Everyday Thoughts for Your
Everyday Life.
Relief Fund Set Up for Single Gals.
May 13th, 2010 by stephanie
For those of you that watch the Weather Channel, you were quite aware, no matter what part of the country you live in, that during the first weekend in May, Nashville recieved 3 months of rain in a 48 hour period. 
I will never forget turning on the TV that Sunday afternoon, only to see the subdivision where one of my Single Gal friends lived was up to the roof tops in water! I was horrified. I kept flipping the channels while saying out loud, “This can’t be right.” I placed a few frantic calls to her — but no answer.
When I did finally hear from her the next day, the worst was confirmed. She had fled her condo. Her car was a complete loss, and so was the entire first floor of her home. I was in shock. “It happened so fast!” Was all I heard all over Nashville.
Later I learned of another single gal that too lost her car and her condo. Then, news came in of yet another single gal – that lost it all.
It’s hard to hear that news. Especially when the water stopped 100 feet from my basement. You feel guilty. And you wonder why you were spared. But then I realized perhaps why: to be in a position to assist those in need. And so, with that, the Chix Chat Club is proud to present to you the SOLO SISTER’S RELIEF FUND.
If like me, you are quietly amazed and grateful that you were spared, but looking for a way to assist, perhaps this will be the venue that you choose. We look forward to assisting these ladies. We hope that if you are able, you will join us. Stay tuned. We will keep you posted in the days ahead.
TO DONATE AND BE A PART: click here
or simply click on the RELIEF tab at the top of this page.
Best to you,
Stephanie
Income Tax Day! Compliments of the year 1913.
April 15th, 2010 by stephanie
I was perusing an article, and happened upon some info for you loyal infophiles. It was the scoop on INCOME TAX DAY, April 15, that I honestly had never heard before. The article was written by John Stossel, and here is just a snippet of it, for you.
“…U.S taxes were once simple! The government funded itself on tariffs and excise taxes. It didn’t violate our privacy by asking us how much we made or how many dependents we have.
But in 1913, the politicians decided they needed an income tax.
At first, they took little money: just 1 percent on incomes between $20,000 and $50,000. Those were big incomes — adjusted for inflation, $50,000 is $1.1 million today. The top bracket paid 6 percent, but that only applied to people who earned at least $11 million. Anyone who made less than $400,000 paid no income tax…In 1913, the first tax form and instructions totaled four simple pages. Today’s 1040, with instructions, totals 176 pages…”
And there you have it. A tad bit of scoop for this very particular day that you may not have known about this very taxing month.
Just my thoughts,
S.
Resource:
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=36508
It’s the Simple Things…
April 11th, 2010 by stephanie
Many of you may be familiar with the once popular reality TV show that was called The Simple Life. It featured Paris Hilton and her BFF Nicole Richie. They would travel to the more rural areas, at times, and experience life outside of the Gucci and Prada set.
Now, I have been to, and pass through, Arkansas quite often, a place the TV show also visited. But nothing is as truly “simple” as the areas where you find the Amish folk.
My mother loves to devour any fiction book that features the Amish in its theme, so, when she was visiting me once, I figured it would be fun to take her down to the Amish community a few miles away.
I can tell you, there is nothing quite like the beauty of those gorgeous horses elegantly trotting down the lane as they pull those sweet carriages. Sitting inside are very quiet, composed riders. If you are fortunate enough to catch a quick glimpse as they pass, when you look at their faces, it appears as if their thoughts are miles away, while their ride methodically makes its way through town. It is in a way a poetry in motion of its own. I could sit and watch those and similar scenes over and over again when I am in “their” neck of the woods.
As we spent some time at the produce auction, we watched the barefooted little boys in their straw hats and their blue shirts as they downed cans of Coca Cola.
The teen-aged boys huddled in a back corner off to the side. And I bet you money they were talking about girls in those hushed tones that we heard wafting over the warm breeze. Men huddled, negotiating prices and quality, while the women, in their dresses, stayed on the other side the of the building minding the little ones.
When we headed out to leave, we decided to take a drive down the dirt roads and past their homes. This was when we noticed that it was laundry day. “Wash on Monday” as the old saying goes. That made sense. Sabbath was over and it was time for a fresh new week. Gardens needed tending, food needed preparing. What they had done last week, they would begin anew during this one. They knew the drill. Season after season after season. There is something soothing about simplicity and routine.
It got to me. “Why do we feel the need to be so busy?” And, more than that, I got to thinking, “Why do I need so much stuff?” These people are truly of the “…with food and clothing, with these we shall be content” crowd. It was at the least – inspiring.
I don’t know about you, but the more I am around money, or those who have it, I find that I too need, well, more. Why? I have no idea. I have food. I have clothes. But suddenly I feel that I need that special new handbag or that condo at the beach. However, when I step away, even for a short time (like I did for those few hours that day in Amish Country) to where the simple life is led, it’s amazing the perspective that comes washing over me. These people require very little. And their lives seem healthy and whole. Perfect? No. But there’s something to be said for the simple life, I’m just sayin’.
Tell you what, if we find ourselves stressing and straining this week over the “don’t haves”, let’s agree to pause, if you will, and ask ourselves three things: Do we have clothes? Do we have food? Do we have a roof over our head? If you and I can answer “yes” to each of those questions, for today, I’d say we’re doing pretty good.
Just my thoughts.
S.
Lord of the Board.
February 5th, 2010 by stephanie
What’s red, flies, and has its own private half pipe in an undisclosed location — compliments of Red Bulll?
The answer: Shaun White.
When “The Flying Tomato” burst onto the worldwide scene during the Torino Winter Olympics, the average television viewer was receiving their first introduction to what the avid “X” games fan had known for quite some time.
A pale-skinned kid from Southern California with flowing red hair (that any woman, or man for that matter, would die for) was about to take the global athletic community by storm. In time, this 20-something that had spent most of his life “messing around” on skateboards and snowboards would rack up a gorgeous home in San Diego, a Lamborghini and much, much more. Awards flowed as freely as his famous mane. Some even being stored in his unused fireplace.
But his path to golden success didn’t come paved via a yellowbrick road. From a humble middle-class beginning, his family of five traveled in a van that they all slept in when attending Shaun’s performances and events. Before even that, baby Shaun’s heart wasn’t functioning properly and his place here are earth was at the least tentative.
A horrid crash into a fellow skateboarder at the age of 11 left Shaun with a fractured skull and broken bones. And a fearful, post-impact attitude. But his mother placed her son repeatedly back on the proverbial horse. A questionable decision that would in the end result in giving the world the current Lord of the Board.
As amiable and well-loved as Shaun is these days, those around him find themselves at a bit of a distance. I mean really; how many of his peers in competition can claim their own luxury import? Or, their own personal, secret training area for that matter? Shaun gets it: “After we’ve competed, do I really want to hang out with you while you polish your medal?” he admits. I think not.
Success is something we all strive for and dream about. It’s what drives us to get up in the morning and keeps us moving forward. But how many folks truly fail to miss or understand what lies on the other side. Fame and fortune require sacrifice to obtain. And, in truth, for those who win the prize, it also comes with a price. Friends along the way that never quite reached their hopes and dreams are left in the dust so to speak. While you may be ready to hop a private jet to that tropical get-a-way, they still may be just trying to make the rent this month.
Getting to the top, can be awkward. A reality we tend to forget. Perhaps there’s something to be said for that line in the Country song that says, “…sometimes that mountain you’ve been climbing is just a grain of sand.”
And too, maybe it’s just one of those moments when the phrase, “Be careful what you wish for” makes a little more sense. At least, for those that have been fortunate enough to catch the brass ring.
Just my thoughts.
S.
Click here for Shaun’s interview on 60 Minutes
Where your treasure is…
October 15th, 2009 by stephanie
One of the definitions of the word “treasure”, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is “to value highly.” I have been impressed of late to take a deeper look at the people that I invest my resources in and spend time with. Now, mind you, don’t get the wrong impression of my intent here. Let me divulge my wisdom of the ages (of late) upon you. If you will humor me.
Think about it. If you are spending precious moments and energy with people who “need” you and do not invest back into you, I’d bet you are pretty tired at the end of the day or week. If you find that you socialize mostly with people who drink heavily, you are probably finding that your bar tab is higher than you’d realized or even liked. If your time on the phone consists mostly of those who see only the negative, you probably aren’t feeling too bubbly and chipper when the calls end. You get my point.
Who we spend time with, invest in, and adore, really matters. Take the Olympic athletes for instance. If they spent most of their time with people who eat junk food and don’t exercise, it would most likely limit their resources and their energy. I highly doubt that those fast–food friends would be the ones that drive them “closer to the gold.” And so it is with you. If your goal is to save money, and you find that your weekends are spent burning up the credit card out of mere peer pressure, you’re in for the shock of a lifetime down the road. You and I both know that.
So, if you want to head in a particular direction, you really need to sit down and take stock of the people in your life that you invest the most time and resources in. Make a literal list. Write it out in front of you. And stare at it. Then make a a list of your passions, goals and dreams. Are the the people that you are investing the majority of your time and resources in truly moving you farther down the path that you personally want, or know, that you should take?
Just my thoughts,
Stephanie
And now…back to the daily grind.
September 8th, 2009 by stephanie
And so it goes. A restful weekend in tribute to the American worker followed by that splash of cold water known as the return to the usual routine. We put one toe in, and pull back. Gradually, we edge further in until we are back swimming where we once were before we departed for some time away.
And why do we return? Bills, my friend. Lots and lots of those silly invoices that find their way into our mail boxes and our virtual bank accounts.
It amazes me how money is truly a central focus of our lives. Not just of our culture, but anywhere. If you want to eat, you work. Well, at least, some of us follow that little golden rule.
I remember once hearing a story about the supposed real reason for Oprah’s exit from inner city work and her trek across the waters to assist in Africa. Basically, she grew tired of asking the students she encountered what they wanted in life. Apparently, she constantly received the answer of bigger iPods, more expensive shoes, and just plain money. But in fairness, that scenario is not reserved merely for just these kids. Even the rich want to be richer. It’s a very human thing.
When I think about the kind of people that built America, wrote our great constitution, and fought for our freedom, that type of “what’s in it for me” or “give me more” personality and character just doesn’t come to mind. It saddens me to think of where we as a country have landed and where we will be in the decades ahead. When the focus is only on ourselves and where we are going in life and what we can get, there is no room left to think of others.
As I have confessed or divulged, I am a huge reality TV fan. But it was the finale of one particular show that definitely caught my attention of late. Very wealthy families, on display, showed the world their lifestyles and their relationships. But it was the updates on what their children were doing that stunned me. Here were college age and high school kids, from families dripping with money, that could get jobs anywhere in the world, at any Fortune 500 company, and attend any ivy league school. Yet, the rolling credits produced the following:
Joe is attending community college
Larry, the drug addict, got a job as a waiter and is attending community college
Frank works in the parts department of some auto store
Sandy is working at a termite company
I was amazed that they had rejected the lifestyle that so many kids would give their eye teeth to have. I for one used to dream of what it would be like to yacht around the world and attend Oxford. But such was not to be. I do not judge these kids. I have not walked in their shoes. All I can say is, it is definitely an interesting social situation to ponder.
One thing is for sure, these kids are not worried about bettering themselves or their country. The focus is on today. What works for now. The party that they will attend tonight. There’s a definite lack of stress for the future.
On the flip side, I have been around kids from homeschooling families that have astronomically hight SAT scores. They aspire to be governors and senators (if not President), they memorize the Declaration of Independence, they know how to field dress a deer, mow their ailing neighbors lawn, visit the nursing homes and take gifts and fix my computer when it has a bug.
Our country is diverse to say the least. And these two cultures of polar opposites do cause for pause and think. The beauty of America is that we still have a choice. A choice to live opulently and leisurely. The choice, too, to aspire to amazing heights and better ourselves and our future.
May we learn one thing from this post-holiday lesson. Whatever we choose, there will be an end result. Our lives will bear the fruit of our labors-whatever they may be. I pray we choose wisely and well. We have it in us. And for today, we have the most sacred gift of all. Freedom to be who we want to be and to work where and how we choose.. Here’s to staying free.
Just my thoughts.
S.
Leadership. Power play or Example.
May 28th, 2009 by stephanie
An advertisement that was published in The Saturday Evening Post, January 2, 1915 was brought to my attention. It had to do with leadership. Example. Prowess. Here is what it said:
The Penalty of LEADERSHIP
In every field of human endeavor he that is first must perpetually live in the white light of publicity. Whether the leadership be vested in a man or in a manufactured product, emulation and envy are ever at work. In art, in literature, in music, in industry, the reward and the punishment are always the same. The reward is widespread recognition; the punishment, fierce denial and detraction. When a man’s work becomes a standard for the whole world, it also becomes a target for the shafts of the envious few. If his work be merely mediocre, he will be left severely alone—if he achieve a masterpiece, it will set a million tongues a-wagging.
Jealousy does not protrude its forked tongue at the artist who produces a commonplace painting. Whatsoever you write, or paint, or play, or sing, or build, no one will strive to surpass or slander you, unless your work be stamped with the seal of genius. Long, long after a great work or a good work has been done, those who are disappointed or envious continue to cry out that it cannot be done.
Spiteful little voices in the domain of art were raised against our own Whistler as a mountebank, long after the big world had acclaimed him its greatest artistic genius. Multitudes flocked to Bayreuth to worship at the musical shrine of Wagner, while the little group of those whom he had dethroned and displaced argued angrily that he was no musician at all. The little world continued to protest that Fulton could never build a steamboat, while the big world flocked to the river banks to see his boat steam by.
The leader is assailed because he is a leader, and the effort to equal him is merely added proof of that leadership. Failing to equal or to excel, the follower seeks to depreciate and to destroy—but only confirms once more the superiority of that which he strives to supplant.
There is nothing new in this. It is as old as the world and as old as the human passions—envy, fear, greed, ambition, and the desire to surpass. And it all avails nothing. If the leader truly leads, he remains—the leader. Master-poet, master-painter, master-workman, each in his turn is assailed, and each holds his laurels through the ages. That which is good or great makes itself known, no matter how loud the clamor of denial. That which deserves to live—lives.
And the company that posted the ad? Cadillac Motor Company.
Plan The Work and Work The Plan.
May 27th, 2009 by stephanie
I can’t recall the first time I heard that pithy saying, but I do know that it stuck with me.
As I took on the project of my back yard and the landscaping it so desperately needed, I was amazed at the man hours, the planning and the calculating that would be involved. With that, I decided that I might want to take the plan in phases. How do you eat an elephant? (One bite at a time.) And off I went.
So you can imagine that these words from a devotional by Chuck Swindoll caught my attention. Pastor Chuck was talking about work. Finishing what needs to be accomplished. And I like what he had to say about taking stock before you dive in. I thought I’d share it with you. Here are some questions he posed that you ask first:
- What does the job require?
- What do you expect of me?
- What is the deadline?
- What are the techniques?
Or, you can ask the “how” questions:
- How does it work?
- How long will it take?
- How much does it cost?
- How fast can it go?
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
April 6th, 2009 by stephanie
Holy Week. Day 2. Monday.
So, now you know what happened on Palm Sunday. If you read yesterday’s blog that is. Jesus went into Jerusalem, rode through the streets on a donkey and the people waved palm branches and sang, “Hosanna to God in the highest.” You may have heard that this is called the Triumphal Entry.
But many of us forget what transpired after He got down off of the donkey. No warm and fuzzy Jesus here. Take a look at what happened next.
Matt 21:12-17
¶ And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.
And He *said to them, “It is written, ‘MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER’; but you are making it a ROBBERS’ DEN.”
¶ And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.
But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they became indignant
and said to Him, “Do You hear what these children are saying?” And Jesus *said to them, “Yes; have you never read, ‘OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF’?”
And He left them and went out of the city to Bethany, and spent the night there.
That all happened on Sunday. And that night, He went back to Bethany and stayed with Mary, Martha and Lazarus. It appears that was where he stayed most of the week leading up to his tragic death. He spends it with the people that comfort Him the most.
But on a side note, did you know that this was not the first time Jesus raised a ruckus in the temple? That’s right. Believe it or not, right after his very first miracle (turning the water into wine at the wedding in Cana) Jesus went to the temple during Passover and let the money changers have it. Check it out in John chapter 2!
Monday was back to business as usual. Jesus got up and headed back into the city. On the way, He cursed the fig tree.
Check it out…
Matt 21:18-19
Mark 11:12-19
Just in Case You Weren’t Too Sure…
April 1st, 2009 by stephanie
We are hearing a lot about Capitalism and Socialism and other forms of isms in the news of late. Who is right? Which system is wrong? And on and on. But in case you weren’t exactly too clear on what some of them even mean, or, if you weren’t too quick to admit it publicly? Take heed. Whether you got these in school or not, we all tend to forget. With that. Thought I’d help you out a bit.
Socialism: –noun
1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.
Communism: –noun
1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.
3. the principles and practices of the Communist party.
4. communalism.
Statism: –noun
1. the principle or policy of concentrating extensive economic, political, and related controls in the state at the cost of individual liberty.
2. The practice or doctrine of giving a centralized government control over economic planning and policy.
Fascism: –noun
1. a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
2. A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.
A political philosophy or movement based on or advocating such a system of government.
3. a fascist movement, esp. the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.
Collectivism: –noun
1. The political principle of centralized social and economic control, esp. of all means of production.
2. The principles or system of ownership and control of the means of production and distribution by the people collectively, usually under the supervision of a government.
Wow. If you have trouble sleeping, try this before you turn out the lights tonight!
S.
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