Rule XV

Every morning when I wake up I begin my day with prayer. For the past couple of weeks I have also incorporated reading a chapter from Og Mandino's, "A Better Way to Live."

There are so many great principles in that book...seventeen to be exact. He calls them "rules."

This morning I read "Rule XV" and it spoke so loudly to me based on things, or more specifically, PEOPLE I've been dealing with lately. It helped justify some of my recent decisions and reinforced the fact that although some decisions may be painful, they're necessary in order for me to maintain a positive level of health and wellness.

Bottom line (and I'm paraphrasing):
I do not have to allow negativity into my space. If someone is bringing me down, intentionally hurting me, unintentionally hurting me (but when I make them aware of the offense they CHOOSE to do nothing about it), and/or only speaking negativity into my life...the decision is up to me with regard to how close I let them get to me.

At this point in my life, I can only have those around me who are here to support, encourage, uplift (and most certainly NOT smile in my face while STABBING me in the back).

My circle may be growing smaller, and folks may be hating and/or calling me everything but a "Child of God." That's ok I imagine. I have spent ALL of my life trying to make other folks happy...walking on eggshells so as not to offend them or "make them mad" at me. But where has that gotten me? It's gotten me disrespected and having folks think they can treat me any old way. Well...NEWSFLASH...those days are GONE.

As I said in a previous post, the older I get, the more I become like my Mother. She spoke her mind ALWAYS. If someone offended her, she confronted them. If they walked out her life afterward as a result, she was ok with that. She didn't suppress her feelings for the sake of "being liked." You either liked my Mother for the "real deal" that she was, or you stepped. No skin off her nose, as she would say...and none off mine either.

As Porky Pig would say..."That's All Folks!"

It's a BEAUTIFUL morning, and my day is JAM PACKED with FANTASTIC people I love spending time with. I've been looking forward to this day for WEEKS. So I'm about to get out there and "let it do what it do!" I hope you do the same.

For those who love me...and I mean GENUINELY love me...I love you right back! MUAH!!!
And for those who don't...I love you too (because Christ commands me to). You've simply taught me that I need to love YOU from a distance.

Let the DIALOGUE begin: What do YOU have planned for this lovely Saturday?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

Please remove your shoes

If I've ever been to your home, or you've ever been to mine, then there's one thing that you've noticed about me...I take my shoes off at the door.

I just can NOT walk through a home with shoes on.

Do you know how much GARBAGE is on the bottom of your shoes?

Think about it.

How many public bathrooms to you walk through each day? Do you want to track THAT through your home?

How many parking lots and/or parking garages do you walk through? Do you want to track THAT through your home?

It's just GROSS. So I choose to simply leave all that at the door. If I had my druthers, I'd actually leave my shoes OUTSIDE.

So, if you're ever at my place, I'd appreciate it if you'd kindly remove your shoes at the door. I'm not gonna force you though. I'll probably just look at your feet during your entire visit. JUST KIDDING!

Oh, and aside from the grossness factor...I just think that people are more comfortable with their shoes off...I know I am.

Let the DIALOGUE begin! Do you remove your shoes when you enter a home?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

The ABCs of Me

Today's post is inspired by Judy, one of my two very best friends in the whole wide world.

She's created a social psychology collage and I think it is absolutely bee-yoo-tee-ful.
So much so, I want to create one myself. Hopefully she'll show me how one day (hint hint, wink wink).

The background for her collage really captures who she is. Without her even having to say or write a word, you "get it".

Then she added meaningful photos which also reflect who she is. I love her choice of photos ;-)

And then, she chose each letter of the alphabet to describe herself. That's the part that I will attempt for myself here. I'm just gonna type the first thing that comes to mind. Here goes:

A - Affectionate
B - Bubbly
C - Chatty
D - Determined
E - Ebullient
F - Friendly
G - Genuine
H - Hospitable
I - Inspiring
J - Jolly
K - Kind
L - Lovable
M - Momma
N - Nervous
O - Optimistic
P - Patient
Q - Quiet
R - Resilient
S - Studious
T - Talkative
U - Understanding
V - Vigilant
W - Writer
X - Xtra special
Y - Youthful
Z - Zaftig

There ya have it folks. I think that those who know me best would agree with the descriptions. There may be a couple that would tilt a few heads. And for the life of me, I couldn't think of ANYTHING for the letter X, so I got a little "creative" on that one. But these are pretty much me in a nutshell...The ABCs of Me.

Now, Let the DIALOGUE begin! Using each letter of the alphabet, which words best describe you?

Talk to me!

Til next time...

***

So...this afternoon, my dear friend Judy, actually made a collage FOR me. I absolutely LOVE it!!! The clipart image of the girl with letters floating around is the original image that I had for this post. I've now added my BEAUTIFUL collage for all the world to see. Judy, my friend...I love you!