Today.....

My Thought of the Day.......... Today you have a job to do...do it! Today you have responsibilities to meet.....meet them! Today you have a place.....fill it! Today you have an opportunity for good.....succeed! Today you have a life.....live it! Today is a gift....open it! Today is not a guarantee.....nor is tomorrow. What if today you miss that job, responsibility, place, opportunity, life or gift, and there's no second chance? Take today and shake it until it's empty and your arms are tired......squeeze it until it's dry........get out there and live!!

My Thought of the Day......

If someone NEEDS to outshine you today, let them. Be confident enough in your own soul that you can allow yourself to sit back. Sometimes it is necessary to let other's sparkle so you can shine through them. Be that person today. As you allow friends and family to bloom around you, you strengthen yourself. Let's all look out for our fellow man this Friday. Let's all smile at their talents and the wings they are spreading. Just for today....be a fan, be one who encourages......rest in their flight, soar with their wings. Give a pat on the back. For it is truly the way we shape not only each other, but ourselves.

Jolly...or Not

Word of the Day....... Jolly...adj.....merry, happy, cheerful. T'is the Season and all that. Now before you think I'm all Bah Humbug, let me assure you that I love this time of year. Divorce of the Christmas Tree Lights seems to have been avoided for another year. If you're not my friend on FB, then you've missed that point entirely...but okay, fine. Let's be Jolly.....Let's be Thankful.....Let's be Grateful....but most of all Let's be Giving. If you all could see what I see everyday; if you could only know the needs some of our kids have, your heart would shatter. We have great kids in our little community and some are great against ALL ODDS. We have children dealing with adult issues daily. We have hungry kids, and kids who sleep on the street. We have kids who feel the most safe at school and dread the time that holidays come around and their safe place is gone and in many cases, their daily food is gone as well. We have kids who just need a break, a hug, a helping hand, a mentor. And while I'm in no position to offer names, nor would I if I could, if you feel led to help in anyway, please find a way. This situation is not only happening in my small West Texas town....it's in your village, your town, your city. You CAN help wherever you live. When you help a child, you help the future, you help the next generation, and whether you realize it or not.......you help YOURSELF. Be selfish that way......help yourself by helping a child. T'is the Season.

Filled.....

Don't ever be filled to the brim....not in thought, deed , actions, job, joy or sadness. Life is not about being filled. It's about being sure there is that one little tiny empty space for something else...someone else, someplace else. When you are full, you are through. Really? Can you not fit even one more wisp of gladness, thankfulness, thoughtfulness or gratitude in? Can you not give one more tiny step, inch, degree to someone, some cause, some need? IF we are all full of our own selves, problems, families, friends, needs, wants and desires, then we are useless. You are not to be SELF full-filled. Today....even if just for today....open that one last tiny part that isn't packed full. See a need and do something about it. What you do today...for somebody.....leads to a progression of kindness, dedication, willingness to help. If your cup runneth over...let it....then use the space left to fill a void that is standing right in front of you. The world is full of hurt and pain and struggle. Help where, when and if you can. Vessels that are filled to the brim splash over in haphazard ways.....dripping in puddles of waste. Those same vessels that are intentionally kept not quite full, are then used to rise with human kindness, awareness, and ultimately to the greatest gift of all....love for those who maybe,just maybe,with your helping hand, can pass along the chain of strength.

Boundaries

Hippies......I am NOT speaking of the length of a tape measure going around yours or my derriere ....of this I will NEVER SPEAK. Hippies.....those wonderfully free spirits of the 60's. I always wanted to be one......wanted to wear those long flowing skirts and have long flowing hair and do the things that Hippies did. My mother wouldn't let me. Do you think I was the only one ON THE PLANET who asked their mother IF they could be a Hippie? "Hey Mom....can I be a Hippie?" "Sure sweetie...I just spent thousands of dollars on your education at UT, but you go on and get in that van and head out to the Haight." Groovy Dude. Here's the thing. We all need boundaries in our lives. And if we're not smart enough to set them ourselves, we need to learn to allow others to at least offer opinions and then we need to consider those opinions. Boundaries don't always have to be constraints. They can be safety nets, common sense, responsible values used to make sense of our days. It goes without saying that the young need their boundaries set for them and sadly, every day I see parents turn their heads and allow their children to set their own boundaries. For the most part this becomes a TRAIN WRECK. Today I want to encourage you to see your boundaries as a part of life that allows you to live freely but in a respectable manner and most importantly, if you're a parent of a young child, to not be afraid to make those boundaries tall and strong and made of brick. Trust me when I say....at some point that child who thinks you hate them will someday know that you were right.....being that Hippie might have been fun and free and 'in the moment'....but at the end of the day, possibly, just possibly life would have been a wreck in a tie dyed van.

Well, Darn!

Today I have the Don't Wanna's. You know those days when you sit on the couch and really want another cup of coffee, but Don't Wanna get up and get it. The days when you know your dog needs outside but you Don't Wanna walk to the front door and let her out and sure Don't Wanna have to get up again and let her back in. I think about the 135 teenage souls who will walk through the door of Rm 11 on the Hill and I'm SURE they Don't Wanna and I Don't Wan them to either. No offense Mom and Dad...I love your kids, I just Don't Wanna teach today. You've had these days.....I know you have. Quit acting like you don't know what I'm talking about. So somehow I've need to turn the Don't Wanna's into the Just Hafta's. I Just Hafta get another cup of coffee or I'll never leave this couch...it will become my permanent home. I Just Hafta let my dog out or .....well, you know the end to that unattractive story. And I Just Hafta go welcome those 135 souls to RM 11 and ...By Golly.....teach them some Spanish. I will Just Hafta unglaze their eyes that will be staring at me like I have grown 4 heads and 73 ears. I will Just Hafta pull the cotton out of their ears and get them to listen to me as I Just Hafta teach.......it will not be pretty. They will be resentful because they'd much rather be glazed over, cotton eared people who are thinking about their friends, weekend and how they hate Spanish. How do I know this? Trust me.....I know. It's Monday and they'll have the Don't Wanna's and know in their sad little hearts that they Just Hafta.

My Thought for Today.....

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!