Mary Pierce

Listen in...

TODAY’S  ENCOURAGEMENT: I’m a mess on the Fourth of July. I choke up just seeing the American flag. I get all misty remembering Fourths we spent at the local park when the kids were younger, having picnics, cheering at the hometown baseball team’s traditional July 4th double header, eating hand-cranked ice cream and ballpark hot dogs.

An all-American day of fun, topped off with fireworks.  Ooooh! Ahhhhhh!

Yep, I get real sappy around the Fourth of July, but it’s more than just sentimentality. It’s patriotism.

I love this country of ours, from sea to shining sea and everything in between.

I’m proud to be an American and I always have been, taught by my parents, part of the “Greatest Generation,” to appreciate the amazing gifts this country affords its citizens. Gifts we dare not take for granted.

It all began with a notion–some truths that wise men deemed “to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (If you haven’t read the Declaration of Independence lately, it’s worth checking out.)

And from that notion grew the nation we celebrate this week. A nation of citizens free to disagree about the best way to ensure those rights, even as millions around the world can only dream of being part of that kind of discussion. How fortunate we are!

So this week I’ll be humming “God Bless America” and “America the Beautiful” and other tributes to freedom and this great land.

What’s your favorite patriotic tune? The song in my heart today is Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA.” If you can, click the link, crank up the volume and stand up with me right now and sing along:

“And I’m proud to be an American
Where at least I know I’m free
And I won’t forget the men who died
Who gave that right to me
And I gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today
Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land…
God bless the USA!”

Ah… <sniff!> that one gets me every time… and it reminds me: to our military and their families, THANK YOU for your service to all of us! We appreciate you!

May you and yours have a wonderful, safe–and maybe even sappy–Fourth of July!

Listen in and laugh along…

TODAY’S LAUGH: Eight-year-old granddaughter Megan and her mommy just spent a week at our house, visiting from California. At breakfast the last morning Megan and I made a list of all the fun things we did during the week.

Movies. Hikes. Bowling. Painting. Drawing. Crafts. Scavenger hunts. Children’s museum. Shopping. Watching for wildlife in the woods. When we finished, there were over fifty items on the list. Megan showed the list to Grandpa and said, “That’s a LOT of FUN!”

He said, “Yes, and now Grandpa and Grandma need a LOT of NAPS!”

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: I had forgotten how busy eight-year-olds can be.  The week was active and exhausting, but mostly it was filled with fun. Simple, joyful fun.

Remember fun? Too often, we forget to have it.  We have so many responsibilities, so many tasks, so many more important things that demand our time.

When we stop to ask ourselves when we last had fun, we’re answered by an inner curmudgeon saying, “Fun is frivolous. Playing–goofing off–is a waste of time, money and energy! You know what they say about idle hands!” Blah…blah…blah…

News flash: Fun IS frivolous! That’s why they call it “fun”! All work and no play makes life dull, dull, dull!

The key to our delightful week was this: I gave myself permission to have fun. I blocked out the time, cleared my schedule and had fun.

When is the last time you had fun? You are hereby granted permission to send your inner curmudgeon off to crabby camp. You are allowed to let loose. Be silly. Laugh a little.

Have some fun–paint a picture, go bowling, catch a frisbee, watch a movie, have a picnic–and encourage somebody else to join you today.

That’s it for now, and later, after my nap, I’m going to think of fifty MORE fun things to do.

Have a FUN week! Thanks for blessing my life!

I’m kickin’ back this week with family. I’ll be back on June 23rd. Have a great week!

Listen and laugh along…

TODAY’S LAUGH: Years ago, I asked a writer friend how he managed to get six books published in six years. “I just do the next thing,” he said.

I told him, “Well my ‘next thing’ is to write my first book, but thinking about that makes me feel like my brain is going to explode!”

“I knew a guy whose brain did that,” he said and then he laughed at the idea, proving my suspicion that writers are warped individuals. Then he gave me this life-changing advice:

“Your next thing is not to write a whole book. Your next thing is to write a page or a paragraph or maybe just a sentence. Maybe just the next word.”

What a relief. My brain might not be exploding after all.

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: I took his advice and, by just doing the next thing, wrote three books. And then, my brain still semi-intact, I started thinking how this approach might apply to the rest of life.

Just doing the next thing is not “clean the whole house.” Maybe it’s Flylady’s advice to “shine the sink.”

Just doing the next thing is not “design a fabulous marketing campaign that will wow the client.” Maybe the next thing is “schedule team brainstorming session.” (Check out Getting Things Done for more “next action” advice.)

Just doing the next thing is not “lose fifty pounds” or “quit smoking forever” or “get sober.” The next thing might be to skip tonight’s dessert or make an appointment with the doctor or research recovery programs online.

Just doing the next thing is not, “Resolve huge issues with _____!” (Fill in the blank with whoever or whatever is the crazy-maker in your life.)  The next thing might be to pray for wisdom, sensitivity, patience or guidance.

Tiny actions will add up to huge progress, but for now, whatever it is in front of you, just do the next thing.

“Get blog posted” was my next thing today. And now I’m going to do the next thing: take a nap.

May you be a blessing to someone else today and be blessed in the process.

Listen and laugh along…

TODAY’S LAUGH: I took my first improvisational comedy class last weekend. I feared being the “old lady” among a bunch of twenty-somethings. And even more, I feared making a complete fool of myself in front of them.

The group turned out to be a nice mix of ages and even better, the GOAL is to actually MAKE fools of ourselves. (No problem. I’ve already proven myself to be an overachiever.)

TODAY’S ENCOURAGEMENT: One of the things our instructor Ben taught us is that the answer in improv is always, “Yes!”

So when someone gives you a line like, “I can tell you miss your home planet,” your answer must be “Yes!” and in that moment you BECOME AN ALIEN and take it from there.

I got to thinking, what if we took that approach in life? What if, when we heard a suggestion, we stopped offering our usual reactions: “No way!” “Yeah BUT…” “But we’ve ALWAYS done it THIS way… never done it THAT way…it won’t work…”

What if we offered YES first and took it from there?

For example, your employee suggests a change in business as usual. What if you, Boss, responded, not with some version of,  “That’sthedumbestthingIeverheard!” but with, “Yes, and let’s talk about how that might work.”

Your child announces they want to be an artist when they grow up. What if you, Parent, responded, not with “Ohnoyou’llstarvetodeath!” but with, “Yes, and I’ll help you figure out what that involves.”

Or maybe God suggests a change in your life. What if you, You, responded, not with the usual excuses, “ButLordyoudon’tunderstandhowhardthisisforme!” but with, “Yes, Lord, and show me what my next step should be.”

There is such power in “YES!” in building and maintaining work teams, families and relationships.

What suggestion are you hearing today? What’s your first reaction to it? What might happen if you say, “YES!”?

You might end up mending a fence, forgiving somebody, or changing the world.

Who knows? You might even end up in a group of strangers, making a fool of yourself for the sake of a laugh, and yes, missing your home planet.

May you be blessed as you say “YES!” today and encourage others to do the same!

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FEEDBACK: What’s the SCARIEST thing you ever said YES to?  What was the result? When did you say NO and regret it?

Comment here or use “Contact Mary” to share your story.  You know I always love hearing from you!