Family pictures

The wedding was perfect, April was totally beautiful and Matthew was her good looking prince in shining armor! I do not have pics of them yet, but have some family shots:) enjoy

Dancing with God

Sunday Alex preached a message that really got me to thinking, he talked about walking with God in our daily life, then he said he thinks it is more like dancing with God, I went on the think of that literally, and realized God holds you, you follow His lead and life is a dance with God....its is that simple! It is when we try to lead, we get into trouble...I love the thought of dancing with Him instead of step by step, I know He always leads us.....but that just makes me feel like He has me snuggled right into His chest and he is leading me in the dance of my life.

I have seen the note I posted at the top of the blog several times, and have often thought of it......always have different answers:0 but it does make you stop and think.

Today has been a good, day, working on new listings, trying to put together a deal on a Apt. complex I have listed :) would be a major deal for me:) April came over after being at mother's for the night, mother was very confused today, maybe all the hoopla over the weekend, her mind my be really tired. She looks so good, she looks like my mother now, had we not intervened when we did, I have no doubt she would be dead. God knew what she needed and He took care of her. Walt would not allow us ot do much for them and mother was so under nourished, Walt had a plan they would die together, I am thankful God had a different plan:) I miss Walt, I constantly ask my self, is this what he would of done? He was a good man and totally took care of mother. Well got a full day tomorrow, Mark's brother is in the hospital so please pray for him, he has a lung infection which is not good....please pray. Steve is healing up ok, this time its a little harder, maybe cause he just had surgery a few weeks back, he had a hard day today, but is doing good. Looking forward to spring but not bad weather, we had a earth quake last night 4.8! Ugh!!!! makes me a little nervous, checking on earth quake insurance:) Its only about a 100 a year, Shelter who is my insurance said you had to wait 30 days form last treamer, but State Farm will write it and do it now, for about 100 a year, so guess who I will be calling! hugs and nite

Wedding Day!

Today April Bivens will marry Matthew Bale, so excited for them both. I am looking forward to having a afternoon and evening with my mother, I am actually not taking calls, I have another agent taking my calls, so I can totally focus on my time with mother, I have her a load of new clothes to try on tonight:) She went from 00 to size 10! Has gained 40+ pounds and looks human again:) not a pile of bones. I will take plenty of pics so you can see how good she looks! I have managed to make it through my pity party and finished the day yesterday, ending it eating dinner in bed and popcorn and falling asleep during the movie:) loved my time with Steve, guess y feelings are better:) I never stay mad.....never could for long. Guess that can be a blessing. Maybe he will learn from my good behavior:)))) tee hee


Today is so pretty out side, it is cold, but sunny, I am going to get my nappy nails done so I can look my best for the wedding too, then go to mother's to get her ready, her care giver Faye was in the hospital for two days with a potassium problem, she will come tonight and spend the night, so I can be home with Steve, he is doing real good, just needs rest and take his pain meds. keep arm elevated. This will be his last surgery for awhile, we think:) He has had his share of problems. I am trying not to use my voice so much so my vocal cords can heal, they are strained, must of been when I did not have much of a voice and I kept talking;(( you have to talk in my line of work, plus I could blow up, not sure which is worse not talking or blowing up:) I hope you have a great Saturday!! love and hugs

Its a brand new day!

OK, I have had a great nights sleep!! Making a choice to change my attitude, just had to vent, i thank you for listening:) Steve said this am are you ok? I said yes, I am, I am choosing to make this a good day and choosing to remember this is the day the Lord hath made, I will be glad and rejoice in it:) Its only 6:10 am but so far so good:)) I am in the waiting room while they are prepping Steve fro surgery, I did get some of my paper work done this am and I am ready for my listing appointment:) now I know you are wondering why I would still go on this appointment with Steve having surgery, because it is my business and I made the appointment, the seller is in her 80's and I am not sure trying to change it once I set is would help me any, so I live with it and make the best of it, it is a major listing in WLR on 5 acres almost 8000 sq.ft. house and one in Colony West in WLR, I need listings and know these are answered prayers:) I am hoping we are home before noon, since we started so early, Steve is first in line for surgery. When he did the other arm a few weeks ago, he did great, so planning on the same thing now. Thank you again for hearing me vent last night, I was trying to remember that I am wanting to only think on the positive and know God is in control:) I hope you have a GREAT day!!

too many plates to toss......pitty party

Ever feel like you have too many plates to keep in the air, tossing them around and hoping not to let one fall? That is where I am, work is so busy for me right now, I have Steve having surgery in the am, and a listing appointment for over 1.5 million at 1:oopm that I made, because I forgot Steve was having surgery, then mother to get her hair done at 3:15 for April Bivens wedding, Alicia will bring Steve home form hospital and Connie will take mother for me, I got that worked out:) today I had so much on my plate with work and was totally wore out felt I could not take one more step so I laid down for a hour, then the storms came through and I totally forgot to make a deposit that Hannah had given me to make in their account, which unless God just does a miracle will cost some money because they had drafts coming through their account, Hannah's bank is here and she lives in Van Buren...go figure that one:) Totally made me sick to my stomach when I realized I had forgot, just felt like crying.....so in saying all that, I realized I am exhausted, have put in about 60 hours since Sunday, from showing property to listing it to paper work, classes and sales meeting. Then Steve and I usually eat at Mexico Chiquita on Thursday night after our group meeting we go to, but since he has to be at the hospital at 5AM, I thought we may need to go before group, by the time the storm past and I finished what real estate I was working on, which is not finished, we left only for me to realize there is no way to go to Mexico Chiquita and get to the group on time, which I could not be late because we had a ladies 12 step part we were doing at the beginning of Celebrate Recovery....so I said, lets just go to this other place to eat, that's when I remembered I did not make the deposit, I also had the pressure of work that I had to get done today for real estate, I also had mother's groceries at my house that I did not think I could physically take to her house yet, but would later, and I have her clothes in my car for her to wear to the wedding that I need to make sure they fit BEFORE the wedding:0 but I just did not think I could mentally do it, it is sometimes hard to do with mother unless your at your full self. So after CR I went and made Hannah's deposit and put a note on it, to call it in asap, so they will not overdraw her in that account where her drafts going through, I pray if it tried to clear tonight they will have mercy and not charge her for it, if so I will pay it, which irritates me too, I should of said call your daddy my plate is full but no, I just toss another plate in the air and juggle that much harder, then I am still frustrated inside because I really wanted to go to Mexico Chiquita to eat and didn't, just totally screwed the afternoon up and need to do work I could of done then, when I do it before bed then its hard for me to sleep;( So I am home and I will do my real estate work, I wanted to watch five minutes of the news and was hoping Steve would sit here and then we watch NCIS as I work, but he said he will just go watch NCIS in in his room if I want to watch the news......whats up with that? really five minutes? that hurt my feelings too, that he could not wait FIVE minutes to let me see if the storms caused any damages??? As you can see I am totally feeling sorry for my self and I totally need some rest, have only got four to six hours of sleep at night this past week and I feel it, now you do too:0
Just thought I would let you see the ruff side of life too, I do have enough sense to shut my mouth and go to bed asap, I do not even like my self right now:0 God will have me changed by morning, and I am putting some plates down one by one, I hope by Sunday after church and my 40th high=h school reunion I can go to the condo and totally rest for a couple days, I think I would feel better physically, my vocal cords for sure need the rest, and unless God does something to me during the night, I may just leave Steve here:)))tee hee I cannot rest here as well, I have to do laundry, cook, clean, but there I do nothing but relax:0 so well see, maybe it can work out, but for sure know I need some sleep... nite

Terriffic Tuesday!!

IF your ever down and need a pick me up, go to lunch with these two, you will laugh till you cry!!

I could barley sleep last night, even though I was dog tired, I was so excited about sales meeting, I shared some of what I will share in my motivational class tomorrow, I played a clip form the movie, Facing the Giants. I loved, loved, loved some of the quotes the coached had in that movie, if the death crawl in that movie does not motivate you, then you need to check your pulse! If you walk around defeated, so will your family, friends, YOU are the most influential person on your team, you may be the only one on your team, YOU determine the outcome, can you count on your self?????????????????? Boy, these are some strong words, will make you stop and think. You know the saying, we are what we eat??? Well, we are what we think! We have to be very careful not to let negative in our life, get rid of it! Who needs it? When you think you can not go any further, always stretch and take one more step! If you have not seen that movie its worth your time to watch it. We had a major real estate week as a company, I know Alicia has done over 10 offers and 5 in the last 48 hours, I did 4 or 5 and two listings, showed property and have property to show and two more listings to list this week, it is a BUSY time.....you will not hear me complaining! I told the agents today, when they get home at night and their vocal cords are not tired then they have not worked, when you talk to 60 plus people a day and explain 20 pages of contracts on each deal several times a day you are too pooped to pop....no wonder when I get home I do not want to talk on the phone, my friends/family will ask why I do not call them back, by the time I finish a day like today I am too tired to talk, so it has to wait till the next day, unless of course it is a ER then everything stops to be there if needed:) We had a long property tour and I had lunch with Michele Hagerman and Alicia, two of my favorite people and I had french onion soup...yum yum!
I announced today on FB that I will be starting a ladies 12 step group in April, with another lady friend of mine, Stepanie Stoltz, be in prayer about this group, I am excited to do it because I gained so much from it when I did it, its a long commitment and really makes you dig and work on your habits, hurts and hang ups....we will meet on Tuesday nights at Thatchurch.com on Kiehl, with that said if you want to be a part please let me know, nursery is provided. I have had some negative thoughts today but stopped them before they came out of my mouth, I am making a conscious effort, if I do not have something nice to say, to keep my mouth shut:0 This will be hard for me, but I am believing that God will help me with it:) It's harder when I am dealing with work related issues. Well, if your struggling in your life, hang in there, If you are not where you want to be in life, you can not keep doing what you are doing and win, Decide today to be different! Hugs and nite

My day

Love some new pics I have gotten of Amelia! She is so beautiful! Today has been a whirlwind of a day, lots of offers and listings this week, worked hard all day got home about 7ish and ready for bed. So pumped about doing our sales meeting in the AM, have a scene from Facing the Giants, the death crawl.....going to give a preview of the motivational class I will do on Wednesday, it has totally motivated me! On a personal note, April Bivens gets married this Saturday...I am so excited for her and Matthew! Will have to make them some chicken and dumplings when they get settled in their new home! Then Steve has surgery on his other arm this Friday, I am sure she will do real well, he did last time, just needs to heal and take care of him self:) Tomorrow I am showing commercial property at 1:00 and another property at 3:00 then home and getting notes together for the wed. meeting! The market has pick up here, we have had a busy week and I am getting calls now daily on my listings:)) So excited! hugs and nite

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Boy am I tired, had a full weekend of working, and full week next week:) Not complaining just wish I was feeling at my best to keep up the pace:) The market is for sure busier, which I am ever so thankful! Hannah and Mark made it home fine and she had a fun birthday with her family:) they made her day special! Saturday we went to Cole's two year old birthday in Humnoke, Sarah had hot dogs and the best cheese dip I think I have ate in a long time:) Cole was so cute and excited, he was so sweet! Then Steve and I showed property, I like it when he goes with me, it helps me, although sometimes I bet he wished he would of stayed home, I am not very patient at times with him....working on that:) Then wrote a offer on a home with a different buyer, had to kick it in high gear because the agent had already countered another offer so ours had to get there asap and be the best:) it was and my buyers got the house:) I love a challenge! Who has kicked it, is Alicia Jean, she has done four or five deals this weekend! Tomorrow I am writing another offer and showing property, but in the am, I am going to get ready for our sales meeting and then I will do our last motivational class for this moth on Wednesday, so I have to prepare for all that. Right now when I talk so much my glands hurt and I start to feel bad, so say a prayer for me:) Mother has had a good weekend, I am so thankful, I made some chicken soup Friday and took some to them, then today made chicken and dumplings and took to them, I am cooking for my BFF Sherry Maxwell, she has had the flu, I have not got near her, I just take food and leave it in the garage:) she is better today! So many are sick right now with that head cold, and sinus...then some have the real flu......so I am ready for spring and summer and health! At church this am, Alex's message was so good, he is really hitting some home runs with his preaching:) God is starting to do and amazing work at Journey Church, and may be its just me settling in:) but either way I love it! It is a small church but reaches a lot of people!! Remember to keep my friend and her family in your prayers concerning a mass below her pancreas....it is serious and she needs healing:) hugs and nite

Its Friday am, Hannah's birthday!

meet Luke Everitt McGill, he will be here around April 19th:) Hannah went and had her ultra sound, it is unbelievable how they can do this! Thursday I hardly had my voice, I had talked a lot on Wednesday and had a motivational class at work so I talk a hour straight and my voice just could not hold up like it normally does:( but I feel ok......I made a decision to remove all of Walt's pictures out of mother's home, she kept thinking he was there and would think her care giver was Walt, she has not even realized they were gone, she had a big one in her bedroom, makes me sad but if she can get past missing him it will help her. She has been a little unsettled with her caregiver Faye, Faye is such a wonderful lady and so good with mother, but for some reason mother is with drawing from her, she use to be her favorite, now Connie is her favorite......use to Connie would get on her nerves, mother thought she was bossy. There is just no rhyme or reason sometimes to how her brain works. Tomorrow I have a listing appointment and then I will go over there and spend some time there, mother called me today and she has not done that in forever, I am sure Faye had to dial the number for her, but she was ok, and happy I was coming over tomorrow, today I did not get to go by there, been busy listing houses! I am so ready to get this sinus infection gone, it makes me feel sluggish and my head hurt:( Steve is still battling his cold. Tomorrow will be a light day, I think so I can rest some, and then Saturday have a full day, Cole's Birthday party then showing property all afternoon:) Hope I write a offer, I need to write one! Next Friday Steve has his ulner nerve surgery on the other arm, then April Bivens gets married on Saturday and I have a planning party for our 40th reunion:) I have a big motivational meeting this Wednesday that I have to prepare for, excited to do it, i love motivational speaking...it motivates me! Well its way past my bedtime, I am turning into a night owl.....ugh!! hugs and nite

Read to the end:)) Be the change you want to see!

Be the Change You Want to See in the World
The quote is from Gandhi.

I found the poem below on a blog, from stickhorse cowgirls


Lost Generation
I realize this may be a shock but
'Happiness comes from within'
is a lie;
'Money will make me happy'
So in thirty years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life.
My employers will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
this is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
Thirty years from now I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.
And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.
--Jonathan Reed, 2007

Now read each line, starting from the last line to the first line (reverse it).
Don’t you love it? Yes, hopelessness can be reversed!!

Gotta get well!

Last Sunday I started getting a cold, I had gotten better, to only feel bad again, today I got up, got ready for church, felt bad, had a sinus headache, on the way to church got nauseated, had Steve stop and get crackers, then had to leave church early to come home and do a sinus flush take meds. and go to bed......UGH!!!!!!!!! The worst part is I have not seen mother all week, she has been doing ok, but had some ruff times, she could not remember her care giver, when Kay was there she did not want to be left alone with someone she did not know:(( of course Kay handled it perfectly, and by the time Kay left mother was ok with Faye, hugging her, mother told Fay she would not want to hurt her feelings for anything but just did not know her.....so sad! I made some pics of mother and her care givers for her to have and look at when she feels that way. I was going to the Alzheimer group last week but it was canceled due to 8 inches of snow:( Needless to say I am putting "I love snow days" plates, door hanger, snowmen up." I am tired of snow days, but it has been pretty and I sat inside all week and watched it.....just ready for spring and summer, anything warmer! Hannah went to the Dr. and her sugar was high so she will come back this week for the four hour test, she has done this before, but they were concerned because she had gained seven pounds this month, in which she had not been gaining much before, she also had her placenta in front of her cervix, it needs to move, she will have a ultra sound to make sure it has, so pray it does, if not she will have a c-section:(( I have a dear friend who is has a mass in her pancreas, she will under go test this next week, keep her and her family in your prayers, seems like a lot going on that needs prayer:) Thankful for a loving God who answers our prayers! I have a full week this week and hope I feel much better......hope you and your family are well. Just checking in with you:0

DULL.......dull.......milk or meat?

Few weeks back I was in Nashville at Don Crossland's church, Don is a man who has been given extreme Grace and Mercy, and Don has not taken that Grace and Mercy lightly, He gives all he has and is to the Lord. He is a quiet gentle spirit of a man, his preaching is astounding and his insight into God's word have come by his own journey of healing. To know more on Don, google him, he has Journey Toward Wholeness ministries and written several books.

That night he was preaching in Hebrews chapter five, when he stated the scripture that you can not hear, although you should be able to, but you have become DULL in your hearing, it so spoke to me. Now that is my paraphrase of the scripture. My life changed in 1976 when God spoke to me and I was saved, I have shared that testimony before on my blog, if you want to read it go to older post:) I was changed so dramatically, it was a total transformation of me. In my child hood there was sexual abuse and physical abuse, I had never shared the sexual abuse until Steve and I married and we had been married about seven years, I shared my shame and childhood with him, God began healing me and changing me, I was such a insecure person, barley would speak out in public, very jealous, just totally needed to know I was loved. God brought about a secure, confident, happy Linda. I was exhilarated for the Lord, I counseled at church and at Living Hope, which was a Christian Psych. hospital, God used me mightily in helping people, in the very areas I was weak in, I have seen peopled healed of disease, healed of a broken heart, delivered from evil spirits, the scripture God gave me was in Isaiah 61. that I would lay hands on the sick and they would be healed, that I would cast out demons, that I would minister to His people and I did, that God would be Glorified. I can not count how many people we helped from the life style of Satanism/Occults. During this time, I was keen in my hearing, I fasted and prayed, spent quality time in the word. Totally was fed the meat of God's word and was off the milk, so I know God's presence, His voice, His word, His power and HIS GRACE! As time went on, I had some real disappoints in my life and things began changing for me, I had a close friendship with the Lord, matter of fact, I do not believe I could go on in life if I ever thought I would not have that, He is the air I breath, but I had got sloppy in my faith, I had become Dull of hearing, when you become DULL of hearing, you will rationalize what you do to fit what you want, if it feels good then it is good, I shut people out of my life except for my family, and honestly thought that is all I need and my sister/friend Sherry Maxwell. My language was so tattered with curse words, I did not even recognize when I cursed, I did not attend church, I could not find one that I fit in, hummmm....maybe because I was a little dull of hearing, so I resisted what was being preached or felt it was not for me, I was more mature. Remember, I have never lost my prayer time or closeness to God during this time. But I had lost a lot of convictions that God had worked in my life, this past year I have been fed the milk again, and I needed the milk, I was not about to digest the meat of God's word, God has had abundant Mercy and Grace for me. There were a few things that happened this past year that shook me to the core, some I have never been able to share other then with Sherry and Steve, that night when Don preach, God spoke to me, I was DULL OF HEARING and He would change that in me, you see when we walk by the laws of the Bible it brings death to us, because we can not do it, but when we walk by the spirit of life, it brings life to us, what brings life to you? for me it is His people, helping people, using the strengths and weakness that have been in my life to help others, I will walk beside you and lead where I can and walk with you and you lead where you can, I need you and you need me, we need each other. Now when one becomes dull, sometimes you just need to be there with them, sometimes you need to lead them, I have had a group of women leading me this year in my 12 step study group, it has me hearing God's word very clear, it has me walking in what brings me life, amazing when that happens, its easy to speak edifying words instead of cuss words, it easy to be patient with others, its easy to share your heart where you are at in your life so you can help others get there too! If your new in Christ then you need milk to feed on but if your a old timer like me and you know the word then you need meat, and you need to be giving your life to feed the babes in Christ. It will be as you give your life away that your will find life and be fulfilled in Christ. During this time I have reached out to many things to fulfill me but nothing works, once you have tasted the love of God then the world has nothing to offer, it is fun for awhile but it only makes you DULL OF HEARING. Thankful God is always changing me, never letting me settle for anything else but Him. Hugs

Bright, Bright,is it too Bright?

It snowed here this week, the first morning of the snow I opened up my blinds to our large picture window, it was so bright with the sun shining on the snow it made me sneeze and my sinus run, I had to tilt the blinds. I said on my Lord! that is really bright!!! You could hardly keep your eyes open. The next morning I was laying in bed, and started thinking of how bright that was, and how bright the Lord is, and how bright He shines in our life, you would think that the brighter Jesus is in your life the better it would be as a witness for Him, but you know I think it is the opposite, when all people see is Jesus, He will be so bright they have to look away, they as I could not keep my eyes open in the brightness of that sun and snow. I pondered that thought and then I realized it is when people see our weakness in us, they see us stumble, they see us fall, they see us hurt, they see us question, they see us get angry, they see us at our worst, then they can see Jesus in us, because they see the brightness of Jesus shinning through all our pain, hurts, habits, hang ups, they see us broken and spilled out but then they see us reach to Jesus for strength and they see a peace that surpasses all understanding, they see us endure and hang on to hope that only God can give, they see us read our Bible, they see us worship, they see us pray, so remember its not how bright you shine, it has been said, you are so heavenly minded your no earthly good, be you, be who you are, let Jesus shine in your weakness and in your strengths, when we are so bright that we blind people with our faith, you have to wonder is that person for real? It is so easy to have a vertical relationship with God, what is hard is to have a horizontal relationship with people, you will never be fulfilled in Christ until you have both, yes you can be safe with just being one on one with God, but the Bible says to love your neighbor as your self, the only reason we do not let people into our life is due to hurt/rejection and mis trust. Do you have a close friend you can tell anything to? If you do not then you may look like that bright shinny snow to other people, and they will stand back from you and close the blind some, what ever is going on in your life you need the horizontal relationships with others, woe is one who falls and does not have a friend to pick him up, woe is one who will not be vulnerable in friendships, woe is one who can not share their weaknesses, I am working on my trust issues with Pastors and Church, I realized over the past few years I have had a intimate relationship with God but have not allowed the horizontal relationship's again in my life, I have kept the few friends I have and have not worked on those friendships very well, but to be whole in Christ and be fulfilled, so I can trust in a church and Pastor, I have to be willing to be vulnerable again in relationships......I have been in a 12 step study group and it has helped me see so many things in my life, why I emotionally eat, why I emotionally spend money, why I react to certain things real strongly, it helped me see some resentments I had, let me see what I expected of others in my life, my own insecurities, but most of all gave me a coping skill in life. As you know I sell real estate and we have a class, Ask For Action, in this class your taught several steps, you can see where you are in your sale and if you are losing your buyer/client you just drop back to the step you need to be in and start from there again, this is how the 12 step program is for me, I was never a drug addict or alcoholic and thought that 12 step was for that, but boy was I wrong, it has renew my walk with the Lord, there is a scripture in Hebrews 5:11 that states, we have much to say and hard to explain since you have become DULL of hearing..............now when I read this and it was being preached by Don Crossland, I knew I was very very DULL in hearing........that will be tomorrows post:0 When we become dull in hearing, we will rationalize the things we do and why we do them, to meet our needs.
Hope this helps you to build your friendships, and for you your relationship with the Lord, but most of all do not be so bright you do not have any close friends:) The basic human need is to be loved...................................by the way I will be leading a 12 step group in April if you would like to attend let me know and I will share the details with you:)

Another snow day

This am I woke about 5ish, not that I needed to, just did. Then I heard the news and weather, it was going to start snowing, if you remember I was to have a banquet tonight, but all that changed and we will do it tomorrow night, due to the snow.......we were able to continue with all our plans. I called Faye mother's care giver and told her the weather would be bad and I would come and be with mother, went over in my PJ's, mother was glad I was there, we had breakfast and enjoyed the snow, then her other care giver Connie got there, I left, but wished I could just hag out all day and enjoy the fireplace and snow and mother. She was looking for Walt when she woke, thought he was in the bed, it is hard for her to remember what happened, but she did ok with it and realized he is gone. She is doing much better....thank you fro praying. I then went to finish up my list for the banquet tomorrow night now:) All I have left to do is my nails and I need that done real bad:) I will take a pic of me and Steve, I have a new out fit and he will be in a tux:) Then Sunday we have Laila's party, hope it does not snow, but it may:((( then time with my girlfriends, fun, fun, fun and much needed......have some major decisions to make about what to do with leading a step study, so pray I know what to do:) well going to bed, its been a long day but a fun day, The girls, Laila and Peyton came over and played with Blake then I made chilli and cheese dip and Jared, Jebb, Mikka came and ate with us, Alicia had driven by to outrneighbors and came in with Alexandria and her friend Kaylie, they did not eat but just visited, they were on their way to get a pizza...April came over this am, then she went to where she lives at the Harris, I was worried about her driving but she wanted to go and did:( I was hoping we could have this day to figure out her school, she called when she got there and did ok on the driving, had one scare with her car spin tailing, hope she does not get back out till tomorrow, then is is to be warmer, she is coming by to help with Hannah's babies, till the sitter gets here at 4pm.....keep April in your prayers, she would appreciate it:) going to call it a nite, so nite nite!

middle of week and still much to do:)

I have a full weekend ahead of me:) Today I worked, listed a home and went to step study, we have two more classes, then will do leadership training and lead a step study in April:) It has been a very positive experience for me. Tomorrow I have to shop for what we will need for a pre and after party at our Awards for excellence Banquet, for the Realtors. It is always a fun time and I am thankful I am not the chair person this year:)) That made me a nervous wreck last year, talking in front of 500 people......again so relieved this year it is some one else:) Then we have Mikka's one year old birthday party Sunday, hard to believe she is a year old! I have some girlfriend time planned with Sherry, Pam and Dinah.....looking forward to that time together. Steve will have surgery the 10th on his other arm, he has done so well, I am thankful they can do so much now days, he is getting some relief. In today's paper the obituary stated Leo Branch past away, his memorial service was today, this is the man mother married a few months after daddy past away, this was not a very positive time in our life:0 but hated to see he past away. Mother is doing better with themed changes:) It is too cold for her to be out, but she is fine to be home in front of her fireplace, she loves it! I have not seen her today and that always makes me worry about how she is, but I know the care giver would call if there was a problem:) tomorrow and Friday will be extremely busy for me, so I will run by for a little while tomorrow. I am tired and ready for bed, Blake is fast asleep and Steve is watching NCIS, so its bed time for me....nite hugs

loss or gain? what motivates you?

Whew!! It is cold here but no snow, rained like a blizzard with high winds, was very hard to drive in:( But I did list a home today and will list one tomorrow, you never know where business comes from, a friend on face book ask if anyone had space they could use for a car wash to raise money for his son's baseball team, which I found him a place, his mother in law called me today to list their home!! So you just never know...I prayed for listings this week, I need some so I can get buyers and make some deals come together, that is how I stay in business, there is a saying if you do not list, you will not last......also Realtors never retire, they just become listless:0 so there you go!

Ok, here goes what I want to talk about on motivation...........we are motivated by loss or gain in our life. If you want to know what motivates you and how to keep being motivated then figure out which one motivates you....I for one am motivated by gain, I love contests, I love to go on trips, vacations, I love to be able to give to others, so if someone is wanting to motivate me, offer me a contest, show me some one's need, ( such as car wash ) plan a cruise or vacation and I will work, work, work to get there from here.........but tell me, if you do not do this you will not have this, and I will say, ok, guess I just do not have it then. So when one is motivated by loss, it would be they not wanting to lose something, such as a job, a home, a vacation.........they will work because they have to and want to maintain their status quo........I will work because I want to play:0 Plus I love being a Realtor........so what motivates you? Are you motivated by worry about losing what you have? Will you go the extra mile to maintain? If so you may be motivated by loss, you look at what will happen if you do not keep on keeping on. If you are motivated by gain, you look at what you will do with your life and you will keep on keeping on, if you are told you may lose this if you do not do this, you may not care, you may say will I will just do something else, or go some where else, because when people take things away from you it does not push you into motivation, you simply turn a different way and make it work, you are motivated by gain. So look at your life, personally, physically, spiritually........when I made a life style change in my eating habits and my exercise habits, I was motivated by gain, I wanted to not be embarrassed about my size, I would dread if I saw someone who I had not seen for years, this year I am helping plan my 40th reunion, I was motivated by gain, I gained my confidence back, I gained my life back! I have seen, especially with teens that they are motivated by gain, example, you can take away the car, phone, tv, what ever and they may not change, but you offer them to go to a concert or out with friends, phone and they will strive to please and meet the goals every time! There is no right way to be motivated, just know your self, so you will recognize when you are spiraling in the wrong direction, then do what motivates you! I think as your older your priorities change, if you have a traumatic life illness in your family it changes you, after Jared had cancer, my life changed, what was important was not important, I realized real quick how your life can change in a moments notice, I learned then to hold all I have in a open palm, then the Lord is free to add or take away, you can never out give the Lord and He will always provide for you, so you are always taken care of:) If you hold it in a closed fist, He can not add or take away and you will always have what you have, probably miserable if I remember correctly:0 So take it from me and look at what keeps you ticking in your life and give it all to the Lord, He will direct your steps, for He knows us inside and out, every hair on our head and holds every tear we cry! So thankful! hugs and nite