Taking Action to Save a Life

Were my eyes deceiving me? I leaned over the steering wheel to get a closer look. Yes! It was a tiny bird. He was sitting right in the middle of the intersection.  

I leaned as close to the windshield as I could, waiting to complete my left-hand turn. I could see him quivering. I was appalled and astonished when no one stopped long enough for him to fly away. No one seemed to care. Cars from both directions drove right over him and each one barely missed hitting him. I knew it was inevitable he would die. I had to take action.

The adrenalin soared through me as I pulled into the middle of the intersection, got out of my car, and raised my hands to stop traffic from each direction. My labored steps seemed to be in slow motion as I met with horns honking and people shouting obscenities, but my focus was not on them. My focus was on the sparrow. I had to save that little bird, and nothing else mattered.   

Each step I took closer intensified my determination to save that little bird. I bent down and gently picked him up and carried him to safety under a shrub on the corner. As I headed back to my car, instead of honking and cursing, I heard shouts of praise for my good deed. “YAY!” “Thank you.” I felt exhilarated.

Then as clear as possible, I heard God speak to my heart. “How do you feel?” 

“What do you mean how do I feel?” I thought. “Isn’t it obvious? I feel wonderful.” I wanted to add, “What an odd question, God should know how I feel.” 

But He was asking me so that I would take notice. He was about to teach me something regarding His love for me.

I had a warm sense of His presence like He was smiling at me, “Now you have an idea of how I feel when you fall and I pick you up and take you to safety.”  

I was amazed. I had always beaten myself up for the stupid mistakes I had made in my life. Now it was as if God was saying how much He enjoyed being there to help me, to protect me, and to shield me. To pick me up.  

I am constantly reminded of that little sparrow. If you ever have a hard time relating to an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father, think about the sparrow. God wants us to know how much He loves us. Every. Single. Day.

In the world’s current climate, we need this message of love more than ever before.

Do We Allow Panic to Cloud Our Thinking?

Last week I had one day packed with running errands of every type. One of those errands was to go to the recycle center. I had several trays of recyclables but there was a strong wind outside which made cans and plastic bottles fly out of the trays and roll down the parking lot. It was a gong show. I would run after one can while another bottle was flying through the air. 

Finally, I got inside the building, cashed them in, and left for my next errand. When I turned the corner, my eye caught my right hand on the steering wheel - with NO ring on it. I freaked. I started to pray out loud as I turned the car around, ran into the recycle center, and then searched the parking lot - NOTHING. 

Sifting through my tense brain, I tried to remember when I last saw it -- or felt it on my hand. Nothing. Empty.  

Do I call my husband? What would I say to him? He made me this ring for a special anniversary.

I carefully emptied my purse onto the front seat of the car and there it was - at the bottom of my bag. How did that happen? This was not possible -- yet there it was. Was this one of those times when an angel was looking out for me and placed it there? I will never know.

I called my husband but only told him the first part of the story. Was that mean of me to want him to feel my panic? Halfway through the story, I had to say, "Don't worry - everything's okay."

Lesson Learned: 

Leave your jewelry at home when running errands. 

Story of Hope - Finding Hope Amongst Life's Challenges

Six years ago a man came into our jewelry store and asked for a small cash loan on a silver dollar.  I gave him $20. 

"I'll be back in a week to pay you back." Steve was homeless and I didn't expect to see him again.

But, a week later he returned with a $20 bill. We chatted. After graduating from university he lost the love of his life.  He started drinking. 

He has been an alcoholic for 40 years and lost everything - including his family.

A couple of weeks later, he returned with the same request for a $20 loan and this continued every couple of weeks for about a year.  Each time he came into the store we chatted. 

I wanted to know about his life. It was obvious that he was educated. He is an avid reader. Each week he borrows three books from the library and is an encyclopedia of facts - a 'walking Google.'

Story Of Hope 

A couple of years after meeting him, we moved from our home. He helped me pack over 100 boxes and on moving day was an incredible help.  A year later we moved into our new store and he was the chief helper again.

Since moving our store three years ago, he got himself a chair and parked it at the back entrance. For the past three years, he sits in that chair and reads. He has appointed himself our Chief Security Officer. 

When Covid hit, our local food kitchen for the homeless closed. I brought him meals every day and often he came to our house for dinner (but hubby made sure he had a shower first)!

Steve has been in rehab numerous times, has attended AA meetings for years, but nothing seemed to make a difference.

I spent hours encouraging him but trying not to make him feel guilty.

A few months before his 60th birthday he announced that he has had enough and was quitting for good. To celebrate, we invited him to dinner on his birthday - filet mignon, prawns, all the trimmings, and two types of pies. He had FOUR pieces of pie.

Truly An Inspirational Story Of Hope

He is now ten months sober and has ZERO desire to drink. He feels he owes us a great debt but we have assured him that seeing him sober is an incredible gift to us. 

Steve came into our lives for a reason just as we are in his life for a reason. 

Do Your Excuses Keep You From Being What You Were Meant To Be?

 

 Nothing can stop you - no matter how old you are

How many times have you awakened in the morning and wondered what happened with the past three, four, five, six, or seven decades?  Or have you looked into the mirror and felt it was unfair that life passed you by without giving you a chance to pursue the career you always wanted?  

As much as some people look forward to retirement, what if you don’t have the income to maintain the lifestyle you have grown accustomed to?  Then there is the backdoor threat of Alzheimer’s.  You may wonder how you are going to stay alert and focused when your days may only be filled with volunteer community work or gardening. 

I would rather work than play. If I don’t have any pressing jobs to accomplish, I create one. The few times I have focused on leisure instead of work, I got bored quickly. As the years were fleeting by and I remained in great health, I could not imagine living without an ongoing purpose or fulfilling a dream during my ‘golden’ years.

Choosing to be a victor instead of a victim

My life was not an easy one. I endured more problems than most people would be able to handle.  The more negatives life threw at me, the stronger and hopefully, wiser, I became.  But what good is that wisdom if I couldn’t put it to valuable use?

When my daughter was a teenager she started a crusade to encourage me to write my memoir. It started as a campaign and for ten years, she made it a threat. She had heard all my excuses and was not going to tolerate them any longer.  “Write your story or else!” Finally, I began the journey of writing my story.

I never would have believed it could be so difficult but it was also a driving force as the more I wrote the more I realized I had a message the world needed to hear.  It was a message of never, ever giving up – no matter what happens.

Stepping WAY out of a comfort zone

My husband and I were in our sixties when we opened three high-end jewelry stores and shortly after he was in a serious car accident which left him disabled.  We found ourselves thrown into a situation that did not allow us to quit our jobs, or sell our businesses.  We had to keep going.  We weren’t given a choice.

When I was in my twenties, I became a certified health coach after I was told I only had two years to live due to cancer.  I refused the normal invasive treatments and opted to cure myself with nutrition and food supplements.  After restoration, I promised to help people with their health issues until the day I die. 

Where was I going to find the time to write a book? I had no idea my life was about to start over with a new career.  I wrote late in the evenings; and after ten years triggered by painful memories, I was ready to launch my book.

I started a podcast to interview ordinary people who overcame extraordinary circumstances and became successful as a result.  In the first hour after posting my idea on the internet, I had over 100 requests to be on my show.  What show?  I swiftly trained myself how to podcast, edit, and promote my show. That was eight years ago and Never Ever Give Up Hope is now heard in over 140 countries with unending weekly requests to be part of the show.

I wanted to fulfill the dream of being an author, an international speaker, and a talk show host. At 67 these seemed like pipe dreams but I am now living them and looking forward to the next challenge.  As owner and operator of two jewelry stores, my health coaching business, traveling as a speaker, hosting and managing my talk show, writing for numerous magazines and anthologies, having my own monthly column in two magazines, being the bookkeeper for all the businesses, taking care of a disabled husband and rescuing dogs (over 30 to date)..... I launched a new YouTube channel and website two months ago that is growing faster than my greatest expectations.

Nothing is stopping you

We all have the ability and the right to choose what we do with our retirement years. My choice was to start over – doing what I wanted to do and helping many others be encouraged and challenged to NEVER EVER GIVE UP HOPE.

Never limit yourself by making excuses why you cannot do what you always wanted to do.  Find a way.  Set your goals.  You will never regret it.  It will sustain your youth.  You have much to offer – start giving it away.

Gang raped and left for dead
Cancer diagnosis
Loss of a child
Husband falsely imprisoned
BUT...Carol chose to be a victor instead of a victim

What Does it Take to Have a Perfect Marriage?

This month we celebrate our wedding anniversary and this is the toast I will give to my husband of 49 years --

THE PERFECT DAY

We met early in the morning, you and I. Even before breakfast, we knew we were going to be together the rest of the day. 

Throughout the morning, there were many moments of turmoil, doubt, and uncertainty. But we knew we belonged together and.... together we would overcome. 

By mid-afternoon, we received two priceless gifts; our children, a son and a daughter. They came into our lives as the blessing we always had hoped for and believed we would have. The afternoon also proved to be tumultuous but our love for each other and God kept us strong, focused, and … together. 

We have lost much but gained more. We have cried often but laughed more. We were victims of total financial loss, cancer, loss of our son, brain injury, and almost 40 years of trauma – often piled on top of another. But we are stronger now and better - as a result. 

We are now entering the evening of that day and we have received more incredible gifts – our grandchildren. No matter how many mountains we had to climb, or hurdles to jump, the blessings of the perfect day are many and I raise my glass to you, my love, and our 49 years together. 

Today we celebrate and I thank God for you and for the perfect day.

 

A Sense of Accomplishment Can Be Worth More than ME Time

Preparing for this month's Fly On the Wall post was painful when I realized I need to get out more! Each day I am consumed with either writing blog posts, creating YouTube videos, writing health-related articles, analyzing health questionnaires for clients, writing newsletters, interviewing one guest a week for my podcast, bookkeeping for our brick and mortar businesses, or teaching on the internet. 

If you haven't checked out my podcast, please do!  (Now in my 8th year!) You will find incredible true stories of people who went from victim to victor and from hopelessness to helping others find hope. Each guest has become successful and many have made huge positive impacts to society. 

It leaves little time for anything else, as my days start at 5:30 AM and run until dinner time. Don't worry, I cook everything from scratch and manage an organized home. 

But who wants to hear about that in a blog post? However, I did travel to my daughter's home to house/dog sit for one week. That was heaven to me. I took my computer with me, set up an office in her dining room, and worked almost 'round the clock. I decided to fast that week so there was no need to cook. I loved it and accomplished more than I would in two weeks if I was at home.

The grands were in Hawaii that week and the pics speak for themselves:

Curling hair at 5 yrs old?

How blessed I am to see the love these two have for each other

Please have a buzz around and see what the other bloggers in this group posted this month:

Baking In A Tornado

Menopausal Mother

Wandering Web Designer

Is it Difficult to Find a Veterinarian Who Loves Dogs - Really?

Have you ever turned off your clock and worked until the job was done? That's the way the past two months felt. I needed to launch my new website and YouTube channel -- everything else had to take a back seat.

I didn't realize that this was only the beginning. My website and YT developer set up a daily spreadsheet of articles to be written and videos to be made.  As much work as that is on top of my other jobs...I have never enjoyed anything more.

There were 2,000 downloads on YouTube in the first two weeks. I am told that is extremely rare. I also know that the message of hope is needed now more than ever and that is what I share. Every. Day.

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We couldn't bear watching her suffer

In the middle of this craziness, hubby and I knew we could not put off Star's dental issue any longer. As a rescue, she came with bad teeth and Doxies are prone to gum disease and teeth problems. 

I have tried to find a vet who would clean Star's teeth and remove the bad ones for under $10,000. No luck. 

Daily, Star got a regimen of vitamins, tinctures, and a raw food diet but it wasn't enough. She needed help we could not give her. 

Then a miracle happened. My hairdresser found a vet in the city (a ferry trip away) who didn't comply with the ridiculous fees other vets charged. She paid $1500 - not $10,000 for a similar procedure.

After the doctor examined Star, he shook his head. The infection had run deep and she needed antibiotics for two weeks before he could determine what to do. He assumed there were two badly infected teeth. 

Coupled with the abuse she had received before we rescued her, he said her jaw was cracked and she must have been in extreme pain for a long time -- we had NO idea. She never complained.

On the day of surgery, the vet said he would call us in a couple of hours when she was ready to be picked up. HOWEVER, the call came much earlier. He said it was one of the worst cases he had seen. She would need all her teeth pulled. Her jaw would need to be wired together where it was cracked. Our dilemma: What should we do? And how much could we afford?

I called my daughter and ran the scenario by her. She has rescued dozens of dogs including those with rotten teeth. She had been told the worst-case scenario more than once. 

She said, "Mom, you will give Star her life back. Trust me." The vets told her many times there was little hope of improvement. But she proved them wrong each time. 

I called the vet to ask him what Star's kidney, liver, and heart health looked like. He said, "Considering what she has going on - I could hardly believe how healthy she is." That made the decision for us.

Seven hours later we picked up this precious baby. When she saw us she started to cry. She never stopped until we got home. It was heart-wrenching. The ferry line-up wait was five hours in the scorching heat (over 100 degrees) with no shade in sight. Yup.....she never stopped crying. This is so rare as she rarely barks and we have never heard her cry before. So sad!

UPDATE: Star is a new dog. She runs with her tail held high (never did that before.) Her ears are perked up! She can't stop kissing us and cuddling -- also unusual for her. 

She got a clean bill of health and her jaw, which was stitched together is healing fine. 

AND.....you ready for this? The vet never charged us the full amount. He loves rescues and wanted to help this little creature. He only asked that we do not tell anyone or he would be bombarded with people wanting the same deal. NO PROBLEM. 

We are so grateful. And.....so is Star.

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And.....TODAY...I am over-the-top excited. The GRANDS are coming for four whole days. Life is put on the shelf. The work will be there after they go back home. 

For some of you who have not seen your grandbabies or loved ones during this season of 'separation,' my heart aches for you. I hope you will see them soon.

What would any Fly on the Wall post be without pics of the grands

Camping for 5 days is exhausting!

 

Someone dropped some

 bubbles in the hot tub

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 5 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Baking In A Tornado

Menopausal Mother

Wandering Web Designer

What TF Sarah

 

 

During the Middle of Chaos, Do You Stop for a Break?

"Building a website can be fun," they said. Have any of you ever done that? Was it fun? 

For the past six weeks, I worked 10 or more hours per day - every day - building my new website. I was fortunate to find the right person - who did a job many times better than I imagined. She went well past the call of duty. I have hired her for life.  There are several pages on the site and I have incorporated both of our jewelry sites, my podcast, my health coaching site, my YouTube channel, and everything in between. One stop - it's all there. 

The entire site theme (mountains and ocean) is carried through all the pages, along with the color scheme. I would love your feedback. Check it out here. PLEASE

BUT....it didn't stop there. I also have a new Facebook page and YouTube Channel. I am scheduled to do three blog posts per week, and two YouTube videos, PLUS coaching and teaching online.  P L U S my podcast is booked until March until next year - two interviews per week.

"Building a website can be fun," they said. But NOW the fun begins. 

One day last week, I was about to drive up the driveway when I heard loud screeching by birds. I stopped to have a look. A baby bird had fallen out of its nest and mom and dad couldn't figure out how to pick it up. 

I felt helpless. There was nothing I could do for this tiny creature. I got a chair from the house and placed it near the fallen bird so no one would drive over it. The cries from the parents went on until nightfall. I knew the demise of that baby but.......

In the middle of last month's chaos, I took a four-day breather to visit the grands. With each visit, I see how they have matured and with joy in my heart also note their kindness to one another, their politeness, and how they love interacting with adults and animals which is a constant thrill for any gramma. 

PICTURES - MOST DEFINITELY SPEAK LOUDER

ALWAYS EXCITED TO SEE GRAMS

WHAT A CATCH

UNBELIEVABLE HEAT This Summer

Loves His Golfing Times with Papa

Time to Cool Down

SOOOO SOFT

 

The newest family member -- Mama was so tiny and her baby is like the size of a small dog

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 4 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

 

 

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

 

Baking In A Tornado                  

https://www.bakinginatornado.com/2021/07/hoagies-stogies-and-watering-pants.html

Never Ever Give Up Hope             https://batteredhope.blogspot.com

Menopausal Mother                   http://www.menopausalmom.com/

Wandering Web Designer      https://wanderingwebdesigner.com/blog