What Would Spiderman Have Done?

Stealing goes far beyond the actual act.  When the victim is a child, it is an even greater crime.  Many of you will remember my recent posts on taking care of my daughter's sheep, six dogs, and a cat while they went on their first family vacation.....to Hawaii. The morning Rochelle, Thomas and their two-year-old William left for Hawaii, I helped William pack his new Spiderman Bag from Gramma.

The bag carried as many Thomas the Train vehicles it could possibly hold, along with a small track. This would certainly provide entertainment on the long airplane ride.   William also packed an iPhone that had a few of his favorite movies downloaded. He was ready to go and excited.

The trip to Hawaii proved to be a wonderful vacation for Rochelle and her family.  They used William's iPhone to take almost a thousand pictures and were excited to have all those wonderful memories recorded.  

Forgive them? Are You Crazy?

Unforgiveness...  to forgive or not forgive, it is your decision and your choice!  Period!

“You have no idea what he did to me!” Ever hear someone say that? Did you ever say that? Or have you ever thought it while justifying your choice not to forgive the one who wronged you?

Recently, a dear friend told me he has stage 3 cancer. It is a type of cancer that is aggressive in nature. The saddest part is he complained of symptoms for over a year which his doctor chose to ignore and dismissed as insignificant. If the doctor had taken tests when asked, more than likely it never would have progressed to this stage. 

Letter To My Aging Dog

Dear Precious Mercedez:

When we went for our walk today, you YAWNED.  I couldn't believe it.  Walking was always your favorite pastime.  I looked at you and realized you were tired - aging and BONE tired.  It was hot outside and you wanted the coolness of your room. 

Was it that long ago when I came home from work, you would run in circles with great anticipation of a walk?  Didn't matter what the weather was like -- didn't matter if it was dinner time. What mattered was Mom was home and you could now go for a walk. Weekends were even more exciting. Weekends meant a trip in the Jeep to the mountain where you could run until you were ready to collapse.  The last time I took you on one of those runs, three wolves crossed our path and I decided we would rethink this weekend trek.

Then it happened.  I came home from work one day and the throw rugs in the entry way were askew. When I walked into the kitchen, the rugs in there were in a pile.  What on earth happened?  And where were you?  You didn't come running to the door, leash in your mouth, tail wagging.

4 Ways To Protect Yourself Against Ebola and Other Viruses

As FDR said "The only thing we have to fear.....is fear itself."  I will not deny many things we fear are real and should be feared.  Fear is a lot like worry.  95% of what we worry about, never happens. Fear is much the same.

We fear failure - so we don't try.  We fear relationships - so we seclude ourselves.  We fear weight gain - so we eat less than we should.  We fear our children might be abused or bullied - we shelter them to the point we instill fear in them.  The list goes on.

There are real fears that warrant our concern and one that is sweeping the world now, is Ebola.  There is a host of articles, news casts, and posts written on this subject.  We do not have to look far to find all the information we need to understand this virus and its path to destruction.  We are warned to take precautions, especially in our decisions as to where we travel.

How to Double Your Chance To Win - Giveaway

This is a Win-Win.  Everyone who enters is a winner because I will post all entry stories on my blog.  In addition, there are two opportunities to win an autographed copy of Battered Hope.   Click here to read the first couple chapters.  



What's It Like?

Ever wonder what it's like?  If you know -- please enlighten me.

What's it like to leave your dirty dishes and clothes around the house knowing that someone is going to pick them up for you?

What's it like to come home from work and sit down to a home-cooked meal with all the trimmings?

Are You A Victim or A Victor? The Choice is Yours

The definition of Victor is:  One who defeats an adversary; the winner in a fight, battle, contest, or struggle.

The definition of Victim is:  One who is deceived or cheated, by his or her own emotions or ignorance, or by the dishonesty of others. 

Many of us were cheated and abused and hurt and taken advantage of by others.  It is essential that we determine not to allow our emotions to overrule our intelligence.  A wise man once told me "When you buy the thought, you buy the lie!"  We must learn to say NO to negative thoughts, to defeatist ideas, to martyr attitudes.  The more you do it, the better you get at it.

One Surprising Life Lesson in Integrity and Courage

A story worth remembering and thinking about......  

A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.  Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different and called all the young executives in his company together.

He said "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO.  I have decided to choose one of you."  The young executives were shocked as the boss continued.  "I am going to give each one of you a seed today.  This is one very SPECIAL seed.  I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this seed.  I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."