Power.....

My Thought for this Day.....Tap into your Power......simply because you can. Behold it as the gift it is. Use it as it is intended to be used.....not with arrogance, but with the humble acknowledgement that it is your ability to step out and make this world shine in a way only you can.

Future.......

My Thought for this Day.......Life is dancing all around you. It's in the air you breath, the sounds you hear and the sights you see. Make the choice to embrace it. Even if you choose to shut your eyes and cover your ears with tightly balled fists, life still happens. To miss even a second due to pride, stubbornness or childish behavior is to throw insult at your Creator. You are the most intricate, precise, complicated machine on the planet......except unlike a machine, you have a heart and a soul and a mind. How foolish to waste your gift on watching, criticizing and belittling others. How enormous is this gift, can't you see that? You can't move forward while keeping your eyes, ears and emotions in the past. Step out today with confidence in the person you are. Then open your very being to what you can become, not what you, or others have been in the yesterdays of your life.

Repost.......

Mountain Cedar has clogged my brain, so this is a repost of a blog from 2012.........I wonder if we are born with an appointed number of words and when they run out....well, it's curtains. Have you ever thought of that? I'm gonna say probably not. Do you believe your number of heartbeats is preordained? The number of breaths you take? The number of times you blink or swallow? Why not the number or words you speak? I can see you doing one of two things right at this very moment.....you're either frowning and contemplating my line of reasoning.... or you're thinking.....this woman is nuts! I'm going with the latter for most of you. But the fact of the matter is......well, I'm not sure what. It's just another thought rumbling around the rooms of my brain. This one surely is in the padded room. I like to think we all have words to say. And that we get the chance to say them. That our words are acknowledged and listened to and thought about. Some of us are more 'wordy' than others. Some of us have more serious words to say. Some of us don't use our words effectively. Some of us don't like words. Surely the number of words we say matters. Or maybe not.....maybe it's just the thoughtfulness of those words, the wisdom of those words, the actual number not important. But I also believe when we've used all of our wisdom, our thoughtfulness, our positive power of our words, then maybe it should be curtains. Think about it.....and be sure when your curtain drops on your last act, you've said what you were meant to say to those who matter.

Recipe......

My Question for this Day.......what is your recipe for happiness? A pinch of this......a teaspoon of that.......I wonder if you've ever truly known what makes you the happiest. I hope you have. I hope you've catalogued it much like recipes in an old wooden box handed down from generation to generation. Here is my additional hope for you....and it is that none of your recipes hold dollar signs. I hope your true ingredients are much more heartfelt and lasting. Pinches and teaspoons of things that can't be given a dollar value. If you've never taken the time to fill your recipe box, do it sooner, rather than later. Things are simply that.....things. True value and happiness can't be bought. There is no price, no sale tag, no amount of money in the bank that can buy life. And then, when you fill you're recipe box, take the time each day to gently thumb through it. You will be amazed just how much you have, how big your heart can swell to near bursting......and then place your treasured box back in the recesses of your soul to be taken out again tomorrow.

360*........

My Thought for this Day........When we walk through life with tunnel vision, we see and hear only that which is straight in front of us. The challenge is to take in life at 360*. Whether good or bad, right or wrong, happy or sad, easy or difficult, life happens all around you. You learn from whom and what may be walking to your left and right and also what you have passed by on your road of hours and days. If we refuse to look at an entire situation, listen to an entire conversation or only perceive that which is directly in front of us, we become one dimensional. Live your days in 3D. Take everything in and then and only then, will you truly be a whole, complete being and able to grasp that this life, though complicated, has many sentences, paragraphs and chapters. Read them all!

Journey......

My Thought for this Day.......If you not seek, you will not find. I don't know what is in your 'pot' at the end of your rainbow, but I do believe that it's not the finding, but the seeking that matters the most. It's the journey, the steps, both small and large, that build your character. Things handed to you mean little in your journey of spirit building. Things merely appearing are often things squandered, while those that have demanded our thoughts, time and effort, remain in our minds as trophies of success. So when you think of your future, I hope you don't see a huge Lottery ticket blinding you to challenges and talents that when used not only give to you, but also to others. No matter your circumstance, there are opportunities of growth and of building your spirit. Please don't while away your days waiting for something to merely 'land in your lap'. Use them living a life that, if even for a few minutes a day, sows and then reaps a garden of flowers that sends seeds and nectar and beauty to the realm that will become someone else's beauty as well as yours.

Repeat........Repost of old Blog.

I am a TEACHER.... I am a teacher, a lover of teens, a social worker, a mentor and a disciplinarian. I am a teacher. I am CEO of 135 employees a day who are TEENAGERS. But unlike other CEO's I only see my employees for 45 minutes a day and in that time, my job must be done. I INSTRUCT subject matter, but I TEACH so much more. I teach your child not only to respect me, but to respect others and most importantly to respect themselves. I teach that life is NOT a level playing field. We all are not blessed with talent, high IQ's nor perfect families. But we all are blessed with the opportunity to be educated. I teach rules. Follow my rules and life is good, break my rules and there are consequences; this my friends is merely a consequence of life, not only in MY classroom but in society. You may not like my classroom rules, but the lesson of following is important. I teach acknowledgement of others. We recognize that each and every one of us in the classroom has our own history and those histories are as varied as we are. And those histories are ingrained in us and become us and are to be acknowledged. Different cultures and customs and backgrounds are to be honored, not made fun of and laughed at. We raise our hands, we don't talk over others, we say yes ma'am and no ma'am, because I am a person of authority in their lives, but this favor is returned to them. I also say yes ma'am and no ma'am and yes sir and no sir in return. They are due my respect as well. Am I a perfect teacher, no. Do I make mistakes, yes. But in my heart I do what I think is best for your child. I am honored to have them in my life and I will do my very best ( and have for 28) years to see that they grow under my tutelage. At times there are 26 different personalities in my room at one time. Each with their own needs, problems, visions and expectations. A good teacher does NOT treat every child the same because they are NOT the same. They are not carbon copies of each other. A good teacher recognizes that individual needs must be met and sometimes it seems that favoritism is played, but in truth, when a child deals with more at 16 than many parents have dealt with at 40, then a good teacher gives what is needed to be given to help that child in any and all ways. Do I lower my expectations for that child? NO! But do I sometimes cut corners, and give a little leeway when I know a child has no place to live, no food to eat or has worked until 2 a.m. every night for a week? You bet I do. IF that seems unfair to others, then I'm sorry. A hand up is never a bad thing. I do this under the eye of a critical society. Why don't you do this? We did it back in my day. Well, let me tell you, these kids have new skills sets to learn that you probably had not even heard of when you were in school. The world is changing every millisecond so we have to teach what will lead your child to success. I do this with the state telling me what to teach because at the end of the year, our students are tested on what the state deems important. So can we cover all the bases we want to? NO. Because our schools are judged on state mandated performance. I am fortunate enough to teach a subject that is not tested at the end of the year, but I see other teachers struggle every day to run the race of Standardized Testing. I do this making less money this year than last year, and less last year than the year before and the year before that. When we reach a certain level our salaries are frozen but insurance and taxes continue to rise, so seasoned teachers are putting less in their pockets each year. O, but you say, you get paid in the summer and you're not working. NOT true. We are paid for 187 days of work a year, this money is spread out over 12 months. We are NOT paid for NOT working in the summer. I do this because I love your child and I love teaching. I do this because it is a calling not just a job. I do this to make a difference. This is a Repost of a blog from months ago. This is an answer to a political view. This is my view, none others.

Count.....

My Thought for this Day.......The day you count your blessings and reach a number is the day you have made an enormous mistake. Huge in the fact that blessings......both yours and mine.....are infinite. An unreachable number that no mathematician, scientist, nor human being can fathom. Don't try to count your blessings......live them! Pass them along! Do something with them that is glorified in your thanksgiving. Forget the counting; what a waste of precious time time can be used to live in your sunshine!

Choice.......

My Thought for this Day.......When your dam busts and the waters of your life flood, you can do one of several things. You can drown in emotions of hate and self righteousness, you can swirl on the River of Pity, you can immerse yourself in the black tidal wave of revenge. Yes, you can do all of those things. Your choice. And these choices may fuel your soul to bigger and better things. Or you can quietly set your sails to seek the wind of change and the tide of the sun of success and faith and calm waters. You can float on the Lake of Deliverance from problems and situations and hurdles that you have jumped. Your choice. Your days. Your examples. We all have choice of action. Free will. What a gift. Seek your true heart and soul and live it out. The world doesn't see inside you, except through your actions and words. Pick your boat and row it. But remember, whatever you do, you are teaching someone.

Light.....

My Thought for this Day.......You have a light.....a brilliant, glowing, wonderful light that only shines when you allow it. How often do we drop the curtain of life over our light due to insecurity, complacence or simple laziness? It doesn't matter if your light is a pinpoint, a bulb or a laser; it is your contribution to a dark world. How sad to hide, to stand in the shadow of doubt, to turn your back on your wonderfully crafted light. And so today, ponder, think, dwell on your ability to be incandescent. Your light matters. Let it be!

Blah.....

My Thought for this Day.........what do you do when your feet hit the floor and you realize instantaneously you've gotten up on the proverbial 'wrong side of the bed'? It's a day when you realize no matter how smooth your road, you'll manage to throw boulders in your path? It's just gonna be a 'get outta my way' day! It's a day of blinders on your blessings and magnifying glasses on your problems. It happens. And it's not the happening that's important, it's your reaction to this happening. So again, today, you tell me. What do you do?

My Thought for this Day.......While you're walking on water today, realize how deep your sea is.

Hamster.......

My Thought for this Day.......Are you a 'Never Enough' person? Never tall enough, never warm enough, never rested enough, never this, never that....never enough money in the bank, clothes in your closet. The ' Never Enoughs' lead to the 'Too Much'. Too much to do, too much to be, too much to achieve. Whoa! Stop! You, my friend are a hamster on a wheel......getting nowhere. Close your eyes and visualize your too fat, too cold, too poor self running on the wheel of 'Try as I might, it's not gonna happen'. Then Stop! Listen to me. Your scenery is never going to change. You're always going to stay in your cage, running on that squeaky wheel, going around and around and around. Now listen to me even more carefully. Stop Doing The Same Thing To Your Children!!!!! Their badge of honor is not that they are busy 20 hours a day!! I see it day in and day out. Kids so burned out trying to Be All and End All, they have quit enjoying life at a very young age. Kids that have been put on a hamster wheel that is much bigger and squeakier than yours! Here is my point. A kid has to be a kid at some point. Maybe when they are 15 or 19 or 28. They will eventually be a kid. So please, please, please don't put your heavy 'Never Enoughs' on the backs of your children. Teach appreciation for time to just be. And Be Enough quietly, relaxed, comfortable in the knowledge that life is a path, not a wheel. Live it yourself, then pass it on to those who you lead, guide and direct.

Certainty?

My Thought for this Day.........We are all convinced of something. We are convinced a black cloud hangs over our heads. We are convinced we are invincible. We are convinced we can handle nothing or anything. We can make or break a moment, hour, day or lifetime by what we are convinced of, what we are sure of.......especially if it's nothing. Well, this is my thought, my surety, my certainty. Life is never a given, nor an undeniable promise. The path you walk today may not be your path of tomorrow. So good or bad, happy or sad, high or low, this very moment is your life. And to deny, turn away , ignore, or be certain of, is a huge error. Life is nothing if not erratic. Look to the left and/ or right. Change happens to people instantaneously. Treasure what is the 'now' of your existence. Even if circumstances are not golden, they are life. And to wish it away for better days is deplorable. Breath with the blessed assurance that you are life and you are to play your hand with strength and presence in this very moment. This is my conviction. What is yours?

Permission........

My Thought for this Day......There are times we all need to give ourselves permission. Sit when you need to stand. Walk when you need to run. Rest when you need to work. Give in rather than give out. But here's the key......and it is a crucial point. Do this all Guilt Free. If you give yourself permission, then worry and fret, you have done more harm than good. Life is a delicate balance, a walking the fine line of duty versus renewal. Take your responsibilities seriously, but not yourself. You, my friend are perfectly made, but imperfectly managed. ( You may have to think on that awhile.) Learn to switch the button of 'Over Doing' off. If we don't recharge, we wear out. Permission....guilt free.......do it!

Sails.....

My Thought for Today......Each morning you set your sails. You then catch the wind of your day. Your choices are endless......happiness, sadness, fruitfulness, emptiness. To not catch your wind is a choice of being adrift in your Sea of Life.

Live........

My Thought for today......This is the first day of my 63rd year on this planet. Every day is a lesson. Everyday is a miracle. Everyday is a heartbeat of time that can never be restored. The wonder of life is present standing right there! Right in front of you, and me. To ignore it with avoidance or ignorance or indifference is so monumental as to be catastrophic. Why would you let one second pass without understanding it is a gift? Why would you gripe and moan and wish away a single day? Can you not see that life is not to be taken for granted, not to be wished away, not to be dreaded? Whatever your circumstance, whatever you face, whatever is your lot, embrace it with the God given intention of joyous presence. You are gifted; you are blessed. Your days are numbered as are mine. And with this in mind, you have to grab hold of everyday. You must! For not to do so, is to turn your back on the greatest gift ever.......LiFE. And as you honor this gift, it is in your inner core to pass it along. Give! Why would you not? Why would you hold miracles in your hand and heart and not share? Why would you not live the life that streams out much like a kite on a string, then returns to you tenfold. I hope you open your eyes every morning to the possibilities before you. I hope you live. Whether you are twenty, or thirty or sixty-three, I hope you understand the universe is not yours to grab, but to release. Do that with joy. I promise you, the amazing return will open your eyes to unseen things that are unbelievably beautiful. Just be that miracle you are meant to be. Thank you Lord for my days, my heartbeats, my joy and my sorrows. May these things become Lessons of My Life. May I walk under the umbrella of the knowledge that it's not all about me, but about my contribution of a life not only well lived, but well appreciated and shared.

Take a Look......

My Thought for this Day.........What's in your wallet? Does it matter....why, yes it does. It really does. We need our basic necessities met. We need food, clothes, shelter, etc. Yet, after that.......what do we need? Well, we need to realize that no matter how much or how little is in our wallets, that what matters most is what we do with it. Save it for a rainy day? Not a bad plan. Spend it like tomorrow will never arrive? Maybe not so wise. Compare it to our neighbor's, then either gloat or be jealous? Nope, at that point we've crossed a line. But I think it is a line some of us cross daily. We judge our comforts on the comforts of others. And we either measure up or we don't, and then we allow this to steal our joy or wrap us in a mantle of superiority. So today, examine your wallet carefully. And if you can.....and I dare say most of us can......use a percentage of it to lend a hand. I promise you that act of lending will bless you in ways untold. Don't compare, but share!

Open..........

My Thought for this Day........What is the condition of your heart? Is it tightly seen together with threads of criticism and judgement? Does it slowly beat in a fog of denial? Or is it open to new things, ideas and people. I think when we close out hearts to differences, then we close our hearts to life. This big world is a calliope of occurrences that are not all our NORM. So what if someone walks a path that doesn't correspond to yours? I hope you're not so deeply entrenched in your world that you can't see the colorful swirls of others. You have the right to disagree with actions, but do you really have the right to judge with a mighty hand of perfection? Don't be that person. A heart full of judgement has no room for expansion. It's walls are tightly sewn. It's chambers overflow with criticism. Open hearts open lives.

Repost.......

We are all creatures of habits. Some habits are forced.....those we do without choice. Some habits are chosen. I wonder if you examine your 'chosen' habits, what would you see. Which pile would be higher? The good or the bad? What strong personalities it takes to reduce the pile of bad habits and increase the pile of good ones! Every habit you have is important because it makes up your minutes, hours and days. Spend just a minute thinking about this. What joy you might bring to yourself and others if you hacked down the bad, repeated, routine habits and stacked up the helpful, generous, maybe not so routine ones. The old saying that Rome wasn't built in a day can be applied here......build up or tear down brick by brick, word by word, thought by thought, action by action. Tip the scale in the right way. Your world will be better for it!

It's Not About Numbers.........

My Thought for this Day.......It is said you can't judge a book by its cover. But we do it everyday.......we judge books, cars, houses, businesses, by the 'covers' or outward appearances. The saddest thing...the most destructive thing, is that we ALL judge people by their 'covers'. Maybe the hair isn't right, maybe too many tattoos, maybe the weight is not to our liking, maybe the race isn't ours, maybe clothes WHICH DON'T MAKE THE MAN, aren't up to 'our' par. We live in a culture of judging and being judged. I wonder how much of your time you spend judging and then because of your faulty judgement, how many true opportunities and blessings you miss? I wonder if you realize to what extent you're being judged? I wonder if any of this matters to you? We tend to 'rank' things. We are number ONE! And if we're not , well, we are diminished. This tendency has been taught throughout the ages. What are we teaching number two, three or twenty? Are we teaching those children, teens, young adults that they are losers? Are we teaching worthlessness? We worship the top, we brag when we're there. And yes, some of it is all in fun and is just good old fashioned rivalry. But when it's not, when it cuts skin, when it leaves scars, when it belittles, then judgement becomes so destructive as to ruin lives. We see it everyday. So before you judge, before you put someone on the back shelf to be ignored because they don't measure up, think! A generous hand, a kind word, a friendly smile just might make the difference that saves lives. Let's all do one ' helping hand' act this week. Let's commit to not walking a wide circle, but instead opening our eyes to what lies beneath that outward appearance. Just one time. Let's give the world what is needed. You will never know the life you change, and that in reality, it may just be your own.

Challenge........

My Challenge for this Day.......yes challenge. Take a good look at yourself. Get past the hair, lines, pounds; get past all the physical things. These are superficial and not truly you. Make a careful inspection of the reality of you....the inside, the core, the essence. Are you looking clearly without impediment? Are you looking honestly with clarity? Are you digging deeply into the blackness or light? Don't you see that this is what matters? Take a step forward.....closer to that mirror that reflects you. Closer still. Amazing isn't it, but only if you are honest with yourself. Lessons learned, lives changed, self growth. The biggest challenge of all. Take it!

Treasures......

Quick Thought for the Day......Is there one thing in life that you would give up most anything to have? Something that tugs so hard on your heart strings that it hurts? Well, I imagine you have something that someone else feels the same way about. Count your Haves....... not your Have Nots!

Window.....

My Thought for this Day.......So here we are, looking through a clean sparkling window. This year is a brand new baby, an unwritten poem, a car with no miles. As we sit and take in the view, let's realize that there will be days of raindrops on our windows, but also days of radiant rainbows shining through. There will be days when the winds of change blow the tree of life outside the glass and days of calmness and tranquility. With this knowledge comes preparation. With this awareness comes peace in the certainty that we are people of strength and wisdom. For we also know that life is beautiful, both the mountains and the valleys. I hope that when you are on your mountaintop, you are absorbing the wonder and glory around you. And I hope that when you are walking your valley, your eyes are on the peaks of your mountain and you are secure in the knowledge that you are a creature of our God and have been promised a deep well of comfort and security. And that you draw on the waters of your well. My heartfelt wish for us all is that we become whom we are meant to be, that each and every one of us realizes we are a common race, a circle of humankind, branches, both spindly and mighty, of the Tree of Life. And that my tree is your tree and yours, mine. We all are rooted in the same soil, and are inevitably linked in the experience called Life. Don't live singly, don't be the barren branch that grows solely. Be that branch that is entwined with others, that branch that is leafy and green and when seen through the Window of 2014, clearly is joyfully living the life that nature intended. Seasons will change, windows will fog, and at times cry with the raindrops of life. But listen carefully, the winds of change are always blowing, see clearly that the sun of hope is behind every cloud. You must realize your mountaintop always awaits you and when you climb to it.....one more time.....you will be stronger, more mighty, and how glorious it will be to then reach down to those who walk their valleys. Stretch out a hand of hope and help. Be that wonder you are meant to be. In these first, brand new hours quietly gaze through your window, visualize what awaits, seek out the superior, not the inferior. Make this new year yours. Happy New Year my friends. I hope that somehow, sometimes, my ramblings touch your souls. They are meant to be seeds of joy carefully planted in your garden. Flower with your specialness, for you truly are uniquely wonderful.