A quote from Positive Inspirational Quotes ( PIQ)
Never stop doing the little things
A Double Rainbow
One week ago 27 lives from Sandy Hook Elementary School was taken in a horrific crime and today a double rainbow was sent to us. Let’s keep their family and town in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank you Tommy for sharing your picture.
Twas’ 11 Days Before Christmas….20 Beautiful Sandy Hook Elementary Children
Twas’ 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy; they didn’t know what to say.
They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
“where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
This is heaven” declared a small boy. “We are spending Christmas at God’s house.
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe,
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”
May this country be delivered from the hands of fools
I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!
Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
Come now my children let me show you around.”
Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”
~Author Unknown
Attitudes Towards Life
“What many people don’t realize is that we can change our attitudes towards life. It takes some work, but it can be done. The more we accept other people and their faults and quirks, the less judgmental we become. The more we decide to share the goodness that’s within us, the less selfish we become, and the less likely we are to hoard or hang on to material things. The more we learn about other people’s emotional or physical problems, the more understanding and compassionate we become. Your attitude is one of your gifts to the world, all day, every day. What kind of gift do you give? And is it a gift that remains steady no matter what happens to you?”- Tom Walsh
Post from Positive Inspirational Quotes ( PIQ)
Dealing With Your Dog (post from Kirk Weisler)
I am not personally immune from trials, discouragement or dark cloudy moments that sometimes try to linger for hours or even days. I doubt few are immune from such things, and in fact an honest look at some of the great achievers in our world tells us that these dark and cloudy days may indeed be a regular part of our life’s journey just as it was their own.
Winston Churchill famously referred to his gloomy periods as his ‘black dog’. He said, that he often felt that there was a big black dog on his shoulder, or that “it” followed him around. There is even a Black Dog Institute named for his metaphor that is dedicated to helping people deal with their dog. Knowing that these moments are a regular part of life and that there may be dog days ahead or even right now invites us to have a plan or at least a strategy to help us manage the dog.
For me the way involves finding joy in my children, reading uplifting material(finding quotes)… writing in my gratitude journal (or reading from it). Research says that exercise is one of the most proven and effective remedies (taking your ‘black dog’ for a run.)
Well, I’m not sure I’m up for a run today but I am about to take a morning walk. I wish we could walk together and enjoy each others company. I will be thinking of you … and hoping that you enjoy these quotes I found to share this morning on optimism. “Black Dog’s” don’t generally like such quotes…but sometimes after a good walk they are hungry enough to wolf a couple of them down. 
Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A “you can do it” when things are tough.~ Richard M. DeVos
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. ~Helen Keller
One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn’t pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. ~Lucille Ball
The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy. ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Truth is, I’ll never know all there is to know about you just as you will never know all there is to know about me. Humans are by nature too complicated to be understood fully. So, we can choose either to approach our fellow human beings with suspicion or to approach them with an open mind, a dash of optimism and a great deal of candor. ~Tom Hanks
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier. ~Colin Powell
Have a Positively Perpetual… Optimistic Day
Kirk Out
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RIP S*H*E*S (Sandy Hook Elementary School)
Click here to listen to Ana sing: ♥RIP Ana Grace Márquez-Green
Part of the speech from President Obama –
As these difficult days have unfolded, you’ve also inspired us with stories of strength and resolve and sacrifice. We know that when danger arrived in the halls of Sandy Hook Elementary, the school’s staff did not flinch, they did not hesitate. Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach, Vicki Soto, Lauren Rousseau, Rachel Davino and Anne Marie Murphy — they responded as we all hope we might respond in such terrifying circumstances — with courage and with love, giving their lives to protect the children in their care.
We know that there were other teachers who barricaded themselves inside classrooms, and kept steady through it all, and reassured their students by saying “wait for the good guys, they’re coming”; “show me your smile.”
And we know that good guys came. The first responders who raced to the scene, helping to guide those in harm’s way to safety, and comfort those in need, holding at bay their own shock and trauma because they had a job to do, and others needed them more.
And then there were the scenes of the schoolchildren, helping one another, holding each other, dutifully following instructions in the way that young children sometimes do; one child even trying to encourage a grown-up by saying, “I know karate. So it’s okay. I’ll lead the way out.”
My heart goes out to the families and town of Newtown, Connecticut.
Holding on to Anger
Thanks for the post Debra!!
Our Testimony
Our most effective testimony comes from our walk, not our words. Our deepest lessons are learned from our struggle, not our success. Learn, thrive, reach, strive…..
Never give up!
~A quote from a friend (MD)
A Magnificent Story, Is it? (post by Kirk Weisler)
I like what Mark Houlahan said,
“If you want your life to be a magnificent story, then begin by realizing that you are the author and everyday you have the opportunity to write a new page. “
They say that there are 3 things that are uniquely your own.
- Your Name
- Your Reputation
- Your Story
Your Name… it may have been nicked along the way (nick name) but it most likely hasn’t changed much over the years.
Your Reputation … what others think, believe and say about us…. (hope it’s good)
Your Story … the one we are writing everyday with the words we speak, faces we make, feelings we express, and behaviors we exhibit. Moment by moment choice by choice what we do, is what we write, and what we and our stories become. I know some people who seem addicted to living and therefore writing dramas. Others write tragedy, some comedy, or even romance. Thankfully I don’t personally know anyone who is busy working on a murder mysteries or global conspiracy stories.
Personally I am working on a story that has some of the elements of tragedy, triumph, drama, comedy, and yes even romance. All of these elements have entered into my story. Some by chance, most by choice, but the focus and purpose of my story has never changed. I want it to be a story of, creativity, of courage, and of hope. I want it to be a story that lifts, inspires each person in it, and doesn’t leave anyone feeling slighted or imprisoned or impoverished in any way. And the ultimate purpose is for each page, each chapter and if possible, even each paragraph to end with some ”Happiy Ever After”.
So what are you waiting for….
So what are you writing for…
Mzsunflower's Say What? 