The Choice

The world below
Or God above
Choose to hate
Or choose to love.

Choose to fear
With each new day,
Or choose to seek
And find the Way.

Choose to dance
Or choose to sing
Or choose to whine
About everything

Choose to give
Or choose to take.
To let life pass
Or to partake.

Be both filled
And then poured out
Of all God’s blessings
Brought about.

The choice is yours
With each new morn,
Live for the purpose
Which you were born.

Life’s not magic
No hocus pocus
The key is where
You put the focus.

How Lakota Got Her Name

This is our new friend Lakota. Her daddy belonged to our really good friends and he was shot right after she and her 9 brothers and sisters were conceived. His name was Boker. For those of you, like me, who are not up to current on your sporting goods, Boker is a brand of knife. As you know we are into collecting Indian artifacts (arrowheads, knives, etc.). Well, Lakota is the name of a tribe of Souix Indians and it is another brand name of a knife. The really cool part is the Indian word 'lakota' means friend or ally. And that's how Lakota got her name.

She is a Border Collie and I am pretty sure she is smarter than Mark and I already! She and Felina are slowly making friends. Felina went to sniff around the new pen that was built for the puppy and then looked at her as if to say "Amateur, this would NEVER have held me in" - which is true! Now the cats, that's another story all together. No love lost either way!

Cheerleaders

This week I was invited by my young friends to watch the end-of-cheer-camp pep rally. It was really cute and short and a nice way to spend an evening. I really do love cheerleaders! I loved the Kindergarten group they were cute as can be, and most of them weren't in step at all! I loved the 5-6 grade group- they were good and even did a dance! I love the high school and college cheerleaders I've known and I've always admired their ability and athleticism. However, my favorite cheerleaders of all are the ones who will never be named homecoming queen!

This week I also got a card in the mail. It was from Mom, and a note on the front corner said, "just 'cause." Those are the best cards! It means some one was thinking about you on a day that they weren't obligated to do so, like they are on your birthday. It also means they took an effort to buy a card, look up your address, find a stamp and put it in the mail. It is a BIG deal! It was a card of encouragement about a goal I have. That is my favorite kind of cheerleader. Parents, scout leaders, youth directors, little league coaches, teachers, the list goes on and on.

I like to think of myself as a cheerleader. I really get jazzed cheering someone on! When they win, it's like it's your victory, too. It is a great feeling. That is why I go to other people's kid's little league games and cheer camp pep rallies, why I type Mark's college papers, why I cry at graduations, why I love selling Mary Kay, and probably why I LOVE football! If you aren't already, try being someone's cheerleader. It will mean the world to them and you come out feeling pretty awesome, too.

Remember, in the words of the principal in the movie GREASE, "If you can't be an athelete, be an athletic supporter!" (yuck, yuck!)