Mary Pierce

Listen in…

TODAY’S LIFT: I came across a new word: recessionista, a combo of “recession” and “fashionista” meaning someone who dresses stylishly on a tight budget.

The word may be new but the concept isn’t. Haven’t we all heard stories from older folks about scrimping and making do back in the old days?  My mom had one dress back in the Great Depression, wore it every day and washed it out every night. (Talk about a “depressionista”!)

One thing to wear? I can’t imagine! Can you? But I do know what “tight budget” means. I knew it growing up with a father who was chronically under-employed. I knew it as a single mother with three little ones. And I know it now. (We own a mortgage company. Need I say more?)

So many of us are feeling the pinch these days. The economy, not just national but global, is way beyond our control. The only thing we can control is the only thing we can ever control: our attitude.

What’s my choice today? To whine and moan about tough times and let the latest from Washington make me crazy, or take the longer view. Fortunes rise and fall. (Does it really matter to my life, here and now, how much of an undeserved bonus some executive gets?)

During tough times, we discover how tough we really are. And we discover that what really matters is what always matters: the people in our lives and God’s abundant strength and comfort to take us through–no matter what.

So I say: When the going gets tough, RECESSIONISTAS UNITE! We can get through this together, encouraging one another–AND looking good!

A smile is the most attractive thing we can wear. Share one with somebody today.

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BOOK GIVEAWAY: So how are things with you? I’m offering laughter and encouragement, from one recessionista to another, in this week’s giveaway. When Did I Stop Being Barbie & Become Mrs. Potato Head? is all about laughing your way through change and challenge. (And it’s a great gift for a girlfriend who is facing tough times.)

To enter the drawing, use the “CONTACT MARY” link with “LOOKING GOOD” in the subject line. I’ll draw the winner on Monday April 6, 2009 at 8:00 PM CDT. (One entry per verified email address and US mailing addresses only. Thanks.)

When you contact me, feel free to share your story about meeting today’s challenges. And may God bless you beyond your wildest dreams!

LISTEN IN…

TODAY’S LIFT: DaMama lives life as it comes, one day–one moment–at a time. This turkey sandwich is great. Oh, look at the sunshine! What a gorgeous day. Mmm, these cookies are wonderful. My, isn’t that baby cute? (What’s his name again?) Those flowers are so beautiful. (Who sent them again?)

I brush her hair and she purrs. Ah, yes. It’s good to laugh.

I hug her and she says, “Isn’t it wonderful to have somebody to love?” Ah, yes.

At 95, my mother knows the delight of simple pleasures, enjoyed completely in the moment. Can I learn this? I pray so.

My mind and heart are so fully engaged in ferocious living. I’m so often so completely absorbed in all the details and responsibilities of life as a wife, mother, grandmother, writer, speaker, caregiver and friend. It’s a vital and exciting life–a full life, to be sure–and I’m grateful for it. And it’s so easy to get swept up and forget to enjoy the simple pleasures.

Ahh…new morning. Good coffee. Loving God. Beautiful world.

DaMama teaches, even now.

May you enjoy the simple pleasures today, and encourage someone else to do the same.

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Thanks to all who entered the free book drawing last week. And the winner of Confessions of a Prayer Wimp is Renee Sahagian. Congratulations! (Email me with your mailing info.)

I’ll have another giveaway soon!

P.S. And a Happy St. Patrick’s Day to those Irishly-inclined!

Listen to this week’s radio spot.

TODAY’S LAUGH: Yesterday during one of my daydreaming breaks, I imagined that Niecy Nash from the “Clean House” TV show came to my front door. Niecy said, “Take me to your foolishness!” and I knew just what she meant. I took her to the piles of magazines.

Alumni publications from two colleges and three more from churches, three general interest publications, a couple “readers” and three more just for women. Writing, speaking and art magazines. Computer, financial, Air Force, travel and science magazines. Between DaHusband and me, over TWO DOZEN magazines come into our home every month (plus the daily newspaper)!

I’ve been collecting mine in a “TO READ” pile, determined that “one of these days” I’ll read, clip and save all the wonderful information these magazines contain. I’ve been collecting for months. For years.

I imagined Niecy looking at my pile, shaking her head and saying, “Girl, what are you thinking?”

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Here’s what I was thinking: These are good magazines, filled with wonderful information. I spent good money on them; what a waste to just toss them! What if there’s something in there that I really need? I just know that the minute I get rid of them, I’ll need something… and so on. (Sound familiar?)

This is how clutter happens. Now I don’t have clutter everywhere; I just have a few weaknesses. Magazines. Books. Paper. Anything you find in an office supply store.

I blame my inner girl, who is trying to make up for what she didn’t get in her impoverished childhood; she calls it her “need for abundance.”

Niecy and others would call it “too much stuff”!

The fact is too much stuff weighs me down. Yesterday, with Niecy’s “visit” came a moment of clarity. I saw my situation through someone else’s (albeit imaginary) eyes. I was honest about it. Yes, that’s a HUGE pile of magazines. No, I’ll never read them. Yes, I will let them go.

That huge pile was weighing me down. I put that huge pile in the recycling bin and felt…lighter. (Yes! The clouds parted and the angels sang! I felt FREE! Hallelujah!)

Dumping that pile lightened my load. I crossed “catch up on magazine reading” off my list. (And I added, “Cancel half those subscriptions.”)

What’s weighing you down today? Maybe it’s stuff or maybe it’s attitude. Whether it’s clutter, junk, regrets, fear, anger, unforgiveness, bad habit or addiction– we carry a lot of “foolishness” with us.

What’s weighing you down today? Be honest. (Yes, that’s what it is… No, I don’t need it… Yes, I’ll let it go…) Choose one thing and get rid of it. Lighten your load. Free yourself from the burden.

I don’t miss those magazines one bit. And every time I look at the spot where they used to be, I smile. I’m glad I got rid of them–and doubly glad I did it before one of my kids called “Clean House” and ratted me out!

Here are my favorite resources for de-cluttering your home: Get Organized Now and  The Fly Lady; a couple more for the office: Getting Things Done and 43 folders; and one more, for the “heavy lifting” in life.

What are you waiting for? Lighten your load a little today. Set your spirit free!

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THIS WEEK’S GIVEAWAY: I wrote about my trip from organizational mayhem to organizational mania in Confessions of a Prayer Wimp, including calling my children by their chores instead of their names: Cat Box Boy, Dishwasher Girl and Garbage Can Baby. (I’m still paying for their therapy.)

If you’d like to enter to win a copy of Confessions of a Prayer Wimp, use the “Contact Mary” link with “Foolishness” in the subject line. (Share a story about your own clutter foolishness if you wish; I’d love to hear about it.)

I’ll draw a winner on Monday March 16, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. CDT. (One entry per verified email address and US mailing addresses only please.)

LAST WEEK’S WINNER of When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister? is JILL CANBY. Congratulations! (Email me with your mailing instructions.)

Listen here to blaudio “Losing My Voice”

TODAY’S LAUGH: I lost my voice for awhile. Bummer. No whining, no muttering, no complaining aloud. No shouting at the TV news people. No hollering at the other drivers on the road. No conversations on the phone. No bedtime banter with DaHusband.

I’ve always wondered what would happen if I couldn’t talk. The house was quiet. Very, very quiet. It was painfully obvious who does most of the talking around here. (BTW, I searched my clip art for an image of “woman, silent” for this post and got no match. Go figure.)

When I could finally speak again I asked DaHusband, “Did you miss the sound of my voice?” It took him WAY too long to answer.

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: Me losing my voice wasn’t such a loss. I could still write. But, I wondered, what is it like to lose the main thing you love to do? To no longer be able to do that thing that brought you the most joy?

I thought about how Julie Andrews lost her ability to sing. Me not singing? No big deal. Julie Andrews not singing? Now THAT is a tragedy!

But those things happen, don’t they? Whether by illness or accident, time passing or economic downturn–forces beyond our control–we find we can’t do what we once loved to do. And in those times we have a choice. We can ask, “WHY ME”? (A dead-end if there ever was one.) Or we can give ourselves grieving time and then ask a better question: “WHAT’S NEXT?”

Why let one thing define you, whether that is “singer” or “writer” or “parent”? Why be one-dimensional when the world offers us all so many options?

Letting go of the one thing and asking “What’s next?” opens up a whole world of possibility.

What have you been asked to give up lately? A job? A hobby? A dream? A relationship? Good health? Take the time you need–just enough and no more–to grieve the loss and then ask “What’s next?” Don’t spend a minute longer than necessary in the past. God’s not finished with you yet. Take the first step toward a new life.

Whatever is ahead for you, may you be blessed as you move forward, and may you be a blessing to the others you meet on your journey to “Next.”

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THIS WEEK’S GIVEAWAY: Besides writing about the fun stuff, I also wrote about losing, grieving and moving on in the chapter “My Toy is Missing” in When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister?

I’m giving away another copy this week. To enter for yourself or someone you know who is struggling with a loss, use “Contact Mary” with “Missing Toys” in the subject line. (One entry per verified email and US mailing addresses only please.) I’ll pick the winner on Monday March 9, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. CDT.

May all who grieve find comfort for today and courage for tomorrow. 

P.P.S. Last week’s winner of When Did My Life Become a Game of Twister? is Pat Duncan. Congratulations! And thanks to all who entered.