Happy 4th of July (tomorrow)!

 

We are truly blessed in this country with incredible freedoms.  Unfortunately, we often take those freedoms or granted; We should not.  These freedoms are not found in many countries.  What we do with these freedoms make us who we are… 

• The freedom to live, love and laugh
• The freedom to work hard and succeed
• The freedom to challenge ourselves mentally and physically
• The freedom to fail, and to recover
• The freedom to approach each day with a smile
• The freedom to make choices, some wise, some not
• The freedom to educate ourselves
• The freedom to worship freely
• The freedom to make mistakes and learn from them
• The freedom to honor and support those who protect these freedoms

…and those who lost their lives doing so

• The freedom to positively impact the lives of others
• The freedom to tell those that we love that we do!

 What are you doing with your freedoms?

‘Til You Can’t

 

I have quoted a lot of songs in the MMM over the years, including ones from Thomas Rhett, Jerry Jeff Walker, Toby Keith, Natasha Bedingfield and of course Jimmy Buffett.  Today that honor goes to Cody Johnson, who sings a song entitled ‘Til You Can’t.

I have stated here before that I am a really bad procrastinator.  I own it.  We really need to be mindful of how costly procrastination can be.  Some things you just can’t put off forever.  Certain opportunities only last so long.  We can easily miss great chances in life if we don’t take them!  Don’t miss your dream. Don’t miss your love. Don’t leave the important words unsaid. 

Consider these selected lyrics from ‘Til You Can’t by Cody Johnson…

If you got a chance, take it, take it while you got a chance
If you got a dream, chase it, 'cause a dream won't chase you back
If you're gonna love somebody
Hold 'em as long and as strong and as close as you can
'Til you can't

So take that phone call from your momma and just talk away
'Cause you'll never know how bad you wanna 'til you can't someday
Don't wait on tomorrow 'cause tomorrow may not show
Say your sorries, your I-love-yous, 'cause man you never know

Happy 4th of July (yesterday)

We are truly blessed in this country with incredible freedoms.  Unfortunately, we often take those freedoms or granted. We should not.  These freedoms are not found in many countries.  What we do with these freedoms make us who we are… 

·         The freedom to live, love and laugh.

·         The freedom to work hard and succeed.

·         The freedom to challenge ourselves mentally and physically.

·         The freedom to fail, and to recover.

·         The freedom to approach each day with a smile.

·         The freedom to make choices, some wise, some not.

·         The freedom to educate ourselves.

·         The freedom to make mistakes and learn from them.

·         The freedom to honor and support those who protect these freedoms

…and those who lost their lives doing so.

·         The freedom to positively impact the lives of others.

·         The freedom to tell those that we love that we do!

 

What are you doing with your freedoms?

Friends

People are not meant to live alone. Friends and relationships are a huge part of our lives.  We may want to think we are independent and can live without those around us, but we all know that we cannot.  These times of social distancing and limited community events can be challenging for friendships, but we need one another now more than ever.  We need support and advice from friends.  We need the sharing of life with others.

Friendship is a two-way street.  It is as much about being a friend to someone as it is about having a friend.  Some friends come and go.  Others become fixtures in our lives for a lifetime.  Certain friends are placed in our lives at specific times for specific needs we may have at the time.   My life has been blessed with wonderful friendships.  Many of those have outlasted job and family changes over many years.  I can only hope to have been a friend to others in the way described by this insightful young girl.

 

True friends are the ones who see the pain in your eyes,
when everybody else is fooled by your smile.
--Kimmy Robbins, (14 years old)

Live Music

A headline from last week…

Live Music May Help You Live Longer, Research Finds

A new study finds that music improves emotional well-being by more than 20%.

Isn’t that great news?  I really enjoy live music.  Last weekend I was blessed to experience some really talented live musicians two nights in a row.  Live music just makes me smile.  I have no musical talent, none.  But I really respect, admire and enjoy those who do. 

Music is a powerful thing.  It can bring you to tears or laughter; take you to new places or back in time; open new friendships and strengthen old ones, and it is especially powerful live and in person.  It does not have to be a big name at a large venue.  It can be a local band at a neighborhood pub. We are blessed in The Woodlands with some great music venues including the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion which attracts fabulous national headliners and Dosey Doe which is a wonderful small dinner show listening room.  There are many others as well.  Find a live music venue near you and check it out.  You will enjoy it and you never know where it will take you.