A Happy Heart Habit

I am a creature of habit and unlike my younger years full of spontaneity and flying by the seat of my pants, I have a routine and I stick to it pretty regularly. Every morning when I arrive at work, I login to all of my programs, get a cup of coffee, and open my email.

Before I begin looking at anything work-related, I find the email that holds my daily devotional and read it in its entirety. It’s the boost I need and it starts my day off right. Today’s devotional held the verse of Proverbs 17:22 “A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.”

At every speaking engagement I have had the chance to participate in, I talk about attitude. I tell the story of how I consciously made the choice to put a smile on my face, be positive, not dwell on my accident, and put every ounce of energy into my recovery. I knew at that time if I was to fall into the ‘woe is me’ trap, I wouldn’t get out of it nor would I get any better…and that wasn’t an option.

Easier said than done, right? Trust me I know, but even Aeschylus said, “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times.”

There is so much hurt in our world right now that we can’t even turn on the TV without hearing something bad - about another shooting/stabbing, the crisis in Ukraine, the kidnapping of nearly 300 Nigerian schoolgirls, the sinking boat, the missing plane. Every day, something new…it’s exhausting to hear and unfortunately we can’t change it.

We can’t control other people’s actions nor can we control every situation we may face in life, but if there’s anything I know it’s that we can’t dwell on the hurt for forever.

 

The hurt will suffocate us if we’re not careful – it will drain every ounce of strength that we may possess and therefore we must hope. We must hope and pray for the good…make the choice to smile…maintain the good attitude….make the heart happy. 

 

Seeing that verse today not only made me realize how important it was to make that small little decision almost eight years ago, but how those words still resonate with me today. I'm blessed to have the life that I do and for that I will smile as much as possible and always look at the glass half full.

 

  Now that's the habit I hope to keep!

My Relationship with Facebook

I don’t know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with all things social media (except Pinterest, it’s all love there). It is a great tool to keep in touch, connect with people from your past, and see what’s going on in everyone’s lives….especially with pictures, I love pictures! However, I hate Facebook – I hate some of the stupid statuses I see (don’t worry it’s not yours), I hate seeing gorgeous beach photos when I’m stuck in wind-blown, dust-covered Kansas, and I hate to admit how much time I spend scrolling through my newsfeed just to make sure I don’t miss anything.

It was that reason right there that when Lent came around this year, I decided to give up Facebook for 40 days. I wanted to start conversations with something other than “Did you see this on Facebook”…I wanted to spend my evenings with my family or my nose in a book, instead of being in front of my laptop…I wanted to be more productive. I’m not going to lie – it was a great 40 days and only once did I get an itch to login. Is it funny to say that life was simpler for that timeframe because that’s exactly how I felt.

During the Lenten season, my cell phone shot craps and I had to get a new phone, so I splurged and got myself a fruit phone (much to my own chagrin, saying that I would never own an iPhone). Yep, that’s right, I was a hypocrite – but no longer, I am proud to say I love my iPhone, although I have no idea how to do even a fourth of what it is capable of doing. It took me almost a month to figure out how to make the fancy smiley faces and just 2 days ago, I downloaded the Facebook app.

Worst decision ever! The clarity I possessed after my Lenten Facebook hiatus is done and gone and I feel myself creeping back to needing to be “in the know” at all times. I literally checked my account twenty-some times yesterday. Just thinking about that makes me cringe!

The easy thing would be to just delete the app and go on with life, checking my account once a day, or even better, once a week on my trusty laptop…but I’m going to keep it on my little phone and use it as a reminder to work on my self-discipline. If I find myself clicking on the little blue icon more and more – it’s in the trash immediately, but until then, like on.  

Snyder's Hope

From September through the first of November, all of my extra time is focused on volleyball, but with another successful season under our belts – my downtime can be filled with friends, family, and one of my favorite pastimes…reading.

We just celebrated Thanksgiving and like always, it was a fun and entertaining afternoon at Grandma Bea’s, but after we got home – I didn’t know what to do…I was a bit bored. I “pinned” a few things on Pinterest, I came up short while looking for bargain Christmas gift, and finally I gave in and went to bed. Before I shut my light off and closed my eyes for the night, I looked to my bookshelf to find my Friday’s entertainment.

My book of choice was Bill Snyder’s They Said It Couldn’t Be Done. If you haven’t read it, you need to. It was published after he retired the first go around and tells the story how he took charge of the greatest turnaround in college football history.

I have always been a K-State fan and knew they had a phenomenal coach, but I was ignorant to how great of a man and how caring Snyder was…that was until I first read this book back in ’06 when I received it during my initial rehabilitation in Houston along with a letter that gave me so much hope. Don’t believe me, read Letters from Home.

In addition to hope, Snyder’s letter and book left me with some great life lessons…famously know as The 16 Wildcat Commandments. If you’re not aware of them, google them…they are some of the most basic, yet most important life lessons one could receive – and impressed me right off the bat.

Fast forward to 2012, I got to meet Bill Snyder thanks to my dear friend Tamren – see Hot Date in Manhattan. It solidified what I had thought about the man since 2006. He was so genuine, down-to-earth, and one of the nicest men I have ever met. I remember telling him that if I could be even ¼ of the coach he was, I would be a happy lady.

This afternoon, I finished his book for the second time and once again I was amazed and inspired. Ideas are running rampant through my head and it makes me think and dream of if/when I get the chance to head a program of my own.

It has been a pretty great Thanksgiving weekend and I have enjoyed both my time spent with family and my time spent with my nose in a book. Monday will come all too soon, but once again Bill Snyder has left me with hope and dreaming of what might lie ahead.

#TBW Random

This post is just as the title states, random! I have no rhyme or reason as to why I picked this picture to post other than the sheer fact that my shirt is clearly awesome. 

I can't tell you where we were going, but it had to be somewhere special and western...so Cowboy Up?

Nothing Short of a Little Hiatus

“Write a blog post” has been on my To Do List for little over a month. Obviously I have not gotten that done since my last covered my last week in Detroit which is pretty darn pathetic on my part. I wish I had some grand reason as to why I haven’t been writing, but I don’t, and I can’t use the excuse of being too busy and not having the time because that’s not true either.

 Sure, I’m back to work at BTI and volleyball season is underway (Side note – we’re really on a roll right now, 8-0 baby, undefeated!), but by no means am I swamped beyond my control.

 Nonetheless, when I began writing this blog I didn’t want to be something I forced myself to do. I wanted to write about things I was curious and passionate about and let you into my life a little bit – I never meant for this to be something that ends up on my To Do List for the day and I think that right there is the reason I haven’t wrote since I have been home.

 I feel as if I was trying to force myself into doing something that I first intended to be an effortless, yet fun thing to do and we all know how much fun things are when you feel forced into doing them!  We all encounter these situations, but I am beginning to see the importance of taking a step back and taking that break – whether it be for a few days, a few months, or even a few years – to regain that interest and spark that passion once again.

 I really enjoy writing this blog and sharing my thoughts and adventures to whoever is interested in reading it. I can’t guarantee you anything, but I am going to try to write more often…I have taken my break and refueled, but if you don’t hear from me for awhile know that either I have absolutely nothing going on in my life or I needed another little break! 

#TBW Kirkus

September 11th is a day that no one will ever forget...I'm sure that everyone can recall exactly where they were and what they were doing when the Twin Towers were hit...I know I sure do. However, what everyone might not know is that September 11th is also one of my best friend's birthdays.

Kirk and I have been friends forever and to say that we've been through a lot together, would be an understatement. 

He's the guy who I know will always have my back and be by my side when I need him, the guy who I've spent countless night cruising Main Street and all the country roads with, and the guy I think of every time I hear "Smooth Criminal!"

Kirk's laugh is infectious and his smile can light up a room. The guy can always make me smile, no matter how bad of a mood I may be in. 

Happy Birthday Kirk!

Thank you for always being by my side!

#TBW Love Birds

My parents hit a milestone earlier this week... a milestone that is becoming less and less common in today's society. 

On Monday, September 2nd, they celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary.

To celebrate, they headed back to the city in which they met, but opted to head to the casino instead of the student union. It was there a long-haired hippie with an army jacket and "stupid hat" approached the studious, naive girl from the farm. After much persistence she finally agreed and the rest is history!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! 

May there be 35 more years of love, laughter, and joy!