After the Heat Comes the Rain

“A promise is a cloud; fulfillment is rain.” - Arabian Proverb

It was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who said, “Into each life some rain must fall.” The fact that life will have its ups and downs is true as a blue sky, the moon and promise of the sun rising each day.

When rain is falling on your day, how you choose to handle it determines how bright the rainbow will be at the end.

If you allow despair or depression to take over, you will miss all that is good within the rain. Know that "Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.”

There is music to be heard in the pitter patter of raindrops.

We can feel melancholy when the rain begins to fall. A rainy day can give us the feeling or need to sit quietly in our home, relaxing and contemplating life. As we sit, we could allow ourselves to ponder the negative. But the negative can overtake and drive our lows even lower.

We can change those thoughts though. We can entertain the idea of dancing in the rain, playing in the rain, collecting tadpoles in the rain or just watching the rhythm of rain happen.

Revel what is good in your life.

The sky will clear as will the problems encountered in life. Know it and speak words of encouragement back into your life.

As John Updike wrote, “Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.” Life is not only sunshine, but also contains rain. Embrace both and see your world grow even larger.

Stay inspired my friends.

How Hot Is It

"When the water starts boiling it is foolish to turn off the heat." ~Nelson Mandela

I live in the Atlanta, Georgia area and we have entered into a very warm period. Some would say hot and others would ask, "how hot is it?" My friend and talk show host Rick Probst of Faith Talk Live would reply "It's so hot out I just saw a roasted turkey fly by our studio window."

Having this kind of heat is something we should expect when living in the south. But when the heat comes, it is always an adjustment one has to make. And with these high daily temperatures permeating everything, the asphalt parking lot turns into a goo-like substance. Shoe prints will sink and leave impressions in the asphalt in a weird cartoon-like fashion.

Some say the heat is a sultry hot, but for me "hot is hot."

When the heat gets turned up, you can either fold into the asphalt goo or forge on to a cooler place. The choice is rather simple.

The hard part is executing the choice.

As you progress through your daily life, there will be a limited amount of perfect days. There will be cold days and there will be hot days. A wide variety is the spice of life they say and such will be yours to embrace.

You get to choose how you approach these types of days. You get to keep the water boiling or not.

Just keep moving forward despite the circumstance.

Is it hot outside? Sure, but eventually that too will pass. Soon you will have the cold to contend with. Either way, keep moving towards your dreams and your best life.

And stay inspired my friends!

Change It To I'm Possible

"Nothing is impossible; there are ways which lead to everything; and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means." - Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld

We all have a tendency to start each Monday morning believing the work week ahead is full of impossible tasks. We wonder if we'll ever be able to make it all the way to Friday. The feeling that success is impossible weighs us down before we even start.

A mountain of worry and concern stands in front of us.

Yet Friday appears and a sigh of "thank God its Friday" beckons across the land. We actually find we were able to make it through the week. Many of those tasks we worried about were accomplished with little or no problems.

A successful week completed and all of the worry washed away.

What if we started the week believing nothing was impossible? You already prove it week after week when Friday arrives and your accomplishments have successfully been attained. The mountain was ascended and nothing fell over the cliff.

Start the week without burden of worry, can greater success be yours?

Believing in the impossible frees us from expending energy consumed by worry and self-doubt. To believe early allows you to focus sooner on the tasks in front of you. Believe in the impossible and make it possible.

Change Impossible to I'm Possible.

Stay inspired my friends.

A Cheese Sandwich

"As simple as it sounds, we all must try to be the best person we can; by making the best choices, by making the most of the talents we've been given." ~Mary Lou Retton

During my teen years, I worked for a farmer near our own farm. He ran a very large operation and during the summer hired several people to help him with the many different operations he ran.

One of the operations he ran was a well drilling operation. These were water wells for either farm use or irrigation wells. His youngest son ran the crew of three others, including myself when they needed the extra hand. The crew hired was fairly ragtag.

One hired hand usually spent his money each night at the bar.

While we were at work, lunch time would roll around and he did not have enough money left for lunch. This made afternoons difficult for him as he slowed considerably due to not having eaten anything.

The farmer who owned the entire operation told him one day, "Son, you need to bring something each day. Even if you have very little money, a simple cheese and bread sandwich will do."

A simple cheese sandwich, cheap and plain.

We all have choices to make.

You can choose to drink one less beer and have enough money for a cheese sandwich. Or you can get smart with your life and have many more choices than a simple cheese sandwich.

Choices in life could mean making the bread wheat or adding a slice of tomato. Having two fewer beers could mean adding potato chips or a soda to your lunchtime meal. Saving your drinking for the weekend could mean doing a better job at work and getting a raise.

It is about the choices we make in life.

Small decisions can turn into big changes that propel us to a better life. A simple cheese sandwich can turn into something great if you make different choices. Try making a change in your life and see what happens.

And stay inspired my friends.