Double Portion Inspiration

 Not a picture of Renee's legs!  I’ve made a decision to run a half marathon in November. The thought of running 13 miles is overwhelming to say the least. Training during the brutal heat of the summer months in Florida is even more discouraging but my mind is made up and I’m going to do it! This is a big decision for me. My driving force in making the decision is the fact that I know how great it feels to cross the finish line. I vividly remember my first 5K in 2005. My husband patiently waited in the warmth of the September sun for me to cross the finish line. It took so long, he wondered if I would finish the race. Wheelchairs and mothers with strollers were sailing across the finish line and I was nowhere in sight. When I rounded the corner in the final stretch of the race, I took comfort in hearing his cheers and seeing the smile on my daughter’s face. My second wind kicked in and I crossed the finish line as if I were an Olympic track star. Immediately, I forg...

I love to eat. Every Saturday night my family agrees on a restaurant (this can sometimes take hours). The sacred part about this family dinner is that we can't use technology-no Ipad, no Iphone, no Blackberry, no DS, nothing! It is not easy. In the end we silence our phones and toast our success from the previous week. On Saturday, my oldest son asked this question, "Mom, did God give every one a gift?" Without hesitation I said, " yes ". I believe each one of us have a gift. Many of us will spend a lifetime trying to figure out what our forte is. There is a wonderful scripture in the Bible that says, " He (God) alone decides which gift each person should have ." I Corinthians 12:11. Recently I had to submit my biography for a writer's conference. It took me weeks to develop it. Similar to most people I found it hard to talk about my strengths and accomplishments. Once I started to reflect on my professional success, it made me consider my own...

     I have worked in retail for 20 years and last week for the first time the fire alarm went off in the mall.  I thought for sure it was a " false alarm " so I continued to eat and enjoy my lunch.  Within minutes a senior executive came running into the breakroom where I was sitting yelling, "Get up, this is real!  Move, move, move!."  What the heck? I was trying to have lunch and now I hear a blazing alarm in my ear and a woman yelling to the top of her lungs.       Needless to say, I quickly grabbed my handbag and moved as fast as I could.  I went busting through the door she told me to use. I ran down the emergency exit stairwell as fast as I could thinking, "What in the world is going on?"  Within seconds I was standing outside the store along with other employees and customers.       We finally received the, " All is clear " announcement and I breathed a huge sigh ...

Each time we post on our blog, we are blessed by the positive feedback and comments we receive. It makes us appreciate the power of the written word. Recently a subscriber of the blog shared the content with my 3rd grade teacher. She was one of the toughest instructors in my elementary school. Through her wisdom I learned how to construct a complete sentence, write in cursive, and outline a book report. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine sharing inspiration that would make her proud. We are thankful that readers are being blessed of different ages, walks of life, and countries all over the world. We will continue to inspire the world one word at time . Help us meet our goal of increasing our blog subscribers to over 500 ! We can reach this ambitious goal with your assistance. If you’ve been keeping your “ double dose ” of inspiration a secret, don’t do it anymore. Forward our blog link to your friends and family. Once they are on the site, make sure they register their email a...

I am smack dab in the middle of potty training my 2 year old son. This process was much easier with my daughter. Within 8 months she was fully trained. Unfortunately, that is not the story with my baby boy. It is the most frustrating situation to say the least. There are times when I will sit Jordan on the potty to have him stand up 2 seconds later saying "all done mommy.” I look down and there’s nothing in the potty. Within minutes he normally has an accident on the floor (or my wall) and we start the process all over again. I thought for sure that potty training would be easy for him. Why not right? Within 4 days of starting the "pacifier removal" process, he didn't want to have anything more to do with it. The transition from bottle to sippy cup was also painless. He is quick to share that he's not "Baby Jordan" anymore, he's a big boy. If Elmo can go potty by end of his potty video, why can't Jordan? Even though it's only been a few sho...