Creative Inspiration for Passionate Living

Pulling into the gas station in the south Chicago suburbs this morning, my daughter and I saw the police approaching a young man.   He appeared to be in his mid-twenties and was tall and slender but, at the same time, solid.   He had his hands in the air, screaming inaudible words but his pain permeated my core.   An officer gripped the man’s arms from behind and brought him to the ground.   His long frame flipped upside down.   My daughter began a frantic cry. “Momma, don’t let them kill him”.   As tears of terror flooded her face, the innocence of being nineteen was no more.   I stopped my car in the middle of the gas station parking lot and she jumped out, pure protective instinct on fire, and bolted toward the scene to check on him.   I kept my eyes trained on the young man and the officer that held him.   He didn’t resist the officer’s grip as cold metal cuffs were clasped onto his wrists behind his back and he was pulled to his feet...

There came a point in my daily work responsibilities where I had to edit a Wiki page. A wiki is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of web pages using a markup language or text editor.  I'm not a web designer or developer but I have tested and even written basic HTML so I figured wiki creation would be a breeze.  Before starting on my first page, I looked over existing wiki pages, reviewed the mark up text and asked a subject matter expert for tips and tricks that would ensure I did everything properly. When I finished my Wiki page (that I copied from an existing page by the way), there were so many things wrong that even the most seasoned Wiki editors in my department couldn't figure out how I made such simple page look so... WRONG.  They don't let me touch wiki pages anymore. Today's Inspiration Knowing Your Limitations Can Be Your Greatest Strength As children, many of us were taught to try our  hardest and be the best. We ...

My daughter tried out for cross country one year though she had never shown even a nominal interest in running prior to her sudden fascination but we got her all geared up and she went for it. At one of her meets, she started out strong but eventually fell behind the pack.  As most parents did, I encouraged her to keep pushing each time she passed me on the competition trail.  When she rounded the corner of her last lap, she was next to tears and had decided that she would walk the last leg of the race - she had given up on herself. I did not encourage her in the way one might assume. Rather than soft, kind words, I ran next to her and chastised her for about 10 paces.   How dare she give up on herself after going so far and trying so hard! "You better run or I'm gonna get in your behind." were my parting words as she finished her personal victory lap. She ran to the finish line with all the energ...

One evening I was having a candid conversation with my 12 yr. old daughter when she said to me "I don't like math.  It's frustrating."  As I listened to her more, I realized math challenged her because it forced her to think harder than she preferred to.  Boy, could I relate to how she felt.  Not about math necessarily but about so many other situations in my life that have seemed at least as difficult as Chinese arithmetic. What about you? Ever been at your wits end with a situation or problem?  Have you sometimes been so outside of your comfort zone that you just couldn't figure out which way was up? Today's Inspiration Embrace the Challenges in Life; They Stretch Our Abilities and Strengthen Our Faith Comfort surrounds us as we master tasks and hone skills.  Most of our daily activity requires us to employ familiar talents and allows us to build confidence in our abilities.  We need that self-assurance to get us through ...