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!

Service With a Smile and Hazelnut Coffee

My BFF, Sheila Michie and I were doing some event brainstorming at Panera Bread yesterday. "Bonus for me" -- I had told Sheila, "I love their Hazelnut coffee, so, a large one, please!" How precious it was when one of their servers, Ein, brought our food to our table. But that wasn't all he brought -- he brought us his gracious heart. There was a connection right away. A few minutes later, he was back -- asking if we needed anything else. The next time around when Ein asked, I asked him if he'd take our photo (thus, the photo here). "Great job, Ein!" -- I responded. And Ein's reply back to me, "Thank you, Cupcake!" LOL! Well, that caused Sheila and I to break into smiles that went from ear to ear. I said, "I think that's the first time I've been called Cupcake since Ron went to heaven!" LOL! Later when I got up to get a coffee refill, Ein saw me and grabbed my cup out of my hand and said, "I'll get it for you!" I replied "Thanks so much! Be sure it's the Hazelnut -- it's my favorite!" He said, "Mine, too!" Sheila and I continued our conversation, and way more than enough time to refill my drink, Ein returned with a big smile on his face, "Here's you're coffee! You're gonna' love it. I fixed it up for you. I added cinnamon and honey to it!" LOL! My first thought -- "Oh no. He's destroyed my Hazelnut coffee and how can I possibly throw it out?" But, it was delicious! I'll remember that next time. Sheila and I were on the brink of outloud laughter when I asked "Ein, could I get a photo with you? You are such a fine man and I'd like to remember you." Ein promptly sat down beside me in the booth, put his arm around me and said, "Sure, Sweetheart!" And, gave the "heart" sign on his chest. And to Sheila he said, "You're Sugar!" I said, "You're a lady's man, aren't you?" His response: "Yes I am!"

Whoohoo! Ein was flirting with us. <3 We loved it. We needed that great time of a "merry heart". It was definitely medicine to us.

I started thinking about this sweet man who exuded love in the purest form -- an unconditional love. A man that earns an honest day's wages for an honest day's work. Just look at all those "good employee" pins on his hat. That's for a reason. He does his job well, and he's learned the art of excellent customer service. The more we complimented him and the great service he was giving us, the more he responded with doing more. We saw a beautiful soul in Ein today. Ein exuded love with no inhibitions. He wasn't sizing us up to see if we were worthy of his attention. He had plenty of love in him to share with others. He thought one thing. "I have love to share and I'm sharing it."

Ein was a perfect example of the art of loving and giving. We do a lot of talking and complaining about how life treats us, then along comes the Eins of the world and they make us realize "the greatest of these is love". Oh, that we had that unconditional, extravagant love that loves and serves so well.