American Pride

READY… “We did a recent survey and two out of three Americans don’t know the words to the National Anthem.” ~ Vanessa Mason

AIM… The summer Olympics are over for another four years.  Certainly, most of you watched at least some of the highlights either on television or the internet.  America can be proud of the incredible athletes who represented our country and gave every ounce of their best effort to showcase their God-given talents to the world.  My simple question is this: “Why don’t the American athletes, at least the majority of them, put their hand over their heart and sing our National Anthem as our flag is being raised in honor of their success?”  One must ask oneself, do those athletes not know the words to our country’s beloved song?  Does it not have meaning deep down in their hearts?  Perhaps each one is so overcome with emotion that simply singing the words would invoke a teary breakdown?  I know I got choked up myself watching the Americans win gold medals in several events and I was simply at home, on my couch, watching the televised rebroadcast.  Later I thought, maybe it’s disrespectful to sing the anthem out loud at an event of such prestige.  But that theory was busted this past week at my son’s 7^th grade football “Meet the Team Night”. No one in the stands sang the national anthem as the American flag was raised to a place of honor before the event and very few people had hands over their hearts. Pitiful.  Yes, gentlemen did remove their hats, but it was still pitiful.  Sadly, I must admit, as I began to sing and realized that no one else was singing, I quietly lowered my voice to a mere whisper and felt guilty that I didn’t have the courage to sing out loud and proud.  I AM proud to be an American and I KNOW we are free as a direct result of the strength of the men and women who fought through the “bombs bursting in air that our flag might still wave o’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

So please, if there is anyone out there who just might have an answer as to why Americans are thrilled to stand up for our country at athletic events as a spectator or a participant but just can’t bring themselves to sing our anthem on the podium or in the stands, I would really love to know.

FIRE!   Fall sports have begun.  Many of you will attend a sporting event either through a local school or for a professional team.  When the American flag is raised and you are called to your feet to stand in respect, don’t be ashamed to put your hand over your heart and sing the words that represent true American pride.  Perhaps the person next to you just needs a singing partner to pay homage to our great country as well.

Be Excellent!
Lori

Setting Boundaries

READY… “Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.” ~ John C. Maxwell

AIM… October must have been a weird month. It seemed that nearly everyone I talked to was feeling overwhelmed, stressed or just plain out-of-sorts because their lives were so crazy busy. The strange thing is that people could not even put their fingers on one particular area of stress. It appeared that we were all simply busy with busyness!

If you’ve been feeling like your life is getting out of control, like you are simply overextended or burning the candle at both ends, it’s time to set some boundaries and reevaluate your commitments. Your personal and family time is very important to your well-being. Setting healthy boundaries means sometimes just saying “no.”

Granted, saying “no” is not the easiest thing to do. However, when we respect our own “no” then others will too. God did not call us to be everything to everyone. We place that demand upon ourselves. I think John C. Maxwell says it best when he says, “Learn to say ‘no’ to the good so you can say ‘yes’ to the best.” If we are saying “yes” to everyone about everything, then we can’t determine what the best use of our time and talents is and we WILL get burnt out quickly. There is a real freedom and a strong confidence in saying “no.” I can’t wait for you to trust yourself and be free.

FIRE!   Let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” Create white space on your calendar this week by saying “no” to at least one request. Allow yourself time to feel the freedom and relief of establishing a healthy boundary. Yay, You!

Be Excellent!
Lori