Friends With Farms

As much as one should have a friend who is a lawyer, another who is an accountant, and another who owns a yacht, I suggest finding a friend who owns a farm. We didn't become friends because they owned a farm, but it has been a great benefit! Plucking us suburbanites out of our planned neighborhood and planting us where the gravel and dirt hastily meet the black-topped road was a welcomed distraction to what would have been an otherwise hectic, over-booked weekend.

Rolling green fields, acres of planted soy, a forest hosting an old sugar shack, and a rolling stream welcomed us as we stepped out of the car and onto God's country. My son loved playing "farmer" as he got to ride the huge John Deere tractor. With the sun melting down on us, we donned our version of "farmer" gear and headed to the fields where, primed for the picking, were rows and rows of Concord Grape vines. I was in antioxidant heaven as those plump, purple lovelies were just calling "pick me, pick me". Armed with our shears and fruit baskets we began our pillage and plunder. Our treasure surrounded us and the pickin's were plenty.

Thank you to our friends for sharing your place of serenity with us. The quietness from the fields was peaceful, the surroundings were picture-perfect, and the company was genuine. How lucky to have such a beautiful escape.

"Cultivators of the earth are the most valuable citizens. They are the most vigorous, the most independent, the most virtuous and they are tied to their country and wedded to its liberty and interests by the most lasting bands."
–Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Jay (Aug. 23, 1785)

We ate the grapes, we juiced the grapes; wait until you see what else we do with the grapes! Join me tomorrow for What I Made Wednesday to find out!

Gratitude Journal Monday

How lucky we all are to be born with the fruit of the Spirit already planted in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humbleness, and self-control. It's just there, waiting to be harvested. But, growth doesn't happen overnight; it takes care and time to get a good harvest. As we nurture our souls, we develop our own fruit and, one day, harvest a good crop to feed and nourish others. Just like grapes growing on a vine, we are not here for ourselves, but rather for others to partake in what we have to offer the world. How is your yield lately?

296. I am grateful I have learned to share my fruit so it may nourish others' lives.
297. I am grateful my fruit of the Spirit continues to grow so I may yield better harvests.
298. I am grateful I have improved on love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness.
299. I am grateful I have an opportunity each day to be better in patience, humbleness, and self-control.
300. I am grateful that I already possess all of these gifts (and so do you); we just have to learn how to harvest them.

It's going to be a "grape" week!

Wondering about starting your own Gratitude Journal? Click here.

Goodbye Week. Hello Weekend. Lessons Learned: Take 61.

Watercolor by Becky Kazana

Goodbye wonderful Labor Day spent with friends picking Concord Grapes at their farm - wait 'til you see what I do with those plump, purple beauties.

Goodbye busy, short week of setting plans in motion and meeting destiny at the door - welcome.

Goodbye severe pain in my neck that has affected my mood everyday this week - go away.

Goodbye setting many spinning plates in motion this week and hoping and praying I can keep them all from crashing to the ground.

Goodbye packing tons of s'more kits for tonight's football bonfire - Go Team!

Hello resting-up to tackle the only full week of school for the whole month of September.

Hello wondering when a 5-day school week became something to "tackle".

Hello homework on weekends - a new experience for us.

Hello family time and indulging in a new "What-we-do-for-fun" activity: watching old Leave It To Beaver episodes on NetFlix.

Hello watching those old episodes and wondering how it was really like in those days of prosperity, growth, and innocence.

Yea, we picked a lot of Concord grapes!

The Lesson Learned this week is when you've got your health, you've got everything. I remember when I was about 12 years old and was asked what I wanted when I got older. I said the typical 12-year old stuff like "be rich" and "live in a mansion". But never, not once, did I ever think to put on that list "be healthy as an ox". Why would I? At age 12 the most pain I'd ever felt was from a paper cut, and boy did I got into a raging wail of pain on that one. But now that I'm older, I know the true richness behind being healthy. It affects your entire life, your attitude, your activity. No, I'm not dying, but I have had this pain in my neck since Monday and I can't tell you how debilitating it has been to me this whole week. I've been more grumpy (sorry family), I've been less active (sorry running shoes), and I've had a headache every day because of it (sorry liver for all the aspirin I've been popping).

I know there is far worse than neck pain and perhaps that's my equivalent of the paper cut way back when. But now, I'm smarter so my answer to what I want when I get older will be a resounding, "I want to be as healthy as an ox. That will be my riches."

Maybe Your Someday Is Today

You've dreamed of it. You've envisioned yourself in that perfect scene. You are the main character of that vision you've had for so, so long. But illusions are safe, aren't they? It doesn't cost anything to imagine what kind of life you want, where you want to be, and how you want to live it. But, the getting there, now that's the part we can't imagine. We want to realize our dreams with a snap of a finger, or a click of a shimmering red heel. But we're not that naive; we know it takes work and struggle to get what we want. We accept that ticket when others are driving their wills towards their goals. But for us? For us, we always underestimate what it will take to grab our dreams and hold them to our hearts. But we're our own dream stealers, you know. We're saboteurs of our own destinies most of the time. It comes so naturally to us when supporting a friend, cheering them on to realize their hopes, stomp out their fears, and encourage them to forge ahead. We're their best cheerleaders. But, when it comes to our own game of life, we tend to silence the cheers into last year's final game of the season.

Well, get out your pompoms because this is a new day. It's opening season on your dream game and you're going all.the.waaayyyy!!! It starts today, right now, and every day you will move inch by inch towards your own dreams. You will make it happen because your steps will start tiny, then you'll be leaping before you know it and your final jump will land you exactly where you envisioned, right smack dab in the middle of where you were meant to be.

For many the race is long, winding, and bumpy, but you already knew that. Shelve the excuses, and I mean it. "When the kids start school", "When the laundry is done", "When the moon aligns with the sun": that is not going to get you where your heart desires to be and it won't get you what you know you deserve. If you're waiting for the perfect time to start, you'll never start. Ever. You are living what's called "life", and "life" happens and boy, do we all know that. So, make a pact with yourself. Leave that comfy nest of yours where you think you've got everything under control. Promise that you'll take a step everyday towards your goals. It may be something as simple as making a phone call to the right person. Get it started and good and amazing things will happen. And, if you don't see results right away, keep pushing forward no matter what. Take another step, and another, but keep taking those steps. Sometimes you'll step backwards and that's OK. Keep stepping and you'll find your path. I think you'll be amazed how the Divine Universe is rooting for you. Plus, you've got home-field advantage!
 


Have you postponed dreams of your own? What keeps you from making them a reality?

Your someday is today. Leave that nest!

What I Made Wednesday {Cue Cards for Our Young Speakers}

This being an election year and all, speeches are bombarding the airwaves from all sides. They seem to speak with such ease, eloquence and poise. And, considering Public Speaking falls into the number 2 slot of people's phobias, well, you just can't help but respect a good speaker. But how to get there?

I think it begins with practice, practice, and then more practice. The more you do, the more comfortable you get. And, imagine if we can start this process with kids grades 4 through 6. Wow! By the time they'd be in high school, they would be old pros. Just think what a breeze that college interview will be for them.

For two years I sponsored a Teen Gavel Club in my local area for high school students. I, along with an amazing public-speaking master, followed the protocol of Toastmasters International, a world-renowned public speaking organization. Now, my son's school has invited me to offer a similar experience to the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders, as an after-school program to those interested. I am delighted and so excited to share such an important life-skill with such young minds.

Since my past experience only dealt with high school students, I made amendments to the program to tailor it to a younger crowd. I'm trying to make the class really fun, not at all boring, and, hopefully, true progress will prevail and the class will grow by word-of-mouth for the future.

Need more eye contact

One of my changes to the program include these cue cards I made to help make the speaker aware of how they are presenting. Kids need immediate feedback so I developed these cards to communicate with them during their speech without interrupting. And kids are so smart; they take cues and apply them immediately. I think these cue cards are going to be a success.

What You'll Need
Print-outs of your visual aides
Foam core
Glue stick
X-acto Knife
thin paring knife
Tongue-depressor sized craft sticks

What You'll Do

Using an X-acto knife, cut out your print-out and paste it to your foam core using a glue stick. Luckily, I had remnants of foam core from the Harry Potter Birthday Party.
Once secure and dry, cut around the print-out and through the foam core. This would be a great opportunity to use a brand new blade as it will cut through the foam core very easily and smoothly without ripping the foam.

Create a "starter slit" where the handle will go by using your thin paring knife to cut into the foam.

Coat the top of the craft stick with glue.

Insert the craft stick into the "starter slit" you made earlier. Be sure to do this slowly and gently and as straight as possible. Ensure that each stick is inserted where each cue card stands at the same height.

L-R, top-down: Slow down, you're talking too fast; I like what you just said and how you said it; I can't hear you, speak up; take a breath, you look nervous, calm down; need more eye contact; watch your filler words like "um", er", "like", "you know"; watch your body language

What You'll Need to Know to Finish
If you're a teacher, you need to make these pronto for your class when they give their presentations. You can even select another student to "man the cues", ensuring they are listening to the student speaker. If you're a parent, these cue cards should be made so, when your child practices their speech, you can offer lots of help without actually saying a word. Speaking well lends itself to making a good first impression. Wouldn't you want your child to have that advantage in any given situation? They can, and these cue cards can help awaken their speaking awareness.

September Promises New Beginnings

September is here and many see this month as an opportunity of new beginnings, a rebirth of the soul. While January calls us forth to provide resolutions of what we need to do, September nudges us to rethink who we want to be. It's an opportunity to take stock of one's self and make adjustments, offer improvements, and get a little closer to our authentic selves. This becomes easier as we grow older and settle into our own skin. But no matter how old we get, there's always room to improve on what we already have to work with. Take stock. What will you be working on to become a more you-ier you? Is your soul and spirit shouting from the rooftops to be heard in any particular area of your life? Take September's promise of new beginnings and leave the past behind, forging ahead to the future you want to live.

What will be your area of focus?

Gratitude Journal Monday

I'm slackin' today, and so should you! Enjoy your rest and relaxation. I hope you're surrounded by those you love to hang with. Happy Labor Day!

291. I am grateful to you if you like your job.
292. I am grateful to you if you don't like your job but are working to change your situation.
293. I appreciate the unemployed that so desperately want to work and try to make that happen every day.
294. I appreciate the "Never Give Up" attitude of the American spirit.
295. I am grateful to those who innovate, create, and bring forth new ideas into concrete products.

Enjoy your day off!