When I volunteer for something it's because my heart is in the right place and I like to give back. I want to help those in need. I want to give of my time because it's the right thing to do. When I was going through my email yesterday, I saw a request for volunteers for a the contest that is getting ready to happen with ACFW. The primary coordinator is in need of category coordinators. ACFW is so much more than just a place for writers to talk and learn about writing. It is a community of … [Read more...]
Requiring someone to be a volunteer
Wouldn't it be nice if we could make volunteer work mandatory. Think about it. Maybe we'd have happier people if we all volunteered. But then if it was forced on every single person, the reason behind volunteering would be lost. People would have bad attitudes about it. They'd make those around them miserable. Who'd want to work with people like that. Forcing people to do it just to do it wouldn't work. You have to want to do it. You have to want to have a serving heart. I think of all the … [Read more...]
Volunteers: A Priceless Commodity
Being a volunteer. Do we really know what our time means to someone else when volunteer our time? Sometimes I think we take for granted what some people do. Not that we do it on purpose, but we all get busy with our own lives. Things happen. For example, think of all the people it takes to run a single church. There are only a few paid positions. The pastor. The church secretary. Maybe one or two associate pastors. If the church is big enough, a youth pastor. But that might be about it. Think … [Read more...]
Reflecting Back on the A to Z Challenge in April
It’s hard to believe that the month of April is already over as well as the A to Z Challenge for 2013. I remember finding out about the challenge toward the end of March and thought it was a pretty kewl idea to take a letter from the alphabet for each day of the month. I knew right from the get go that I’d be doing it about my daughter. However, I had to come up with what each letter for would signify. Here were all the words I used this month: Amazing beautiful caring dare-devil energy … [Read more...]
Z is for zest
Mari's zest for life made you want to follow her lead. Have you ever wanted to feel complete freedom? No worries. No deadlines. No bills. Just complete and utter freedom. I think of freedom and Mari's picture comes to mind. She had an unmatched zest for life that I don't think I've seen in other people. She really didn't care what people thought of her as she always did as she pleased. Whether it was creating Lake Mari in the bathroom sink as the waterfall hit the floor or take a permanent … [Read more...]
Y is for yummy
Boy did Mari think her food was yummy. I swear I think we asked ourselves one too many times if Mari wore her food more than she ate it. It would be all over her face, in her hair, all over her clothes, and below her highchair all over the floor. You might be thinking, "Highchair?" Yes, Mari still sat in her highchair and actually preferred sitting there. When it was time to eat she would actually climb herself in, but that's a different story. Back to Mari's food. Mari thought something … [Read more...]
X is for eXtraordinary
Mari was and will always be remembered for her eXtraordinary personality. I know that technically eXtraordinary doesn't start with an X but not a single word in the dictionary I found could be used to describe Mari. So I decided to be creative like we used to do on road trips when I was a kid. We'd play the alphabet game and because it was next to impossible to find words that started with an X so we were allowed to use a license plate if it had one or if the second letter, like eXit, could … [Read more...]
W is for Walk
I swear Mari thought to herself, "Why walk when you can run," Sometimes I forget how much Mari was constantly on the run. She'd be watching TV and she'd run around while flapping her arms in excitement. Or reading a book and running around while she did it. Or playing with some toy that could make as much noise as possible and run around excited by the noise. It just didn't take much for her to run as you could see the freedom it gave her. So the next time you are feeling a little blue, try … [Read more...]
V is for Vivacious
Mari always had a vivacious personality that made her seem larger than life. I think back on Mari's life and I love how it seemed like when she was in the room she filled the room with spunk and spontaneity. She could always find something to do, especially when it involved things she wasn't supposed to do. For example, white walls were her canvas. And she wasn't picky with the instrument to use as she used colored pencils, crayons, pens, permanent markers, regular markers. You name it. … [Read more...]
U is for Unconditional
Mari showed everyone every day what true unconditional love really looked like. How much do we wish we could love someone unconditionally. I think the closest someone could truly love someone else this way is the parent/child relationship. When it came to Mari I loved her with all my heart. No matter how hard or difficult things could get I loved her. Sometimes in those moments of frustration you say things you don't mean. That is when the emotional roller coaster is leading the charge. If … [Read more...]
