When the going gets tuff dig in. I am going to be like a rock. You can’t move me unless, you push really hard. You will have to use all of your strength. I am digging in. I am stuck where I am at, and where I choose to be. You can’t move me. You are not the boss of me.  Despite set backs I will remain strong.  You can’t make me feel anything. You do not have power over me. There is on greater that you or me. He is my strength, me refuge.

That is what I am thinking, right now. There are goals and dreams that I want to accomplish. There are people who have made it uncomfortable to stay where I am at. They don’t know that I have some of the best people surrounding me. They think I rock. Not that it matters what others think of me. It is nice to know that there are people in my corner. People who are supportive around me. Those who wish to be cruel, mean, and unsupportive, do not matter to me. I will rock on. I am solid. I have the power to play out my life as God intended.

Helping out with a Church production is quite an affair. The lights, the sound, and the video. It is all quite the production. It is serious business. Everyone, must follow protocol. There are rehearsals. There can be no flubs. If so, the productions team will hear about it.  There has to be amazing communication. There has to be communication and action.

No one gets to rest on their merits. All hands on deck. Life is like that too. You need to keep everything going. Sometimes, there will be actions that you forgot to take care of. There will be tasks that you did not do. There will be areas that someone else is supposed to fill in.

With kids there is a never ending production. There are a million on one needs for every child and only one or two parents to manage them. How do you manage? You don’t. You lead. Then the others will follow. Everything will come into place, like one beautiful production. You may rehearse. You can do over some of the times. What goes on, goes live. The entire production. No editing.  You have to learn as you go along. There will be lights, sound, and video. It will be beautiful.

Going for a bike ride is thrilling for me. This time last year, I could not go for a bike ride. I had knee surgery. I am truly grateful that I can walk. I am ecstatic that I can ride a bike. This is something that I will not take for granted. Once you think you can’t walk, ever again, you may think that your life is over. However, when you actually get over your malady and are able to walk, there is no explanation for how great you can feel.

At least I feel great. Being able to ride my bike is a triumph. I wish I could ride. However, I have some other tasks to complete. I don’t know where this sudden enthusiasm came from. I think of my Grandfather, who rode a bike into his ’90s. Maybe that is how he did it. He rode on and on. He found joy in the little activities and things that other may take for granted, such as walking or riding. He must have loved the freedom as I love the freedom of being able to ride my bike. I feel the wind on my face. When you think you may never feel that again, you don’t take anything like that for granted. Ride on.

Be sure to thank a Veteran, for the freedoms we have today. There are many who have died for the freedoms we have. They were someone’s Brother, Uncle, Grandfather, Cousin, Friend, Colleague. They laid down their lives so that we could have a better one. They carried on, so that we could carry on. They gave their all., so that we could have all we do have. I am grateful to all of the Veterans who sacrificed for the greater good.

My heart is full, as I think of family members who were in the military, and lost their lives or who were impacted by the wars. They fought, but did not come back the same. The sacrificed, but remained silent. They let the horror and pain remain in the dark recesses of their minds. They may have come back, but they were not the same. They left a little of themselves there. They wanted to make the world safer. They wanted to change the world as best they could. They fought the enemy. Some won, some lost the battle. They found the courage to fight for our Freedom. Never forget, that our Freedom was fought for, by the blood, sweat, and tears of a Veteran and their families.

Today was a beautiful day. It was filled with sunshine, parks, water, and more slides. It is getting closer to summer. Looking forward to more days spent at pools and backyard barbecues. I am choosing to enjoy my weekends to the maximum with my family. The kids are still young, and before I know it, they will be much older and independant. I want to make these days more memorable for them. I choose to enjoy the time I spend with them. I won’t let the days slid away. It could be easy to let the days fly by. I am not going to wish the days away.

I do love the summer. I don’t want to slide into another five years wondering what happened. I choose to be her for my family. I choose to be of value wherever, I go. I choose to be better than I was the day before. I don’t want to slide into the rest of my life. I want to take all the lumps and bruises and enjoy the better times.

The days are beautiful with the warm wind touching my face. The laughter of the children is amazing. Flowers are a feast for the eyes. I don’t want to miss a moment. I won’t slide into the future.  I choose to take in every moment.

We are to be like Christ. Bring value to others. We ourselves are valuable. My children are valuable to me. They are the greatest gift. I wrote each of them letters to let them know what I liked about them.They came home covered in mud. They were outside playing. I asked them, what they were thinking. I asked them to take off their shoes, so they would not get mud everywhere. I had to stop myself from laughing.

I was upset that they got muddy and made messes. However, I thought they are just being kids. Let them explore the dirt. Let them see the value in ordinary things. God see the value in ordinary things. They found amusement in something so earthy. They also found amusement in each other. They were not fighting. They got their energy out on something. These girls are not ordinary by any means. They are something extraordinary. They are a precious gift. They are a lesson. They are a treasure. They are so much more. When I think of what they bring to my life. Howe they make me better. There are times when I feel as if I am covered in mud. Then they remind me, that I am valuable to them. We are valuable to each other. Don’t shy away from bringing your value to others.

My days are jam packed. My schedule is jam packed. My life if jam packed. It is not the greatest management of my time. It is not great to be busy with things that don’t lead you to a goal. It is important to put the big things in my schedule. The big things or the most important things are what matter most to me. If I have a goal that aligns with the activity, it gets in the calendar. If it will make me better, it goes in the calendar. If it does not align with the goal that I want to achieve, it may go in my schedule.

There are activities which I do not care to do. There are activities which I know will waste my time. Time is the most precious commodity, we have. Listening to people who have no clue as to how to solve your problem or have the problems you have is not a good use of your time. Watching TV is a big time waster for me. Surfing the internet is a big time waster for me. Procrastinating on what I know needs to be done, is also a time waster. If you put off what you know you should do, you are just stalling. If you fill your schedule with items that don’t amount to much, you won’t have a great life. You will be jammed up all the time. I choose to spend time with my kids.

When I think of everything I need to do, sometimes I am exhausted thinking about it. I feel as if I am about to run out of gas. What fills me up? It is not food. It is not people around me. It is my faith. When I realize, how lucky I am, I don’t have time for self pity.  When something needs to be done, I keep my eye on the goal. This keeps me going. I know God keeps me going. He has a map of the plan he has for my life.

Working towards my goal, is actually a way to improve myself so that I can become the person to achieve my goal. No one else can do this for me. It is my journey. There are others who may have similar goals. They may join me along the way. However, they cannot do it for me. Just as I cannot do it for them. They can inspire me. They can’t encourage me. I can be a great encourager for my kids. Gas is ever It is versatile and useful. Just like I can be when my faith is renewed. changing. It can be multiple things, and exist in several states.

Time to get back to the basics. My youngest will be going into kindergarten. She needs to learn her ABC’s. She likes to go onto ABC mouse.com. As adults we get wrapped up in everything we do. We forget to go back to the basics.

When we have kids, we have to teach them the basics before going into school. There are some things that are not taught in schools. There are simple things, such as manners, making friends, not being afraid to fail, and not caring what others think.

It is funny how children’s programs teach some of these things, but they are soon forgotten. Some kids forget the basics in this sense. They may know their ABC’s. I want my kids to learn about the basics of human decency and how to be strong individuals.

Sometimes you have to compromise. I don’t have jelly. I just have peanut butter and Strawberries. It is late, I am not going to be able to go out and get something for the kids to eat. This is what we have. I have to make the best of it. Even if they demanded regular jelly, I would still give them the strawberries. They are good kids. However, making special arrangements for every whim they have is not what I want to do.

I do want to take care of my kids. To me it does not mean doing everything they want when they want it. I do love them. Me giving them everything they want is the not the best strategy. They will think that everyone owes them or they can demand what they want from anyone and get it.

Also, I want to encourage them to try new things and to think about other solutions. We may not have jelly. Do they really need jelly with the peanut butter? I want them to think that there may be other ways to do the same thing. They may want to think about other ways of doing what they want.