Yup, You Sure Can!
Yesterday I had the chance to sit and listen to someone talk who has been an inspiration to millions the world over. I won’t name any names but I will leave you to guess for yourself who it is.
Sure, he has his critics. Everyone does. You have yours. I have mine. He has his.
But that does not seem to matter to him.
You can’t. Of course you can’t. There’s no way he can….There were so many people that said he could not do what he set out to do. And he said not to pay attention to the “people that say you can’t, because those are the people who never could.”
If you have a passion, and you have a dream, and someone dares to tell you that there’s no way you could ever do that…
maybe they are the ones that need to evaluate who has their priorities straight.
You can if you will…you won’t if you can’t.
He may be famous the world over…
but it has not changed him. He’s genuine. He’s real. He has his faults, his quirks, he has his strengths, he’s competitive, he’s funny, he has a way of telling stories that makes everyone laugh…he has a passion for what he does…
And he said, that in the end, he wanted his legacy to be known as “someone that’s made an impact on kids’ lives.”
That’s how he wants to have an impact. In the end, will all of the other stuff that keeps the news in a frenzy about him really matter?
No. In the end, what matters is that some little child who was brought to a Philippine orphanage in a small cardboard box was gathered into the arms of someone who loved her, was given food to eat, a special home to live in, a chance to live life like a child should.
Before her only chance was a small cardboard box…Now opportunities for her have no limit…they soar sky high with possibilities!
He finished by saying, “You never know when you’re in your fourth quarter, when you’re in your two-minute drill, so let’s try to finish strong now.”
For a gal who had an uncle play on NFL defense …touchdown! This really hits it home for me.
My uncle is a strong person…he’s a strong person physically, but he’s also a strong person within as well.
Recently my uncle’s brother died.
My uncle is grieving.
He spoke quieter…the twinkle in his eye was no longer there….when I last went to see him….
he was missing the brother who played alongside both him and another brother on defense and helped lead their college team (ironically my school’s hated rivals) to the National Championship two years in a row…his brother has scores of honors to his credit…first round draft pick of Tampa Bay Bucs…six-time All Pro…NFL hall of fame…etc etc…
But to my uncle, this man is the brother stood alongside him not only on the field but off the field…he is the dearly-loved little brother who suddenly passed away…and who my uncle is missing deeply…
….but he still kindly asked me what was in the works in my life for next fall. My uncle is such a strong person.
So is Mr. Speaker.
Whoever you may be, you can be a strong person!
And by strong I don’t mean bullying and trying to control everyone in your pathway (remember, true strength may bring about power, but power does not bring about true strength), I mean strength as in…
knowing you have weaknesses but that you are trying to do the right thing…making a difference in the lives of those around you…
being secure and satisfied in who you are…and that means being genuine, being real. A fake person is like someone who is caked in stage makeup, you’re left wondering whose really underneath????????????
Finish strong.
By this time, some of you are probably guessing the man behind the words.
Go ahead and try! You’re probably right.
Whether you like him or not, no one can argue that what he said is not important to all of us. It is! How are we making an impact? What if this is your two minute drill?
Was it awesome to sit there and hear him speak, candidly, about his life, his experiences, his beliefs, his passion for what he does? Yup, sure was!
I was inspired by his stories…his words…his life…
Make someone else in your life inspired by yours. 
M.E.
To Dream the Impossible Dream
why do you think? btw, that also isn’t exactly the thing to tell a woman) To right the unrightable wrong, To be better far than you are, To try when your arms are too weary, To reach the unreachable star,
This is my quest, to follow that star, No matter how hopeless, no matter how far, To be willing to give when there’s no more to give, To be willing to die so that honor and justice may live,
And I know if I’ll only be true to this glorious quest, That my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I’m laid to my rest,
And the world will be better for this, That one man scorned and covered with scars, Still strove with his last ounce of courage, To reach the unreachable star.”
Coping with the Storm
Crashes of thunder. Flashes of lightning. The boat was filling rapidly with water. The sailors were fighting the storm gallantly, but nothing seemed to help. The folks inside took anxious glances towards the rear of the ship. But still He slept. More wind. More thunder. More waves. Finally they couldn't stand it. They ran to the rear of the boat and poured out their hearts. "Don't you hear? Don't you see what we're going through? Why do you remain silent? Why don't you answer? You have promised to save us when we call. Where are you? Don't you care?" To all of these fearful pleadings He said nothing... but to the storm He said, "Be still!" The ordeal was over. And he turned to them, with a tone of voice that was loving and compassionate, said: *****"Why are ye so fearful? How is it ye have no faith?"**** To the day I was afraid: Why are you so fearful? To the day I doubted: How is it you have no faith? Fear & doubt, the two greatest pests of our lives. And He had two questions for those who were standing with Him and were scared and doubting. "Why are you so fearful? How is it you have no faith?" So the next time that finds you afraid....the next day that finds you doubting and wondering where Jesus is. He is there. "Why are you so fearful?" "How is it you have no faith?" Love, M.E. P.S. Read the closing chapters of Mark 4.
Moonlit Therapy
In the night, the moon came out and cast its glow over
the sand.
I walked far into the dunes.
What is the best therapy for an over-worked, stressed person?
A moonlit walk on the sands, all alone. Or a moonlit walk anywhere in the silence. There’s always a moon shining in the night.
Kinda helps you think things through…clear things out of your mind that are there but don’t need to be.
Kinda puts everything at rest.
Why? Because at last you are surrounded by some orderliness.
Some peace.
Not a wisp of wind…yet everything moves like clockwork, all around you, as it should.
It is a beautiful thing. 
“When I consider thy heavens… the moon…what is man, that thou art mindful of him?”
How is it, that with all this beauty, God still made us? Knowing we would break the orderliness that His glorious sun and moon would never break?
If you have an answer for that please get back with me.
M.E.
P.S. Imagine a king looking into a sky full of stars, and a bright moon, and pondering these same words. Read them in Psalm 8.
P.S.S. And yes, like I suggested yesterday, there were kabobs in the evening, the smell drifting from the grill.
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.”
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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