I Resolve to

December 26, 2011 By 7 Comments

We all waltz into the New Year thinking of things we want to accomplish during the year.  

I hope that my list of resolutions will inspire you to boldly resolve to make resolutions that truly matter.  

Doing this will inspire you as well as those around you.

 

I resolve to make the best of whatever comes my way each day

I resolve to smile daily, even if it’s through tears

I resolve to encourage my family to be their best, even when the worst is flooding our world

I resolve to enjoy the success of others and encourage them to keep pursuing their passion

I resolve to treat others the way I want to be treated, no wait… BETTER than I want to be treated

I resolve to be kind to those who are the meanest

I resolve to listen to my heart and not feel guilty for doing things for myself

I resolve to do what I can with what I have and enJOY it

I resolve to read a book a month (or listen…as I love audio books)

I resolve to be a positive force

I resolve to use my strengths without worry about how my weaknesses may come across

I resolve to allow my heart to sing freely

I resolve to find beauty in the Ordinary

I resolve to laugh daily….regardless (hey, if I’m gonna cry often, I may as well laugh even more)

I resolve to hug freely

I resolve to say thank you to someone daily

I resolve to learn from my mistakes

I resolve to face difficulties with courage

I resolve to let those in my world know just how important they truly are

I resolve to continue to be Matthew 5:16

I resolve to be compassionate

I resolve to let the hurt & disappointment that surrounds me to make me more determined

I resolve to keep taking the next step, even when I can’t see the path

I resolve to love, and do so freely

I resolve to celebrate the good, forgive the bad and enjoy the moment

I resolve to change what I can, fix what is wrong & find the good in the rest

I resolve to reflect on the blessings of the day at the end of the day

I resolve to celebrate small victories and push onward through challenges

I resolve to be content with what I have, while striving to improve where I can

I resolve to not allow circumstances to dictate HOW I live

I resolve to not allow guilt to eat at my heart

I resolve to stop and smell the roses when I’m near them

I resolve to believe that I’m enough and not compare myself to others

 

What are some of your resolutions?  Please encourage others by sharing them below.

 

Here is a free PDF of this article. 


Filed Under: Poetry, Spreading Joy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

30 Day Challenge Jan 2011

December 27, 2010 By 18 Comments

I love spreading joy to others, but more than that, I love how easy it is to get into the habit of spreading joy.  A new year is upon us and it is my goal to help you see just how easy it is to get into the habit of spreading JOY.

The 30 Day Challenge - ONE thing a day for someone else, on purpose.  That’s all it takes. It can be for family, friends or random people.  Your mind will be looking, thinking and preparing for ways of spreading joy in no time.  This can be anything to help make a difference.  It can be a smile, it can be an encouraging email or text message.

The sky is the limit here and it is NOT hard to do this. By the end of the month you’ll have gotten yourself into the habit of spreading joy and it will be a natural thing for you to do as you meander through your day. Being aware of opportunities is key and this challenge is designed to get you thinking and looking for ways to make a difference each day.

Here is the challenge.

Will you publicly join me in developing this habit of spreading joy?  If so, please let me know.  I’d like to add your name here to a list – so that I won’t forget who is joining me, but so that I can encourage you  too. If you are on twitter, please include your twitter name, cause I’m old and forgetful like that!

Together we can journal our daily acts of joy.  I will write in my journal each day about what was done and then every 3 days or so, come back here and update things in the comment section.  I would encourage you to do so as well.  This will encourage everyone that is participating.

I’ve done this challenge publicly before and here is a link to how it turned out.

I would love to hear how this challenge affected your daily outlook, if you had any troubles and just over all, how it made your heart feel, to think, plan and then execute this challenge.

Ideas to get you going:

  • Give away reesecups and Little Debbie Cakes randomly
  • Have a NO chore day for family
  • Leave the closer parking space for someone else
  • Purchase a book of stamps and mail to Spreading Joy
  • Recycle, recycle, recycle
  • Have a “Eat dessert first” night with your family.
  • Make a financial donation to Spreading Joy, see if your company matches charitable giving – 2 acts in one
  • Meet someone for coffee and purchase it for them.  Enjoy the chat.
  • Sign up for this challenge and invite others to do so as well!

There are some ideas to get you going. If you need more, don’t forget that there are a total of 100 ways of making a difference WITHOUT spending one single penny listed here and here on this web site.

Are you ready to take the challenge?  Are you ready to develop the habit of spreading joy?

Those taking the 30 day challenge:

@spreadingJOY

@smooth_stone

@GodsWordisTruth

@10thamendment

@LifeVerse

@sharritiner

@sweetshel

IF we all do just 1 act of JOY a day – so far we are up to 217 #actsofJOY for the month!! wow.  I’m so excited to be making a difference this way!! Thanks for JOYning me!!

Filed Under: challenge, choices, encouraging, fun, Spreading Joy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Having Compassion & Making a Difference

April 18, 2010 By 15 Comments

 

I’m constantly amazed at the amount of little things that can be done in a day to make a difference.  No matter where we go, what we do, each and everyone of us have the power within ourselves to make a huge difference right where we are.  Be it with smiles, hugs, kinds words, written note, helping someone out etc, we all have the ability to create change.  When you add compassion to it, you get something else entirely.

compassion

[kuhm-pash-uhn] – a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

Everyone, on some level, feels sorrow for others who have been stricken by misfortune.  When you have compassion, the desire to do something, to alleviate the pain and suffering, takes over and your heart must act upon it.  There is no stopping it.  The desire is so forceful and great that your heart is grieved because you feel like you can’t alleviate the suffering.  Then it hits you.  You realize that while it may be true, you can’t stop the suffering, you can’t change things by yourself and you certainly can’t do it alone, the fact is that you don’t have to.  There are so many people who have a strong desire to make a difference!

There is safety in numbers, right? Well, when the compassionate join forces and come together, there is STRENGTH, HOPE and MIRACLES are bound to be right around the corner.  New Year Of Hope (NYOH) was started because of a strong desire to make a difference.  Compassion.  When you have compassion, you’ll notice every little detail, every miracle and every act of joy causes floods of joy in your own heart! 

There is no way I can ever thank those that have come together for NYOH, allowing me to experience the flood gates of joy on my soul when I delivered the HOPE that you provided.  The behind the scenes work, the asking, the praying, the begging and the phone calls were amazing.  So many people gave what they could to bring this miracle to pass.  Those that couldn’t give were instrumental in spreading the word about the need – and we could not have made it without you either!  You truly made a difference by telling as many people as you could, as often as you could.  My heart thanks all of you for your part in NYOH.

Here is how things unfolded.  Stick with me. This is a long post, but worth the read!

Finally, it’s here.  The day we’ve been waiting for! Delivering HOPE to Roxboro NC.  Dwayne is expecting me to come down and deliver the rent for 2009.  My heart has been huge these past few months, as I know that I’m delivering so much more.

We finally arrive in Roxboro. Please keep in mind that Dwayne is only expecting me to come down with the 2009 rent that YOU supplied.  We get there and the HUGS are wonderful.  I give him 2 extra, one for @blogomomma and @cupcakes5 (hey, they needed for him to have a hug from them too!) He invites us in, but I get Diana and we get a “few” things from the back of my car. I have her close her eyes before she opens the car door and she is so surprised as she sees “all” the gifts that await her.  We take 2 trips to carry them in and Dwayne is just as surprised.  There is 3 or 4 different types of journals, photo album, cute pen, 5 rubber - extra long pencils, box of Magnetos (a magnetic building pieces of sorts), Operation, Monopoly, Connect4, Trouble, 8 different fingernail polishes, 2 heart makeup kits, 2 books, m&m’s, big blue box of crayola crayons, markers and other art items,  HUGE bag of school supplies, inlcuding 3 1 inch binders, 10 or more pocket folders,  spiral notebooks, glue sticks, 24 pack of pencils, 12 pack of pens, pencil holder, erasers, and then a few of my favorite things – as you know I love giving my favorite things too.  2 pair of cute adorable socks, 3 packs of Reese Cups, and a Gorilla Webkin. (I do so adore monkeys) There is a video coming that shows her opening everything, so if I have forgotten anything, you’ll get to see it. 

Dwayne is pretty speechless at this point.  I’m ready to explode because my heart is flooded with emotions, knowing the last two items.

I hand him a card, that talks about how we knew he’s been discouraged, but things will be looking up soon.  I hand write a note at the bottom.  It’s his first huge surprise. 

“The Hampton Inn of Myrtle Beach SC has Partnered with Spreading Joy Corporation to provide you a week at the beach free of charge!”

Immediately, tears of joy from someone who has had to keep getting up, over and over from being knocked down.  He shows Diana and she is delighted as she has never been to the beach with her father.  I do not have the certificates with me, but 3 restaurants in the area have graciously agreed to provide a gift certificate for their meals.  My goal is to have enough certificates for their week of eating by the time he goes so that their meals are completely paid for. 

We start discussing the box. HOPE.  I saw the box a few months ago in Michaels and grabbed it, knowing I would put a single certificate in it.  Hope – there is so much possibility there, especially when people with a heart for others from ALL OVER THE WORLD come together to make a difference.  I hand him the box.  My smile is a mile wide and my heart is on cloud 37 1/2 because I know what is waiting for him.  I ask him to open it and read it out loud.  He starts reading – There’s Hope that hever ends – dwaynereaves certificate! (That link is a copy for you to see) He gets to the 3 rd line and hangs his head and more TEARS of JOY.  FINALLY, my heart is screaming.  HE KNOWS!! I give more hugs and take the certificate and read it out loud for the video.  He is speechless as he has just read

“Spreading Joy Heroes from all over the world have graciously paid your rent through December 31, 2010″

He had no clue at all.  Few people knew of this and we had kept it a secret from everyone.  All of you who gave – YOU had no idea what you were giving to!! You thought you were helping a gentleman keep his apartment and pay his debt from last year.  Look at what YOUR giving turned into. 

  • 10 or 12 gifts, games and huge bag of back to school supplies and Reese Cups  for Diana.
  • Week at the beach with meals included. (I have time to round the meals up – gonna make the calls and ask)
  • 2009-2010 RENT Taken care of Completely!

We talk, laugh and cry tears of joy and then, I must go and meet the man that helped make this possible – by trusting a girl that he had never talked to before, never met and had no idea if she would even come through on her promise.  Ronnie – the landlord.  Remember, I had called and asked him to allow us to raise funds for him with the help of @blogomomma from Chicago and he agreed to let Dwayne stay there in the apartment - even though we had no idea how long it would take to raise the funds needed to catch up on rent.  I meet and of course HUG him and thank him from the bottom of my heart.  He truly made a difference with the compassion that he had in his heart.  The unique thing about Ronnie is – everytime I said thank you, he “gave” it back to me.  What a giver! We presented Ronnie with a certificate as well. Such a small thing for his kind heart, but it comes from my heart and he understands that.

Many of you sent in your gifts with a heart felt sentiment “I wish I could do more”.  I love that your heart wants to give on a bigger level and even understand it, as does mine.  Never apologize for giving what you can, and thank you for doing so!  Many said, I can’t give – you just don’t understand, but I can email, tweet and ask others.  Oh, after having my guy not work for half the year last year, I do understand! I also know how powerful one single voice can be! You never know who you will reach that has the means of making a difference! So thank you for your voice!

Thank you to @blogomomma who contacted me before Christmas and gave it a cool nifty name, started the ball rolling so that all I had to do was jump in and follow her lead.  She did so much work and allowed me to experience complete joy as I delivered the gift that she worked hard to accomplish.  I love you doll! You bless me.

Thank you to @cupcakes5 for your never ending voice, love and prayers and heart for others! My world is sweeter because you are in it!

Thank you to those who gave and would not allow us to add you to the list. You secret Spreading Joy heroes have a special place in my heart and I hope your heart is flooded with oceans of joy right now.

Thank you to everyone on this list -

that gave, tweeted and did what you could, with what you have.  YOU are Spreading Joy! I hope your heart is soaring!

Thank you Ronnie, again – you are amazing!

Thank you Hampton Inn for providing a dream come true for a little girl and her father! You are fantabulous!

Thank you Marvin McAllister – my friend for allowing me to borrow your video camera. Maybe when Spreading Joy grows up a little more, I won’t have to borrow it, but it is nice to know that you don’t mind!

Thank you Steve Wikle for wrapping, riding along, videoing and putting up with the singing, giggling and all the “excited” talking the entire way up there. Thank you for being my biggest supporter in Spreading Joy. I love you.

**A special word of thanks to a precious little girl, Diana. Thank you for spending the day with me, for laughing and singing with me and for allowing me to be your friend! {{{HUGS}} sweetie!

(Shhh…don’t tell anyone this is in this article – but ummmm – Have I forgotten anyone? – if so, pleeease do tell me so I can correct it!)

Here are ALL of the videos of things as they unfold posted .  It is so exciting to watch Diana open her gifts and then Dwayne receive more hope than he had expected!

(All of the videos are right in this play list below.  I enjoy making things easy peasy for you. Thank you for this awesome opportunity, for giving the gift of hope!)

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to deliver HOPE to Roxboro NC!  Words can not express the gratitude that lies deep within my heart and soul for being able to make a difference.  I know that Spreading Joy was only able to do this with YOUR help and I hope that you’ll continue to partner with me, to do what we can, where we are, with what we have – so that we can – TOGETHER – Give BIG!

So, tell me.  What do you think? 

Did you ever imagine this? Do you see how giving what you can, can restore hope? Do you see how your gift can grow – even without you realizing it?  Ohhhhhh…I truly hope so! I do.

***Dwayne tells his story as well as thanks YOU for making a difference! Your heart should be flooded with unspeakable joy as you read how you touched his heart!***

{{{HUGS}}} Yall! *grinning* You did good!

Filed Under: Spreading Joy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

All Because One Child Cared

February 21, 2010 By 7 Comments

Jonathan David Massey (my very cool nephew) & Me

I have the Greatest nieces and nephews in all the land.  The youngest nephew, Jonathan, recently did a little thing for me.  He told his teacher about Spreading Joy Corporation and how we help people.  In his mind, he was just telling her about how his Aunt Marie was making a difference.  What he didn’t realize was that he was actually doing something huge and giving me an opportunity that I may never have gotten myself.

After meeting with his teacher, the preparations start. I want to introduce Spreading Joy Corporation to them. I want them to know what we do, what we’ve done and what we want to do! What our hopes, dreams and desires are.  I want them to know that we’ve had goals and fallen short of them, but we weren’t feeling guilty about it because we simply did what we could with what we had.  More than all of that, I want them to walk away empowered, feeling like they can make a difference. I want them to see and KNOW that there’s no joy like Spreading Joy.

I only have 30 minutes to speak to them and know that I have so much more than that to say, but am prepared to make it work. After introducing Spreading Joy to them, I quickly run through our accomplishments (article on that soon to be published) explaining to them that while we didn’t reach the individual goals we set, we were not feeling guilty.  We simply did what we could, with what we had and used that to make a difference.  I fill them in on New Year of Hope (NYOH).  Explaining where we were and that we needed $802 to deliver HOPE to Dwayne and his 10 year old daughter Diana. Oh, I can’t wait to deliver this. 

Lincoln Charter School - Middle School Students 2010

We spend much of our time talking about noticing and appreciating the little things that truly make life big. I’m a lover of the million little things in life that make my heart smile.  While I’m sharing this, I hand out Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies.  The first guy to receive this Chris, wasn’t sure about what I was doing and offered it back as I was walking away.  I smile and told him to keep it, it’s what I love doing. My favorite thing to give out is Reese Cups, because they are my absolute favorite! But, Little Debbie makes is affordable to give sweet smiles.  While I’m “spreading joy” and passing out some of my favorite things, I want to remind everyone that holding the door for others, smiling at everyone, letting someone ahead in line and a whole slew of other “little” things make a huge difference. 

Middle school children do not have a lot of resources financially, but they do have huge hearts, creative minds and the power within themselves to make a huge difference.  We talk about a few of the 50 Ways to make a difference with spending a penny.  The list was printed out for them. I’m hoping that they will be inspired to start spreading joy from that.  I also tell them I want 50 more ways to make a difference for free and ask if they would consider sending in some ideas.

After giving Jason Lott a few of the “little things that make his life big”, I call 4 people (Tols Detmer, Thomas Butner, Madeline Tilley & Sabrina Twery) from the group of kids. Give them a “joy pack”.  This is not a gift for them to keep, I ask them to choose someone to give this to, someone that could use a little joy that day.  They are spreading joy heros.  They give freely, happily and everyone is hoping to be chosen. Are the bags huge gifts? NO. Remember, it’s the little things. 

The 4 heros come back to me after spreading joy.  I thank them for not grumbling, not whining and doing such a great job.  They are all smiling, standing there empty handed.  I’m hoping that their hearts are soaring because they just did something amazing!  Before I let them sit down, I give them a little something, more than what they just gave away – but still, little things, because I want them to know, first hand, little things are amazing!  I want them to realize that they (the huge hearted kids)  have the ability within themselves to make a huge difference.

So, what really happened because one little 11 year old boy cared? Well, let me tell you!

Spreading Joy was able to:

  • Enjoy the snow while talking to one amazing teacher over delicious coffee
  • Give away 300 joy packs of candy with our information attached to it.
  • Joyfully hand out and throw into the crowd 10 Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies
  • Give away 6 yummilicious, simply the best treat on the face of the earth Reese Cup – Reese Eggs
  • Give away 9 packs of lip gloss (with 8 different kinds in each) I think
  • Give away 4 packs of fingernail polish (with 7 or 8 different kinds each)
  • Give away 3 $10.00 McDonald’s gift cards
  • Give away 3 boxes of a beautiful necklace set
  • Give away 9 books (I love giving away books)
  • Speak to around 200 middle school kids with HUGE amazing Hearts! (and several Amazing teachers too!)

And….imagine with me, for just a moment, if you will.  If those 200 individuals tell one other person, JUST 1 – that will be 400 people hearing about Spreading Joy Corporation for the first time. And – if that second set of people tell 1 other person, then we are up to around 600 people hearing for the first time. 

So, Jonathan, you amazing Spreading Joy hero – do you see how the “little” thing of telling 1 person, has made a HUGE difference? I hope so.  I hope others will too.

What did I get out of all of this?  Oh, yes, new people heard about Spreading Joy. Yes, I enjoyed presenting my passion to the school – they were attentive and fun to talk to! But more than that, the hugs, the laughter, the smiles, the bright sparkly eyes – from realizing that “hey!!! I can make a difference, right here – right NOW!” filled my heart with so much JOY, I floated through the rest of the day! I was literally flooded with great joy from the response of the children afterwards! Warm, receptive and their minds were already thinking of ways they could make a difference!  My heart was completely overflowing as I was extremely blessed by simply being able to hear their comments as they were heading back to class.

This Little Blue Bunny has a HUGE place in my heart! Thank you Jason

So, when you think that giving a little blue bunny is something small – ohhhh…THINK again!! HUGE!! Huge Spreading Joy Hero there!! I love this guy and someone with a HUGE heart was kind enough to make my day and give him to me!

When Reese Cups are on sale, buy one, get one free….Get them, give one and discover how AMAZING you feel when you are instantly transformed into a Spreading Joy Hero! Chris, the first receipient of the Little Debbie Cake, surprised me with an amazing treat at the end of the presentation! Thank you for the wonderful Reese Cup! It was fantabulous!

There is nothing like being flooded with great joy when you see, first hand, the little things that make life big!

Thank you Lincoln Charter School for having me at your wonderful School!  Thank you Ms. Paula Micol for inviting me to present my passion for making a difference. Thank you Jonathan, for being one child who cared and acted on it – and made a Huge Difference!

Holding Pure Joy! Thanks Chris!

The question goes out to all who read this:

Have you ever considered for one moment, what telling just one person could do to help spread the word about Spreading Joy?  Do you see the amazing difference that just one person doing so has created? 

Who will you tell today?  Will you be a Spreading Joy Hero and spread the word about Spreading Joy? 

Thank you!

Thank you for making a huge difference, right where you are, with what you have, leaving the guilt behind – because you are truly making a difference!

Filed Under: challenge, choices, encouraging, frugal, fun, happiness, ideas, motivation, passion, simple, Spreading Joy, thanks, yummy Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,