Thankful part 2

So, as I put in my last post, I will continue my 4 part blog with things I am thankful for in my life.

So this blog I dedicate to my friends. As I am reflecting over my 30 years on this Earth, I have realized I am truly blessed with some absolutely amazing friends.

Most people have people that are around when things are going good and are their best buddy when things are going great. The true measure of a friend is when things are not so awesome or when you hit rock bottom. True friends jump down in the pit and help show you the way out

My friends that I have amassed over my lifetime are true friends. I will share a couple of stories about how amazing they are and that time doesn't matter in between conversations.

The most recent story took place on May 25,2011. A tornado tore through Sedalia, and destroyed my home, the center if my world for 23 years. I had so many memories that took place there that I felt like a part of my heart had been ripped out.

That day, without a phone call or being asked to, my friends went to check up on my mother and report details to me and other family members. The next day was even more amazing.

The next day, not only did my closest friends so up to help get the salvageable items out of her house, but friends I hadn't talked to in 10 years showed up to help out as well. I want to give a special thanks to Seth Kakuske, for helping out. I hadn't seen or talked to him for 11 years and he was there to help

That day changed how I viewed the tornado, and started this slow change I have been on to discovering a better me. So thank you to all of my friends. I am truly blessed to have you in my life. Whether I see you tomorrow, this week or not for 10 years, you are my friend and I thank you for that gift.

I realized that my home and my heart weren't made of wood and bricks, but with these amazing people I get to call my friends. These people who stop what they are doing to help others in need. That is the true friendship and love that everyone needs in their life.

Be thankful, part 1

We, as a society, have forgotten how to be truly thankful for all that we have been blessed with in our lives.

Even the homeless and poor in our country have a better life than most people in our countries around the world. So lets imagine what it would be like to be truly poor

Imagine that your family home is a shack that has no insulation, electricity, or plumbing. It is barely even standing and the dirt is your floor. Now, don't worry about your nice stuff, because in this shack is one big open room and all you own is a broken table and a chair.

Everyone only has one set of clothes and the eldest in the family is the only person with shoes. There is no running water, the nearest creek is 5 miles away. You don't go to school because it is 30 miles away and you have no car, bike, or money for a bus ride. The closest doctors office is 30 miles away and is run by a midwife most days.

Now, I have painted you a picture of what life is like for most of the poor people in the world today. So I ask now, what do you have to be thankful for?

I am going to have a 4 part blog about the things I'm thankful for in my life. To start this, I am thankful to God.

God has blessed me with great talents and abilities and until now, I have hidden them away. I will not make that mistake again. I will share all I have been blessed to manage withe the world.

God has blessed me with an understanding heart and an open mind. Strength to help carry burdens and mercy to help lift others who are down. Patience and peace of mind. And most importantly, God truly blessed me with the greatest family and friends that anyone ever has ever had in this world.

I will tell you more about all of them in the next 3 posts

So how has your life been blessed? Post a comment and share your blessings with everyone

Move past yourself and your circumstances, Adapt and grow

We all have doubts, fears, and obstacles in our way. Everyday, we can make excuses about not being able to lose weight, finish school, be a better parent, child, student, spouse, or friend. We say its too hard or too time consuming and settle for the status quo and move on.

Well, that's is not the truth, and I have been guilty in the past of this type of thinking and excuse making. I told myself that I didn't have the time or it was beyond my control.

I have changed that thinking by being more intentional in ever aspect in my life. I am doing a better at planning my time ahead of time and planning to be successful in every aspect of my life.

Zig Ziglar has said that their are 7 different aspects of your life and each one affects the others. It's like a wheel and if one spoke is broken of missing, the wheel runs flat. The 7 areas are family, career, mental, social, spiritual, financial, and physical.

I would like to let you know about a man who has inspired me and for everything he accomplished in his life, despite his situation, then I have no excuse for not accomplishing more with my life and abilities. The man I'm talking about is A. Bentley Wright.

Bentley was born just like you and me and grow up like an average boy would do in the US. Now when Bentley was 19, he was in an accident that left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Now, Bentley could have taken his chair and stayed at home and never done anything, and no one would have thought less of him, but he couldn't do it. He finished college, moved to California, finished law school, joined the California and Missouri bar exams and while doing all that, continued to help others learn and grow, and find the faith that their life was missing

He moved back to Missouri and built a house for a children's home, Coyote Hill. While he was unable to have kids, he shared the love he had for kids who needed help, all the cousins in our family, and most importantly, his niece and nephew.

Now if he could do all this, live longer than medical science said he would, and touch so many lives, while unable to get out of a wheelchair, what excuse can you have that is stopping you from making your life better and the lives of others?


Bentley went home this January and while we miss him, he is free from his physical limitations and by allowing his mind and spirit to move beyond his physical self, he is able to now be his whole self now. While those who knew him, we miss him, but he is not lost. We know where he is and will see him again.

Humans have been blessed with the ability to adapt. It's the ability that the dinosaurs didn't have and they died because of their lack of adaption. Don't be a dead dinosaur, live like a human.

Love like a man

Love is not that gooey, flowery, and silly way that movies and candy companies want us to view it. Love is powerful and gentle, kind and uplifting, and can move mountains. Loving like a man is not a weakness, but rather a great strength that we have seeming lost over the last 2 generations. We are told that love is only for our family and that loving others is not manly. So I am going to tell you about loving like a man from a person I admire more than most other people. His name was Joe Arbisi

Joe was a swim coach to me, but he was so much more. Joe really taught me so life lessons and was there for not only me, but for my little brother when our father passed away in 2002. He stepped in and did his best to teach us the lessons our father was able to teach us anymore. Joe loved his wife and kids. He showed grace under pressure and a faith that could inspire a nation. It was his genuine love for other that set him apart though. I know he had flaws, because he was human and we all have flaws. Joe's flaws, however, were minimized by his deep love for others especially to those on his swim team. He was never inappropriate, patient, kind, and encouraging. He was tough on you, but always pushing for you to achieve better for yourself. He gave you 100% on his focus when he was with you and asked that you do the same for him. Be present in all that you do and give it your all. Genuinely love and care for others.
Joe went to his Heavenly Father in October of 2008 and I know he is missed. He was loved by all whose lives he touched and has made better people because they knew him. They say that you touch 10,000 lives in a lifetime and Joe touched a great deal more. So thank you Joe for helping finishing teaching me to love like a man.

Who in you life has taught you how to be more than you are? To love others and spread hope?

Love and why it's so powerful

God has given us many gifts, but the greatest is love. Love can move mountains, reach across the planet or past the stars, can lift you to do incredible feats of strength or endurance, or heal others who are hurting. I mean, how incredible is that emotion that it can do all of that and it is free to give and receive. Yes love is free. It costs nothing to tell, show, or accept love. Love can be felt from beyond the grave into the heart of your loved ones when they think of you. It can cement your legacy to future generations who had no first hand interactions with you. People who love others unconditionally do amazing things with their lives. Best examples are Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandala, Mother Theresa and Ghandi. They love others and found things that shunned love, strained love, or tried to stomp out love. They refused to allow love to be destroyed and fought it show the power of love.
So if you love someone, TELL them. Show them, let them k is that they matter to you and you are glad that they are in your life. Use the love you feel for others to change the world for the better for the ones you love. Don't assume, don't become apathetic, don't not use the words we all learned in school. Tell people often, show them with you actions, listen to them when they need you to, and explain to them why you love them. Use this emotion to help improve their life and change yours at the same time. Tell me how you express your love to others in a positive way and how you can change the world to better their lives.