Showing posts with label passion. Show all posts
Sunday, September 4, 2016
A Stronger Song
I almost didn't go to church this morning, because it's a holiday weekend here, and I was feeling kind of lazy. But we're starting a Karen Kingsbury book study and I'd invited my friend Carol to join me for our Sunday School class so I went, because I said I would. And I'm so glad I did, because our teacher shared this video clip, which really has me thinking, reflecting, and wondering.
It's so interesting, the two versions of Amazing Grace that this talented music director sang. The first one was pretty textbook, safe and clean. But when the host gives him a new perspective from which to sing it and couples it with his permission to bring it, his voice amplifies and he sings with incredible passion.
So today's question is this: What makes your song better?
Is it trust? A willingness to be vulnerable? Knowing your why?
Is it a safe place? Community? Unconditional positive regard?
Lately I've been thinking a lot about my recovery from being hit
by that drunk driver because that life-changing event ended up
strengthening my song.
It taught me to slow down and savor,
it taught me to be grateful in all things,
and it taught me to forgive.
Even though it was a dark season of panic and pain,
the whole ordeal held an opportunity,
the burden hid a blessing.
I just had to be willing to look for it
and be ready to recognize the gift when it found me.
It took a lot of patience, persistence and perseverance;
sometimes more than I thought I could muster.
But it was totally worth the work.
Liz Murray had this to say about staying the course:
It takes courage to change our song,
to trust enough to leave the script,
to share our music with passion,
to sing it out for the whole world to hear.
How will you sing a stronger song today? Tomorrow?
This week? This month? This year?
This week? This month? This year?
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
We've Got Your Back
Today I'm inspired because we kicked off our Great Kindness Challenge 2016 a few days early by inviting this superhero from a neighboring junior high to engage our students in her backpack project to help Houston's homeless.
Her name is Reagan and she's super passionate about her cause.
But this crusader's cape, well, it looks more like a backpack.
And though she doesn't help others for accolades and awards, I would like to affirm her work by mentioning that she is a recipient of the
Charlotte Bacon Acts of Kindness Award.
And though she doesn't help others for accolades and awards, I would like to affirm her work by mentioning that she is a recipient of the
Charlotte Bacon Acts of Kindness Award.
It all began, she told a very still audience of 1000 students at our weekly Wednesday Warbles gathering, with a question:
Do you have a backpack?
She went on to explain that initially it was feelings of guilt about not being able to help the homeless person who asked that question that urged her fifth-grade self back then to ask her mom to take her to a store to buy some backpacks for them. When her mom told her to look for a more creative way to meet that need, Reagan only had to go to her room to find the first few backpacks that would kick off that initial collection of one hundred and twenty five backpacks three years ago. This year, her goal is to collect a thousand backpacks. She confidently told our students that it shouldn't be a problem to meet that lofty goal, because "I've got you." That's when she invited them to help her collect backpacks as a part of our Great Kindness Challenge next week. Kids helping kids; isn't that the best?
Check out her four-minute presentation here.
If you're in the Houston area and would like to donate to Reagan's We've Got Your Back project, you can bring your gently-used backpacks to Westwood or Bales any day next week.
Thank you, Reagan, for being a beacon of light
and making our world a kinder place to be!
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Opening Doors
Today I'm excited about a $5 purchase I made at Half Price books.
It's a doorstop for the heavy door at the entrance to Hero Headquarters.
Perfect, right?
And, if you know me, you know that I see more than just a doorstop. I see an acrostic for four critical aspects of leadership.
S is for service.
T is for trustworthiness.
O is for open-mindedness.
P is for passion.
Effective leaders start with the heart. They're on the lookout for ways to make things better because they're all about serving others. Effective leaders are also trustworthy. We can count on them because they are honest in their dealings, they keep their promises, and they show integrity by being in the right place at the right time, doing the right thing. Effective leaders have a growth mindset. They're lifelong learners who firmly believe that anything is possible. Anything. And effective leaders live life with great passion. They go to great lengths to enthusiastically and wholeheartedly transfer energy and light to others.
But those are just my thoughts about what STOP might stand for.
I'm so eager to hear what my superheroes at Bales think when I pose the inquiry: What leadership skills will open doors for us?
If you're in the area, please stop by Hero Headquarters;
we'll keep the door opened for you!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Aaaargh You Up For A Kindness Party?
Today I'm excited because I've been re-reading Dave Burgess' treasure,
Teach Like A Pirate, and it beautifully dovetails with something adventuresome. creative, and daring that we're trying tonight on FB: A Kindness Party!
Consider it a hook, to engage our readers by sharing stories and strategies for making kindness an intentional, purposeful ritual in our homes, our school and our communities. And it's your chance to chat with some ordinary individuals who are doing extraordinarily kind things.
Door prizes include a copy of my book, What's Under Your Cape?, and two Carol McCloud titles, Have You Filled A Bucket Today? and Growing Up With A Bucket Full Of Happiness. Just click either graphic above at 8:00 pm {CST} and be transported to the fun.
We'll swap ideas like the Which Wich? #FlagYourBag campaign. If you decorate the back of your sandwich bag, they will recycle it by filling the bag with goodies to send to the troops. Isn't that AmAzInG? So, here's mine. It was a blast to color. All it took was a Penny of Time, and it creates such a citizenship win-win.
I'm just delighted that we're reading Pirate as a faculty because I connect personally and professionally with so many parts of Dave's pirate treasure, especially the engagement, passion, and movement pieces.
In fact, I used this quote from his book in mine.
 |
| Shelley makes the best graphics! |
Then I sent him a copy of my book, to thank him for his ins-pirate-ion, and he invited me to host a #tlap chat last September, on Labor Day. In case you missed it, here are the questions we discussed.
My friend Jen and I are planning to channel our inner pirates and host a practice chat in the second part of our Hashtags and PLNs and TweetChats, Oh My! workshop in our August Tech Symposium, so we're going to use these questions.
And last, a story from yesterday. I was driving the carpool when I saw a homeless man on the corner of 288 and Binz. At the red light, I gave him $5 to help him out a bit. After he thanked me, he introduced himself and told me that he'd be happy to help me if I were ever in the area and needed anything.
Isn't that thoughtful, his offer to lend a hand, to pay me back.
Because kindness matters,
even when things aren't going very well.
Maybe especially then.
See you tonight!
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