Think About It…
A smile of encouragement at the right moment may act like sunlight on a closed up flower, it may be the turning point for a struggling life. -Anonymous
You may never know it, but one little thing you may do may reach out and change a life.
A smile is worth a thousand words.
A word of encouragement is worth a million.
Taking the time to talk to someone has no measure.
Just listening is sometimes all someone really needs. So many times we ask “How are you?” and everyone obligingly answers, “Fine.”
But sometimes a person may smile and say “fine!” and inside they are churning with turmoil and asking how long it will be before “this will pass.” I know, because I’ve been the one saying “fine.”
That’s when someone takes a moment…only a MOMENT…to personally invest in my life, and do something to give me a little bit of sunshine. I cannot tell you how that helps me to pick myself up out of groveling in the dirt, brush myself off, and start out again with new hope.
It’s often for only a moment. It is a gift that is beyond value it is so precious. Yet it doesn’t cost anything. And someone’s life may be at stake.
So give the gift of a smile to everyone you meet.
Who knows…you might just need to tone up those muscles anyways. I know I do. :-)
With a smile,
M.E.
A Much Happier M.E.
Dear You,
I’ll admit it, sometimes there’s a day that ends and I am just down.
Frustrated…dismayed because of how the day went.
You will have a day that leaves you dismayed. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will.
I know, that’s so optimistic. 
But we all know it happens.
Most of the time, with that hollow feeling in the stomach, I fling open my Bible.
That’s when He always has a word to put in.
“Fear thou not:” Why? “for I am with thee.”
“Be not dismayed;” Why? “for I am thy God.”
We know that, but then, so often, we don’t know it. Sometimes we just need to hear Him say it, again and again.
He doesn’t stop there.
“I will strengthen you!”
“Yes, I will help you!”
“Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness!”
“For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I will help thee…”
He repeats it again. “Fear not…I will help thee!” (Read it, this is really how it goes, just like He’s talking to us!)
Over and over He seeks to reassure us. Maybe you’re a father who has had to reassure your son that there are NO monsters under the bed. He doesn’t need to be alarmed, and you know it!
That’s the way we are sometimes.
We let things get to us.
With so great a God, how can we not be reassured?
Now my heart feels lighter. My face is brighter. I was feeling a little down.
Don’t worry, I’m much happier. I hope you are encouraged.
Love, M.E.
P.S. Take a look at Isaiah 41: 10-14. I have them highlighted in orange. Orange in my Bible stands for “God is with you, beside you all the way.”
New Years Resolution
When the clock hit 12:00 on January 1st and announced the new year of 2012, did you think up a few resolutions?
Gotta exercise. Gotta stay fit. Get a better job. Move up in life.
Start improving the hairstyle, instead of rotating three different hairdos day by day.
Improve the grades. Start collecting something new. Stay on top of things.
Stop drinking the coke. Stop drinking the coffee. Quit eating the chocolate. (Ouch! I’ve already given up on that one.) Stop pulling into the fast food drive.
Wait a minute. Are these really the important things? Really?
A year from now, what will really matter?
The fact that you exercised–
or that you spent some time with your sister?
The fact that your hairstyle was perfect every where you went–
or that you took the time to cross the yard and visit with your neighbor.
The fact that you are now manager at the corporate office–
or that you were at your son’s football game, rooting him on?
As I thought about it, I realized that New Years ends up being so much about ‘me’.
And this is usually the way it turns out.
Diary: Jan. 1st: Resolved,…I…I…I.. Jan. 4th: Working at it. Wow! Finally I’m successful at something. Jan. 8th: So far, so good. Jan. 12th: It’s going okay. Jan. 16th: Not doing so good. Jan. 25th: Gave in and indulged in a Hershey’s bar, again. (Just didn’t say anything on the 16th) Jan. 30th: I really wonder what I was thinking? I think I’ll wait and try next year.
Life is not all about ‘me’ and the big things I do. It is about what I do to reach out and touch others for the better, and the little, seemingly unimportant things I do every day to make a positive impact in their lives.
Every day we have the chance to grow.
Maybe we have the chance…’To be able to keep at a job until it is finished.’
‘To be able to do the work and let others receive the recognition.’
‘To be able to say yes to the ‘important things’ and ‘no’ to everything else.’
‘To honestly listen to what the other person is saying.’
These are small decisions that we make every day in our lives. Every day we are confronted with a chance to grow, however small it may be.
Robert Browning once wrote, “Why stay on earth except to grow?” I quite agree.
Focus small. That way, your diary won’t read like mine.
When you accomplish little things, you’ve often accomplished great things.
Plan to grow. And then every day, look for the opportunity (no matter how small) that presents itself for you to grow.
“Stop what you’re doing, long enough to grow.”–John Maxwell
Grow some way this year, every day.
So that when the clock hits 12:00 and it is 2013, you can honestly say,
“I am a different person than I was a year ago.”
When you grow, you mature. You mature in character. People gravitate towards a person who is strong in character.
This year, resolve to grow!
A very happy New Years to you!
M.E.
Dear You
Dear You,
Maybe your day’s not going so good. Maybe you need a smile on your face.
Okay. Maybe that’s not you.
Maybe you just need to hear something good. Something to make you laugh. Maybe you need to believe. Maybe you need to grow.
Maybe you just need to be inspired. By the stories of ordinary people just like you who accomplished great things.
From a new perspective. A fresh way. Like me, you sigh, after reading about them, and say,
“I wish I could do that. I wish I could be them!”
You CAN be one of them.
That’s why you read about them.
So you can be inspired, and go out and do.
I’ll try not to take too much of your time. I promise not to write very long posts… although sometimes I won’t be able to help it…
But whatever it is, it will leave you thinking.
You will be inspired.
You will go and do great things.
From my heart to yours,
M.E.
Meet M.E.
I write for YOU. Whoever you may be, I hope you will always be encouraged. I hope you will believe in yourself, that you are the most amazing person in the world, because you are you!
Things that inspire me: sunshine in a blue sky, the rainbow soaring over the storm, the firefighter, policeman, and paramedic, and the person who tries and tries and tries…and still tries again.
You will find out I have a vivid imagination. Laughing is therapy. Everything’s bigger in my home state. My grandmother was born in Gohrgah. I like it classy. I square dance with Hillbillies, and canoe deep in the Ozarks. I admire those who stand strong for what is right. I want to ride in the rodeo. (Unfortunately I don’t own a horse. Otherwise I might try!) Enough about me, now on to You!
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