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Why Letting Your Heart Break Is a Good Thing

While driving to work recently, a female reporter over the radio said, “Lamar Odom was found unresponsive in a Nevada brothel.  Recent cocaine use and natural sexual performance enhancing supplements were reported…..”

I don’t remember what the reporter said next or what story she moved on to, but she moved on quickly, as newscasters must do.  They report the news.

I’m not sure why I had such an extreme reaction to this particular piece of news, but I immediately felt hot, stinging tears form in my eyes and a lump grow in my throat.  I turned off the radio, which had now moved on to ads at this point, to process what I’d just heard.

I don’t know Lamar or follow his career or his life in the tabloids, but what broke my heart that day was the story of a 35-year old man: Once a newborn baby held in the arms of his mother.  Once a kid shooting hoops on the playground—did he dream he’d play professionally one day?  Once a man becoming a father himself for the first time.  Now, found unresponsive in a brothel.  What happened?!

Can you imagine if this was your son, your grandson, or your brother??

The point of me sharing this story today, is to Read more

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Overwhelmed by the Holidays?

Tis the season to be…..

Overwhelmed??

Wait a minute.  I thought this was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year!

Each year I see more and more people running around trying to complete an insanely huge list of things they think they should get done during the holiday season.  It’s important to note that most of these people running around do not have smiles on their faces.

Did you know that holiday gift shopping is up 8% from last year and shoppers around the country say they are planning to spend an average of $861?  That’s a lot of money and who decided that more is more!  The upside this year is that 54% of these shoppers will not be adding to the traffic jams around town because they will be making their purchases online.

Whether you are in full overwhelm mode, are in denial of your state of overwhelm, or it’s just about to set in, here are a few suggestions to make this holiday season a little merrier and bright.

Prioritize.  What is the most important thing about the holiday season to you?  Put aside what you think you should do and decide what is truly important to you.  Is it spending time with family?  Volunteering in the community?  Having the best Christmas light show in town?  Make a list and spend your time on the top two to three items.  Chances are those items that fall to the bottom of the list are the culprits that kick you into overwhelm each year.  Get rid of them and don’t feel guilty about it.

Get Rid of the Guilt.  A lot of the guilt we feel during the holiday season is based on not meeting a list of unrealistic expectations.  Guess what?  When you create the priority list above, you are starting fresh and setting your own realistic expectations.  For example, for years I felt guilty when I didn’t send out Christmas cards.  The problem was that I wanted to personalize each and every one and that would take forever, so instead I didn’t do anything at all.  One year I decided to send a card to anyone I loved that was over the age of 80.  I accomplished my Christmas card task that year.  Granted, I only had to send 5 or 6 cards, but I did it.  The key was taking a task and making it manageable and realistic for me.

Curb the Cookie Cussing!  When you are cursing under your breath while baking the 27th batch of cookies, it may be time to step away from the rolling pin!  If you have committed to making cookies for your 27 closest friends, but hate every minute of it—stop it!  Your friends will still love you, even if you don’t deliver cookies to their doorstep this year.  Don’t want to deprive yourself of the entire baking experience?  Maybe making a batch of cookies with your family on Christmas Eve is more manageable and realistic for you.

Party Like It’s 1999 or Not!  Don’t feel that you have to attend every holiday party.  You may get uninvited in future years, I know I have, but adding 22 parties to your already busy schedule can drag you down.  Question?  Why does everyone and their brother choose to throw a party in December anyway?  I know our houses look pretty with all the decorations, but wouldn’t it be great if groups of friends would put the names of all the months in a hat and draw out their designated party month?  This way we would have a nice party to look forward to each month throughout the year!

Be a Blessing to Others.  There are lots of opportunities in each of our communities to be a blessing to those who are less fortunate or lonely.  Consider helping out at a homeless shelter or food bank, sing carols at a nursing home, visit a home-bound person who doesn’t have family around, or donate a gift for a child that may only receive that one gift.

How are you doing this holiday season?  Are you in the overwhelmed category or have you found a good balance?  Tell us about it in the comment section below.

Wishing you each a very peaceful and happy holiday season filled with love!

Jill xx

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5 Lessons We Can Learn About Life From Appollos Hester

Have you seen the awesome video of the high school football player that has gone viral this week?

I hope you haven’t and this is your first time.  You are in for a real treat!  (Confession: I have watched a dozen times now and it never gets old).

Every bit of the 2 minutes and 28 seconds of this video is superb.  This video is G rated, so gather any youngsters wandering around to watch with you.

Ok, first of all, DO YOU NOT LOVE THIS KID!  I just want to hug and high five him!

Every second of this video is filled with goodness, but here are the TOP 5 lessons we can learn about life from Appollos Hester:

1. NEVER LOSE YOUR CHILD-LIKE ENTHUSIASM
Appollos is in high school, so he’s still officially a “child,” but somewhere along the line most of us lose our zeal and excitement for life.  Did life become less exciting?  No.  Our perspectives change, but that doesn’t mean we lose the ability to twirl and jump around when we are excited about something.  Right?

Challenge: Next time you get your mail, skip to the mailbox.  Don’t worry about the neighbors staring at you.  Maybe you will encourage them to live out random acts of joy.  Believe me, skipping makes you feel ALIVE!

2. LISTEN TO YOUR MENTORS
Appollos recounts what his coach told the team in the locker room huddle, “It’s gonna be tough, it’s gonna be hard, you’re gonna go out there, you’re gonna batter, you’re gonna fight, you’re gonna do it for one another…”  He took the advice and encouragement the coach gave and BELIEVED his team could do it.

If you are lucky enough to have a mentor/coach/counselor in your life, listen to them and apply the wisdom they have to impart.  If you don’t have someone like this in your life, I encourage you to find someone who can speak into your life in a positive way.  For those encouragers out there, you have a gift to share, become a mentor to a child or adult today.  Click here for some organizations that need you.

3. BE GRATEFUL
Appollos is grateful.  He’s grateful to God.  He’s grateful to his parents.  He’s grateful to his friends and teammates.  He’s grateful for everything!  Research shows that people who practice gratitude consistently are physically, emotionally, and socially better off.  No matter what your circumstances are, there is always something to be grateful for, it just takes a conscious decision to choose to live a life of gratitude.  As Appollos reminds us in the video, “It’s a mindset!”

4. POSITIVE PEOPLE MOTIVATE THOSE AROUND THEM
I love it when the desk reporters at the end are discussing the interview and one says, “I don’t know about you, but I’m about ready to run through a brick wall!”  This guy was pumped! Positive people inspire others and breed positive change.  Positive people also attract positive life experiences.  You know motivational speaker Tony Robbins is going to be all over offering a job to our dear Appollos!

A bit off topic here, but didn’t the desk reporter look and sound just like Vince Vaughn when he made that comment?  Just a note for the future movie producer of Appollos’ life story. : )

5. SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS
There is so much good in this world.  Unfortunately, the ugly stories the media has a tendency to share get the high ratings, so those stories aren’t going anywhere.  The reason this video has gone viral is because it makes us happy to watch it.  It inspires us!  It motivates us!  The lesson here is, when you have good news to share, share it.  Spread JOY and HAPPINESS!

“You can do anything you put your mind to. Never give up on your dreams. Keep smiling.” – Appollos Hester

What was your favorite part of the video?  Do you have something awesome that you would like to share with us today?

Include your comments below, I would really love to hear from you!

In an effort to make your friends and family smile, please consider sharing this post with them.

Jill xx

P.S. If you haven’t subscribed to my blog already, don’t wait!. You might miss an encouraging and helpful post.

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