I am sure that you spent some time yesterday, September 11th, remembering some of our most heroic fellow citizens. I know that I was impacted once again by how everyday people found themselves in situations that required extraordinary strength and courage and sacrifice. It was so humbling and so encouraging to hear the stories recounted by those who lived to tell about that horrific day.
Although the day was filled with so much loss, I found myself blessed by how much strength and courage stood in the face of evil. I hope that today’s SOUL FOOD card is a reminder that celebrating any act of courage, kindness or care for another is indeed an important part of living!
SOUL FOOD: Labor, Love, Live!
I hope you enjoyed your Labor Day whether is was an extra day of late summer fun or a day to catch up on life!
Labor is not exactly a word that generally makes me feel all warm and fuzzy, but when you begin to apply meaning, dreams and love to labor, the equation suddenly changes!
Are you laboring over SOMETHING you are passionate about? Are you laboring over SOMEONE you love? Are you laboring because you are pursuing a PASSION that you can’t stop thinking about?
I hope you will print this 4″x 6″ SOUL FOOD CARD and find a place to hang it, tack it or tape it to encourage you this week as you labor, love and live!
Back to School: Business 101, Reinventing Yourself & Regaining Your Soul
As part of my Back to School push of renewing, re-evaluating and re-engaging, I must say that I am ABSOLUTELY a Starbucks fan!
It’s about way more than a caffeine addiction! For several years, The CEO and I owned an independent coffee shop and cafe on the historic Main Street in our fair town of Trinidad, Colorado and were irritated to say the least when Starbucks opened their store front the same day we did back in 2007!
I loved Starbucks for a very long time- that is until they seemed determined to open a store front on every corner in America! Anyone remember the ironic depiction of their proliferation featured in “Shrek 2” back in 2004?
BUT I LOVE STARBUCKS AGAIN!
I admit it. I do! It’s because of Howard Schultz’s book “ONWARD How Starbucks Fought For Its Life Without Losing Its Soul” . During the last few years, The CEO and I have been in the process of reinventing ourselves and the core strengths that the two of us bring to the proverbial table.
Enter, RENDI launched almost one year ago!
But back to one of my new best friends, Howard Schultz- I feel as though I could sit and have a cup of coffee with him… His story of re-engaging Starbucks as he felt the soul of the company slipping away is one of the most engaging business books I have read! If you are looking to have your vision for your own dream or business re-ignited READ THIS BOOK while drinking a cup of coffee- Starbucks, of course 🙂
I know you will come to appreciate his passion for creating, supporting and sustaining both communities and people from start to finish, top to bottom and all the way through Starbucks! I know you’ll be inspired to think about your passion for what you do in a whole new way!
I have decided to send Howard some of my favorite quotes from “Onward” on custom signs that I made on, you guessed it, www.rendistyle.com ! Here’s one of my favorites:
“Are we willing to give up certain thinking for an uncertain future?”
Here’s what I am sending to him! Wish me luck in actually getting it to him! Onward!
SOUL FOOD: Need a Little Possibility?
Good Monday morning, Sweet Soul Sista!
I couldn’t help but follow up on Thursday’s post about discovering what you were made for, about learning to listen and look for what makes your heart beat and your spirit soar… that’s where possibilities, dreams and visions live.
Don’t you find it funny that we can so often see all the possibility bottled up in another person and yet we find it difficult to see the possibility within ourselves?
Do you ever make the mistake as seeing yourself as more of a To-Do List than a Package-of-Possibility?! Sound at all familiar? Perhaps that is what happens as we loose our ability to wonder and dream.
Maybe we stop seeing all the miraculous possibilities in ourselves when we get so busy that we stop listening to that still small voice that whispers to us about what we were created for?
I hope you will pin this SOUL FOOD card up somewhere to remind yourself of the truth that you are indeed a world of possibility and that the world needs you to be your brave and beautiful self! Or maybe you know someone else who could use a little nudge?
Do You Have a Dream or a Vision?
As school gets started, I thought it would be great to dedicate the next few weeks to deliberately living my daily life as if it is an invitation to learn from any and everything that comes my way- all of it- the good, the bad and the ugly!
Life has a way of “schooling” us anyway, so why not make the decision to actively enroll and get the most out of it? 🙂 Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?
Be there, FULLY, in the oh-so-daily moments of your life and watch your heart, your head, your spirit, your strength and your joy begin to grow!
Being FULLY present enables you to take your dreams, your gifts and abilities, your purpose and your daily life seriously- as if God himself actually entrusts you with the thing that only you can do- whether it is raising children who turn out to be great mothers and fathers (HUGE) or beginning a movement that impacts mothers and children on the other side of the globe!
Here is an amazing example of someone who acted on the dream and vision he was entrusted with. Meet Scott Harrison, founder of www.charitywater.org charity:water is such an amazing organization!
I hope you will take time to watch this video! It is an incredible example of how a compelling vision given to a willing individual can change lives around the world.
SOUL FOOD:Time For A New Rhythm
Good Monday Morning, Sweet Soul Sista!
I am guessing that as summer is coming to a close and schedules are knocking at your door, you are beginning to think about how you will be doing some things for yourself that the fun and crazy days of summer just didn’t allow for.
Today marks the beginning of a new rhythm at our house with school in session! It always gives me pause as I look at the landscape between here and the holidays and look at the projects and goals that I would like to try to accomplish before the end of the year….
… loose the muffin top and get back to regular training
… weed out the files in my office
… have a garage sale with all the stuff the college boys left behind!
… make a new friend or two 🙂
… do some redecorating
… bring some peace and civility to the political conversation in Washington 🙂
You get the idea! I love this quote I came across by Donald Trump… yeah, Donald Trump… bad hair, but good quote! Print it out and pin it on your bulletin board or send it to a girlfriend and go for the things you want to do for you! YOUR GOALS AND DREAMS ARE WORTH THINKING BIG ABOUT!
Back to School Fun!
It’s already that time of year!
I just went with the youngest of our family today to register for her senior year of high school! Yikes! And her two older brothers are already back at Baylor University! (Go Bears!)
So how about you? Are you already buying crayons (love the smell)? pencils? erasers? Kleenex? graph paper? calculators? And then there’s shoes! What is it with the summer and the growth of kids’ feet? I’m guessing it has something to do with the consumption of ice cream and popsicles!
It’s just crazy to me how fast the start of another school year rolls around! And what an incredible mark in time it is in the lives of kids, families and- us moms! Doesn’t it just amaze you how fast they grow, learn and become who they were created to be?
This summer I had the pleasure of meeting a young woman who was just hired to be a 1st grade teacher! After spending a week working with her, I just know that she is going to be the kind of 1st grade teacher I would have loved for my kids to have! She is full of life, smarts, principles and compassion! I have no doubt that she will be getting her class off to a great start with their education! AND it just was plain fun to meet a young woman who was so clear and confident in who she is! I love that, don’t you?
Sooooo, I just couldn’t resist making something for her to put in her classroom to encourage her young charges to become wonderful people! Take a look at these custom frames and this custom sign that I made in about 15 minutes on Rendi’s website. Really- so easy and so satisfying!!