Double Portion Inspiration

I've been home for the past couple of days. A normally hectic schedule was brought to a screeching hault after the doctor diagnosed me with bronchitis and the flu. I was scheduled to be in Jacksonville today in meetings. At 4pm I would have traveled home like usual and missed the final airing of the Oprah Winfrey Show . Instead I sat on my couch glued to the television, only moving during commercials, so that I could listen to her parting words. Today was an opportunity to hear her "love letter" to her audience. She shared some key lessons learned from the past 25 years. I will share a few of them with you: Everyone has a calling You were birthed with a purpose. Use your life to serve the world. 2. The power of validation Each person wants to know they are heard and valued. 3. Know the voice of God Wait and listen for his whispers 4. Become a safe harbor Let others know that they can depend on you to be their "safe place". 5. There are no coincidences Only God...

My sister and I love to read! We don’t always find the time to sit down in a quiet corner and immerse ourselves in a good book but we try and make the effort. It’s amazing how an author has a way of transporting you to another place through the use of words. From time to time we will share with you some of the books we are currently reading. Since I am the mother of a toddler, today I am going to suggest a great children’s book. Crystal Bowman is one of our favorite children’s authors. My kids are currently enjoying her recent release “ The Boy on the Yellow Bus ”. Before I even opened the book, one of the first features I noticed was the beautiful illustrations on the front cover. It vividly displayed a little boy walking up to his school bus. All the way through the book, children of all races are displayed in the pages of the story. We enjoyed reading how one simple action sparked a chain reaction of kindness . You are taken on a journey where kindness helps to overcome fea...

Life As A Kid I'm going to count to 10 while you go hide. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10, "Ready or not, here I come." Do you remember that game-hide and go seek?  This was one of my favorite games as a little girl. It is amazing how even babies get a kick out of hiding. They hide behind their chubby little palms and squeal with laughter when they hear the words, "peek-a-boo." Life As An Adult Now, fast forward to life as an adult. We spend our life hiding from the numerous hurts and pain we have experienced in our life. As women, we hide behind makeup, shopping and alcohol. We hide behind control because we don't want to be vulnerable to the ones we love. Men hide behind being "busy" at work because they don't want to go home to the screaming kids and nagging wife. We hide behind food because we don't want to deal with the loneliness in our hearts. Our society has become disengaged.  We walk through stores, schools, soccer fields and even churc...

Happy Mother's Day! Roslyn and I grew up in a home filled with love, friends, and an undeniable love of Christ. We were made to attend church, bible study, and Sunday school.   Learning scriptures was a weekly occurrence along with limited television time, daily chores, and no dates or make up until we were sixteen years old. Our mother was the foundation of our home.   Eating out was a luxury that we experienced only from time to time because mom made sure our meals were home cooked even though she worked hard as an elementary school teacher. She inspires us in ways she will never know.   Not only did we thrive by her poignant words of wisdom, she created an environment where others would cling to her.   Our childhood home became a central hub for kids to come by, play and stay for a quick snack or a cool drink in the summer heat. Although I can’t share all of her advice, here are my top two: (1)     “ Never let anything come between you as sist...

  I love this time of year when so many people are graduating.  My oldest son will complete his last year in elementary school and will soon step into the hall ways of middle school-YIKES, every mother's nightmare. Graduation time is f illed with great expectation and positive energy.  The whole world and all it has to offer is ahead of you.  The graduation ceremonies are a huge step of leaving the past behind and walking towards a new future.  This feeling of moving forward  is usually faced with anxiety and uncertainty.  You are unsure of what the future holds but you have graduated to a new place. I believe that graduation should not happen only to those who are in school.  One of the biggest mistakes we can make is to think that le arning stops when we leave the educational process.  We must forever be challenged to learn and grow .  Many of us are living " stagnant " lives because we won't utilize the creative and produ...