Sunday, September 29, 2013

Be nice to yourself!

I liked this quote, it is a great one for me to remember...because I sometimes really pick on myself. Such a simple thing... but yet when you are in the world sometimes, it seems like everything is telling you that you are not enough. But deep down I know I am. Just need to remember that more often.

One way of helping me with my thoughts, is going to church on Sundays. I love the Sabbath. I love that it is a different day than any of the other days of the week. I love that it is a day of rest, mostly from our labors but...it is a day of rest and recharging my spiritual battery. How grateful I am that our Heavenly Father set one day aside for us to not only honor Him, but to remember Him and to learn how to be more like Him and His Son Jesus Christ. I love the scriptures... and in them so often I find the peace and joy, that I simply can't find any other place. So I am thankful today to live in America and where we have religious freedoms! Yes, I feel full of gratitude today! I am truly blessed!
Good night dear friends!
be nice to yourself

What worry can destroy

I know ever since I was a little girl, my Grandmother would tell me that " Worrying is like a rocking chair, you rock and rock and rock, and still you don't go anywhere." I thought about that this week as I was looking over my work schedule and putting it on the calendar for the next 3 months. As I was doing so I saw that in November...I need to have another cancer check up. This one is a MRI, where they inject die in me, and check and see if cancer has returned. It is a very long test, it is in that MRI machine and you have to go in a tough position and ...frankly...it stills scares me to death!
Then a few things come into my mind, this quote by my Grandmother... and the scriptures which remind us that Fear is not from God. But that Faith is and it is only through faith and hope, that you can get a peace that truly helps you trust and enjoy life. I have had some of both in my life. But I have to say I really believe in the old saying " what you fear you create". I need to not feed my fears, I need not to take advice or make decisions from my fears, and most of all I need to make sure that Fear doesn't still away too many minutes of my life!
Yes, I have good days with this and some bad days. As I told one of my kids tonight, no matter what...fearing something isn't healthy and we need to have trust that our Heavenly Father will make us equal to whatever comes our way. Yes...faith, is a far better way to live.
Thanks for letting me remind myself about this OUTLOUD! :)
Good night dear friends!

“You can destroy your now by worrying about tomorrow.”  Janis Joplin – Image by Dr. Joseph T. McGinn -- For creative and adventurous spirits, the hero’s road travels ever on, filled with wanderlust and discovery.  See a unique collection of quotes on wanderlust at the Pinterest board,Wanderlust Quotes:  http://pinterest.com/fmcginn/wanderlust-quotes/

Friday, September 27, 2013

Thursday, September 26, 2013

All relationships teach you something

This is a very powerful statement and one that I think we understand better, as we get older and wiser. But it is true, there are people who come and go in our lives, and the relationship we had with them, can teach us many things...good and bad.
 So I think it is important to watch and think about the relationships you have, and if they are good for you or not. Sometimes those are hard decisions but in the long run, it is all about learning...learning about yourself, learning to hold your ground, learning to set your boundaries, learning to forgive, learning to accept and last but not least ...learning to grow!
Good night dear friends!

Guess that's true

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Friendship!

Love this quote. It made me think of my day today. It is the little things, or at least little acts of kindness that make all the difference such as...
...The lady at the pool that I just met a week or so ago, and she already tells me everyday how glad she is to see me and encourages me to come back tomorrow. A new Swimming Buddy, maybe just what I needed since I am starting back after 12 years!
...Or the two class members that I taught today at work, they actually spent the afternoon at my home with my daughter and I. I know that they probably had a 1000 other things to do, but they came over and spent time with us...what an honor it was to have them!
...Or a hug from a friend who was lonely, I stopped to see her and she gave me a hug for coming and it was a sweet conversation between friends...little things? Maybe, but they do change your life for the better!
Good night dear friends!


Cute quote about friends

Every man and boy should read this!

Loved this interview, and think every man and boy should watch this! Actually, every woman and girl too should see this. The violence needs to stop!
You can see the interview
here:
Good night dear friends

"LOVE IS NOT ABUSE!"
Love Is Not Abuse Quotes | Abusive Relationship Quotes | Quotes about Abusive Relationship ...

Monday, September 23, 2013

Being a Hero and a Helper!

This just made me smile. I appreciate anyone who tries and help a child...especially a little child who is sick! Another lesson to learn is... it is the little things in life that make such a huge difference!
Good night dear friends!

Window washing a children's hospital.How to Help Children When There is a Tragic News Event.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Serving others!

One lady that spoke today was from Hawaii! Her talk was great but one thing that really stuck out in my mind was a quote that she read, which was...

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy.” ― Kalu Ndukwe Kalu.


So true, that is why serving others is so important!
That's it for tonight, short and sweet. Angie and I have been busy baking and doing all the other fun things that we do at Sleep Overs at Nana and Poppa's house!
Good night dear friends!

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Fairy tales

Tonight Angie came over for a Sleep Over. As Lauren was reading her a Fairy Tale story before she went to bed, it reminded me of this cute quote. Good night dear friends!


G.K. Chesterton

Friday, September 20, 2013

I told you Santa really reads each letter he recieves!

A couple of nights ago I wrote you about the story of this little girl who was being bullied. It was about how her twin brother wrote Santa and asked if he could help!
Well, like I always said "Santa really reads each letter he receives, and here is the proof!
Good night dear friends!

Nickelodeon band responds to boy's letter to Santa about helping overweight sister (+video)


  •                
A Christmas gift came early this year for one family in North Carolina.
In response to 8-year-old Ryan’s letter to Santa about asking to have class bullies leave his twin sister, Amber, alone, her favorite band, Big Time Rush, gave the family a surprise visit.
“I think somebody up north might have gotten this already,” said Josh Elliott, Good Morning America news anchor referring to Ryan’s letter in the ABC video segment.
                                                  Elliott led Ryan and Amber and their mother, Karen Suffern, into an auditorium where members of Big Time Rush greeted them. The band gave the family a private concert as well as VIP tickets to its next concert.
“She is...such a sweet little girl ... the look on her face when Big Time Rush came out is priceless. I have tears in my eyes,” said Gina Sbarra-Ulrich, a commenter on the Good Morning America Facebook page. “So happy for this little girl and I hope that all the kids that are bullying her will please stop and I hope their parents realize how much it affects children. All children are different but should be embraced not ridiculed.”
Online, commenters praise Ryan for his selfless motives and desire to help his sister. While Elliott interviewed Ryan and Amber, Ryan said he wished the school bullies would pick on him and not his sister. Amber responded that he didn’t have to do that, and Ryan said, “Yes, I do.”
Tony Posnanski, a weight-loss motivator, who originally shared Ryan’s letter on CNN iReport, was happy to hear the outcome of the attention the boy’s letter has received.
“When a story goes viral, it is not one person who makes it happen. It is millions. Millions who take a story and find a piece of themselves in it,” Posnanski said on his Facebook page. “I am just happy I saw Karen's message. I am glad I submitted it to CNN/iReport instead of posting it on my page. I am glad that people on this page responded to it and glad that CNN made it a worldwide story. But I am happy that Karen was brave to want her story out. It is not easy to do ... but worthwhile. Her kids will have a better life from it. A lot of kids will.”
The article was written by Abby Stevens, and you can read it and more of her articles HERE:

Thursday, September 19, 2013

I love Fall!


From the time I was little... my favorite season was FALL. As my children were growing up and I was working part time with painting and selling at the big Fairs around, then naturally I had a lot of decorations that I had made for each season. Then over 10 years ago I started quilting and now I have almost a few things made for each season too. Each season my kids could not wait to put up the decorations for each holiday. As they got older, they liked it being up but weren't thrilled to help get the boxes out of the garage to put up:) Funny how that works.
The tradition has passed over with my grandchildren, they love all the decorations and remember each year, certain ones that are their favorites.

It was funny because the other night Lauren said, " Mom, we need to put up Fall decorations" I said  "well, it is almost fall, but not till next week actually". She didn't care, she still put on the tea pot and make some hot apple cider, got a new sweater from the 2nd hand store and then spent the rest of the day and night hauling out boxes from the garage (by herself ) and totally set up Fall. I loved it, she (like when she was a kid ) got excited about all the things she started pulling out of the boxes. It was fun to see and a big help to me of course.
Anyway, the days are getting shorter and there is definitely a nip in the air...I love Fall too!
Good night dear friends!

LOVE FALL.This quote ( above ) could totally be Lauren's Life Motto!

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

An early letter to Santa!

Now I know what you are thinking... and I know that it is early to talking about Christmas, but this story is what I think Christmas is suppose to be about. I think it is what family is all about and especially what Brothers and Sisters should be about!
Hope you enjoy it, thought it was perfect for today, since I taught the 5th Day of Christmas at work today!
Good night dear friends!

8-year-old writes viral letter to Santa making only selfless requests


Eight-year-old Ryan of North Carolina’s early letter to Santa did not ask for toys or tech gadgets; rather, it asked for class bullies to leave his overweight twin sister alone.
“Dear Santa … I wanted a (remote-control) car and helicopter, but I don’t want that anymore,” the letter began. “Kid at school are still picking on Amber and its not fair because she doesnt do anything to them.”
Ryan’s mother, Karen Suffern, cried as she read her son’s letter, according to CNN. The boy’s letter continued by saying he wants his sister to be happy.
“I prayed that they will stop but god is bisy and needs your help. Is it against the rules to give gift early?” Ryan wrote. “Can you ask Big Time Rush to come to Amber’s B-day party it will make her so happy. I you can’t get them to come … just get her everything she ask for. Thanks Santa.”
Suffern had a rough idea that her daughter was teased on the school bus but did not realize the bullying was as bad as her son said.
“I try to build up my daughter's self-esteem and tell her she is beautiful, but people say hurtful things to me because I also have a weight problem, and that hurts me," Suffern said in an interview with CNN. "I can't imagine what she goes through."
Suffern shared her son’s letter on social media, where it began to pick up attention.
“This is totally out of my comfort, zone but I think it is worth it,” Tony Posnanski, a weight-loss motivator, wrote on his Facebook page. “A reader sent me a wonderful letter today about her son and asked if I would share it. The letter moved me so much that I wrote about it … on iReport.”
Online, people responded with admiration for Ryan’s compassion, as well as a call to address bullying. The children’s school, Rocky Mount Prep, released a statement on Sept. 16 in response to the bullying.
“Our school mission is to inspire our scholars to Learn With Passion, Lead With Confidence and Live With Character. These are not just words to us. We want them to learn how to be good citizens and good people. This is why we have invested heavily in proven curriculum and training to help them learn to treat others the way they want to be treated. Unfortunately, this does not always happen in our school or any other,” the statement reads. “ We are hyper-vigilant at Rocky Mount Prep to prevent, intervene and protect our scholars from instances such as this. Our teachers and staff have received training to recognize and address these types of behaviors, and we are proud of the way they respond. We are saddened that this has taken place within our school family, and we can assure all of our parents, scholars and community that we will continue to do everything possible to provide them with a positive and safe learning environment.”
I got the story from HERE:
quotes about bullying | Bullying quotes, Bullying quotes and related quotes about bullying ...
dandelion/bird tattoo dandelion/bird tattoo dandelion/bird tattoo
 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Let's be gentle with each other!

Great article and also a great reminder to us all!
Hope you have the time to read it. Good night dear friends!

Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
Found the article HERE:
After a dear friend telling me about a hurtful experience she’d had this week. I began thinking again about a story I have told a few times…. a story that my children will tell to their children, and maybe even beyond that… because it was such a learning experience in our family, maybe even a turning point.
It’s a story that I think about often because we were the main characters in it 3 or 4 years ago, and even though it was something that lasted less than 15 minutes it changed all of us and now I see others differently, especially when it seems that they might be main characters in the same story…or one a lot like it. I used to be too embarrassed to tell this story… but I am not anymore. This is a human story that everyone needs to hear, I truly believe this. I hope you will stay with it, it’s kinda long.
As we move along… I want you to think about some of the big signs with big messages that I bet you wish you could wear around your neck sometimes so that people would be more gentle, or even that you could put around the neck of someone you love — so that you didn’t have to go into a big long story to defend yourself or someone else– so that people would just stop judging and and just be kind.
2 three signs Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
I need to start this story by giving you a little bit of background. You see, my husband had an accident in 2004 that injured the frontal lobe of his brain. It has taken 6 years to get him back, but in the middle there, between 2004 and now, lots and lots of stuff happened. He was essentially out of it, but not just that, he changed to someone else, we lost him.
His personality changed completely, he could not work, he was angry and depressed and could not cope with human beings.  He did not feel love or affection, really he only felt anger, rage, and he was suicidal most of the time. He did not remember a lot of things. He could not take care of our family or even himself, really (and I want to mention again that through lots of miracles, he is 100% recovered now…we are so thankful….he is even BETTER than he was before his accident).
But during that time he would have these confusing and amazing glitches of time when he would be totally normal. It was bittersweet. They would last for an hour sometimes, and sometimes for days or even weeks then he would sink back down into that horrible place. When he was sick, I protected him fiercely. I didn’t want anyone to see him like that. I had faith that someday he would recover but man oh man it was lonely. I wished every single day that I could just walk around with a sign like this…
1 signs husband Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
because on the outside I looked like I had EVERYTHING GOING FOR ME I looked like I might just have a perfect life but I was hiding a very painful secret…
Well, a lot of other things happened too. You can imagine what might happen over the years while we have a 7 acre farm, a pretty big international business that we own with lots of employees, a life that  HE managed before his accident, while he just let me do the fun and creative stuff. Now we had lots of medical bills, lots of sorrow and lots of distractions, we also had LOTS of kids — and no one competent managing the business.
Well, after a few years, I couldn’t hold it all together. Our business was suffering for all of the reasons listed above and a few more reasons on top of that and we discovered that we were really SINKING. Well, one day when he was partly lucid…he was THERE…he was coherent — I told him the condition of our life.
He kind of panicked and he went straight to work figuring out what he could do. It was insanely heartbreaking when he would “wake up” after weeks or months and I had to tell him how much things were deteriorating financially, etc. It was very hard. But when he could, he did what he could before his mental illness sucked him back into the prison it kept him in most of the time.
He called a sign place and had a huge sign brought out to our house…the kind that you can put letters on, and it was electric and lit up. He put it by the road in one of our horse fields. Then he drove our Suburban, both of our trucks, my classic Thunderbird that he got me for my birthday a few years earlier, our tractor, all of our tractor implements, the boat that I worked 10 years to get for him (and that caused his brain injury, incidentally), and he lined everything up along the fence and he put a price tag on every single thing. Then, he put the letters on that big huge sign and plugged it in.
You have to understand that we had worked for MANY years for those things. We started a business in our twenties and we sacrificed everything we had for all of those years to make it work. We owned almost all of it outright, but, when I told him that the business was struggling, this is what he did.
Sooooo…there it was. All in a row. All of our stuff –out in our field.
All of the neighbors driving by, our friends, the community, people who knew us most of our lives and people who knew nothing about us…we were just the young family who lived in that beautiful little farm house on Beacon Light road with the perfect lawn….or what USED to be.
You see, in addition, for months, our once beautifully manicured yard started to be filled with weeds that were now several feet high. I just couldn’t keep it up. The lawn was a nightmare. Everything was just falling apart all around me and my heart was broken over my husband, too. It was humiliating and exhausting and horrible, really.
2 please be gentle Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
Well, the sign was not up in the field for more than a few hours, when my husband’s phone rang. It was someone who saw all the stuff and my husband’s phone number on the big huge sign. We were sitting out in the yard while he was still coherent and he was feeling devastated about the condition of our lawn. I was apologizing that I just couldn’t do all of it. He was so heartbroken at his limitations and that he had left me to try to handle our life alone. We were trying to make a plan.
He answered his phone. I saw that he was just listening. I could hear that the person’s voice was getting louder and louder and louder. My husband just listened. He turned his back to me a little so I wouldn’t hear. But I could hear it. It seemed to go on and on and on.
These were the things I could hear on the other end of the phonecall:
“You are bringing down the value of my property with that ugly sign!”
“What are you doing?”
“That is the most obnoxious sign, do you have a permit to have that out there?”
“Are you starting a used car lot?”
“You have got to get all of that moved and out of here or I am calling the authorities”
I sat there, mortified, embarrassed, humiliated, mad, sad, devastated. I was certain that this would snap my husband back into his dark hellish place.
But, when the man was done ranting, my husband waited a second and then very calmly said something that I will never, ever forget.
“Sir,” he said, “There was a time in this country, in this community…when if you drove past your neighbor’s house and saw every single thing they own was for sale in front of their house…and that their lawn had not been mowed for weeks….that you would stop and say….WHAT IS GOING ON, SOMETHING MUST BE TERRIBLY WRONG, WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP YOU?”
The man was silent, and then my husband went on to tell him a few details about what was going on with our family.
The man waited a moment and then his tone changed. He apologized. I mean, really apologized and then said:
“I am going to call all of my friends and see if any of them need any of this stuff….”
***************************************
I wish with everything in me that we could have put a sign up on that big stupid lit up billboard in our field that said OUR LIFE IS FALLING APART, but all that we really could put up is a sign with the price of everything that we owned that was worth any money.
WHAT IF we could all wear a sign that said what WE REALLY MEANT? What if we could go straight past the small talk or the masks, and we could actually go straight to the heart of the matter. What if our friends and family wore signs like this?
1 four signs Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
…we would treat each other differently.
I think we should just try to imagine it. That when a friend is quiet…or not showing up to stuff she usually shows up to, or acting a little “off”, or a family member is wearing pajamas to the grocery store for weeks on end, or not answering the phone, or the lawn is not mowed…
2 signs in a row Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
whatever it is…
IT IS A SIGN. It is not a sign that can be read in words and letters, but it is a sign that someone needs to be treated gently. That they need help. Most of all, that they need love, understanding, and that they DEFINITELY DO NOT need to be judged.
Every time I think of this story I want to be better. I want to do better, I don’t want any silent signs to go unread before my eyes or my heart. I don’t want to make up my own answers to what must be going on. I don’t want to assume…
2 together Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.
Let’s be gentle with each other. Let’s read each other’s signs.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Aqua Mandie and I are back together again!

My back has seemed to been  hurting a lot, after my trip. It was a great trip but I did sit and walk and do things more, that were different than my normal every day routine. I think the  3 hour time difference is taking a toll on me too. Woke up at 4:00 this morning hurting and then just wrestled with my pillows and bedding for the next 3 hours....trying to get comfortable. By 7:00 am I had had enough and decided to just get up. Still my back is hurting, actually I was hurting all over.
Today of course was going to be Lauren and I's first day back at the pool since my trip, although I did swim while I was in Hawaii). Didn't feel like I should go ( or I should say I didn't want to go feeling so bad ) but still I felt like we needed to start sometime, so off we went, late but we went.
So making use of the time we had we took right off, we did a 1/4 of a mile today, I know that isn't much but it felt like a beginning. It has been almost 10 years or more since I swam a mile a day, wow... a lot has changed since then with my body and my stamina. Oh well, just decided to put on Aqua Mandie ( my swim prosthetic ) and  go swimming today, it is something I need to do and the only exercise that doesn't hurt my body, so I need to just do it. Sooooo glad we did, even though I was still hurting, it felt good to get some exercise. I forgot how tired you get from swimming throughout the day until you build up your strength and lung capacity.
I did swim in Hawaii at the club we were staying at, but I ended up not being able to wear the new swimsuit that I got ( for my B-day and especially for this trip ) because Aqua Mandie kept moving around too much when I swam and it was a bit obvious that something didn't look right. So I used my old swimsuit which I didn't feel as comfortable and normal in, and that played a bit with my mind and thoughts.
I have struggled my whole life with liking what I see in the mirror. Having had a mastectomy has been a constant struggle to just be OK with what I now see in the mirror. Don't get me wrong, most of the days I do fine,  and even can joke about it. But in Hawaii around so many people with both bodies ( as my granddaughter calls it ), I had a hard time not feeling sorry for myself or even feeling like I was enough. It seemed like everyone had a normal body but me. So you can see that sometimes a situation that you weren't even worried about ...can trigger destructive thoughts. I know what they are, I know what they feel like and yes...I am working on my thoughts and self esteem ....yet once again.
 What is so dangerous about feeling this way? Well, it is dangerous in lots of ways actually, it seems to taint all of your other thoughts, and pretty soon your whole perspective is out of whack.
I only mention this, not to have you feel sorry for me, but to share with you things that maybe others have experienced too and if you haven't, then ways to help you avoid these situations in the future.
I am working on it, I am tired and hurting anyway, and so that too takes a toll on your perspective, seems like it will feel like this forever.
So where do I go from here? Back to the basics, get enough sleep, eat right, exercise each day, read my scriptures and other uplifting books, be a keeper of my thoughts, pay attention to the thoughts that come in ( almost without me knowing ), have happy thoughts ready to replace them. Then I get down on my knees everyday and say thanks for the body I do have left, thanks for the health I have and on and on. Gratitude is a great defense to bad thoughts and hard days, and last but not least....Serve someone else, that makes a huge difference on how you see your life, when you look or share the struggles of others.
Sounds like I have done this before ...right? Oh yes, and I am pretty sure that it is something I will have to continue to work on for my whole life. That's ok, at least I know what to do.
Good night dear friends, hope this true confession has helped someone?  

Google Image Result for http://susiesheartpathblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/believe-think.jpg%3Fw%3D640

               Hey Angus, sometimes the way we think and interpret situations is the cause of us not feeling very good about it. I came across this picture and thought it would be a good reminder to try and remember that we learn things from every situation. Help turn our negatives into positives. By doing so, we can gain a much better perspective on life.                                                                                                                                                     

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Life's lessons continue to teach me!

I have been troubled a few days about something. I keep realizing that I have struggled with this same thing, for a major part of my life. I wonder really if I will ever get on top of this feeling? Today when I was at church, I heard a few things that reminded me that struggles are really a part of life, great teaching opportunities if you will.
 So when I read this ..quote below it seemed to help me. .I know there are still many things I need to work out in my life, . but .how grateful I am to know that I have a Heavenly Father who knows me and always watches over me. That is comforting!
Good night dear friends!

don't look back. And when you do remember not to do it again."Be ok with not knowing for sure what might come next. But know that whatever it is...you will be ok!"

power of thoughts


Thoughts

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Making a Difference, no matter what!

What an incredible example of Making a Difference No Matter What!

Woman behind 'An Ordinary Hero' inspires students across the state!



 
                                
  


Just a few months ago, proud Southerner Joan Trumpauer Mulholland returned to her alma mater, Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., a historically all-black school.
Mulholland and her son, Lehi resident and filmmaker Loki Mulholland, were on location filming a documentary titled "An Ordinary Hero," which features the life and heroism of one ordinary woman who risked everything to stand up for what she believed in: equality.
Now, Joan and Loki are traveling throughout Utah, sharing the story of one woman's journey of courage.
Recently, the Mulhollands attended a Sept. 10 screening and reception of their February-release documentary at Brigham Young University. There was a 30-minute screening of the film, followed by a question-and-answer panel with Joan and Loki.
Diena Simmons, station manager for KBYU-TV, said there were several reasons this film came to BYU.
"It's a very moving film. It told a piece of the civil rights story that a lot of us hadn't heard. And it was made by a local filmmaker."
Simmons said the station, which will air "An Ordinary Hero" on Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. and again on Sept. 23 at 8 p.m., likes to encourage the art and storytelling of all local filmmakers.
"(Loki) made a beautiful film about something that is universally important. Something that's just as important as it was 50 years ago."
And it was with an air of reverence that a nearly full house viewed the inspiring events that defined Joan's early life.
The year was 1960, and the civil rights movement was generating steam. But for 19-year-old Joan, the decision to join the fight for equal rights was made years before.
As a 10-year-old girl in Sunday School, Joan memorized Bible verses that taught her a golden rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Another factor was an internalization of the Declaration of Independence, which Joan was required to memorize in school.
"'We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights,'" she quoted. "You take that literally. As a Christian or as an American, you are an absolute hypocrite if you are empowering segregation."
Joan said this realization came to her in grade school. That, combined with a desire as a Southerner to make her beloved South the best it could be, Joan decided to give her all to make a change.
"I'll join the group, because it really takes a group to make a change," she said.
While attending Duke University in Durham, N.C., Joan became involved in early sit-in protests. She later dropped out of Duke to dedicate her time more fully to the movement.
After participating in the first Freedom Ride in 1961, Joan joined her friends in Mississippi and continued the Freedom Rides. The group was later arrested, landing Joan two months in prison.
Joan later enrolled at Tougaloo College and became the first white woman accepted at an all-black college.
During the infamous sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., in 1963, she and other activists endured the taunting of the crowd, which swelled in intensity and began dumping ice cream and other condiments onto the protesters.
Joan recalls in the documentary that she didn't think she and her friends would make it out of that demonstration alive. Yet, she remained strong.
One woman stood in the face of extreme danger to fight for what she believed in — a world of equality.


"I was not terrified," Joan said. "I might have been cautious; I might have been super-aware of my surroundings. But if you give way to fear, if you let fear move you, you destroy your ability to do what you need to do in the situation. The worst thing they could do was kill you, and we believed there was something better to come."
Joan remained an active supporter of the civil rights movement until the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964.
When she is in her hometown of Washington, D.C., Joan visits Arlington National Cemetery and the grave of fellow civil rights activist Medgar Evers, who was the first field officer of the NAACP. She also makes other occasional visits — like when Barack Obama was elected president in 2008.
Joan explained in the film that the Ku Klux Klan had a list of the people most dangerous to the civil rights cause. Once a dangerous person was killed, their face was crossed out, she said.
"Medgar's face was X-ed out, but mine never was," Joan said in the documentary.
While this film has inspired countless viewers, perhaps no one has been more affected by its story than Joan's son, who wrote and directed the film.
"It's pretty cool when your mom has a mug shot," Loki said. "She was on the Klan's most wanted list. She was dangerous. That's cool."
But it's the example that Joan set that has left the greatest impression on Loki.
"I have two daughters. The example of this woman — a young lady who chose to follow her heart and not take the route of Miley Cyrus — we need those examples."
In the end, both mother and son agree, it's all about making a stand — no matter who you are.
"Most importantly, (this film) shows that ordinary people can do something. That you don't need a civil rights movement to make things happen, you just need the courage of your conviction," Loki told the Deseret News after the screening. "You just need to say, 'It's going to be me. I'm going to do something. That's where it starts.'"
Joan said it's important to understand that real people can make a difference — not just icons like Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks.
"Now us old folks are getting a little weak in the knees and maybe in the brain, so it's time for you young folks to step forward and carry it on," Joan told the students in attendance at the panel.
The final comment of the panel was from a mother and her young daughter. The mother thanked Joan for her courage and her example.
In response, Joan looked at the girl.
"Now you've got to go out and make a difference in the world. OK? Promise?"
She promised.

I found the story HERE:
Saint Quotes About Love | hero, Quotes About The Saint - Inspirational Quotes about Life, Love ...

Friday, September 13, 2013

Visiting around the Island the last two days!


Well, believe it or not...we head home tomorrow. How could a week have passed that quickly?
I am a few days behind on my trip notes, but need to get a few more photos from Shirley before I talk about some of them. Yesterday we got in the rental car and just checked out the whole north side of the Island.
Here is where we are staying at the Marriot Waiohai Beach Club


They have some neat fish even here! Here is Shirley and I waiting out front for the guys to pick us up.
 
Here is the beach that we ate our lunch at, beautiful!
 


 



Then we headed to the Light house at Kilaue, it was breath taking.

The water was every color of blue you could think of!


Here was a water cave!


 



Then we came kept driving and then this is what else we saw!

 Here in Hanalei we looked down at the Taro fields below...they are in a water much like rice is grown.
 Then we had a treat at the town of Hanalei...you know like the famous song on Puff The Magic Dragon...if you haven't heard of that you need to watch that Disney Movie again.

We finished up one last beach.
 



Then our last place was at the Opaeka'a Falls

I had to show you some of the trees here, look at the roots that are on the out side.

 Then we came to our apartment, not a bad place to be either...this is what we see when we go out on our deck, from our room. This will be a tough place to leave.

 
 
 
Tonight we ate dinner out by the beach as the sun was setting, what a great last day!


Happy 31st Anniversary to us, what a treat to come here and celebrate it!

 

SO lucky that I fall in love everyday of my life with my husband Successful marriage quote via www.Facebook.com/AndNowLaugh