Choose Your Day!

4-20 Is #HighOnHelping Day

2011-04-19T19:33:00.000-07:00

When Trials Come Your Way

2010-07-30T07:49:00.000-07:00

There is no disputing that something crazy is happening in the United States, if not the whole world.
We are not in control, never have been, but now we know for sure.
The war, the economy, the housing market...and the list goes on and on and on...
Almost one out of every 5 people I come in contact with (and I meet a lot of people) are going through a trial. Not a hassle ("I am uncomfortable right now"), but a bona fide ("I don't know if I can, or want to, live any more")trial.
Not too many people have known but I have been going through a trial for the last year, and it has not been without pain.
What I have learned is that we are supposed to suffer in this life; we are supposed to go through pain. Life is not a party and we are not supposed to be happy happy joy joy all of the time.
It is in the trials that we are refined or we fall apart. It is in the fire that we are stripped of things that have been hanging on for way too long - many time for decades. When we are put in the furnace the ropes that have been binding us will burn off, but it gets hot. Many times for a long time, depending on how long we have been wearing the ropes that bind us.
During these trials I have (after finding that kicking and screaming don't work)stepped back (or maybe I have fought so long to get my way that I am exhausted and can't move!) and let God refine me.
Our trials, our pain. Step back. Rest in God.
Rather than ask the question that never gets answered, "Why"? look up and ask "What? What needs to be stripped? What do you want to teach me that I have been too stubborn to learn? What?"
We will have trials, they will hurt, they many times will go on longer than we think we can bear.
But we are not alone, and there is a reason. And that great God is going through it with us. We are being refined...His perfect masterpiece!

Blessings in Disguise

2010-06-30T07:11:00.000-07:00

So many challenges in life today, so many chances to give up; to bemoan the things that are happening in this world.
There are so many things that we could focus on that seem terrible as they are happening. Sometimes God's greatest gifts are events that we perceive as horrible as they are happening. Many times they are things that are happening to open doors that need to be opened. OR to close doors and remove obstacles so new people, opportunities can make their way in the crevices of your life.
My middle daughter Katie(who incidentally loves that position in the family of three girls) dated a guy for years and they worked at the relationship and hung on; long after there were signs that their reason was over.
After a period of grieving she started hanging around with a young man that she has known forever. And they have grown closer and closer and are enjoying a very healthy relationship.
Aww..a blessing in disguise came with so much pain...and ended as a gift!
What is happening in your life?
What seems like an insurmountable mountain?

Look at the past and all of the challenges that brought gifts out of the rubble.
Your challenges right now? They are temporary glitches - with gifts wrapped inside. Rest in that truth.

I'll stop just for a minute...

2010-06-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

I spent the afternoon at Cash 'N Carry in Nashville. I have been checking out foodservice suppliers as a possible sales opportunity. After all, I did work for one years ago.
Having a great time perusing the aisles with the #10 cans of fruits and vegetables, the large bags of frozen foods, and paper goods, I purchased a large bag of chocolate chips and a bag of frozen bread dough.
On the way home I was feeling like I would like to see a friend or two so I stopped in at the local Panera, an office to so many people. I spotted my friend, Carlos, who I had not seen for so long. We hugged, grabbed a cup of coffee, and sank in the comfy chairs to catch up on life.
After an hour I hopped back in my steamy car to head home, only to look at the passenger seat and see my bag of chocolate chips that had turned into one big chocolate chip. Then I looked at the bread dough that had risen in the plastic bag, and saw that it was ready to bust out of the bag.
I sat in the car and started to laugh. I had only bought two items and they had either melted or risen. I guess when the temp is 97 degrees, nothing is going to stay in its original state.
I could not wait to call my sister, Joann, and share my mishap with her. This was just one of those things that ended up just being a good story.

Buried Dreams

2010-05-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

I met with a wonderful young couple from Belmont University last night. I had met this young man two years ago and loved he and his family. Now he has a charming girlfriend to add to the mix.
It was so refreshing to listen to young people who are not tainted by life; who want to live out their hearts desires.
As we talked they told about their journeys to stay true to self; how as adults we try to tell them what is right for them. It was apparent that they were fighting against the voices of well-meaning adults who may have missed out on their dreams and were putting their hopes and dreams on the young.
The honesty that came from the hearts at Starbucks last night: they don't have all of the answers, they don't NEED all of the answers yet; they want to be happy in their lives and if that is working and making less than their parents did - that is okay; they want to follow their life's path.
I saw the innocence in their faces, I saw hope, I saw honesty.
For a moment I felt a twinge of regret. For the dreams that I allowed to be buried for so many years, for the times that I sold out for things that made sense to others, for 'lost' years.
Then I looked up and was reminded of the good that came from every one of those decisions, the people that I met along the way, and the lessons that I learned.
I dropped to my knees and said a prayer of thanks!

Yesterday's Painful Lessons - Today's Perfect Gift

2010-05-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

I woke up Saturday and the sun was shining. Oh, this was going to be a good day! I laid in bed and thought about family and friends. Let me explain that lately I have been questioning my role in Nashville, being away from family and my friends. I am appreciating the special people in my life, the precious times and the too-few times with family.
And a dull ache moved in, turned into a massive hole, and caught me off-guard with the emptiness. I turned introspective, cried, laughed, and then cried some more.
Thank God for friends that love unconditionally. Thank God for the too-busy girlfriend who showed up at my door with three flowers (representing the Father, Son and Holy Spirit she told me...so I didn't feel alone). What a blessing my non-biological mom was, as I talked with her on the phone and felt so close to her, even though she was 500 miles away; but really tucked inside my heart.
Saturday was a painfully long day.
Today I look back and unwrap the gifts from that day. Friends, family, lessons, change, new direction...wow! The day that I was thinking was a waste of a day, was a day wrapped in blessings! Gifts many times come wrapped in pain. Take every part of the gift and use it for God's glory. He knows what he is doing...and it is all done in love beyond our comprehension.
On Saturday I thought the day would never end. Today I looked at the blessings, and realize the day was exactly as long as it needed to be.

Love in a Box

2010-05-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Each day has so many blessings - if we just look for them!
Today started out as any other ordinary day. I woke up, answered emails, made appointments, and met a colleague for brainstorming.
Wow! The session that we had went a whole different direction, and we just followed it. By the end of the meeting we both looked at each other in amazement, and then looked up to the facilitator.
The blessings started when we arrived at the library to secure a Study Room to meet in. The rooms were all being used, so we improvised and sat on a bench outside. What we didn't realize was that brainstorming outside, without any walls or volume level in place, our creative juices had no limits.
Blessing #1.
I stopped at Office Depot to fax a document to my insurance agent. When all four pages were successfully in my agent's office, the manager of Office Depot (who I don't know by name but recognize his face) handed them to me, asked me if that was all needed, and when I told him it was, he winked and told me to have a good day.
The blessing had nothing to do with saving on the cost of the fax; the blessing was that someone cared to treat me to an unexpected surprise. Blessing #2.
When I arrived home the mailman was at my door dropping off boxes. Since I didn't remember ordering anything, I was curious.
BIG time blessing! People that I had met on facebook and at conferences had mailed books, shirts, food, toys, toiletries to help the flood victims in Nashville. I opened boxes from two different cities in Florida, Ohio, California and Oklahoma. With each box came unspeakable love. People giving to people they had never met, just because they care. THEN I opened my mail and there were gift cards from all over for restaurants, WalMart, Target and grocery stores. I just say down, thanked God for providing for people less fortunate than these precious people. And I cried with joy. Blessing upon blessing today.
For people that complain about this selfish world, look around! Love is all around. You merely have to open your eyes and focus on it!

The Beauty of the Flood

2010-05-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

To the outside world the flood in Tennessee were merely a disaster: houses completely destroyed, belongings floating to the unknown, memories tossed in the garbage heap, lives turned upside down in the muddy waters.
To the people going through this experience it is a gift wrapped up in tragedy. It is community, it is hope. It is people working long hours to do all they can for people they just met. It is hearing the words, "This is the best experience of my life" from a woman who lost most of her life collection and shelter. It is people living life the way that has Jesus smiling.
The stories of the flood waters are being replaced with stories of strangers becoming friends, homes being opened up in complete trust, teenagers handing out bottles of cold water to volunteers, hugs being shared regardless of the smells emanating from tired bodies, love passing in the glances between people who will never forget what real love is.
The flood brought floods of love, emotion and people crawling out of their own self-absorbed worlds. It flooded hearts that have been hardened by life, with hope. It made friends of people who would have never met. Aww...what they would have missed out on!
The floods...what a gift!
The disasters in life - are they merely challenges wrapped in love, waiting for, not strangers, but friends that have not yet met, to gather together and do life together - the way it was designed to be?

Nashville Floods - The Best Days of my Life

2010-05-13T03:27:00.000-07:00

The waters have receded, many businesses have re-opened, houses are smelling of mold and,many people have never been happier in their lives.
On Tuesday I served alongside of members of Journey Church as we helped a couple move into their small apartment, after leaving their waterlogged home.
I arrived at their home to see three pastors and countless others loading furniture and personal belongings to the line of waiting trucks and SUV's. There was sweat, laughing and tears as the community of volunteers worked side-by-side.
The couple whose home had been ravaged by storm waters were laughing and joining in with the celebration of community.
Their story is like countless others in Nashville: flood waters in home, personal items destroyed, memories thrown away before the mold sets in.
Like many others the smiles on their faces are a result of the love that emerges with the rising waters. Nothing could destroy the spirit of community that emerged from the waters.
On Tuesday I experienced the resiliency of the human spirit. I saw joy and love sparkle in the eyes of people who were left with so little, and felt richer than they ever had.
The couple who had lost so much told me their story, not unlike so many others: water, destruction, strangers, community, love.
Alice continued to tell of a church member walking by, asking what they needed help with. That night she and her husband were spending the night - and subsequent nights - in the home of someone she had never met before, receiving help from, people who wanted nothing in return, watching their belongings being loaded in trucks from people who wanted no recognition, laughing and loving with hearts they would never forget.
When I was leaving, all of the belongings wiped down outside and brought safely into their small, clean apartment; I hugged and Sally, and with tears in her eyes she whispered, "This has been the best experience of my life."
I stepped back.
The dreaded words: flood waters, devastation, insurance, FEMA had been replaced with: community, caring, strangers connected at the heart, love.
I looked into Sally's tear-filled eyes that sparkled with an excitement about life, people, humanity and I saw what she was seeing. The vehicles that were pulling away from the apartment complex, with promises to return when they moved back into their house months from now, were all being driven by God. That WOULD make it the best experience of a lifetime.

Graduation and Contemplation

2010-05-08T02:32:00.000-07:00

My daughter, Lauren, is graduating from college today. My baby. I sit at my computer listening to the sounds of birds chirping, breezes blowing in the open windows, and contemplate how quickly life moves on, taking us with it whether we are ready for life's storms and celebrations or not. We are along for the wildly exciting, often mystifying, ride of our lives.
Life happens. Ready or not, here it comes.
One week ago I was in my dry house thinking about the too-busy weekend that was coming up. I was maybe even a little annoyed at God for the hint of rain that was going to possibly interrupt my perfect, much-earned, fun weekend.
When the gentle rains started I chose to stay home the first night; after all the next day was the packed every-hour day of fun, starting immediately after church.
And then I awoke on Sunday to a day that was not in my control any more.
I turned on the TV and heard the news.
No church. Malls closed. Rivers rising. People drowning. Stay inside.
At that moment I realized that the lives we had been living, feeling very much in control, were taken out of our hands, and put back in God's. The life that we thought had been so well orchestrated by ME. Every appointment, every thing on my to-do list, every well-planned event was taken out of my hands.
I was NOT in control and the only thing I could do was go along with the Master plan.
This past week gave me a feeling of purpose that no regular job can give. I gave my life to the Potter this week and gave my all, and received so much more in return.
I emptied water out of strangers - who became family through tragedy - homes that had become mere shells of the house they remembered from deep in the recesses of their minds from a long two days ago. I slipped with fellow volunteers on the floors of numb homeowners as they mumbled almost incoherently, "I lost everything...what am I going to do?" I hugged, I laughed, I cried, I was alive.
I was feeling more alive in the aftermath of the destruction I had no answers. I only had love.I felt more alive than I had for years. The author of my life story had written this storm, and I knew I was playing the part now that He had written for me. Every person has their part in His story.
Today my daughter will be waking up and leaving the safety net of school, and facing the BIG world waiting for her. Her part in the Creator's story has been written; He has allowed her to be part of it. I want to tell her to give up trying to plan every detail of her life. I want her to take time to love others, but take time to love herself. I want to tell her to step back and move out of her own way - her life has been written in His big book of Life. I want to warn her to slow down,serve well, laugh a lot, love even more. And when the storms of life come - and they will - to get down on her knees and ask God what her part in His story is. And then go along with it. Because Father knows best!

Nashville - More Than Just a Flood

2010-05-07T02:20:00.000-07:00

My knees ache, my wrists are sore, I probably smell like mold; and I have never felt more content in my life.
Nashville's flooding is so much more than lost belongings, lost homes and displaced people. This past week has been about LIFE, the way it was meant to be.
I have been walking alongside of some of the most amazing people I had never met. Trina. Cecilia. Wendy. David. Chad. Ben. Gary.I may never know their last names, but their faces are forever embedded on my heart.
We slopped through sludge, prayed with people who couldn't understand us yet looked at us with complete understanding of our prayers, huddled together to cry as a flood victim wailed as her memories were being thrown to the curbside.
Watching the news on TV that is being reported to the rest of the world tells just a snippet of the story.
The real story is about the heroes - the flood victims that are walking to their neighbors to see what they need, the churches and individuals that are cruising through neighbors desperate to help and give any way they are able, the churches that are giving tirelessly because there is a need.
I spoke to volunteers who are going back to people they helped, just to check up on them, say hello, or to bring a shoe store gift card to a woman who loves shoes and lost them all, checking upon fellow volunteers to make sure they are okay, delivering pizzas donated for volunteers by a local pizza parlor, housing people who have no homes.
Nashville is filled with heroes...they may never be on TV, no one knows their names but they are filling up the city.
As you watch the news look beyond the words. Look into the heart of Nashville. People come to visit Nashville for the music and the conventions; they come back for the community and love.

After the rains - the rainbow

2010-05-06T05:26:00.000-07:00

I served the flood victims again yesterday.
Trina Carter and I stopped at Johnnie Griffin's House (no relation) to see how she was doing, and to pray with her.
The difference in her demeanor in a mere 24 hours was amazing!
The previous day we encountered a sad, beaten, numb, how-can-I-go-on-with-life attitude. Rightfully so.
We dug in and helped her, her sister and brother-in-law, and nephew empty water and rotten foods out of the refrigerator. Water from the floods actually filled up the bottom bins!
We emptied cabinets, drawers, threw away her whole 69 years of life, as she stood with her shoulders slumped and tears streaming down her face. We prayed with her as she looked at her deceased husband's chair being dragged to the street to add to the pile of dirt; so intent on telling us how much he loved that chair. As if the chair would miraculously repair itself, dry out and restore itself to its former charm, if only we knew its meaning.
More people from our church arrived and we dragged out mattresses, clothes, papers and memories; working like worker bees as Johnnie's shoulders fell further down. When asked a question about what to do with something, she would look up with apathetic eyes, as if to say, "Help me. I can't make any more decisions. I don't know what to do any more, I don't know how to go on with this challenge life has thrown at me."
Yesterday we drove up to her house with all of the furniture sitting on her front lawn, and people helping to get it ready for storage. Storage for antique furniture that was still wet and damaged, but Johnnie was not ready to part with it yet. She had to try to save as many pieces from her before-the-flood life as she could.
But there was something different. As we approached Johnnie who had a cell to her ear, she spotted us and her eyes lit up.
"I have to go. My friends are here."
In that short span of time, amidst tragedy, we had become friends. Now Trina and I had tears in our eyes.
Johnnie grabbed our hands and pulled us into the house. The empty house - devoid of any furniture, carpet, signs that love had lived there; a house that had only water on the floor and memories removed.
But Johnnie. Her eyes sparkled.
When Trina and I and our teams had left the day before, two more teams from our church moved in. They did not leave until they completed the big task in front of them. They gave to Johnnie more than her heart could comprehend. They gave Johnnie hope and love.
She bubbled how the Journey church took care of her, that God cleaned out her house. She told us about her belongings, the people, the National Guard. But mostly she talked about the giving, the love. She talked about hope. Given by people she had never met. People who gave so unselfishly, because they cared for a hurting heart.
'Jesus with skin'.
Johnnie. Hope. Working side-by-side amidst the sludge and sewage. Aching legs. Burning eyes. Breaking hearts.
And then from a woman we had met the day before, "I have to go. My friends are here.
That made every ache worth it!

Angels in Wet Clothing

2010-05-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Rain. Water, Fires. Devastation. Nashville, Somehow this does not all add up. When the weatherman said that Nashville had 100% chance of rain last weekend I was bummed...the picnic that we had planned was going to be ruined. The picnic ended up being the smallest part of the plan. The devastation that was to follow was depressing, sad, filled with community and love!
On Saturday and Sunday as the rains pelted from the skies I watched as my front yard filled up with pockets of water.
"Oh No! It is going to wash out my new grass seed." That was my biggest concern.
When the rains stopped, and I ventured outside of my door...what greeted me was more than my heart could take in.
Water, homes completely destroyed, spirits dampened, community gathering in shock.
Working with people to clean out their houses; amidst sewage, water, ticks, and more has been almost more than I can take in.
The community is what God had in mind. This has leveled the playing field and we are all one in Nashville. The millionaires are pumping out water for people they have never met, while everyone looks the same and smells the same. No one cares what anyone else does as they form assembly lines to get furniture and possessions out of houses waterlogged and filled with sludge.
Look around and you are destined to see people huddled in groups praying before they enter houses; homeowners and strangers hugging while one hangs on for dear life - and hope; tears streaming down faces as lives are thrown in the dumpster without any time to disconnect from the emotion.
Nashville will recover...and be stronger, closer, and more loving because of this unexpected, and cannot-be-prepared-for devastation. Years from now people here will be talking about the flood of 2010 - when love showed up at every house.
Nashville - community, caring, togetherness - the music continues!

Who is really in control?

2010-04-30T09:08:00.000-07:00

The sun is shining brightly in Nashville today and the birds are chirping. The grass is green and the flowers are standing up as if in praise. I am so grateful for days like this. It feels as though there is nothing that can go wrong. It feels as though we deserve this kind of day; that every day should be like this!

Last Saturday was the Music City Marathon. Runners prepare for this for months; some for the whole year, and some their whole lives. There are many dreams and arbitrary walls knocked down during this run: the voices from the past that said you never finish anything, the resounding feeling of overcoming physical setbacks, the dream come true as you sprint across that finish line.

Last weekend the skies looked ominous and 3 miles short of the finish line the run was halted. The sadness was apparent on many faces. This was another setback in life, a disappointment. To many it was another state to cross off of their lists of marathons to accomplish all 50 states. WHY? Why did the weather not cooperate? It was nice the day before and the day after the race.

We are NOT in control. We have have been and never will. There is a much higher power that controls the switches for the rain, the hail, the sun, moon and stars. And He chose that day to open the flood gates.

WHY? The WHY will never be answered. But take a minute to sit back and give the controls back to your creator. He has been at the helm since before the beginning of time, and He does a much better job than any of us can. Let's trust, and know that we are not, and will never be in control, no matter how many plans we make.

If the race finished there may have been many more injuries, there might have been something vicious that happened, there might have been...well, you get the picture.
Drop to your knees and say a prayer of thanks for all that you have been given, and all that has been taken from you. Because, after all, Father Knows best!

A Day in the Life

2010-04-13T04:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the perfect day.
What made it that way?
As I look back on the events of the day it was probably just the fact that I made up my mind to have the best day possible.
I started out at my daughter Jacki's house in Conway, Arkansas and drove to meet my sister and her husband in Branson, Missouri - a mere two hours away.
I loved everything about it - the drive, the hills, the weather, just life.
Was I disappointed? Not one tiny bit!
We hugged, we laughed, we ate, we chatted with people, we went to shows, and we just loved every moment of this life we have been given. One more day.
Too few days are spent in being present at every second. We spend our minutes/hours/days/life living out the past or planning for the future.
Yesterday I lived in the present. It was so much fun - I think I will do it again today!

Welcome today!

2010-04-08T04:39:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning in anticipation. For what? That is a surprise - even to me!
I want to know why I feel this excitement, why I just know that today is going to bring just the people that are supposed to be in my life.
I am going to work at the Southern Women's Show in Nashville for Salem Communications, the local Christian radio station.
What a feeling! To be among all of those women, and to be able to maybe, just maybe, be able to witness about what God has done in my life; what He IS doing. I look forward to laughing, loving and connecting. I am hoping to be able to break bread with one of His finest miracles.
I am excited about today, I am excited about the unexpected gifts that He has in store for me. I am already thankful for what is to happen that I could not plan.
Today I open my life and heart up for the big dream that the Dream Giver has for me.
Today my life will be just the way it is supposed to be.

Today is the Day!

2010-04-08T04:38:00.000-07:00

Is it Time to Let Go?

2010-04-07T04:53:00.001-07:00

I tried to call a girlfriend on Monday. She answered, but was in a meeting. She whispered that she would call back when she was finished. That was two days ago.
I have called her before and she says she will call back. I believe her every time.
A couple of months ago we had a misunderstanding. It was worked out - very well, I thought.There was understanding and apologies. Just the way that adults work out problems. The end.
I mean the end of the misunderstanding, not the end of the friendship that we had built up.
As Americans we tend to throw away things that are imperfect, that need a little work. We want new and perfection. No wonder we are never happy.
When did relationships become disposable?
When I think back over the past months since our little tif, I have tried to call my dear friend. Most of the time I would get a machine. She was someone that used to promptly call back. Now that I think of it, she rarely called back.
There is a time to let things go, but it is so hard. I guess I don't understand disposing of people. But it is time to let go because she must not have been attached to me the same as I was attached to our friendship. That is a hard realization.
I appreciate my friends that disagree, get annoyed, then love just the same. That is real life. Each disagreement is merely a chance to learn to communicate and learn how to work out conflict. What a gift!
Working out problems only makes you stronger; makes relationships tighter.
But there is a time to let go and let people walk away. That day for me is today.

Where is your strength?

2010-04-06T05:57:00.000-07:00

I was reflecting on life and thinking about life's challenges. They can be overwhelming. If we allow them to. This past year has been a really challenging year for me. I feel the winds of change blowing in my life. And now I am ready for them.
When we have challenges many times we tend to act like a chicken and run to the coop to hide. I have been guilty of that time and time again. Probably one of my biggest faults. As a child we were never taught how to face problems head-on. We retreated or got someone else to fend for us. Not real good life lessons.
I realize now that there are other ways to deal with challenges - and that is to allow them to make me stronger.
The eagle - when facing a storm - will allow the storm to lift him up as he stays true to himself and stays strong. The winds will lift him up and make him stronger as he fights what is trying to come against him. His wings are stronger, he knows that storms are only temporary and that he will get through this one just like the last one.
I have decided that I have been chicken long enough. I am spreading my wings and facing each storm.
Go ahead winds...I am ready for you!

Meditation

2010-04-05T07:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I knew how to meditate. I had bought Cd's on the technique. I set aside time to meditate.
And then I went to a class with my girlfriend last night and I realized: I do not know how to meditate.
We sat in a room on pillows and got comfortable.We closed out eyes and the leader told us how to focus on or breathing. We sat for 30 minutes and focused on our breathing and controlled the thoughts that were coming into our heads. The leader would ever so gently remind us to concentrate on our breathing. Every time he did this I felt as though he was in my head and he was reeling me back in!!
We sat in total silence for 30 minutes and listened to the sounds around us, focused on our breathing, and became aware of the thoughts that knock against the walls of our brains!
Believe it or not, that was a fast 30 minutes.
After we talked about things that went on, challenges we have, and asked questions, we meditated for a happy 10 minutes and loved on ourselves - in our heads!
Meditation...a great time to get in touch with the chatter in our heads and clear out some space.

The sound of family

2010-04-03T04:18:00.001-07:00

My daughter Jacki arrived last night from Conway, Arkansas. The instant that she walked into the house, it felt alive. The furniture that we plopped into felt more comfortable, the house smelled like family and the laughter seemed louder and life was good.
Family has a way of putting life into perspective. The things that we worried about during the day do not seem as challenging, the grocery shopping that didn't get done, well, it will get done. The dirth kitchen floor - not a priority.
Lauren will walk into the doors today and the house will be alive - with her loud, infectious laugh, her entertaining ways and her love.
Katie will be missed - but her spirit will be here - circumstances do not allow her to be her.
Family...the way it was meant to be. The spark of life.
Enjoy every precious moment with them.

The Spring of Life

2010-03-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to the sounds of birds singing to me (I know they were targeting ME), lawnmowers starting their too-long-in-the-shed whining, and the smell of spring in the air.
To many the smellof spring conjures up wonderful smells. Here in Nashville the smell that comes from the Bradford Pear trees is...well, not too pleasant. But it lets me know that spring has arrived.
For many this has been a long winter. My winter began about a year ago, and is just exiting. It was challenging personally and professionally. God had me in a tough place, a place to learn. Whew! It was a winter of pain!
BUT it is spring. It is a time of rebirth - outside and inside. My heart is singing, my hopes are up and I am ready to bloom. Spring never look as good as it does after a long hard winter in your soul.
Happy Spring!!

Girlfriends

2010-03-29T05:58:00.000-07:00

To a girl, her friends are many times her life line. When it feels like her world is falling apart, when PMS is at its peak, when 'he' pulls yet another one of his stunts - yet again, when someone close to you leaves your life - girlfriends will walk in the front door.
My daughter Jacki has the group of girlfriends that everyone dreams about. They are a group from her sorority -Tri Sigs - and they have carried each other through relationships, death, marriages, birts and everything in between. When one hurts, they all hurt. That St. Louis group is rare in this world...and one that needs to be emulated.
I met a wonderful group of women in Nashville in the past year. The group keeps growing. It has made me aware of how much I have been craving that friendship since I moved to Nashville from Chicago three years ago.
Aww...the diverse personalities...the different clothes styles...the laughter...the tears...the love.
Girlfriends...priceless.

American Idol

2010-02-23T18:54:00.000-08:00

I sit and watch American Idol and I am amazed at the courage these young people have. They laugh, they cry, they sing, they win - and they lose. And they do it with or without dignity. It is amazing how we can fall in love - or not - with people we have never met.
And it all comes down to entertainment. We love to love these musicinas, we laugh when they fall, we feel their pain when we like them.
Whew! What started out as a TV program ended up being a part of our lives, our family.

Who's in Charge?

2010-02-11T06:22:00.000-08:00

The snow fell and caught people off-guard. The East Coast shut down and settled in for a long winter's nap.
Wait!
Can we settle down?
Work, the Olympics, the National Speakers Association Winter Workshop...all of these must go on. Or do they have to?
I was watching the news and I saw the panic on the faces of the Olympic competitors, I spoke to speakers for the NSA Winter Workshop...
Who is in control?
The snow paralyzed this country and affected everyone in this world. Many Olympians are in fear of not getting to Canada...their dreams are not in their control any more...
Who is really in control?
Look up for the answer!

Super Bowl is More than just a Game

2010-02-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

The day of the Super Bowl has never been important to me. Or so I thought.Last night I went to my friend Debbie's house and spent the evening with her family and other friends. That's when I got it - really got it!
Super Bowl is abour community, it's about gathering togerher, it's about making memories.
Super Bowl is about a country gathering together and sitting around a TV and laughing, bantering and loving. Super Bowl is a game that brings the values that have built this country back to the forefront.
Super Bowl - so much more than just a game.

It Only Takes One!!

2010-02-01T08:58:00.000-08:00

How many friends do you have? How many friends do you want?
When I was growing up I thought it was important to have a large quantity of friends. Now that I am an adult I realize it is the quality of the friends that is important.
When I want to go out in Nashville I have many people I can call on to go downtown to the honky tonks. But when I can't sleep in the night, when anxiety overtakes me, when I need someone to offer a shoulder or to hold my hand, the number of 24-hour friends dwindles.
How many friends do I need? When I am in need of someone to listen and sit with me...it only takes one!

Saved by the Bell

2010-01-31T13:24:00.000-08:00

Have you ever had one of those nights? You know the kind, you wake up in the night, your breathing is labored and your head feels heavy. No, not a hangover, just stress related. You remember what happened during the day and what the next day is going to hit you with. And it feels even more enormous in the dark of night!
Well, I had one of those nights last night. It was not fun! When I woke up at 3:30 a.m. I was feeling overwhelmed and alone.
I sat at the computer and did some work; that did not give me any peace. I crawled into my recliner chair in my bedroom, that was not what I needed. The stories in the bible would not go deep in my soul.
I crawled into my bed with the electric blanket on high and it felt like a hug. Grabbing the remote control, I flipped the channels and found a preacher that was preaching a good word.
Ring! Ring! I looked at the clock - 5 o'clock!
After looking at the Caller ID and seeing the name of my best friend, Ed, I picked up the phone to a voice that was astonished to hear my wide-awake voice bidding him a "Good morning!"
"Sandy, I was walking my dog and i just want you to know..." And he went on to tell me what was put in his heart by God. Surprising, or maybe not so surprisingly, the words he gave me - without knowing it - were the very words that I needed to hear. He was confirming what I had been asking God during my not-able-to-sleep hours.
That ringing of the phone at 5 a.m. was just what my heart needed to hear. I not longer dread these unexpected phone calls; I am open to the messenger that God sends into my life.
I hung up the phone, snuggled in a fetal position in bed, and drifted into a deep slumber.
Saved by the bell...

Happy Beginning of the Holiday Season!

2009-11-01T06:17:00.000-08:00

My girlfriend came over yesterday in a panic.
"Today is Halloween. That means that this is the beginning of the FAT season. Here I go again hating myself and gaining weight."
I smiled because I had been there for over 30 years. Dreading the holidays because of the way I had let myself go and even more, hating the fact that I was going to be under the power of sugar, fat and sprinkles. Top that off with cocktails to add calories and slow down my metabolism!
Then came the day that I forgave myself for past mistakes and started to acquaint myself with ME and accepted that beautiful person that I had kept hidden under layers of cookie dough, chocolate and cheese.
I grabbed Michelle and hugged her.
"Michelle, this is the year that you are going to embrace the holidays and enjoy every Jingle Bell.
Today is your day. Get to know yourself. Forgive past mistakes and put them where they belong - in the past. Spend your time doing what you love, dig in your heart and discover new things about yourself, and embrace them.
Change your thinking; change your life. Treat yourself to the gift of a life coach and watch as you run to score the touchdown to self-esteem, hit the home run of discovery and shoot baskets of acceptance.
"Today is the day after Halloween. That means that it is the beginning of the joyous season. Here I go loving everything about it, and embracing every morsel of it."

Coincidences - or God?

2009-09-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I didn't feel like going to the Housewarming Party last night.
Oh don't get me wrong. I love Michelle and her family. I had a house guest for 3 days and he had just driven into the sunset and I just might need some alone time.
But that restlessness was churning inside of me.
"But it is a 30-minute drive. I don't feel like driving to the party."
"I could ask someone to go with me, but what if I don't want to stay long?"

The restlessness continued. To put the feelings to rest I baked a batch of my well-known chocolate chip cookies, bought a small housewarming gift and crawled into the car.

From the minute I walked into the house I knew I was right where I was supposed to be last night.
The food, the laughter, the love, the stories, the connection.
Everyone met everyone else, no one was isolated.

As I was leaving reluctantly, I met one last person.
Coincidence?
I have been actively looking for a webmaster who is well-versed in subscription or membership websites. It has been a frustrating quest. Until last night.
"Hello, my name is John. I am an artist and photographer."
As I said my final good-night, or so I thought, I asked John if he knew of anyone who knew anything about membership websites.
"That's what I do."

Coincidence? Or God?
Thank you God for your faithfulness.
I didn't feel like going to the Housewarming Party last night. Thank God I did!

It's Time to Dance Today!

2009-09-27T04:02:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning. 4:00 a.m. Wide awake.
I sat up in my bed and read, and watched Tv and prayed.
My mind started to wander. I was tired but couldn't sleep.
A couple of hours later my tired mind was telling me that my day was going to be ruined because of lack of sleep.
Then I took control of my thoughts, rested my tired brain, closed my eyes and settled into a slumber.
My day is going to be just what it is supposed to be. Only with a nap.

The Joy of Serving

2009-09-26T06:05:00.000-07:00

Every day seems to pass by so quickly. I remember walking into school the first day of kindergarten. I was so frightened of those big third graders walking down the halls. Then I was getting my 8th grade diploma and wondering how those high school kids would perceive me. I felt to young and they were so old!
Students in college! Well, they were so grown up - would I ever be that old?!!
And today...my own daughters are past college age and I look back and I marvel at the speed of life.
The years flew by, but where did the days go? Did I waste them in busy-ness or did I relish each moment? Did I take the time to honor everyone I met, or did I bulldoze over them in my attempt to get ahead?
The past: over.
The future? Take the time to look around and savor every look, every touch, every laugh, every breath.
That is more than enough...that is real and it is yours. Right now.

And the rain continues

2009-09-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to the familiar sound of rain slapping against the sides and roof of the house. I did not have any pressing appointments early so I could lay under the covers and reflected on either the unceasing amount of water deluging our days, or focus on the wonderful gift of green and nutrition to our earth. I preferred the second (though there are times I choose to sit and wallow in my pity, feeling sorry for us all that have not seen the sunshine in forever!)
After I was lulled into a melancholy state I walked to the window in the Bonus Room and gazed as the healthy, happy flowers raising their arms up to receive all that Mother Nature was offering them. They were so content, so happy just being who they were created to be, accepting the food from their source.
I couldn't help but wonder how many people are feeling the rain in their lives, daily? Do they see the benefits of all of that nutrition, all of that learning? Are they realizing that they are being fed so when the rain finally stops and the sun comes out they will be more colorful and stand proud and strong?
Five straight days of gray skies and continuous rain. Five nonstop days of being fed. Grow flowers grow! Grow YOU grow!

The Simple Things

2009-09-17T04:35:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to the smell of rain, crickets singing to me outside of my window and a cool breeze sneaking in through the open window. And a peace in my heart.
As I lay in my bed, thankful for all that God has given me, I became aware of the face that store bought items do not give peace, only a high price tag and temporary satisfaction. But the beauty that God has given us, everything that He has entrusted us with to take care of...now that makes a heart sing.
The media creates a need that it not natural - you have to have mouthwash so you don't have halitosis, deodorant so you don't sweat, perfume to cover your natural body odors, conditioner in your hair because shampoo is just not enough, lotion for age spots and stretch marks that are trophies of life, and the list goes on. And we are never satisfied, never good enough.
But we wake up to the beauty of just 'being', just for being born a child of God and there are reminders all around of His love for us: He paints us a beautiful masterpiece in the sky as the pinks streak across the sky, He provides a symphony all day long with the birds and the insects, not to forget the 200 shades of green and the colors of flowers that can't be duplicated that He painted for us to enjoy.
Just for a moment slow down and just take in the picture that was painted for us to walk through. Then take a moment to thank the artist.

Nashville on a Saturday Night with Family!

2009-09-13T04:35:00.000-07:00

My sister, Mary Jo, and her husband, Dan, drove to Nashville and arrived here yesterday. I was so excited for them to get here that I prowled around my house like a cat looking for a non-existent mouse.
It has been a long time since I have seen any of my brothers and sisters. Ten of my siblings live in Minnesota and one sister in Milwaukee.
This past year, with the struggling economy, has put all of the speakers - me included, having to redefine what they do. We have had to re-purpose and work twice as hard. I am not afraid of hard work, but now that I am slowing down and enjoying life a bit more, I am missing home.
I went to the Land of 10,000 lakes a year ago August for a wedding, and that is the last I have seen family.
So, now Mary Jo and Dan were on their way.
The minute they drove up I ran out to their car, hugged them and did not want to let them go. If there was some was we could have morphed into one person; well, I would have been okay with that.
After we enjoyed a meal on the deck, caught up on a few of the latest things in life, we headed toward downtown Nashville to honky tonk. We parked and walked a couple of blocks to the lights of NashVegas.
Nothing big happened. We listened to music in the bars. We laughed, listened to the street musicians, watched in the windows of a tattoo parlor as brave souls dressed parts of their bodies with art. We loved, we enjoyed each other, we loved life.
Nothing big happened? Love happened. And THAT is big!

We're Too Busy!

2009-09-05T05:45:00.001-07:00

Everyone I meet these days seems to have the same reply for "How are you?" The stock answer of "Fine" does not even apply any more.
Ask people how they are and count how many say, "Busy".
Busy seems to define our importance. Many times we even expand on 'busy' and tell all about our busyness. We can't keep in contact with other human beings because we are 'busy'.
Take the word 'busy' out of your vocabulary and dig deep in the recesses of your soul and ask yourself, "How am I REALLY?"
When you meet people and are ready to spout out the words, "How are you?", rephrase your question this way:
"BESIDES busy...how are you?"

I tried this when I saw a familiar face in Panera Bread a couple of days ago. The girl I asked this question got a perplexed look on her face and replied, "Busier".

Are you too busy to know how you are? Are you losing yourself in the 'busyness' of life? Are you too busy to be you? Take some of the busyness out of life, and put more of the 'life' back in life!

Facebook Once Removed

2009-09-02T06:07:00.001-07:00

I have heard the expression about relatives 'once removed'. I have never quite understood that. When people mention that I politely nod my head as if I understand how that person fits down the line.
This past weekend I found out what it means to have Facebook 'once removed'. A person with a malicious and greedy heart hacked into my Facebook account and tried to get unsuspecting and trusting people to give them money - supposedly to help me get back from London where I was mugged and left without my wallet, credit cards and phone. A cyber criminal after me while I grieve.
So Facebook shut me down.
I was in Chicago to memorialize a wonderful man who died to avoid hitting an out-of-control driver who ended up on his side of the road. The last thing in the world that I could worry about was my account on the computer.
Oh don't get me wrong. I am in contact with many people on Facebook and have come to rely on it to retrieve messages. I would have probably even argued that I don't waste time on it. Until it was gone and I had extra time to do other things.
I didn't go on it for pleasure - often - but now that I don't have it back up yet I have more time for other things.
Last night I was wide awake at 3:00 a.m. Not unusual.
I worked at the computer for awhile and realized that I would have been chatting with someone if my account was open. I was so productive at that hour and crawled back into bed at 5:30, realizing that many times I had allowed Facebook to eat up many of my middle-of-the-night hours without accomplising much, anything.
So sad that Facebook is closed; looking forward to getting it back, thankful that I got this lesson and that I will give that social networking tool only the time that it deserves and get the sleep that I crave. A lesson that is very inconvenient (which ones aren't?) but well learned!
Facebook 'once removed', lessons once learned!

The Joy of Neighbors

2009-09-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

I returned to Nashville from Chicago last night. It had been such a draining trip - seeing old friends who have become family by choice, burying a dear friend, facing my own mortality.
I sunk in the seat on the airplane as it taxied on the runway. Oh, but every bone in my body pounded, and every vein in my heart ached.
As soon as the big bird in the sky went up it felt as though it was descending to my destination. It was good to be back home, but so much had transpired in this one emotional weekend.
Oh God! Please take away this hurt and replace it with love.
My friend, Lesa, picked me up from the airport. With her keen counseling background Lesa listened, gave me love, and then prodded me to move through each part of grief, without getting stuck.
When we drove into my driveway, even in the dark, I could see my flowers smiling at me. Oh, I have such a happy yard and it was there to embrace me. God's gifts...
Then I noticed that my lawn was freshly mowed as I heard the neighbor's front door squeak open. Pat walked out and gently sent out a 'Welcone Home'. I thanked him as tears welled up in my eyes, and then I thanked him for mowing my lawn. He said that Bridget, his perky 13-year-old daughter watered my flowers every night and he mowed the lawn. He told me that he buried a friend at one time and he knows the pain.
Lesa reiterated her thank you's for mowing the lawn and taking care of my happy yard.
"That's what neighbors are for. That's what neighbors do", Pat said, as though it was an unspoken pact when you lived next door to someone that you just helped them out when they were in need.
Lesa, neighbors, flowers...God was busy replacing the hurt with love. I just have to open my eyes and see...

The comfort of three little words

2009-08-23T12:39:00.000-07:00

When I moved from Illinois I moved away from many good friends; so close that I could easily use the word 'family' with many of them.
Since moving away I have felt the power of the words 'I love you' whether they are said over the phone or in person. I prefer watching the words slide easily through the lips of someone special, but when distance gets in the way, the words through the phone earpiece are a welcome whisper.
Are the words 'I love you' repeated too many times, or not enough? Or just enough?
I was in Chicago on business in June and I was fortunate enough to be able to spend Father's Day at Willow Creek Church. It was a great service,complete with many hugs, tears,laughter and 'I love you's'.
Last Tuesday I got a phone call about a good friend from Chicago that was in a horrific motorcycle accident. As he lay, fighting for his life in a coma, brain revealed to expose the brain and allow swelling, my heart was in so much pain.
Talking and crying with my friend, Ed, brought comfort to my heart.
When I was at Willow I was speaking to Tom, the wonderful man in the accident, while Ed waited on the sidelines so we could spend some precious time together.
Tom and I said out 'See you laters', we hugged a hug that sent special thoughts to each other. Tom and I have always had a special bond.
Ed reminded me of the hug and said I could find comfort in knowing that the last words we spoke to each other were 'I love you, Tom" "I love you, Sandy." Ed remembers because it struck him that people don't typically tell each other these three protected words. They are reserved for the selected few. Many times long after it is too late.
Tom is still fighting to return to us; my days are spent in prayer for him and his wonderful kids. There is a heaviness as I wait to hear of any progress; but I can rest in the crook of the comfort that the last words imprinted on Tom's heart from my mouth were "I love you'.
Do we say those three little words enough? Or too late?

Imagine that you are right where you are supposed to be!

2009-08-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Deb!
It was my girlfriend's birthday and I had forgotten that I had told her a couple of weeks back that I would take her out for her birthday! As I was busy trying to get everything to fit into my day I became aware that I had committed myself to one more thing. Or rather, a text message on my phone reminded me of my offer of a celebration!
Deb drove into my driveway as I walked out of the house with a 'Happy Birthday' tiara on my head, a light-up necklace around my neck and a BIG birthday cookie/cake and gift in my hands.
Deb let out a squeal and her whole body exuded excitement.
All of my fatigue from the day dissipated.
We skipped into the first honky tonk downtown Nashville, ate a quick meal of something made of grease, fried in grease. We greeted our friends, the musicians, listened as they sang to Deb her birthday song and went to another honky tonk.
Our fun attitude and loud laughs attracted new friendships, as did Deb's birthday announcements on her head and around her neck.
We laughed, we made new friends, we danced and went home with memories and phone numbers of new friends.
All of this was a reward for being my word. I had committed myself and I went...and I am so glad I did!
Another great night - Deb's celebration and Music City - all wrapped in birthday paper with a big bow on top.

2009-07-31T10:43:00.000-07:00

I answered the phone last night and the voice on the other end said, "Sandy, I don't know what my God-given gifts are!"
For the next 2 1/2 hours I asked questions and Larry D-U-G deep in the buried recesses of his head - and heart, and exhausted we started laughing. We uncovered buried treasure!
It is amazing that we live in this body of ours - our temple - 24 hours a day, and we don't know who we are. If we don't know who we are, how can anyone else know us?
Our God-given gifts are the things that are so natural to us they are like breathing air. They are the things that give us energy; the hobbies that we spent most of our time on when we were growing up.
To some it may be that they loved - and still love to draw, paint, sing, be creative. An artist? An artist can express his/her creativity in many ways, not merely the obvious one, like having work in a gallery or being a musician on stage.
You played teacher when you were growing up? Maybe a consultant, speaker, pastor, or even...a teacher?
Take a piece of paper, make three columns, and put these headings at the top of each section:
Personality Traits, Hobbies, Experiences
Under each column, with no humility, but honesty and openness fill in the blanks. For example under the heading of Personality Traits I put: loves to laugh - loud laugh, great sense of humor, big smile, funny, love to read and learn, cherish girlfriends, too loud sometimes, love to talk, love people, love music, good writer, organized, etc. You get the picture. It took awhile to put the wall of humility down and jot down who I was: like saying that I am funny.
But I started to see who I was created to be: working with people, teaching, laughing, loving. Bingo! An inspirational speaker...teaching people to uncover their dreams.
Who are you? What are your God-given gifts?
s we hung up the phone Larry was humming; he was excited about exploring how toi use his gifts that have always been there and are breathing or the first time in a long time.
Dig deep inside of your soul...who were you born to be?

No Rainbow Without Rain

2009-07-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

As I sit here at the computer I have the windows wide open and I am enjoying the soft sound of the steady rain as it hits the rooftops, rain gutters and the ground. The streets are silent as weary workers sit at their dinner tables or are plopped in front of the TV, trying to leave the stress of the day behind.
I peek out my window and I can't help but stare at my flowers - all over the yard - looking like a symphony of color - all separate by themselves but living in harmony.
I can't help but think how much we are like flowers. We start out as seed and we grow as we are watered. Many times in life we are not watered and we hesitate to get water for ourselves so we stagnate. And we lose our colors and our leaves and petals begin to droop.
We dread the rain in our lives but without it we would never see a rainbow, we would never get the growth that we crave.
I listen to the rain and I smile as I feel my spirit being watered.

Take a Brick Out of the Wall That Stops You From Your BIG Dream

2009-07-26T13:51:00.001-07:00

We spend our lives building walls around ourselves,trying to get to know who we are and mixing more mortar while insulating ourselves from the people who are waiting outside for the gates of our hearts to open up.
Some of us take a long time to allow the walls to come down, but when they do...
I grew up in a family of 12 kids ("Cheaper by the dozen", my dad would chuckle, "It's a lie!")
I found that I developed into the person that my brothers and sisters perceived and created me to be. And somehow I lost myself along the way, bit by bit.
A year ago I started getting tired of looking at people over the top of the wall. So I began the journey of my lifetime with the first step and have been walking blindly down the path of my life.
I have the same life that so many others have lived: growing up without knowing that dreams can come true, marrying a man who showed up for the wedding but not for the marriage - and verbal abuse rears its ugly head after a couple of years and gets progressively worse - and I put up with it!, 30+ years of compulsive overeating and a daughter in an eating disorders clinic; not to mention DUI's running rampant among my siblings, and multiple eating disorders among my sisters. On top of all of that a gaggle of family members that live life among themselves and have ostracized me, the 'black sheep of the family', the 'different' one.
As I moved away from my siblings, divorced the man who beat up my esteem and 'thought' I had left the past behind. I started to find out who I am. Oh, not without pain.
And then I got it...everything I had gone through was to help others overcome their walls, fix the scrapes from their brick scrapes and teach them how to fall madly in love with themselves - the way that I learned to find, accept and love the woman that I was created to be.
Brick by brick, the pain subsided and my pain became my power. Once the lessons are extracted from experiences, the pain is gone, and you have a story, a lesson to pass on. Your life is used to make others lives better...and that makes every hurt worth the pain.
How many bricks do you have up? Are you tired of trying to see outside of the wall that you have built? Are you ready to break through your wall, one brick at a time, so yu can run free...wherever you want, being you, magnified?
What are you waiting for?

2009-06-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

I lifted up the phone out of its cradle as it shrilled in the late afternoon yesterday.
"Hello, Sandy Griffin? This is Centennial Hospital. Your mammogram report...you have lumps in both breasts."
When the nurse with the gentle voice on the other end inquired on availability to make a followup appointment I hesitated and made it for two weeks from now.
I hung up the phone and stood, paralyzed by the words that were spoken so routinely.
My first reaction was to ignore the call, act as though they never really called.
Darn! Why did I answer it? Why didn't I let it go to voicemail?
I immediately went into the yard and mowed the lawn. I guess I was trying to control and take care of what I was able to take care of.
After I finished and the yard looked great I went inthe house and cried. Now what?
I called the hospital and made an appointment sooner. The still-kind nurse said it is real coomon for women to want to hang up and think - or not think - about the words that were spoken.
I rescheduled my appointment for two days later and sat down and cried.
"Oh God, I have done so little with this life you have given me. Tell me what to do, let me know what your will is, and then let me step into it."
A day and a half later it is amazing the plethora of thoughts and emotions that have been going through my head.
In this short time I have evaluated my life, my actions and what I still want to accomplish. I have drawn closer to my girlfriends, and they have been phenomenal. They truly have exemplified family to me. They have been a big hug in this game of life.
The words, "Sandy you have lumps" may just be the words that I needed to hear to realize I have the life I always dreamed about. Work, friends and love - thank you God!

One of Nashville's Finest Nights

2009-05-18T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Eddie Bayers (Drummer Extraordinaire) invited his wife, Lane Brody, and me to attend the Country Music induction of Barbara Mandrell, Roy Clark and Charlie McCoy. Being a people lover and a star gazer, I jumped at the chance. I had two hours to decide what to wear, and I looked cute in my black pants and lacy black top as the valet opened our car doors and we stepped out onto the red carpet.
The red carpet...eeeks! This was something I had only dreamed about! Me - on the red carpet, bulbs flashing, people staring, and me gracefully walking to the big doors held open by a tuxedo-attired gentleman.
Enter the lobby of the Country Music Association Hall of Fame building: music playing, servers walking around with trays held up shoulder high as they carried delectable appetizers and goodies around the room for the duration of the evening.
We made our way to one of the bars and order refreshments and toasted what was destined to be an unforgettable evening in Nashville.
We walked around and talked to Nashville's finest: Reba McIntyre, Barbara Mandrell, Emmylou Harris, Roy Clark, Little Jimmy Dickens, Mayor Karl Dean, Little Jimmy Dickens, and many other noteables.
We took our seats in the intimate theater in the hall,and I sat four rows from the close stage. It felt as though we were all congregated in some close friend's living room.
The next three hours were a celebration of stories, laughter, accomplishments, challenges and surprise musical appearances by: Garth Brooks, Reba, Josh Turner, Roy Clark, Allison Krauss, Sonny James and the list goes on and on.
When the final clap was clapped we all exited to the lobby where the bar was still open, the coffee was brewing and the sweets and dessert tables were set up.
It was as if no one wanted to leave the feelings that were residing in all of our hearts as we celebrated life's greatest moments.
Today I woke up, jumped out of bed and grabbed my camera to make sure that this Cinderella night was really real. There it was - in color.
I sighed, sat back and thanked God for yet another gift he gave me - and proceeded to tackle the day that lay ahead of me.

Waiting for my Nephew

2009-05-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

When I was pregnant the wait for my 'Labor Day' seemed interminable. When I delivered my third daughter, knowing it was my last child (cancer took away my choice there!),I was happy that I would not have to wait to deliver a baby again. Little did I realize that every time a good friend or a family memeber was expecting a baby, that I would go through the waiting process all over again.
Today as I sit here writing this I am eagerly and impatiently waiting to deliver a baby again. I am not having the labor pains, as my sister-in-law Nia is, but I am having anxiety pains.
Brian and Nia have a beautiful 2-year-old Emily that is also waiting to have a playmate. Imagine her surprise when this tiny bundle comes home and has no interest in Em. At least the first months when eating seems to be the only thing he will want to do.
I spoke to Brian two days ago on Facebook and they still did not have a name picked out. They know it is a boy; they just have very differing ideas on names; one wants traditional and one wants different. Good luck! My thoughts? After Nia goes through the work of delivering this bundle of joy, let her name the baby!! Just my opinion...biased though it may be!
I sit here and marvel at the miracle of birth, thinking how families grow - some go on and on and on. My girlfriend, Erika, had her ninth baby a week ago. She did not break her pattern: boy-girl-boy-girl-boy-girl-boy-girl- and then another boy, John Paul - a Pope in the making?!
My dear mother had 14 kids in 17 years, and even miscarried once. Whew! I need to take a break after thinking about that! The births alone would be a challenge - then they make you take every baby home with you!!
I am rambling as I wait for my nephew, my girls 45th first cousin! yes, 45! The oldest cousin was 41 in December, the newest one - well, hurry up so we can meet you!
Thank you for being in the WAITING ROOM with me as I wait to hear that my nephew has entered our world! The baby with no name. Any ideas for Brian and Nia?
You have kept me from pacing the floor.
Check back...I will let you know when we can relax and celebrate!! Thanks for being here with me!!

A Night of Love

2009-04-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

'And the winner is..."
The winners of the DOVE Awards at the Grand Ole Opry last night were not only the artists holding the trophies, but every person fortunate enough to have secured a seat for this Christian event walked away a winner.
The talent was phenomenal: Natalie Grant, Brandon Heath, 10th Avenue South, Mary Mary, Chris Tomlin, Third Day and so many more.
Expecting to be entertained there was not a dry eye as we somberly walked out of the theater after the final award was presented.
There was a feeling of unity in that building, but never more so than when Steven Curtis Chapman started to sing his 2008 hit song, Cinderella'. He began:

"She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I'm sittin' here wearin' the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"

So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I'll dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone..."

At the final..."and she'll be gone..." was changed to..."and she'll keep dancing."
The crowd stood to their feet and broke into clapping as the tears rolled down their cheeks.
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote this song for his three daughters, ages 5,6 and 7; special girls that his family adopted from China. When his older daughter, Emily, (he also has two teenage sons)was away at college he realized how quickly she grew up and he wanted to take the time to enjoy Shohannah, Stevie Joy and Maria Sue. He was going to savor the time spent with his 'Cinderellas'.

"All too soon the clock struck midnight, and Maria Sue was gone..."

Tradegy does not play favorites, and the Chapman family are enduring mammoth portions of grief as they work through the grief that tears apart their hearts as they learn to cope with life after the death of a family member.
Graduation party, kids playing outside, Emily's recent engagement - the day had all of the components of a day made in heaven.
Hours before the festivities were to start the 16-year-old son hopped in his SUV to do last minute pre-party errands. As he backed up on the family property he had no way of knowing that little Maria Sue had run behind his vehicle.
The thud, the scream, the tears, the horror, as Steven held his dying daughter in his arms, before she went to her eternal father to be held forever.
Finally, the biggest award of the evening..."And the winner for the Artist of the Year is...Steven Curtis Chapman!"
Applause thundered through the walls as everyone stood to their feet.

There are a lot of reasons why I am standing here,'' Chapman said while standing next to his wife.

"The reason we are standing here, it's nothing we know about music, but it was our ability to communicate the hope that we have. Our hope is not in this life,'' said Chapman, adding that his hope has helped him to have a bolder testimony. "Jesus is coming and He can't come soon enough for me."

As Steven and his wife walked off of the stage, tears brimming in their eyes and shoulders noticeably slumped, there was a feeling of community in a auditorium filled with 4400 seats, all occupied by people helping the Chapman carry their burden while lifting up prayers for strength to cope and bring hope to the world, faith in a God that is bigger than anything on this earth.

"And the winners are..."
Every person who was blessed to have a ticket to that heartfelt event last night.

"So I'll dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Ohh-oh ohh-oh, I'll dance with Cinderella
I don't wanna miss even one song,
Cuz all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone."

Dance with the Cinderellas in your life while they is still on your dance floor. All too soon they will be gone...

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Good-bye my Special Friend!

2009-04-21T20:04:00.000-07:00

Last night I was chatting with my daughter, Jacki, on the phone when a beep interrupted our conversation. I held the phone away from my ear to see if I recognized the number beeping into our mother-daughter reverie.
318?
While I was talking with Jacki I sat down to the computer and looked up the area code. Northern Louisiana? Do I know anyone there?
I hung up the phone and dialed the number that had beeped in minutes before.
"Sandy, this is John Thomas. My mother - your friend - has passed away."

The year was 1985. My mother had recently passed away after suffering from the cruel, but quick, death brought on my Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, better known by the crazy name. Mad-Cow Disease.
After writing to hospitals I was given contact information of people who were interested in networking with other people who lost family members to this crazy, orphan disease.
That was 23 1/2 years ago and I have been friends with Audrey that long. You see, Audrey's husband died from this disease before my mother succumbed to it.
Audrey's presence in my life has been a constant. She sewed a quilt for my youngest daughter, Lauren, when I was pregnant with her; she sewed and embroidered crayon aprons for all three of my girls when they were growing up; we wore Watermelon Festival shirts from Farmerville, Louisiana for years, and I baked with Louisiana pecans at Christmastime for years - compliments of Audrey.
Then came the wonderful day that I flew to meet my friend. That week was one of the most memorable times in my life!
The love, the family she shared, her friends, the catfish, mayhaw and scupperberry jellies, the laughter,the sharing and the love.
For the past 23+ years, every time I have taken a trip I have sent Audrey postcards. I sent them from every airport I had a layover at. Audrey was a part of my every trip, she was always in my heart.
Even as her disease progressed and she could no longer communicate, I loved to send her postcards and little notes - reminders that love was coming from Nashville to her heart.
Parkinson's ate away at Audrey, and this past Christmas I gave her soft embroidered pillowcases for her head. Oh, she loved pretty homemade things.
I would like to think that as she breathed her last yesterday that her beautiful head was lying on that pillowcase that was made with so much love, from Nashville.
Good-bye for now, Audrey. Until we meet again on the dance floor of heaven, my postcards will be sent in the form of prayers. To Audrey's family - thank you for sharing your beautiful mother with me! You will never know how much that - and she -meant to me!

Tornadoes are not a joke

2009-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my sister, Joann, on the phone. She was in Minnesota and I was in Nashville, Tennessee. As I sat peering out of my office window it started to rain - really hard. Talking to my favorite sister, listening to the rain, feeling safe inside - life was good!
The next minute the emergency sirens began to howl and it caught me off-guard.
I grew up in Minnesota - this was not tornado weather. Tornado weather in Minnesota meant that the sky turned yellow and the atmosphere was eerily silent. It had a surreal feel to it.
This looked and felt like a rain storm, and a mellow one at that.
But I decided to heed the call of the sirens. I trudged downstairs, took a blanket and pillow off of my bed and headed for the small bathroom on the main floor. I had determined when I moved to Tennessee two years before that this was the safest place for disasters - the only room without any windows, and in the middle of the house. You see, the houses in Tennessee are not built with basements. When I ask people about this they tell me that the soil here is way too hard, and too full of clay to have basements and swimming pools. It is too costly.
I peeked out of the window to see the rain being blown to the side, uphill. I have never seen a sight like this in my life. There was a slight resemblance to The Wizard of Oz as I watched tree branches breaking and being tossed through the air as if they were weightless.
I turned on the TV in the living room so I could hear updates, and for the next hour I heard about the six tornado cells that were on the ground. The worst one was in Murfreesboro, about a 30-minute drive from my house; the town that my college-age daughter lives in.
I grabbed my cell phone and called Lauren.
"Yes, Mom, I am okay. Yes, the sirens are going off here but it looks okay."
"Are you watching the news?"
"Yes, Randy and I have the TV on."
"Lauren, head for cover."

An hour later when I emerged from the bathroom where I had been reading as I lay on the floor, the sun was trying to peek out.
I lowered myself to the couch and watched the damage that occurred, as reporters told about the devastation that the twister had left in its path: the deaths, the young mother trying to outrun the twister with her 4-month-old baby, the houses that were flattened. I felt sick to my stomach and called to make sure Lauren was okay.
When she answered the phone she told me, in a weeping voice, about the rearranged landscape that occurred less than five minutes from her house.
A tornado, a twister changed so many lives in that one hour as people rushed to get their treats and food for the upcoming Easter holiday.
The Easter baskets. treats, little white lace gloves and the clean house for the relatives were not important any more.
Mother Nature was in control. The creator of Mother Nature was holding the remote control.
Easter came and went, people celebrated, lives went on. But to many here in Tennessee this weekend was a time to hand the control back to the creator. A time to mourn and a time to laugh.

Birthdays and Emotions

2009-03-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!
I am amazed at the plethora of emotions that birthdays evoke in a human being.
I do not think it is because of the escalating numbers or the candles crowding on the cake, but more of a reality check and emotional overload. I am sure that I am not the only one to feel like this.
A friend was going to fly to Nashville from Chicago to visit, and with one challenge after another, decide late last night not to come.
Well! At any other time this may have been okay, but this is my birthday!
We had planned on spending the next days catching up as I have not seen him in three years, and now I have the next days free.
Okay, that sounds like no bog deal until you think about what I am going to be doing on my birthday night. I live in Nashville...I want to celebrate!
Do I call friends and sound desperate? Do I stay home and feel sorry for myself?
At noon my girlfriends are having a tea party at ever so cute Savannah Tea Cup.
That is such a sweet place.
Then I realize that as much as I like people I do not like people to make a fuss about me. Whew! I am a mess!
I have incredible girlfriends...and I do mean amazingly incredible - Lane, Teresa, Michelle...to name a few...
And I am ever so humbled by their actions to celebrate my day.
Birthdays...laughter, tears, humble, friends, cake, thankfulness.
Happy birthday to the world today...you have all been gift to me!

Facebook Panic

2009-03-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I opened my Facebook account and was pleased to view a post from my niece, Danielle. Since moving farther away two years ago from my family in Minnesota and transplanting myself from Chicago to Nashville, Tennessee, I have had to rely on networks like Facebook to keep up with the hordes of family members that I don't see near enough.
Excited to read what Danielle wrote on her wall I opened to her page and gasped as I read her post, DANIELLE IS DEAD.
I caught my breath and phoned my daughter, Lauren, who is up-to-date on all of the technology lingo that kids use.
"Lauren, when someone writes that they are dead on their Facebook account, does this mean something other than what I,a post-computer-era person, is thinking?"
Lauren thought about this and said that she dos not know of any other meaning to this phrase.
I told her about her cousin's posting and her immediate response was that 'I feel like I am going to get sick to my stomach'. And then I remembered that the previous week a former high school classmate of hers from Chicago had posted a similar phrase, and a day after the posting was found with a fatal gunshot wound to
the head.
With hands shaking I dialed the number of my sister in Clearwater, Minnesota and asked her when she last spoke to Danielle. They live close to each other and are knitted at the heart.
When I relayed the story to Joann she quickly hung up and called around to find out about this unsettling message - and the reason for it - on Facebook.

She called Danielle's phone, her mother and her sister, Jessica. Only to hear the incessant ringing of unanswered phones.
Joann called her husband Fred who was fishing on the lake with our brother Kevin, Danielle's dad. Kevin had no idea where his 20-year-old daughter was, but he did say she had been despondent as of late.
In a panic , and the need to have answers, Joann called the local hospital and asked for the Emergency Room.
"Yes, Danielle is here. Since you are not a parent or legal guardian we cannot release any informtion to you."
Kevin was given the news and headed to the hospital. Danielle is okay. She was being checked out and having MRI's done, with a condition that was totally unelated to anything that could be connected to the Facebook posting.
What are the ground rules for posting something the world is privy to reading? In this disconnected world we have found ways to connect in any way possible.
Is there, and should there be, a protocol to follow? A common language or set of rules so we are all on the same page, in the same book?
Take heed. think before you write. What may sound cute to you and another friend may be misconstrued by other readers.
Facebook, like anything else in life, needs some thought put into it. We need to think before we write. How seriously should we take the postings on a friend or loved ones Home Page?
When do we know to act?
We can chalk it up to just fun and games, but if someone had heeded the words written on Facebook last week of Lauren's high school classmate, could he have been helped in time?
Do we listen to the hum of bullets or do we overlook them until it is too late to put them back into the smoking gun?
Facebook, social networking. Type out what you mean, keep your personal jokes that are between you...well, between you and your friend and not on the World's Biggest Bilboard.
With the suicide rate climbing, depression running rampant in this country, let's keep Facebook what is is meant to be...a place to keep in touch and connect with friends, family and people from days-gone-by.
Let's use a little thought before we post words for a loving family or close friends to read.

An Unexpected Valentine

2009-02-21T12:32:00.001-08:00

My oldest daughter Jacki and I worked the Working Women's Survival Show in St. Louis last weekend.
As I entered the Convention Center on Friday morning to check in for my speaking engagement, I encountered Russian comedian, Yakov Smirnoff. I immediately recognized him from the time I watched him perform in Las Vegas 23 years ago!
I introduced myself to him and we talked about humor; the topic that we are both experts on.
Yakov reached on the counter in the office for a show program and he circled the times that I was speaking and we said our "See you later's"; excited at the obvious feeling of synergy.
Later that afternoon I began my presentation, the door creaked open slowly as to not disturb the flow, and in walked Yakov. My newest best friend!
During the course of the speech Yakov and I bantered back and forth; the audience seemed to eat it up. There was something good happening here. This was good entertainment.
The next day Yakov invited Jacki and I to join him and his very charming 18-year-old daugher, Natasha, to join them for a Valentine's Day dinner and the theater.
What an unexpected treat. We encountered a man that the world perceives as merely a comedian, but is so much more than that.
Working with - and coaching - artists, I have found that many times (more times than not), there is so much ego involved that it blocks out any chance to get to know the person under the narcissism.
Jacki and I were blessed to enjoy an evening with one of the most considerate, well-mannered men I have ever encountered; a man who is well-known, yet does not use his bragging rights to pump up his own ego; a man that exudes love and a big heart. A man who teaches about laughter and love - and lives his talk.
What an unexpected treat this Valentine's Day turned out to be!
Ah! What a country!

Going Through the Insecurity Line at the Airport

2009-02-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

I stood in the long line at airport security, awaiting my turn to apologize to all of the people lining up behind me for taking so long to undress, take off my coat,belt,jewelry, shoes; and deposit my cell phone in the bin. I crossed my fingers as I walked gingerly through the rigged doorway, praying that the obnoxious buzzer would not go off.
As I sauntered closer to undress, I was acutely aware for the first time in my life how much our past insecurities come into play in the short time we are standing in line, waiting to see if we pass the test.
I watched in amusement as the gentleman ahead of me grunted and started to sweat as he fumbled with his belt. Next came his shoes, watch; and then his phone came out of his pocket; and his computer was placed in a bin.
I laughed as I commented to this anxious man about how our past comes into play as we try to hurry through the process. I removed my shoes, and in my head I could almost hear one of my brother's saying, "Hurry up! You are slower than molasses!"
I tripped over the hem of my pants and got my shoes deposited in Bin #1. Whew!
"Come on, Sandy! If you don't hurry we are all going to be late for school. It will be all your fault!"
Then, as if in slow motion I remove my jacket, take my phone out of my pocket and retrieve my laptop out of my carry-on; where it has wedged itself haphazardly in the bag and fights with me for control. Bin #2.

I lay the carry-on bag on the moving belt when I hear a gruff voice tell me to put the bag on the belt lenghthwise. "Okay Mother, I am trying my best!"
My purse gets set down on the belt as I watch my personal belongings disappear into the MRI-looking machine, and I pray that all of my treasures come out at the other end intact and accounted for.
As I get through the magic door that tells the world - with a sound so loud that I am sure that the death penalty must be punishment for whatever I forgot to remove -whether I might be a terrorist or not. I start to gather all of my belongings as the person behind me makes me feel like I am the only one who has ever taken THIS long to get through Security.
I am a grown woman. I have traveled all over the world. I can teach - and talk - in front of thousands of people. And yet I get in that security line at the airport; and every time I do I feel like an adolescent that is not capable of doing anything right.
Just a Security check? Oh no! It is so much more than that! It is a check on all of the hidden insecuirites from the past - when we didn't move fast enough,forgot to do exactly as we were told or felt like we had to apologize for, well, everything.
Security? I think there should be a blinking, neon sign that beckons us to get into the 'Insecurity' line. I'd be first in line, no cuts.

How Clean is my House?

2009-02-02T06:29:00.001-08:00

cLast week I got a phone call. The 700 Club was going to be interviewing me!
Well, let me back up a little.
I met a woman who is producer for the 700 Club. She read my book and called to set up an interview. This was last May.
The interview was approved and I have been waiting for a call to set up a time for the taping, and the call came. I waited for them to give me a time and studio for the taping and then I heard the words, "We will be at your house at 9:30 a.m. next Thursday!
At MY house? EEKS!
I think that I keep my house clean. And it looks okay.
But then I started looking at my house through the eyes of a camera lens.
My videos on the shelves were not real neat; the games on the game shelf - well, we played with those and put them back quickly.
The woman on the phone said they would take pictures of me sitting at my desk...Okay, now I have to straighten up my office. It isn't too bad. That's what I thought until I looked at it as the rest of the world would see it. The books shoved on the book shelves; the dust on my desk, the work to be done in baskets on the table. Whew! I am tired already!
What about my hardwood floors in the foyer? Would the footprints show? Should it be more shiny?
My windows? I don't have time to call in a window washer...besides, it is so cold out!
As I walk around my house, the house that felt perfectly comfortable until THAT phone call has become a different place - knowing that I am inviting the whole world into it.
How clean is my house? Let's just say that I thought it was perfect until I look at it through someone else's eyes.
Imagine your house being filmed as it is...can you feel my pain?

Daily Surprises

2009-01-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

I drove to Borders Bookstore today to look at book covers as I near the end of the writing of another book. Or so I thought that was what I was going there for!
I entered the store and headed for a quick trip to the bathroom and noticed a pleasant looking man sitting comfortably in a chair reading a book about Computers for Dummies.
When I came out of the bathroom I made a comment to this man (Steve, I would soon find out)about my need for a pre-Dummies book on computers. He chuckled and we started to talk.
He told me how he was writing a book; I told him about my latest project. He inquired as to whether or not I would reveal the name of my upcoming book. Of course I would: Breaking the Food Chain: Freedom from Bottomless Hunger.
He asked where I get my information and I told him about my compulsive eating disorder, and he had tears in his eyes. He was shaking his head and pointing his bent finger back at himself.
I began to explain how this book shines the light on food disorders; that have very little to do with eating.
As I continued Steve was shaking his head faster and faster.
When I finished he asked for my card and asked when this book would be available for purchase.
We were exchanging contact information when a man walked up to me and said he was listening and he wanted me to have his card. He was also writing a book and didn't know why, but he was supposed to connect with me.
We stood there in Borders - three strangers that now felt a connection, not knowing why; just knowing that something had happened in that store.
When I got home I signed Steve and Byron up for my monthly newsletter and right away Byron e-mailed me back and told me that his wife is reading the newsletter.
When I walked into Borders I thought I was there to look at book covers; little did I know that there was a bigger plan at work. I can't wait to see how it plays out!
Life's Daily Surprises!

Live moments...with who you can...while you can...

2009-01-25T14:18:00.000-08:00

Weekends...we look so forward to them and then ZAP! Before we know it they are gone and Monday comes - way too soon!
This weekend my friends, Bruce and Gail, came to spend some time with me in Nashville. I met these two wonderful people when they were passing through Nashville months ago and a friend wanted us to meet. Thinking it would be a five-minute introduction we agreed to say Hello!
There was an instant connection.
Last Thursday I answered the phone and Bruce was on the other end.
"Sandy, what are you doing this weekend?"
Ah, music to my ears!
So Bruce and Gail spent the weekend at my house.
It was sharing, laughter and eating together. It was bonding in its purest form. It was adding other people to our circle...and laughing and loving them too.
It does not always work out that you get along with both people in a couple, but this was a friendship made in heaven. There is a feeling of mutual admiration, love and fun. To add to the mix they introduced me to their wonderful friend, Robin, and we all felt an instant kinship. To add to the fun Robin and I talked fast and a lot, and at times rivaled the best comedy routines in the comedy clubs.
Gail and I sat on my bed until 2:00 in the morning, growing closer as only 'real' sisters can. When she retreated to bed we were 'pinky swearing' that we would keep in our hearts all that we had shared.
A month ago I met a young man that is a son of a speaker I know. He stayed at my house the night before a flight out of Nashville (he is from Mississippi), and he was in Nashville again this weekend and stopped in and slept in his old bedroom.
Lauren - my charming daughter - came over and added to the house busting at the seams with fun, love and laughter.
Moments - that's all we have...yet we let time pass and forget to savor the moments!
Whoever you are with - cherish them - every touch, each look that is passed between you, every chuckle...tuck this all in your heart!
While you are still able - enjoy the moment, laugh and love - all that you can with everyone you can!

Yesterday Hope Was Born

2009-01-21T09:52:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning with a light heart. Then I remembered. We inaugurated a new president yesterday.
I am not saying that the outgoing president was not good; I am not saying that I agree with all of the promises of the incoming president.
But there is a change taking place, and there is a feeling of HOPE.
Hope: the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best
As our economy started to go down at a rate of a toboggan heading down an icy Minnesota hill, we allowed our hopes and dreams to slide down with the shrinking numbers on pieces of paper.
It seems you cannot be in a conversation more than ten minutes without anyone talking about foreclosure, job layoffs and rising food costs. Fear has enveloped this country like a coat that people are not willing to take off and hang up on the rack.
Yesterday as we watched the gavel of leadership being passed from one powerful leader to another, words were being spoken among the masses that had been tucked in the archives of dictionaries from by-gone days: proud, grateful, trust, choices, greatness, prosperous, powerful, journey.
Words of a future, words of hope.
You may feel that an era has ended - which it has - and the winds of change that are blowing across this mighty country of ours will be the whirling dervish that envelopes the world in anticipation of better things to come.
Start to pay attention to the sounds and sights of hope: laughter, hugs, playfulness, excitement, promises, enthusiasm and faith.
Faith for things we cannot yet see, but trusting that they will be there; faith that when we take our next step without seeing the staircase, the step will materialize. Faith in taking chances with your dreams, trusting that when you take that giant leap of faith, the net will appear.
Today I woke up with the dream of a day, a year, a life filled with light. And then I realized that the bright light was coming from within.
Let your light shine...dare to hope...it's yours for the taking.

Laugh at Anything You can

2009-01-19T02:45:00.000-08:00

Happy National Chocolate Mint Day!

I had two of my three daughters, Jacki and Lauren, with me in Nashville for the weekend. Jacki drove from St. Louis with her girlfriend, Karen, who happened to have a birthday while she was here. Lauren lives in Tennessee, about 30 minutes from where I live.
Sometimes life get so busy and we forget to laugh and have fun. And then we get together with the people that bring out the giggles in us and we remember how good it feels.
And this was one of these times.
We headed to downtown Nashville on Saturday night to enjoy some of the amazing music the city offers. For those who have not experienced this city I encourage you to make this a priority.
The talent in the city is incredible, but along with the tunes comes the spirit of fun and enjoying life: the laughter, the sunging, the dancing, the feeling of enjoying life when the world is struggling.
We walked along Broadway – the main street in Nashville that visitors frequent – and walked into the places that had loud, fun music blaring through the open doors. As soon as we walked into the establishments of music and celebration our feet started moving, heads started bobbing and it was not long before we were on the dance floor. The dance floor being anywhere we could move our body between the tables. We felt alive and were ready to enjoy that fact!
As we neared Paradise Park – a replica of a trailer park, complete with plastic chairs and old tires lying around - we looked in the open windows to check out the activity when some guys invited us in – through the big, low open windows. Without thinking Jacki, Karen and Lauren grabbed their hands and crawled in through the open cavity in the wall. It was only a few seconds before the bouncer, a has-been from his WWF days - ran over to escort them to the front door to have their ID’s checked.
“We do have doors, you know. That’s what they are for!”
After that the laughter continued for the remainder of the night. This was not a catastrophe but a story to be told and retold, always culminating in bales of laughter.
People come to Nashville for the music and stay for the fun and the laughter.
The dancing continued, the giggling never stopped and a good time was had by all.
Nashville, Los Angeles, Olive Branch, Wheaton, Elgin…wherever you live is the place to chuckle and have fun. Don’t wait until you get older, make more money, have nicer clothes or less stress. That day will never come. There will always be something more to strive for.
Make a conscious decision today that you are going to laugh at everything you can today. Laugh at the little things. Laugh at mishaps. Just laugh.
And watch the whole world laugh with you!

Weight a minute, Oprah!

2009-01-12T14:01:00.000-08:00

You would have to be living under a rock if you don't know that Oprah's weight has escalated again. I have heard people ask again and again, "Why doesn't she just quit eating?"
"She has so much money - she can afford cooks, personal trainers and counselors."
As a recovering over eater, compulsive over eater, I know what it is like to have a relationship with food.
Let's give Oprah a break. Let's look at the good that she is doing for the world: Habitat for Humanity, her schools for girls in Africa and all of the numerous charities that we never hear about.
Oprah...food - her drug of choice. OR, Oprah...a lover of humanity.
It seems that the more we focus on food the more that we gorge ourselves. The more we focus on the outside world - the less we focus on the inside world.
Oprah, give yourself a pat on the back!
To everyone who reads this: Focus on the good that you are doing in your life. Watch the Oprah show and listen to her words and change the world right along with her.
When you hear someone berate Oprah for her weight gain, change their focus: don't even make a comment on her weight, start singing her praises for her heart...her HUGE heart that she shares with the world!

So how was YOUR New Years's Eve?!!

2009-01-01T20:41:00.000-08:00

After the hangovers subside and the last of the beer bottles are picked up, people will recant the evening they spent saying - or is it slurring? - good-bye to a year grown old, and welcome in new stories in the numbers of 2009.
My New Years Eve was fun...quiet by most people's standards, but just the way I needed it to be.
I went out with my dear friend, Vance, and his sister, Marcia, who drove to Nashville to join in the festivities. We met up with some of his co-workers who I also happen to love spending time with, and we went to a bar with 80's music. I just knew that it was going to be a good night when the bouncer at the door carded me! I even had Vance take a picture of that! That hasn't happened for...well, anyway, that was a great start!
After being hit on by a young man, we headed downtown to our favorite hangout. What a nice surprise - my friend, Daniel, was up on the stage playing the guitar and rocking the place. We sat at the table closest to the stage and sang and laughed and watched the hmm! crazy people, getting more out-of-control by the minute. I just knew that I never looked like they did when I was younger and drank a lot...I was a much more mature drinker!
A young girl was standing by our table and as I started singing - quite loudly - with everyone else to the song, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' she kept trying to get me to dance. My instinct not to dance with her proved to be a good one as she leaned down by our table and proceeded to get rid of her breakfast...and lunch...and dinner... on the floor and on Marcia's pant legs...poor Marcia! Then I noticed that I was wearing a meal and a half on my pants!
After we cleaned up, Vance joined in with his own story as a young couple danced by the table, knocked into it or maybe just lost their balance as they tried to prop each other up, and left Vance sitting in his chair with a lapful of beer...someone else's drink conveniently set on our table.
We laughed some more and decided the fun was over. We had watched the ball drop an hour earlier and decided to call it a night. When we were walking back to the car we passed a middle aged gentleman who obviously could not find a restroom and was watering the frozen flowers in a planter in a very public area. From the length of time he stood there he must have thought the flowers were really thirsty!
As Vance drove toward my house to drop me off we laughed uncontrollably as we recanted the whole evening, and it was soon apparent to all of us that we had a great time with great stories.
As we turned onto my street the sweetest vision greeted me. Someone - I have NO idea who - had decorated my mailbox with fun Silly String and had a Happy New Year hat perched on top of the mailbox pole. I jumped out of the vehicle and immediately got my camera out, took a picture, and turned to Vance and Marcia in the car and said, "Someone likes me; they really like me!"
With that I went in to the house with a big smile on my face and plopped on the bed. What to other people could seem like a boring night was to me a evening filled with one story after another, and no hangover.
So...how was YOUR New Years Eve?

The Christmas Gifts in Front of us

2008-12-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas - family, friends, food, laughter, presents, noise, excitement, anxiety, tempers, baggage, different personalities, disappointment, sadness, learning.

When I was growing up in Minnesota - in a rather large family of 12 kids and 2 parents - I just knew that Christmas meant noise, very few presents (no one has enough money to satisfy the hunger for gifts for that many people!), food and chaos.
When I got on my own, married and had kids I overdid Christmas. Oh yes, there was noise, but there were too many presents, too much food and way too much busyness. I was making up for what I thought I lost in the Christmases of years gone by; trying to fill the hole that I imagined was there from childhood. I enjoyed doing it ALL, but until this year I missed out on many of the manger's gifts.
Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of Jesus, the most important person in my life. But somehow that moved in behind the hustle and bustle of life.

Jacki and Tim, Katie and Lauren, my three daughters and the token boyfriend that could come to Nashville for the holidays, were together these past days. And somehow I was feeling that through all of my preparation and decoration, this was falling short of a Norman Rockwell Christmas. I couldn't understand how my well-laid plans were not the way I envisioned this season of sugarplums that danced in my head.
All of the ingredients were there. The recipe consisted of presents, food, lots of friends and tension.
I didn't order the tension, that was not in the instructions of this perfect time together. But nonetheless, the tension was present and took on a life of its own.
And then I got it. As much as I wanted to point the finger at someone else; I was the originator of the tautness of emotions around my own home.
Me!! The communicator of all time. I teach this stuff...and yet I was wallowing in it.

I woke up today, that day after Christmas, and in a few short minutes it was as if my faults and shortcomings were being unveiled right in front of my own heart. Well, some of them anyway!
I couldn't wait for my girls to spend this time with me,meet my friends, spend time with my friends and share all of my time. After all, they are on my turf, right?
Then, in the early morning darkness, the truth was brought to light.
I wanted them to meet my friends, I wanted them to embrace my life, I wanted them to share me and accept all of the people that I brought into my heart and life.
And I could see as clear as can be that my recipe for life did not have the same ingredients that theirs did.
I woke them up in the early morning light and shared my aching heart with them. I cheated them out of ME, and I robbed myself of the gift of time to spend with these wonderful ladies that had come to Nashville to love, laugh and spend time together.
I have so many people in my life - I want everyone to meet and get to know my girls. I did not take the time to find out if my girls wanted to get to know everyone I know. I opened the door to all, and in doing so, closed the door to the family unit. The message I silently sent to the most important people on this earth to me, was that they are important - like my good friends; instead of focusing on them and letting my actions show that they - and time spent with them - is the greatest gift of all. I fell short in this part of the gift giving this year.
I gave presents, I gave great food, I gave my friends - but I shorted them on the greatest gift of all...the gift of time, the gift of laughter, the gift of each other.
My greatest gift this Christmas - the lessons that were revealed to me this morning as I unwrapped the disappointment and pain of the Christmas that fell short of my dreams and left me able to throw away the wrappings of the past and embrace the future, more cognizant of my girls tender feelings before.
It is never too late to look under the Christmnas tree of life, look at the gifts right in front of us and embrace this moment,our present.

The Comfort of the Night

2008-12-19T01:59:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here at my computer at 4:00 a.m. and I am feeling peaceful and wide-awake. My daughter Lauren is asleep in the house and there is only the clicking sound of the tapping of the computer keys.
At the end of any day - good or bad -there is a welcome respite in closing ones eyes and mind off from the hum of the rest of the world and putting the day to rest.
Have you ever noticed that the sounds of the day are like fuel to our minds? We put our foot on the accelerator of our days and we move ahead, many times pushing down the gas pedal out of sheer frustration, moving ahead but not going anywhere important.
There are times I lie in bed and recap the day that was just taken from me, or rather, the day that I rushed right through and didn't take the time to enjoy any of the moments.
But the night, the peaceful night. As I write these words I know that the phone is not going to ring, the doorbell will not chime and Lauren is sleeping with the visions of sugarplums dancing in her head. Okay, that sounds cheesy but it is Christmastime and I do live on Sugarplum Road so I just thought that would be a cute addition!! Just go along with it!
I am sitting comfortably in my computer chair, the heater at my feet and it as if I feel the arms of God wrapping around my body and soul and for a moment in time, it is just God and I sitting here as I peck away.
Oh believe me, I have had the terror of the night. The times when I felt like life was closing in on me, the times when I wonderd why I had done some of the hidden - not to be brought out of the closet - things that I had done. Those terror brought me closer to the One who gives me peace and the One who sits with me and comforts me in the dark.
Right now it is just He and I, sitting here in the dark, talking about life and the path that He has me on. And there is comfort in the dark.
It is time to shut down the computer, feel the comfort of the warmth of the black blanket that covers me and protects me, and doze in the arms of knowing that I am right where I am supposed to be right now. Zzzzzzz!

The Gift of Girlfriends!

2008-12-14T16:44:00.000-08:00

Community...connection. That is what the world is all about. It is not about stuff...
On Friday night I entertained a house full of speakers in my home. It was an evening of getting to know each others hearts and sharing stories of each others lives...with lots of food and laughs filling in the gaps.
What a joy to see the human side of people, the 'real side', the part that is not concerned about making money, but is concerned about making a difference.
Then the next evening the house filled up with girlfriends. Oh, the sound of fun and laughter and love. I can only imagine how Jesus must have been smiling down on my house last night.
From the first girlfriends, Gina and Tammy, who came early to help get ready; to the two girls that came into the house, made a name tag and grabbed hugs and great conversation before anyone realized that they were at the wrong party!!
But the evening was so much more than anything I can write down on paper.
It is common knowledge that when girls gather there is jealousy, insecurity and judgement. There was the obvious absence of that from the minute the first guest walked through the door.
Everyone wanted to know each other and celebrate their stories. Most girls had never met each other, but had heard about the other from stories I have shared. And they came to the house ready to share, laugh, and love. And there was not a shortage of any of these.
I marveled at the ease in which each person conversed with the person standing in the food line next to them, the ease in which the women grabbed each other for a hug or laughed at the fun of the Santa hats and red clown noses.
Oh, it didn't stop there. There was the costume jewelry game and the music by Teresa.
And the love. And the greatest of these was love.
We celebrated Christmas, the birth of the baby. He was ever so present in my house this weekend.
What a gift he is to us...happy birthday Jesus! Thank you for being at your own party...we gave you your gift - the gift of love! We gave you back the gift of you...thank you!

It's About People

2008-12-06T15:16:00.000-08:00

I was in the grocery store and the mall yesterday. As I prepared for two parties at my house this next weekend I stood back and watched the harried shoppers rushing around.
I felt sad as I watched people being treated like machines, not human beings.

What is Christmas all about?
The wrapping paper?
The presents?
The food?
The songs?

Or, is it about the people? The people made in His image?
That little baby that lay wrapped in the warmth of the nearby hay, the baby that cried so we wouldn't have to, the baby that was born so we could live...now THAT is Christmas.

The food, the presents, the music...should all be used to enhance the gifts that we were already given...they should not be THE gift.

Pause a minute. As you rush through the grocery store, as you give unforgiving looks to the mother whose baby is tired and whining, honk at the car that pulled into the parking space that you were so impatiently waiting for...is that really the true meaning of Christmas?

Or is it the time you took to talk to the elderly person that is struggling to walk through the door? Is it the meal you brought to the person without a permanent address in your town? Is it the door you opened at the mall and the hand you laid on a stranger's arm to remind them that someone cares?

That baby that was born in the hay...let's step back and imitate the life He lived, the walk He walked and let's be a reminder to those who forgot the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas, child of the Child!

Close the Door Softly and Open a Window!

2008-11-25T06:32:00.000-08:00

When the door of a friendship closes it often slams shut with such a loud bang!!
Some people are okay with that, but I have a hard time having people close doors loudly in my life.
I was not really aware of that until recently when a dear friend of mine and I had a disagreement. It ended in a way that caught me off-guard...I think it shook up both of us. When he walked out of my house that sunny day and the door closed, I felt all alone in that house, in this world. Just for a moment.
The ending of the friendship as we knew it was right on time, but the manner in which it ended made me feel sad. I don't like slammed doors in my life, and on my heart.
I ran into this friend unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. I boldly walked over to him, greeted him and we exchanged small talk. Then I sat down on a stool by him and talked about the elephant in the room. I made a joke about it, and we both laughed. He joked and we started talking. We agreed that we could be acquaintances and then the flow of conversation began again.
At the end of the evening we were both approaching the door at the same time and my girlfriend Lane was conveniently ahead of us, and with familiarity and ease he draped his arm over my shoulder as we walked to the parking lot.
We hugged, both echoing how nice it was to see each other, and headed to our vehicles.
The door that had been slammed? It was reopened and shut lightly, and a window was opened.
On the way home as I thought about the evening I realized that when doors close I want them shut quietly, and then I want a window opened. That way when I see the person who closed the door, or that I gently closed on them, we can still look through that open window and wave to each other. Or maybe even hang on the window sill and share a few words or a laugh. And when we walk away and the curtains blow softly in the wind, the heart is at peace.
Wishing you a window-opening day!

Please visit my website at: www.sandygriffin.com
Watch for my upcoming books in the next few weeks: Free to be Me! Creating the Dance of the Caregivers Life AND Gratitude Journal: Free to be Happy! And Free to Celebrate!

The Heart of a City

2008-11-10T13:18:00.000-08:00

On Saturday night my friend and I went into the heart of downtown Nashville to listen to some of the wonderful music that this city offers. After we enjoyed our favorite musicians - the best in Music City WE think - we were rushing to our cars as we tried to beat the sting of winter fast approaching. We were nearing our vehicles and turned a corner as a very frightened, waif-like looking girl passed us and then very meekly said, "I'm not asking you for money, but could I get you to buy me a hot dog? I am so hungry. Please don't judge me."
We stopped; there was something very sad and desperate in that voice; and terror in her face. Life had beat up this pregnant young lady. My heart went out to her. Heather, as we came to find out her name was, cowered, as if expecting to be struck.
When we stopped she backed up and said, "I am so hungry and so cold. I moved here from a small town because my boyfriend was beating me up. I can't go back."
And then as if we were judging her predicament, she put her hands on her growing stomach and said, "I am not keeping this baby. I am giving it up for adoption. Please don't judge me."
She continued on as if she had to explain why she deserved to eat, and stay warm this night.
"I stopped a policeman and asked him where I could get a blanket because I am so cold, and he told me that I was getting was I deserved." And she said it as if she believed that she did deserve to be hungry and cold!
She was getting what she deserved? I have seen animals treated better than this frightened human being. She was only asking for table scraps, and she couldn't even get that!
I reached in my purse and my friend reached in his pocket, and we extracted money to give to her. I knew that no matter how much money I had with me I was going to wish that I had more to give her, to help take away the pain that she was wearing. I was wishing that there was some way that I could make amends for that insensitive policeman - one of Nashville's finest - who told this child of God she was not worthy of the basics of life.
"Don't judge me," she repeated.
I was mortified and wanted to sit down and cry for life's injustice.
I was sad, and I know that God was hurting too.
I asked Heather if we could pray for her and her face lit up.
She whispered, "Someone cares..."
Heather, my friend, and I wrapped our arms tightly around each other and sent thanks up to our Father.
Heather was so cold, and I was sad that I had decided to wear a cute beaded blazer instead of a warm jacket that I could pass on to my new sister. I mentally perused the trunk of my parked car and tried to conjure up a warm blanket. But to no avail.
I gave Heather my card and she said she would keep in touch and let me know how she was doing; when she found a phone to use.
After we hugged and started to walk away we heard the tiny, whipped voice say, "You're my angels."
I felt like crying as I walked away, at the same time sending a prayer up to thank my Father that we were at the right place at that time. What an honor to be able to love and be a servant, in the small way that we knew how. This homeless girl ended up being a gift to us!
What has happened to the heart of this country? We are all one choice away from being in Heather's worn-out shoes. Would we want to be treated like a dog, or worse? Would it hurt to offer compassion and love in a world turning cold and impersonal?
Nashville - one of the friendliest cities in the United States? To everyone? Or only those clothed in expensive clothes?
Let's bring the heart back to this world - let's make this a world of love!

There Are No Such Things as Accidents in Life

2008-11-08T04:37:00.000-08:00

My sister Joann was having shoulder surgery. Not major surgery they say, but any surgery is major surgery. Our bodies were not meant to be cut open. But we do it, and it works.
I live in Nashville, and with my job and crazy schedule I was not able to be with her to help out in any way.
So I called to my hometown of St. Cloud, Minnesota where Joann still resides with her family, to order flowers for her...that was the least that I could do to help cheer her up as she recovered.
I looked online for florists in the St. Cloud area. I called a number of them and asked if they were local florists and then I hit on one that was locally owned. Being a small business owner I try to support the hometown businesses.
A lovely voice answered the phone and reassured me that they are a local business, founded by the woman on the other end of the phone.
I placed my order - a cheery bouquet of autumn flowers..."And how much do you want to spend?"
I inquired as to how much it would cost for a nice arrangement.
"$35.00", she said.
Okay, that sounded reasonable.
"What do you want the card to read?"

Those were the magic words.
First I said to just put...'Wishing you a speedy recovery'.

"No,no. Put 'Praying for a speedy recovery'."

I heard the voice at the other end whisper, "Ahhh..."

I gently interjected, "We pray together all of the time."
"You do?"
"Oh yes, I became a Christian about seven years ago at Willow Creek Church in Chicago, where I lived until two years ago, and I learned how to pray out loud. My sister gave her life to Christ when she was visiting me at Willow about five years ago, and we are connected at the heart in ways we never could have been before that."

For the next 10-20-30-40 or who-knows-how-long minutes, this wonderful lady with the open heart and I talked on the phone about the wonderful God that we serve. We shared our prayer life, we talked about our wounds, and then...yes, we prayed over that distance that had just closed. In that instant that lady from the locally-owned flower shop, entered my heart and was in that room with me.
Before we hesitantly hung up, she asked me if I would keep her and her husband in my prayers. You see, they are seeing a counselor because life got heavy, and their relationship was struggling.
I reassured her that I would and I hung up, feeling, no! knowing that this phone call for the flowers for my sister was not an accident. I could feel the smile of God enter my office, and a glow seemed to permeate the room

Oh, but the miracle didn't stop there.

Later that day a groggy, but drug-induced voice called me to squeal a thank you for the wonderful flowers that graced her kitchen table.
Before I could ask her for a verbal picture of the bouquet, she started to gush that she 'has never seen a more gorgeous arrangement in her life!"
Okay, so tomorrow when she was in her own mind, minus drugs, the flowers would go back to being a 'nice' arrangement.
Then her daughter came on the phone and proceeded to tell me that she was going to take a picture of the flowers on her phone to send to me, but the THREE-FOOT high arrangement was so big that it looked far away when she snapped the picture! And she said she had never seen beauty like she was seeing in those flowers!

Three foot high? Stunning arrangement? $35.00?!!
And then she didn't even take a credit card...she sent me a bill in the mail! In 2008!! It felt so...trusting!

God never ceases to amaze me.

I called to order flowers, and somehow this seemingly simple act bound together three women who loved the Lord. HE was - and IS - the glue that binds us.
I called to order flowers, and the word PRAYING opened two hearts across the country, over telephone lines, and brought three women together.
I ordered flowers from a local florist, we connected and prayed, my sister received the biggest vase of LOVE that she has ever received in her life - from me and an unnamed child of God who gives through flowers - God's masterpiece - and in that instant that the phone line connected for that order, we were all connected (maybe, just maybe, it was set in motion before that call - but we just didn't know it yet!)

I imagine this great God of ours sitting on His throne, looking down and smiling on the three of us all in our respective homes in awe of what transpired in that short but impactful amount of time, and I can just hear his sigh as he mutters to Himself, "Ah, three women that get what life is all about, three people that are giving glory to the One that orchestrated this - and every move - in their days. They get it; they really get it!"

And Friends Are Friends Forever...

2008-10-29T22:47:00.000-07:00

Jacki, my oldest daughter, and I were talking about the changes in this world and how much work it is to have a healthy relationship where two people can talk to each other, and work for solution instead of having to be 'right'.
The more we talked the more I realized that most people want to avoid conflict and when there is a teachable moment, it has become the norm to throw the relationship away!
This is a microwave society - "I want it and I want it NOW!" And we are a country where we throw away things that are broken, or are not perfect. And that seems to extend to people.
I have had so many girlfriends in my lifetime. And it seems that the more honest I am with them, the quicker they move onto other women who will tell them what they want to hear.
I recently confronted, in love, a friend about not being her word, not doing what she said she was going to do. She had nothing to say, and that was the end of the friendship, as we knew it.
I have made several attempts to contact her. Oh yes, she will answer the phone, but there is a coolness about her. She has not made any attempts to phone me. I tried to talk about love and how things will never be perfect between two people (afetr all, we are all human). She agreed and we both said that conflict is an oportunity to use the skills that we know, or are perfecting.
After we agreed to this I never heard from her again.
How can anyone be honest when they are so afraid of losing a frindship? Is it a real friendship if things are said and done, lacking the honest part? And what are we teaching our children?
We need to have mandatory communication classes in junior high. We are taught to add, cook, sew but NOT to get along with others or how to be coachable. Life skills...we never seem to have time for those.
Slow down and learn to listen and solve. This throw-away world is causing too much pain. Life is too short to be giving up good friends. Because only good friends will tell you the truth in love and honesty...and they are keepers!

Blessings and the Stock Market

2008-10-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

I walked out to my Halloween decorated mailbox, reached my hand in to grab a bundle of bills, advertisements and letters.
On the way to the house I looked through the collection of mostly paper to be filed in the circular file. I saw an oversized envelope that boasted the return address from Morgan Stanley. Ah! My investment portfolio.
I have been opening them and putting them in my file without looking at the numbers that are slowly going downhill.
This day, with the stock market spiraling downward, I decided to sneak a peek at the numbers. Whoa! I was in for a real shock! I had lost $12,000 in one month! My spirit started to go down with the numbers on the page when I stood up and stopped myself.
What had changed from the moment that I had stepped outside to get the mail and the moment that I opened my large envelope?
Absolutely nothing! When I walked in the house the chocolate chip cookies that were baking in the over were still baking, the vacuum cleaner waiting to be used was still in the place that I had left it, the work to be entered into the computer was still waiting.
Nothing had changed and yet I was allowing numbers on a piece of paper to dictate my attitude.
Then it hit me. We are a country that is being paralyzed with fear. And we are allowing it! We grudgingly pay the rising food prices, cringe when we pull up to the gas pump, and then we sit around the table with friends and family and complain about the woes of the world.
There isn't anything that I can do about the stock market. But I can make a choice to forget about the numbers on that piece of paper in my mailbox with the return address from Morgan Stanley. Those numbers do not dictate the tone of my days, they do not scream to the world who I am. My net worth is not the human being I am.
The country's economic future may appear grim right now, but this too will pass. Until it does we owe it to the Dream Giver to thank Him for the gifts that He has blessed us with. And then give that piece of paper only the attention that it deserves...and appreciate the sound of every breath that you are able to take.

You can learn more about me when you visit mebsite: www.sandygriffin.com - remember to sign up for my newsletter!

Life on the 6th Avenue Benches!

2008-10-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

The day was Sunday, my favorite day of the week. After running around like a hamster on a wheel all week I get to fill up my spirit on Sundays.

I woke up to sunny skies and birds chirping. I jumped out of bed and did my daily necessary-hygiene-but-not-liking-it types of duties. I had slept in and felt a bit rushed. After all, the yearly Southern Book Fair was on the plaza today. I didn't want to miss out on a minute of it.

As I drove into downtown Nashville and neared Legislative Plaza I started to get excited. I've lived in the Music City for 2 years and have not had a chance to experience the Fair before this year. As I got closer to my destination I was thrilled that there were not cars lining the streets; I was going to get a parking spot that was close to the plaza. Ah! Life is good.

After I parked in the 'Rock Star' spot I noticed that the booths with the books and authors were still covered with their tarps. I saw the Book Fair information sign and then I realized - I was two hours early!

Okay, what was I supposed to do? Drive back home? Find a coffee shop and have a cup of java? Recline my car seat and try to take a nap - wait! I had only been awake for two hours!

I opened the car door and stepped out onto the sidewalk on 6th Street. After growing up in Minnesota and spending the 20 years before I moved to the Volunteer State, in Chicago, the long-into-fall day that greeted me was an unexpected gift. The warm, 90degree air that enveloped me made for a picture-perfect day.

As I locked my car door and looked around, I saw the homeless men that I feed on the Sundays that I am in town, occupying their self-appointed benches. That was it - I was handed a golden opportunity to share with these men.

I approached David, a burly black man with a smile that could land planes. His face lit up the moment he spotted me. We may not have exchanged names before, but we had touched hearts. He greeted me and invited me to sit on the half of the bench that he was not occupying. In that moment the rest of the world disappeared. I did not notice any other people on the street, and the odor of unclean clothes and a body denied of a shower were non-existent. It was two fellow human beings doing life together.

I asked questions, very gently. What surprised me was David's hunger to talk and tell his story. We talked about his lost dreams of what he wanted to be when he grew up, the family that deserted him when he needed them, life on the streets and the family that had grown out of his hunger for community.

After I finished chatting and praying with David I walked to another bench and recognized Woody, and then onto Carl. I spent time with both of these beautiful souls that had so much to share, and yet were tossed away by society. We laughed, we took pictures, we exchanged e-mail addresses. Yes, they check their e-mail when they are in the library at the end of the block. It amazed me how well read these men are. The common denominator between all three men was that they all love sports. I felt a sudden sadness as I wondered if they would ever get the chance again to attend sporting events with their limited resources.

These men are amazing: they read all day long, they are in touch with nature, they encourage each other, they do life together.

I finally walked to the Book Fair and felt that I had just been handed the greatest gift of all. I did not treat it lightly that these men had shared their stories with me. It was an honor. And to let them know how much I care for them I bought them $6.79 sandwiches at the Fair. Nothing was too good for these children of God.

I walked back and handed them my meager offerings. They smiled through their toothless lips and I witnessed as their hearts encompassed their faces. In that instant I knew I was in the presence of Jesus. I was given a gift that no one can ever take back from me.

I drove home after the Book Fair, the fair that I soon came to realize was the vehicle to get me to my new friends. As I passed the extravagant houses on my way home I wondered how many of these homes had the community, the laughter, the love that I experienced between that family on 6th Avenue. These men are living together, while America watches the disconnect that has families living silently in the same dwellings.

Today I glimpsed a bit of heaven on earth, and I got to be a part of it. I was expecting to spend the day getting filled up with books. There was a different plan at work here, in the same way that the expectations of my fellow human beings had taken a different turn than they had expected. When they were growing up they had dreams just like I did. Our expectations and well-laid plans don't always (maybe hardly ever?!) turn out the way we map out.

I will be visiting my 'brothers' next Sunday, but this time when I bring them a meal, I will gift myself with the time to break bread with them. I have found new family members the day I thought I was merely going to a Book Fair!

To learn more about me or to sign up for my monthly newsletter, please take a peek at my website: www.sandygriffin.com

Panic or Praise: Focus Your Eyes on What You Want To See

2008-10-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

At 6:00 this morning it was still dark when I put on a light sweater and I closed the door behind me to begin my day. I was walking at a fast pace through the neighborhood, collecting the peace in my heart that I was going to need to face the rigors of the new day/week.
The peace in my heart was being disturbed by the appearance of new 'For Sale' signs on the front lawns of houses in my neighborhood. My mind started to go down the path of sadness; wondering about the families in each of these houses and agonizing about what their situations might be. I sent a prayer up for them as I passed the houses with the signs.
I was wondering, "Were they moving to a place that was a better fit for them? Was this a happy move? Was divorce involved? Bankruptcy? Foreclosure in the future? Would the kids have to change schools? Would a new president be a blessing to this country?"
I had not even realized that my peaceful mind had gone to a place that was not so content. My early morning connect-with-God walk and talk was not what I had set out for any more. I was hurting for the stories behind the walls, I was feeling the stress of the economy of the country, I had taken on the problems of the world - and it was starting to feel heavy.
Then...right then - across the lawn of an already-deserted brick home, under the crooked For Sale sign, ran a little bunny; a rabbit seemingly so happy with not a care in the world.
And the irony of all that is happening hit me - right in the heart.
WE are not in control. God did not wake up this morning and say to himself, "Oh No! I slept last night and during that time the world went crazy. What am I going to do now?"
God knew that all of this craziness was going to occur. He even allowed it. Now it is the time to keep our eyes on the light and be still. Listen to what He has to say to us. And do not be afraid. There is nothing to fear, for He is with us always.
That bunny...hopping under the For Sale sign...showed me the presence of the Dream Giver, the Master.
Do we worry about the brick and mortar, or do we trust the One who created the bunny hopping under the sign, on the blades of green grass that began as ONE single seed and grew up into a proud blade of grass? Can we trust someone who can do a miracle like that?
I lightly took the next step on my morning journey inside of my peaceful heart and looked around for all of the things to be thankful for, and the gifts far outweighed the challenges: the sun starting to peek over the mountains, the flowers that are still in bloom in October, the smell of bacon wafting out of the window of a household getting ready to face the new day, the vehicles in the driveways that would be transporting people to their destinations today, the symphony of the birds that were giving me a concert for free, the distant bark of a dog that is bringing joy to a family.
As I was counting the blessings the bunny ran in front of me...ah, a reminder of WHO and WHAT is really important in this life.

Lauren: Gift to the World!

2008-10-09T20:19:00.000-07:00

My baby is going to be 22 years old on Saturday! As I like to tell her, that is the day that she came out of the 'womb with a view'.
What is so hard about seeing our babies grow up? Is it that THEY are getting older, OR that WE are getting older too?
I sat across the table from Lauren today at lunch, and as I watched her nibble on a salad I started to wander back in my mind's eye to the moment that I found out that I was pregnant. I was so excited!
Then came the frightening words a couple of weeks later, "You have cancer cells."
Through the long, agonizing pregnancy, praying that this gift of a baby girl would enter the world with a wail and a smile, I delivered Lauren Michelle Griffin to the waiting world. The miracle baby had arrived and blessed the world!
And what a treat she has been, this bundle of energy with the bright red hair.
My baby. 22. Wow!
Where did the time go?
I remember hearing 'older' people say that when I was younger, and I thought it was exaggerated...until my kids grew up.
Childhood DOES come with an expiration date. I didn't buy an extended warranty. I can't buy back time. Lauren's childhood expired and she has entered ADULTHOOD.
My young lady will be 22 on Saturday and I could not be any prouder of the person that she has grown into...the person that is finding something new in herself every day, the person who delights in the mishaps that happen to her that make great stories, the woman who cries when she sees someone else crying, laughs until she cries when the other person is doing the same - over something so silly, and loves in a way that few people can boast.
The baby/young woman is having a birthday. Happy day beautiful child of God! You have been a gift to the world!

To find out more about me and what I do please go to my website: www.sandygriffin.com
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Blessings From The Gas Crunch

2008-10-05T19:04:00.000-07:00

"What if we run out of gas?"
"How are we going to get places?"
What about our vacation?"

My second daughter, Katie, called last week and we were talking about the current state of this country gone wild. It seems that overnight our stability - what little we were feeling - was shaken and leaving us feeling a bit insecure of our future.
Katie is 24 years old and lives in Chicago. She is a caseworker for the mentally challenged, and loves people. Katie is a servant.
After we whined about the cost of a gallon of gas in our respective states, Katie voiced a well thought out insight.
"Mom, I think this so-called gas shortage is all a gift from God."
"HUH?"
"Think about it for a minute, Mom. There is no disputing that the ozone layer is disappearing. One of the culprits is from gas being emitted into the atmosphere. Now people are not driving as much because it is affecting their wallets, not even thinking about the ozone layer, but it is slowing down the deterioration of the ozone.
Not only that, but families are living alone together and are not gathering around the table much any more. But with the gas scare, people are thinking twice about the unnecessary trips they are taking in their vehicles, and are staying at home more. They are spending more time in their homes - with their families."
"Can't you see, Mom? THIS is all part of God's divine plan!"

Listening to my daughter see God's hand in this time of fear, and recognize that it is a loving hand, made me want to kneel down and cry.
There is no doubt that the country is paralyzed by fear.
But what can we do about it?
There are many things.
We can enjoy what we do have, the gifts that are given to us free of charge.
When you wake up in the morning and open the blinds, say a loud prayer for the gift of another day, another breath, a window to look out at the world through.
Greet a stranger and show them the beauty - the true beauty - of this world that will transcend into the next.
Give a gas card to someone that is struggling with finances, despite your own worries, and feel the warmth spread through your body and land in your heart to reside.
Turn off the TV, close the newspaper, hug your family for no reason at all.
Our economy has survived worse shake-ups that this. This is a part of history that will a story in the future. Do all the good that you can to help alleviate others fears and watch as yours fall off of you, and peace fills your soul.
When you fill up with gas the next time, give the rising prices only the attention that it deserves. And that is a small, swift kick to the tires and then a prayer for the blessings.
Thank you Katie for unveiling the blessings that we allowed to blind us; to the beauty of this season!
The earth and disconnected families will forever be grateful for the gift of the 'gas scare'.

Make sure you visit my website at www.sandygriffin.com and sign up for my free newsletter and teleclass.

Step Out of Your Own Way!

2008-09-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the airport in Charlotte, North Carolina and wanting to board my next flight for the last leg of my journey home. It has been a journey that traveled much further than the actual geographical miles than the plane’s course.
I was in Los Angeles for business meetings for 10 days. That is a long time to be in one place – unless it is a tropical place and there are no deadlines or meetings to attend.
As I went to various meetings and reached in my heart for clearer direction to have a greater impact with my speaking, I was confronted with that thing that keeps getting in my way: the PAST. But this time I decided to embrace it and get to know it.
With some pain and excitement the curtain lifted and I was able to see behind it. What an exciting future is held in the palm of His hand. I do not know of all of the plans He has for me – after all it is very clear that HE knows the plans He has for me - but I do know the next step that He wants me to take. And that is all that I need to know.
I was able to step outside of myself, look at who I was created to be and the gifts that were put together that formed me, and I am more than ready to work with those.
But meanwhile I am at the airport with all of the rest of the weary travelers that have tried unsuccessfully to get comfortable in their cramped airplane seats, so they could get a few hours of uninterrupted sleep.
I wonder where their journey has, or will take them. I look into their eyes and wonder if they are open to the promptings and internal growth that will come their way. Are their hearts open to the life lessons that may block their paths? Will the insecurities that they took on in their childhoods peek their unwelcome heads in their daily activities? And then will they confront them with reckless abandonment and squeeze the lessons from them, or will they take the pain and add it to the heavy accumulation of regrets and guilt that have darkened the corners of their hearts?
When I board the delayed plane to get to my final destination, Nashville, I am sitting here in my relatively comfortable seat in the bustling airport that is waking up to the sounds of a new day and thanking God for this journey of the body and the heart. I traveled far – much farther than my travel itinerary states - and now I am smiling as I think of the next step on life’s journey.

You can learn more about me at - www.sandygriffin.com - and sign up to receive the free newsletter and to get information on the first telecourse! Your life will be better because of it!

Enjoying Family...ahhh!

2008-09-19T21:18:00.000-07:00

I am packing to go to Los Angeles in the morning and Lauren is walking around the house; trying to help me.
I love the sounds of having her in the house.
You see Lauren is my very animated daughter. She will be 22 in a couple of weeks, as she keeps reminding me. As if I would/could forget OR like I wasn't there on that Labor Day.
Anyway, I love the sounds of family around. There is a comfort when people who are comfortable in your surroundings are haunting the house.
Lauren is taking me to the airport at 4:30 a.m....EEKS! That is early so she is spending the night at my house. She goes to MTSU, a university that is about a half hour away from me. (And she got an A on her big test this week...the proud mom!)
As I was trying on clothes to take on my 10 day adventure to Los Angeles, Lauren lay on the bedroom floor, eyeing the outfits I was putting together and making funny comments. And she can be funny!!
In between packing and baking cookies (for her to bring to the hairdresser when she gets her hair cut tomorrow), I dyed the underneath section of her hair. We laughed, we danced, we pretended to fight. The child in each of us came out and it felt so good; so right.
Our kid's childhood expires so fast, but these are the times that I am going to remember forever: the laughter, the hugs, the looks passed between us that no one can take away, the hair dyeing, the love.
Tonight probably seems like any other night; rather boring to the reader, really.
But to me - the mother - tonight was a little slice of heaven!

Dreams do come true...but sometimes you have to work for them!

2008-09-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Tonight Jacki, my oldest daughter finished her Masters Program at Lindenwood College in St. Louis. I am so proud that I feel as if she graduated for both of us.
Jacki is, and always has been a hard worker, and very determined. And this accomplishment is another result of her tenacity.
I am so proud; did I say that already?!!
You see, Jacki paid for her MBA program, finished it in 18 months and graduated with high honors.

How many times in our lives have we quit something, sometimes even before we start, because it seems like it will be too hard? How many times have we let our dreams die - often wondering what would have happened if we had run the whole race; stuck it out?
This is a world where we buy something new if something breaks; we buy new clothes if something needs sewing or a button falls off.
We are not a fix-it country. Throw it away and get a new one - whatever it is.
Clothes, cars, appliances, relationships.
Relationships?
Yes, in this technological, microwave world, we want things taken care of, and taken care of NOW. If that can't be done, if it can't be fixed; then get a new one. NOW.
Consider the divorce rate in the United States. 60%. Throw it away and get a new one - until that one is not perfect any more.
We aren't teaching our children to try to fix things...so we throw out marriage with the torn jeans.
But there are still Gen Y'ers that take pride in hard work, and figuring a way to get ahead.
That is what Jacki did this last year and a half.
She worked full-time, helped her boyfriend move to Colorado when he was offered a new job, and managed to have a social life and get good grades.
Determination. Eyes focused on her dream. Hard work.
She did it.
Jacki Griffin, I am so Proud of you!
As I have always told her...I want to be Jacki when I grow up!
Dreams do come true; what is yours?
When you were growing up; did you want to be you?!

To learn more about me and what I do please go to my website at: www.sandygriffin.com and sign in for a free monthly newsletter.

And Friends are Friends Forever...

2008-09-18T19:26:00.000-07:00

It's Thursday evening and I am sitting here taking a break from my packing to go to Los Angeles for 10 days. I checked my e-mail and I received a letter from Amsterdam, written and sent with love.

How do I know?

I have written in earlier e-mails about the wonderful friends I met from Holland - Angelica and Jerry.

Tonight I want to share them with you. They can become your family too.

Jerry and Angelica are both accomplished artists in Europe - he a pop singer and her a jazz singer.

BUT that is not where their strengths lie. Their warmth, humor and ability to give and receive love is the greatest gift that they shared with me when they were in Nashville.

Let me tell you how I met these incredible people that are entering your house tonight with this introduction.

I am a speaker and a life coach. I coach musicians (among other professionals and not-so-professional people, and I was downtown Nashville a month ago to support and encourage an artist that I had been helping.

The artist (with an award-winning singing voice) asked me to walk the tip jar around the tables to ask people to give. Of course I will - it gives me the opportunity to get to know every person in the establishment.

As I walked around I chatted with people at every table, found out where they were from, and why they were in Nashville.

As I approached one particular table, I asked the obviously-in-love beautiful couple where they were from, and they told me Amsterdam.

In all of my years of talking with people (which is all of my years!), I have never met anyone from Amsterdam. So I dug into the deep recesses of my mind to try to come up with something that I knew about Amsterdam - to connect us.

Ah! Anne Frank!

So I proceeded to tell them that the only thing I knew about their country was Anne.

Angelica replied, "Ah yes! Anne Frank in the little closet."

And then I commented that Anne's death was so untimely because one day later she would have been set free... ONE day!

Angelica looked right at me, waved her hand in the air and retorted, "Oh yes, but then she never would have had a bestseller!"

I burst into a fit of laughter that took on a life of its own, and Angelica sheepishly said, "THAT probably wasn't nice...but if she had lived she would have had a journal - just like everyone else!"

And that started the flood gates of love and laughter opening up.

One thing led to another and I asked them where they were staying, they told me, and then they got their belongings and moved into my house - and my heart! - for the next two days that they had planned on staying in Nashville, and added three glorious days to the stay!

You may wonder why we spent so much time together when they were just going to go back to their country anyway. We have no answer for that; only that the love was so evident and strong between us.

A couple of days before Ang (Miss Happy Hat...another story for another day!) and Jer (Mr. Happy Shorts) were moving on I mentioned that they don't have to hang around me; they can take their rental car and do whatever they want. I had given them a key to 'our' house...the house that God built!

Jerry looked me in the eye and said, "We are only going to be here with you for a couple more days. We want to stay as close to you as we can. We were talking today and we were saying to each other that 'we miss you already!" People I had only met days earlier!

We loved and laughed the days away: eating, laughing, sharing, dancing, meeting friends, touring Nashville. Jerry even had the opportunity to sing on two stages in Nashville - and boy is he good! - and he got a standing ovation in a crowded bar! That was a first for me to see!

We always made sure that we were in bed by 4 a.m....a couple of days...actually three in a row were pretty close to not making that curfew. We could not get enough of each other.

The day came for my new 'family' members to leave. I closed their fingers around the house key and told them to keep it on their key ring so they could have it when they came back. The house was theirs now too...they had come home!

We all stood in the front foyer with tears streaming down our faces as we soaked in one last look at each other, with Angelica in her cute style saying that they were going to send me a windmill, piece by piece, for my front yard!

And then they were gone, as the tears that had grown out of love, flowed down my cheeks, off of my chin, onto the brick porch on the front of my house.

My house is empty now, but my heart is so full.

People from so far away...loving in a language that is almost incomprehensible. As I pore over the 316 pictures I took in that seemingly short, but eternally long period of time that they danced through my life, I am aware that these two wonderful people have become my family...my family by choice...and will never be out of my heart.

I will see them, and I know that it will not be long. Amsterdam is calling to me as Nashville is calling to them. Thank God for technology because we are in close contact, and as impersonal as e-mail seems, the words sing when I read them from the monitor. And in that one click of the SEND button, Angelica and Jerry Givens (Griffin) are transported back into my/our house once again.

People from other churches? Cities? States? Countries?

Why get to know them? They live too far away!

Hearts are never far apart. Tear down the walls and let someone into your heart; someone that you would not have considered getting to know. And feel your heart grow! The miles will disappear....

Strangers are Friends, Just Waiting to Happen

2008-09-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

It's early Monday morning and I got up early to go over the weekend and to thank God for everything good and (not-so-good) that had taken place.
When I recount all that had taken place in my life I am overwhelmed at how seemingly simple, yet so complex, life is.
I would like to share with you a bit of the good.
On Friday night our guest speaker, Michel (pronounced Michele) Neray, the National Speaker Association President from Toronto, Canada dined with Raeus (NSAT President) and I. That was just the beginning.
Michel spoke at our meeting on Saturday morning, and then he was going back with Raeus to Knoxville (2 1/2 hours away from Nashville) to see that part of Tennessee. THAT was the plan.
No one had anticipated the gas scare, and the escalating cost of gas that was to follow.
So Michel was stranded in Nashville, looking for things to do.
The stage: Nashville:
The actors: people who had met the night before OR were about to meet and become friends
The time: now and forever
Stage left. In walks Sandy
Since Nashville has become my stage I knew that I could be in this production.
On Saturday afternoon I met Michel on the main street in Nashville: Broadway. (Now he can honestly tell people that he was on Broadway in the United States).
Michel and I walked the length of the stage and met as many actors as we could. We watched musicians, chatted with them and admired their art. Some that I had met before shared their art with us and gave us their cd's as gifts.
We had fun BUT the best was yet to come.
We met up with my girlfriend Lane Brody (http://www.lanebrody.com/) to grab a bite to eat and then head back to Broadway. Or so we thought.
This stage: a cozy Greek restaurant called Yanni's; outside on the back porch that had a garden-like feel.
The food: delectable items that Lane ordered (she's Greek) with names that I cannot begin to pronounce.
The actors: Lane, Michel,; my girlfriends: Karen Shayne and Katie Combs and me
The climax of the evening: great conversation, friends, love
We sat on that stage for the duration of the evening; most everyone having met each other for the first time. But that didn't matter.
It was a perfect evening: wine, laughter, great food, friends who now consider each other family, and love
And the greatest of these is love.
We are such a fast-paced society that we feel like we have to keep going and everything that we do had to be on a grandeur scale. After a while the well is dry; we have nothing left to give.
But enter a stage with 'real' people and fill the well up one drop at a time: enjoy every chuckle, savor the taste of every bite of food, every sip of wine, store in your heart every look that passes between new friends that are now connected at the heart - regardless of demographics, touch the arm of your hard-working server, and just drink in the gift that you have been given.
My weekend might sound boring to the fast-paced, jet-setting group; to those that have the need to be in The Scene part of the newspaper. But to those that value connecting to others hearts...ahhh!
This weekend was a slice of heaven!

If you would like to walk on my journey with me, and learn more about who I am, please go to my website www.sandygriffin.com and sign up for my free newsletter and a free article.

Happy Make Your Bed Day!

2008-09-11T04:05:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning with the windows open, and the only sounds I can hear are the incessant chirping of the crickets. There is not a breeze but it is very comfortable here before the temperatures get near 90 today.
September 11th...National Make Your Bed Day!
I am not down playing the tragedy that paralyzed our world 7 years ago today. I spent time in my prayer room and prayed for the affected families and friends (that encompasses all of us somehow) and then I turned my prayers to thanksgiving.
Those of us that are living have the opportunity to enjoy this day. We are gifted with yet another day, another chance to make our mark in this world.
I was making my bed when I got up at 4:30 (heaven only knows why I woke up at the ungodly hour!)...and then I remembered that it was National Make Your Bed Day!
And a smile came to my face. And I made my bed.
Seven years ago our towers came down. But our spirits survived.
I am enjoying this day...I started out by putting in a CD of my Amsterdam friend, Jerry Given. You will be hearing so much about this pop phenomenon and his classy, jazz singer wife, Angelica, in future blogs I am sure. This is a couple that everyone should know, so I am going to introduce you to them and through the pages you will grow to love them like I do.
September 11th...I am going to honor the fallen and the injured from that fateful day by enjoying every moment of this day. I am going to appreciate every rain drop that falls today (we need it - to keep my flowers smiling!), I am going to smile at every person that passes me and I am going to drop a coin in every outstretched hand that reaches to me today. In honor of the heroes.