We Become What We Feed Ourselves

Being here at my children’s home while they are away to care for their two furry critters, sure gives me plenty of content for my blogs. You see, my girl cherishes the things and the people that helped get her here to this time and place. Everywhere you look around here, she has vignettes of treasured memories.

Case in point is this vignette of the peace sign figurine. If you’ve ever seen one of Staci's videos, you’ll see her use that sign at the end. Under the figurine are books written by three of her favorite authors and speakers who impacted her life. "Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren is one of my favorites, too. We believe we are here on Planet Earth at this time and this place, intentionally, by God for purposes beyond coincidence. We believe that before we were born, God wanted us to discover the life He created for us to live – here on earth and forever in eternity. I love what St. Paul says in Ephesians 1:11 “Because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for He chose us in advance, and He makes everything work out according to His plan.” I am forever grateful to know we are products of His divine purpose for our lives.

Next in the stack is “The 360-degree Leader” by another of her favorite authors, John Maxwell. Staci would tell you that her business acumen has come from her thirst for knowledge by reading and devouring successful leaders’ advice and training. She has been driven to be a devoted Christ-follower and leader in the marketplace and books like this have helped her become the leader worth following in her faith, her business, in relationships and her personal life.

And, the book at the bottom which represents the foundation (besides the Bible) of her positive, optimistic, can-do attitude, is "Over the Top". That is just one of the many other books she consumed by her mentor and beloved father-figure while travelling with him for twelve years, Zig Ziglar. Before we were introduced to Zig, we were his followers, so much so that we became little Zigs. His life philosophies, motivational speaking, his Christian witness and his personal “walk” made him our mentor. We raised our kids on those principles and I attribute much of their success to what we spoke into them and lived before them. My husband taught those principles in his own "Born to Win" seminars in churches and organizations across the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Belize. We desired that others achieve what we knew were life-changing principles. We wanted to pay-it-forward and make the difference in people’s lives, too. “You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help enough other people get what they want.” — Zig Ziglar

Even in something as simple as dog-sitting, we can find reasons to be grateful for who or what made us the best we can be. It’s reminded me to be thankful for the blessings of ups and downs that showed us how to navigate the waters and come safely to the other side. I’ll bet you’ve had wisdom and knowledge poured into your life that helped you navigate, too. Maybe you can think about them right now and thank God for His plan and purposes that caused you to be the amazing person that you are today!

It’s a Brand New Day

Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may never come, but this day is the day we have an opportunity to practice recognizing God’s blessings in everything – even in the things we don’t especially like! It’s a big deal to wake up to a new day, because yesterday was the very last day on this earth for many.

It’s a brand new day with potential and possibilities! It’s also a brand new day to posture ourselves with a “can-do-anything, all-is-well” mindset. At the beginning of each day, we step into the world and, if we’re intentional, we’ll avoid the news and the bickering and the sensational soundbites. That will be a good thing. We can be on purpose in avoiding the yuck of this world so that we are clear-headed and clear-hearted.

It’s a brand new day. We are still here, and God has a reason for it! We keep reminding my almost 98-year-old mother-in-law of that when she says: "I'm done. Take me home, Lord!" We know there's a reason for her life AND yours and mine. Life is a matter of perspective. No blessing is too small or unimportant. And even if this day comes with some unwelcome surprises, we remember God has a master plan in place….and, if we’ll look, we’ll even see the blessings tucked in-between those surprises. We take the good with the bad, and God is gracious to give us both as a reminder that every good and perfect thing starts with Him. (James 1:17)

Take heart, my friends. It’s a brand new day and we can lift our hearts in praise and thanksgiving for it. All is well. Let’s take deep breaths…because we can. We aren’t on ventilators. We aren’t bed-fast. We aren’t in prison. We aren’t on a street begging for bread. We aren't a lost cause.

So what can we do well today? We can do our part. We can fight the good fight. We can work for justice and freedom. We can offer grace to those who need God’s grace and He can use us to give it to them. Let’s move about with mercy and understanding and even though folks can’t see us doing it through our masks – let’s SMILE. That smile radiates in our eyes that twinkle with God’s love. Folks will “eye” it. Let’s be kind. Let’s love.

It’s a brand new day. Clean slate. Let’s make new memories, celebrate life and all its many thrills – after all, this is the last day we have today.

Take Heart, Brothers & Sisters, All is Well

How do I know all is well? It is a deep, inner knowing that God has got this. God has got us. I'm back at home and this sunrise on Tuesday assured me "all is well". I could almost hear these words audibly "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful." (John 14:27) All is well!

It’s a brand new day with potential and possibilities! It’s a brand new day to posture ourselves with a can-do-anything, all-is-well mindset. We can purposely leave the remains of yesterday behind with an optimistic "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me" (Phil 4:13) attitude for this new day. When we slip on our houseshoes or athletic shoes or even go barefoot and step out on our back porch, our patio or our sidewalk, we can inhale this new day with faith and determination. If we listen closely, we'll hear those words again that give us new hope for this brand new day. "All is well."

In real time, we may feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders, but take heart -- all is well. If God be OUR Almighty God, our supreme authority and our all-knowing, all loving, omnicient One, then we must make the decision to believe it and trust Him.

We are in good company. The Bible goes to great lengths to show us that all the people on its pages were ordinary, average "Joes". Yes, let's look at two Joes: 1) Joseph, the youngest of ornery, jealous brothers and the beloved son of his father, Jacob. This "Joe" took heart. In spite of a pit and a prison, he succeeded to a palace when he became the Governor of the land and ultimately took care of his entire family. 2) Another "Joe" -- Joseph, the adopted father of Jesus who could have divorced his pregnant fiancee, but instead, took heart, and stayed to love and care for Mary and Jesus. So many other characters in the Bible who trusted even though they were drenched in fear and hopelessness.

Many others in the Bible took heart and conquered because God filled them up with His Holy Spirit and breathed life into their dreams and their plans, and God, through ordinary people who did ordinary things, made miracles happen that changed the world for good. And, WE are the Bible people of today in these times and the same Holy Spirit breathes life into our dreams and our hopes and our plans so that we too will accomplish great things..

Take heart, brothers and sisters! All is well. Breathe deeply. Do your part. Fight the good fight. Offer grace. Love. Work for justice. Move with mercy. Be kind. Keep your focus. Keep moving forward. Keep looking up. Keep offering up every little thing in your ordinary life to the God of good things and miracles and hope.

I Found My Superpower

A friend of mine, also a blogger and widow, shared a line in her blog that I told her “I’m going to own it!” She said: “When my husband went to heaven, I learned to lean into God even more. He transformed my pitiful into powerful. Widowhood is my superpower to invest more time into people and love them and myself into lifelong transformation.”

Don’t you love that, fellow widows and widowers? Widowhood can be our superpower if we get ourselves off our minds and we take what God has given us and invest into others. We’re the ones still here, so obviously, we have things to do and things to accomplish, plus people to love and to help them live with a powerful mindset instead of a pitiful one.

It’s a way of living “I not only can do all things through Christ Who gives me strength, I WILL do all things that Christ gives me to do on this side of heaven!” Oh, I get it. Nothing likable about our loved one no longer journeying through life with us. Nothing joyful about sleeping and eating alone and definitely nothing fun about being the only “one” with couples all around. But there’s another side to being a widow/er. Some glorious, eye-opening, wouldn’t-trade-anything-for-them moments come when we are willing to embrace this scripture: “In all things give thanks for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Donna, are you saying you’re grateful that you’re a widow? Yes, that’s what I’m saying. Feel free to shake your head and roll your eyes at this point. The truth is, my gratitude has nothing to do with eating, sleeping and being alone. My gratitude has everything to do with Christ. After many decades of knowing Him as my Lord and Savior, I now know Him as my Comforter, Healer, Confidant, Counselor, and Friend. Unequivocally, I can tell you I have never been more aware of His presence or more in awe of His power than at this widowhood stage of life I’m living. And I’ve never felt more compelled to speak up about Him and His great love for me. Though I wouldn’t wish widowhood on anyone, I long for my friends to experience firsthand what happens when we accept the reality of our circumstances and not only trust God, but also thank God for the path He has laid out for us.

My family doesn’t feel sorry for me or worry about me and feel the need to console me. Sure, they know how much I miss the love-of-my-life. Every. Single. Day. And so do they, but they are so relieved that Mom has a dance in her step and a song in her heart. They know that widowhood has given me: a greater sense of God’s faithfulness; a richer understanding of His peace; a constant assurance of His goodness; a deeper dependence on His presence. Oh how sweet to trust in Jesus – just to take Him at His Word. His peace is my greatest source of charging up my superpowers. His goodness and mercy follow me everywhere I go. His sweet presence that assures me I may be alone – but I am never lonely because He never leaves me.

My beloved married, single or widow/er friends, however this new year has started out for you and whatever you might be facing right now, I am grateful for the honor of encouraging you and assuring you that trusting in Jesus gives us superpowers – no matter if the sky is falling or the mountains crumbling or the wind is raging – we can be assured “It is well with my soul and it is well with my heart!” The great "I AM" lives in us so, of course, we have SUPER POWERS!

Colossians 2:6-7, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

Shhh! Please Don’t Say That!

I came out of the fitness center yesterday and saw a couple loading up their air mattresses and other swimming gear. They had been enjoying a Sunday afternoon of swimming and playing water volleyball. I commented: “Looks like you had fun in the sun" and the woman replied “Yes! It was such a beautiful day!” And to her comment, I said, “Well, enjoy it while it lasts because before long it will be snowing!” She returned: “Oh, please don’t say that!” And then I thought….for goodness sake, where did that come from? I just brought in a negative image into their otherwise beautiful day. That's just not like me!

I’m the one that is usually wanting to put my finger to people's lips and say "Shhh -- don't say that!" Especially when I hear them say things like “I’m so stupid", "I can just look at a cookie, and I gain weight", "I get a cold this time every year", "I could never win at that", "I’ll never be able to afford that", "I’m too old to do that", etc. And, you know what…..they will continue to get what they are saying and thinking. “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit" (1 Peter 3:10).

I am typically an optimistic thinker and speaker. I wasn’t born that way, but through conscious effort and repetition, it's now my mode of operation….usually, except for that “snow” remark yesterday. Can I blame it on a "senior moment"? In all seriousness, I anticipate happiness, good health and success, and I sincerely believe that I can overcome any obstacle and difficulty with a "can-do" attitude.

Optimistic and positive people really do experience happy feelings; their eyes are bright, they're almost always smiling, they have more energy and their whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even their health is affected in a positive way, and they walk tall, their voices are more powerful and their body language shows the way they feel.

Positive thinking and speaking is contagious, but so is negative thinking and speaking. We really can become optimistic and control and change our thoughts and what comes out of our mouths.. It’s like changing the channel on a TV – we see a program we don’t want to watch, so we change the channel. In the same way, when a negative thought comes to us, rather than continuing to think that negative thought….change the channel to something good and positive.

If we make a conscious effort to speaking positive, writing positive, reading positive, watching positive and take actions that make us feel positive, eventually, it will be second nature for us to shift any negative focus to positive. If we persevere, we will transform the way our mind thinks, as well as the beautiful things that will start coming our way. So, let’s start thinking before we speak. Those positive thoughts might produce the harvest we’ve been believing for!” Right Thinking. Right Words. Blessed Life!

Proverbs 18:4 “A person's words can be life-giving water; words of true wisdom are as refreshing as a bubbling brook.”

Want Something to Celebrate? Celebrate YOU!

I love the saying “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” When we were kids, we couldn’t count the months and days fast enough until another birthday rolled around. But, the older we get we’d just as soon let the next birthday roll around unnoticed – that is unless you’re my dear friend, Peggy Boerner. This birthday was a milestone one and she owned it because she’s the pilot of her “plane”. She’s a “can-do” gal who takes matters into her own hands and makes what matters – matter.

These photos show a group of Hyde Park friends (where I lived in Tulsa) who were invited by Peggy to celebrate and enjoy an evening out together. Riding in a limo bus to a wonderful restaurant and then to the historic Mayo Hotel for great views of Tulsa and more fun times together. I was honored to be among the invitees!

Proverbs 18:24 says “To have friends, show yourself friendly.” The Proverbs contain much wisdom about being a friend and how to find a friend. Peggy has been a dear friend to me in so many ways, the most of which is her "welcome mat". She always has “my room” ready for me in her beautiful, peaceful home and makes me feel so loved and welcomed.

I’ve heard adults and children say that they didn’t have any friends or that they had trouble finding friends. And there's probably a reason for it. There is a key to having loyal friends or making friends in the first place. We have to show ourselves friendly. And Peggy is outstanding at that – so friendly that she has her birthday celebration with her pals.

May I suggest that we all become better friends – having celebrations of life and living. We can’t do anything about the past, but we can sure do things differently now and in the future. We can enjoy the ride much more. We're the pilot on this flight and in many ways, it is like a RESET button. Each experience – good and bad, has equipped us to be better, do better and appreciate time more. It is the dawn of a new day, today. I know one thing for sure -- we can’t live in the past, and the future isn’t ours to predict. But, we can make moments, minutes, hours and days really count for what matters most.

I speak a lot about it, but I repeat: Treasure THIS day – make memories for yourself and someone else. Live as if there were no tomorrow. Spread sunshine. Give love and laughter and life to those who need an injection of fun, faith, and friendship.

The BAD news -- time flies, but the GOOD news, we're the pilot in the hands of the MASTER PILOT Who holds our future in the palm of His hands! And, I assure you, if indeed “time flies when you’re having fun”, then Peggy and I are having a blast!

What Are the Voices in Your Head Saying?

Day 284 of Photo Inspirations -- What Are the Voices in Your Head Saying?
We've all got them.  Little, and sometime BIG voices, talking to us in our heads.  They're either saying "You've got this! You're courageous! You're strong! You're a winner!" Or they're saying "Forget it.  Give up!  You're too weak. You're afraid. You hurt too much.   You can't do this!"  And then we either take the positive words we hear and react in a "CAN DO" way, or we listen to the negative words and retreat, give up and throw in the towel.

A dear friend posted the following yesterday. It resonated with me.  It spoke volumes about NEVER GIVING UP -- thus my photo inspiration for this day!

"It must be my week for the power of our words! Two days ago as my Junior High team and I ran a distance run, one of my runners was struggling, and out of breath, he uttered, "Coach Wolf, I can't run anymore!  It hurts!" To which I replied, "No, those are the wrong words!  Repeat after me - 'I am strong!'" and he echoed, "I am strong." And again - "I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me!" "I can do anything through Christ who strengthens me!" And we kept this up until we finally reached the end of our training period - speaking life over ourselves. Then yesterday in the 2-mile time trial, he ran very well!    After congratulating him, he said with a huge smile, "I said the words over and over in my head - 'I am strong, I am courageous, I can do this' - and I did!"

How many times do we hear the voice of defeat, frustration, or that we're not valuable?   It's time to stop listening to the negative voices, and start speaking life into our circumstances, into our family and into us!"

Now....Coach Holy Spirit is saying to us today....."Repeat after me.....'I am strong, I am courageous, I can do this!"

Be That Water Bottle -- Gaining Momentum

Two years ago this month, I joined Solavei -- (this photo is from the June, 2012 pre-launch event -- about 156 of us were there -- now there are over 400,000 of us). Like thousands of other Solavei members, I am a hard-working, fully-branded and ALL-IN Solavei member -- not because of my kids, but because of what we started out to do -- making a difference in millions of people's lives -- and that's what we're doing. My network of thousands is by the process of just sharing this great opportunity with others, because I care! There have been no special favors (well, I do get to hang a little more than some with Ryan and Staci and families -- not because of Solavei, but after all, I am their Mama -- LOL) and no handouts to me. I have simply followed the easy process of sharing like a great movie or restaurant, and replicated what other leaders were doing. I am beyond thrilled for those who enjoy a lower phone bill, and some even FREE mobile service because they shared Solavei with one, two or just a few people. That, of itself is HUGE!

But most importantly, I want to share with you WHO I am and WHY I am proud to represent this company and all it stands for. I have to add here that I've had a lot of major crises in my life -- none greater than when my sweetheart graduated to heaven. But, that early passing created a determination and quest for taking that major blow and optimize my assignment on this earth. No matter what has come our way, the last thing our family is prone to do is gnash our teeth and wail about the unfairness of life. On the contrary, we determine to not only approach any conundrum that may come our way with a can-do attitude, but we look at the problem as a chance to gain new experiences and opportunities. We may be momentarily daunted by challenges that come our way, but we typically take it all in and realize -- it may look like a setback, but we are quick to realize "we're getting prepared for a MAJOR comeback!"

Ryan has always shared about how Solavei is like an empty plastic bottle and if you throw it into a stream of white water rapids, it naturally flows down the river with great momentum! That's enough for me to continue blazing the trail, touching more people's lives, and thanking God everyday -- that I have more today in my budget than before Solavei.

And, I'm still on a roll. I have no reason to stop what I have been doing for over two years now. I have been sharing this dream, this vision and this opportunity from the beginning. And, believe me, the systems in place, the resources, the offering, the experience, the determination and the support have never been better than today. What if this is that -- that could radically change millions of people's lives? Why would I stop now? I'm just saying.... "Let's continue to be that water bottle, gaining momentum in our lives -- no stopping now! Let's go stronger than ever before. I promise you....we'll look back on these days and be so glad we did.......and not wish we had!"
#WinningBigWithSolavei

We Can Do This!

There's a lot of folks out there complaining about the weather, the economy, the government, their job, their co-workers, their spouses, their children or their neighbor. And, then there are folks who are always optimistic, "can-do", undaunted in their attitude to win, and whether the sun is out -- or hiding behind a cloud -- they always see it shining. They walk into a room and the sun comes in with them. When the worst of the worst happens -- the best of the best comes out of them. I'm just sayin' -- WE CAN DO THIS! We can be conquerors and overcomers and always see the glass FULL. You ask "HOW?" Let THE SON come into your heart -- then the GREATER ONE will live in you, and He will give you the confidence and strength to live above the fray....COME WHAT MAY!!
We really CAN be difference makers. Come on....WE CAN DO THIS!