid. John was so compassionate and so feeling with his great grandma and her eye surgery.

How can we show compassion today?

We have a friend who said that our family is experiencing the hardest time in our lives. I know others who have as great challenges as we have and some who are experiencing greater challenges right now. We reached the point, long ago, when I thought we had all that we could bear. Still things kept coming.

I marvel at the lessons God has given to us during these difficult times. I think of them as gifts of love. I am amazed at the many miracles He has created to share His love with us.

One of the great gifts of love he gives is friendship. In the last two weeks, I found that friendship and love can remain with us without frequent contact and I am awed by the amount of love that I can feel. I felt the strength of sustaining prayers. I felt the concern of others. I was literally enveloped in the arms of love.

I wish, sometimes, that life was not so hard. But how else can we learn the lessons so that we can grow to be more like God? I am grateful for the strength of my children and my husband through our experiences in the past year. How marvelous and great are the many bounteous blessings of our God in our lives.

I want to share one experience of the many great gifts given to our family. Last Thursday afternoon, after an especially long and trying day, my friend and I were going to visit someone who is sick. She was unable to see us and so my friend said that we could go for a ride. We did.

We decided to go shopping because she needed a new wallet. We went only in two stores. The second store, she found the wallet she wanted and I decided to buy one for me. My friend decided to give the wallet to me as a gift. I hesitated, but decided to be a gracious recipient.

I put the wallet in my bag and carried it around for a few days. Tuesday, I had a doctor’s appointment and I placed the check to pay the doctor in the new wallet. When I pulled it out to pay the doctor, I felt a sense of newness. I needed to have things that were new. I needed to get rid of the things that reminded me of my old life and start fresh. I hadn’t realized that such a small thing, a wallet, would help me move forward. It did. And each time I see it or touch it, I think of my dear sweet friend, who has been my strength over many years. Thank you, DeAnne. Thank you for understanding and loving me.

There are so many people who remain nameless right now, but someday, we will feel free to share their names and their gifts to us during our trials. I thank you too.

How can you show your love to a friend today?

Stephanie, our guest blogger today, is always ready to share her kind thoughts with those around her. She is a devoted mother and woman of great faith. She recently took up working with stained glass, and her quiet kindnesses speak volumes of her character. Enjoy!

It is the little things in life that help us along our way. I have read the blogs about empowering us to become better people, mothers, nurturers, sisters, etc. and thought I have little to nothing to contribute and have been putting off blogging as requested by the ladies who initiated this site. Then I stopped at a fast food restaurant on a busy day from running errands, feeling a bit frazzled. As I got my meal and sat down I saw a woman come in who looked more frazzled than I did. As she got her meal and looked for a seat our eyes met and I smiled at her. She seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and sat a couple of tables from me, but facing me. We both ate in a silent companionship, strangers yet somehow acquaintances. As I finished my meal and prepared to go my way, she hesitantly spoke, very softly like she was afraid someone might hear her. She thanked me for smiling at her. She told me she had had a very trying morning and my smile brought her reassurance and comfort. It was a little thing and I don’t know who this sister of ours was, but it made me feel good to hear I had helped bring her comfort in a trying time. I left the restaurant with a lighter step and a smile in my heart. So sisters, smile as you go about your day, you never know who may be watching and needing that smile.

Thanks Mary Lynn for helping to create this venue. It was inspired.

Steph

Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, the day we celebrate love. We love to celebrate by making valentines with and for our children. Earlier this week, my daughter brought three of her children to my home, and we spent the afternoon making valentines for school classes. It was fun! I like to send valentines in the mail for my grandchildren. My husband always brings candy to our children. We have a lot of traditions surrounding Valentine’s Day.

I have also reflected on my marriage. We have been giving tips on Facebook and the Message Board on strengthening marriage this week. It is now more than 30 years ago that my husband and I decided to get married. We recently had dinner with several couples who had been married a long time and enjoyed the fact that, in each couple, the “how-we-met” story was remembered differently by the husband and the wife. Oh, they have many common elements, but the details are different. I love it when this happens! I think it shows how different each person is, and they still make their marriages work.

During our years of marriage, there have been so many wonderful blessings. We have our children, our grandchildren, moves, vacations, activities, times together just being with each other. There is a song that says, “If I had to choose again, I would still choose you.” That is how I feel. Even though life is not easy, I would choose my husband again.

This week, one of the marriage tips was to write down 10 things you love about your spouse. One of the things I love about my husband is his strength. We have had many trials this year, as have most of you, and I have relied on the strength of my husband, his unending faith, his constant hope that all will be well. Without his calm and his strength, I would have had much more difficulty dealing with the complications of life.

I was talking to my sister recently about marriage. I told her that I think we choose each day to stay married. We don’t consciously do this. Each morning as we look at our spouse, we choose to stay in love. We choose to work through the difficulties. We choose to work together. We choose to dream, plan, and accomplish our common goals. We choose to do things that show our love. We choose to be happy together. We choose to work on our marriage to strengthen it. It is too easy to end a marriage; we must constantly give our best efforts to nurture our marriage and family relationships.

So, my darling husband, “You’re Still the One”, I am “Happy to Be Stuck With You” and most especially, “I Would Still Choose You.” Happy Valentine’s Day!

Shanna is a loving mother, caring wife and works at one of our favorite doctor’s offices.  She brings color to the lives of others and uplifts and builds wherever she goes.  We’re so glad to have a guest blog from her today and hope you enjoy it!

Monday, January 4th was my son’s first day of preschool. I had a lot of mixed emotions, as I have always been a firm believer in staying home with your kids and raising them the way you want (with my beliefs and not someone else’s). Yet, there comes a time in their life when you have to start letting go and teaching them how to survive in this world and not hold them back from growing and learning, and playing with kids their own age. This last year, due to the economy, I had to go back to work. Even though I am very excited by my new journey, I still am a wife and mother trying to balance all that. My son wants to go to school, so I found a program that he will go three days a week. We prepared him for about 2 weeks before, but I think we were preparing ourselves more than him.

When we took him the first day, he was so excited–he even got out of bed on the first call–which is huge for him. We got up, ate breakfast, dressed him, read a Bible story, said our prayers and off we went. We took a few first day pictures. We were so proud of how big he was being. He said bye to us with no problem. It made us both kind of sad, but when you look at the big picture, we must have done something right for him to be so strong and confident in himself.

Parenting is not always easy, but if you just try your best and always put your family first, you can’t go wrong.

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?