show it

Some of you may have seen the new St. Jude Children's Hospital celebrity-filled commercials, part of their new "Thanks and Giving" campaign. I like the quote at the end of the commercial, when Marlo Thomas says,
"Give thanks for the healthy children in your life, and give to those who are not."

You hear a lot about giving thanks this time of year, but I appreciate that this encouragement to give thanks also includes a call to action. I like to think that giving thanks should always be followed by showing thanks. If you are thankful for something, you should show it. We shouldn't just acknowledge our own thankfulness for something, we should do something to express the gratitude we feel.

So, let's turn this Thanksgiving into a Thankshowing.

And to show my thanks for all of you, I will eat an extra pice of tofurkey in your honor. :)

a perfect day

I choose the following quote in light of service learning day tomorrow:

"You cannot live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you." -John Wooden

I think that this exemplifies service at its finest...when you do something for someone knowing that you will likely, even certainly, never be repaid or rewarded.

So while you are landscaping at the park, or feeding the homeless, or tutoring kids tomorrow...realize that you have the makings of a perfect day.

Have a great one!

whatchew whan?

So I got my Baylor alumni magazine, and there was an article in it about the new renovation they just did to the student center and cafe/grille, and it made me remember the lady that worked in the grille. Her name was Ms. Kitty, and she was a spunky, older lady who always greeted you with the same question, "Whatchew whan?" (translation: what do you want).

So, I thought I would choose that as the quote of the day, "Whatchew whan?" (compliments of Ms. Kitty)

And, you can take that question two ways-- what do you want (in the sense of: what do you hope for, long for, wish for) or, what do you want (in the sense of what do you think you lack, what makes you feel incomplete, etc.)?

So those are just a couple of questions to think about (hey, it's nasty rainy outside, what else do you have to do besides sit inside and think about random things?)

Have a good afternoon!

bored?

"I know that all my life I have been very fortunate in being very interested, completely interested, in living, in seeing, listening, experiencing, imagining; I've never been bored in my life." --William Faulkner

"I'm bored" seems to be a pretty common lament in life...but I like the attitude expressed in Faulkner's quote. If we are bored, it is because we choose to be...there is so much to be found in life that is interesting, amusing, and amazing-- it is truly only our own fault if we don't seek it out.

Seek out the exciting and unusual in the everyday, and you will never be bored again!

start counting

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." -Anonymous

I don't know why...but today seems like a really good day to be counting blessings.

How much do you already have?

gratitude

I am back from Florida. And it was fabulous. I wish I could have stayed longer--maybe until Christmas break.

Here's a new quote for you:

"It's a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation." -Roberto Benigni

I don't know how many of you are familiar with Roberto Benigni, but he is an Italian director/actor who created the movie "Life is Beautiful" (if you have never seen this movie, you need to stop right now, go to your Netflix account, and put it at #1 in your queue immediately.) He received an Oscar for the film, and he delivered what was quite possibly one of the best acceptance speeches ever. He was so excited, I thought he was going to explode. He was a huge bumbling ball of energy and gratitude that seemed ready to spontaneously combust with happiness. I have never before, or ever since, seen someone so grateful and happy to receive something.

It was truly beautiful. And I think it's a great model for us in how we show our appreciation to others.

Have a wonderfully wet Tuesday.