A true story:

“While going through a divorce, my mother fretted over her new worries: no income, the same bills, and no way to afford groceries.

It was around this time that she started finding boxes of food outside our door every morning.

This went on for months until she was able to land a job.

We never did find out who it was who left the groceries for us, but they truly saved our lives.” (Jamie Boleyn, Emmett, Idaho)

There are 15 million single moms in the U.S.

Their plight has always been difficult!

Covid-19 made it almost impossible with record unemployment.

There was a time when they welcomed parenting with a partner.

That partner is now gone.

And yet there is a child or children to raise!

We must be there for the single moms we know.

If not today, when?

Definition: A feeling of DEEP PLEASURE OR SATISFACTION derived from one’s own accomplishments.

Pride is a powerful emotion!

When properly applied, it can sustain us through daunting assaults on our sense of self-worth.

When improperly applied, it can cause irrevocable injury in all our human relationships.

Everyone has a right to like themselves.

After all, God loves us, so we have every reason to like ourselves.

When pride is used to bully, intimidate or dominate others, however, it becomes the weapon of choice.

Pride in oneself does not need to be constantly on display.

Pride, when applied with a healthy application of “give-and-take,” can guarantee your happiness and the happiness of others in your world!

If not today, when?

Hope floats. Swans’ nests do not—unless they get a little help from someone determined to make sure their precious cargo has a chance to hatch.

Rob Adamson, who lives and works at Jones Boatyard in St Ives, England has been a longtime spectator to the world’s “unluckiest swans” efforts to become parents.

For a decade, he looked on sadly as the poor birds’ eggs fell prey to poaching foxes and rising waters. This year as the Great Ouse began to flood, he knew he couldn’t stand by and let another clutch perish on his watch.

“You’re not supposed to interfere, but it had got to the point where they were all going to die,” Adamson told the BBC.

During the night, Adamson fashioned a makeshift raft and moored it with a line to the bank. It was well after dark when he gingerly lifted the nest and its occupants (eight eggs and one hissing mama) to safety, all under the wary eye of Papa swan. (GoodNewsNetwork.com)

Let’s hear it for our British friend, Rob Adamson!

It takes 13 weeks to complete boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, where young recruits become hardened US Marines. The three-month course is considered one of the most difficult in any branch of the US military.

But before this year, male and female recruits never trained side-by-side.

This week, after grinding through three months of training and team building, the San Diego depot’s first gender-integrated class of Marines graduated after completing boot camp together. The historic first was motivated by the National Defense Authorization Act, signed in 2020, which required the Marines to begin training male and female recruits together before 2028.

Until recently, the two training depots were largely segregated by gender: Companies of women trained at the recruit depot in Parris Island, South Carolina, and men trained either in South Carolina or San Diego, but not concurrently with the women recruits. (CNN)

Progress!

If they’re going to fight side-by-side, they should be trained side-by-side!

After 57 years, I’ve learned MARRIED LOVE takes many forms!

There is, of course, PHYSICAL LOVE. This is the usual spark that begins the relationship.

The SOMEONE-CARES kind of love. This brings a feeling of self-worth.

MUTUAL LOVE OF OFFSPRING. It is a shared responsibility and a source of joy unique to the two of you.

THE FORGIVING LOVE. There will always be various irritants in the relationship. They must be forgiven.

The THANKFUL LOVE. If you have someone who truly loves and accepts you, be eternally thankful.

The EQUAL-EFFORT LOVE. It takes two horses to pull the carriage. If the love is real, both partners must embrace the tasks at hand.

The FREQUENT EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE. Don’t you dare let it get stale. Keep it alive!

My partner of 57 years has taught me what MARRIED LOVE is!

Practice all these various forms regularly!

If not today, when?

…….a gift.

It is not earned!

Every single aspect of how our bodies function was formed inside our mothers body.

How is it that, with the instant of birth, we began to breathe on our own?

We could see and hear and express ourselves verbally.

None of these miracles were the result of our efforts.

No, they were a gift from God working through our parents.

So, do you greet each morning with undying gratitude for the miracle of your existence?

Or, would you rather complain about what’s not right with your life?

I prefer the former instead of the latter!

BE THANKFUL!!!!!!

If not today, when?

I had designed a five day conference for all of our 54 branch managers from around the U.S.

The preparation and execution of the conference was exhausting!

When I got home on Friday evening, all six of our kids were seated in the living room.

My wife greeted me at the door and asked me to be seated.

She announced that she called the president of our company earlier, unbeknownst to me.

She asked him if I could have the following week off.

He approved her request.

She said that the car was packed with our bags and that we were staying at a hotel at Detroit Metropolitan Airport that night.

The next morning, we would be flying nonstop to Nassau in the Bahamas for seven days!

It was a great moment that occupies the JOY side of my memory!

Surprise your spouse.

If not today, when?

Dictionary Definition: “ADAPTABLE-Able to adjust to new conditions.”

Well, are you?

This is a rapidly changing world that will leave you behind if you’re not paying attention.

You and your children are witnessing an assault on the value system you’ve tried to live by.

Climate change is really happening.

With the advent of cell phones and computers, we are all deluged with destructive social media messages.

Our politicians have become more selfish and less patriotic than ever before.

Honesty is becoming a rarer commodity.

So, how will you adapt to these new realities while holding onto those values most dear to you?

The first step is to question your information because some of it is deliberate misinformation.

Understand what’s happening and how these changes affect you and your loved ones.

Don’t become a follower when confronted by those who would lead you astray.

If not today, when?

Is your family “A SAFE PLACE” that protects you from a harsh world?

If not, why not?

Dictionary Definition: “FAMILY-Having someone to love you unconditionally in spite of you and your shortcomings!”

Unfortunately, some families are in turmoil and are the opposite of “A SAFE PLACE!”

This does not need to be a permanent condition.

Old grudges can and should be set aside and replaced with FAMILY UNITY.

Also, at different times various family members experience emotional, physical or psychological pain.

At that moment, the family must become a source of healing.

With our present-day society in chaos, our families must always be A PORT IN THE STORM!

It’s never too late to make that happen.

And maybe that necessary healing begins with YOU!

If not today, when?

To make a mistake is one thing.

To carry the regret forever is another thing entirely.

We all make mistakes, but not everyone allows it to cripple their self-esteem.

The strength of your self-esteem governs the way you make future decisions.

If you believe in yourself, you’ll make different decisions than if you replace self-esteem with self-doubt.

Fortunately, you have control over how you feel about yourself.

If someone, particularly a loved one, criticizes you unfairly, that’s their problem.

Don’t allow anyone to diminish your love of self.

Your self-esteem belongs to you. That’s why it begins with the word, SELF.

Self-esteem is a big determinant of a happy or unhappy life!

That’s why it is SO PRECIOUS and must be nurtured and DEFENDED!

If not today, when?