A Caroling We Go

     The family and I have made a tradition out of going Caroling every year at Christmas time. A lot of people miss great opportunities for Making the Change in the lives of many people who are unable to get out of their houses for Christmas. We visited 9 homes and a Rehab center for those who have had a stroke. I can tell you that it was the greatest time we have had so far this Christmas season. Seeing the smiles and tears from those we sang to was incredible. The greatest thing about Caroling is that you don't have to know how to sing. We had a group of about 41 people when we went and the great thing is, that there were some great singers who had nice loud voices and those who thought they couldn't sing, were able to sing without hesitation. No one really cares how good your voice is, it's the thought that you came out to spend time with them this season. A lot of healing and Joy comes out of caroling, not only for those who receive the songs, but also for the friends and family who participate. So what are you waiting for, get a group together and go "Make the Change" in your little part of the world!!!

Self and Self-Confidence

Today's thoughts I heard from a family member and it made a lot of since, it deals with self. Self is the main reason for so much of our circumstances in life. Self can bring us to our knee's in despair, or raise us to the top of mountains. It is self that motivates us to the highest achievements or dooms us to failure for lack of Self-confidence. Now for those of us who believe in God, we also know that He can overcome our "self's" if he chooses, we see that in the life of Moses for instance, but how we "feel" about ourselves and how we choose to react to circumstances in our life, will go a long way in determining how we live and how we seem to those around us. There are those we see as "to" happy, or those we see as always gloomy, or those who are always negative, or those who are always sick, or those who seem to be so confident and those who seem to always get the best in life, everything they touch turns to gold. All of those people in our life have in some way or another, made a decision about how they will view "self" and it affects everything they do. So how do we deal with self in a good and positive way that helps us "Make the Change" in the lives of those in our families, neighborhoods and communities, here is a good start:

If you are right then there is no need to get angry, and if you are wrong then you don't have any right to get angry.

Patience with family is how we show love, Patience with others is how we show respect, Patience with self is how we show confidence and Patience with God is how we show faith.

Never think hard about past failure, it brings tears, and lack of self-confidence

Don't think more about what the future will bring, it brings fears and trouble

Live this moment with joy and contentment, it will bring cheer to you and those around you and will help you to "Make that Change".

The Golden Rule

Everyone has heard the Golden Rule and many people live by its principles, but for those who don't know it, here it is: Do onto others, as you would have done onto you. In other words treat others as you want to be treated. ...A key element of the Golden Rule is that a person attempting to live by this rule treats all people with consideration, not just members of his or her in-group.

This rule played itself out in a current episode of the reality show Survivor. One of the Survivors this year is a very small, nerdy looking, wimpy guy, who has since day one been the butt of his tribes jokes and has had to humble himself and work like a dog in order to make happy his other tribe mates so that they wouldn't just vote him off. They treated him with disrespect, no loyalty and made him know that he was always the "next" to go, if he didn't do what they asked. However, the tide turned when the tribe merged and it became a one on one game and the two tribes were equal 6 tribe members a piece. They told the wimpy guy to act as a spy and gather information about the other team, get their trust and then they would burn the other tribe at tribal council. The problem was, the other tribe understood the Golden Rule and treated the wimpy guy with respect, compassion and friendliness that compelled him to turn on his tribe and vote off his greatest nemesis, in a brilliant move.

We have people in our lives every day that look at how we treat them and learn to respond in like manner. Kids are the biggest litmus test of the Golden Rule, because they tend to mirror our actions and we get to see from them who we really are, often in those "kids say the craziest things" moments. So who are you, are you someone who is living by the "Golden Rule" treating those in and out of your circle of friends and family with respect and kindness? Or are you like the tribe who is always picking on the little guy, stepping on feelings and following the crowd when it comes time to poke fun at the odd guy or gal in the group. Remember, that sooner or later, our actions and words come back to haunt us and it may end up costing you more than a game in a reality show, but a friend, job, marriage, or worse. How about you, are you Making the Change in your life to live by the Golden Rule and change people’s life’s in your actions, your words, your deeds and your faith?

Make the Change!!!
Scott

What to do with Adult Trick or Treaters

This is a good question and one that will be handled good or bad tonight for sure. Our neighborhood is having more and more adult's coming to our door each year. I talked with a neighbor that lives behind us and his solution, he puts a gun ......in their face and tells them they have 5 seconds to get off his porch or they will have their heads blown off!!! WOW, that is really extreme and in my opinion down right WRONG!!! It did show me however, that people are fed up with their neighbors and neighborhoods, crime is up, pay is down and that creates a problem with many people. Just this past week, my family watches a show called in the middle, very funny and many times has a pretty good lesson at the end. Well, this past week was one of those times. The family was considering walking away from their home and moving into an apartment. Their house was falling apart and the roof was leaking everywhere, but in the end, their neighbors all banded together and helped them re-roof their house, each neighbor giving what they had to help. They saw then, that hey they didn't just live in a house, they lived in a neighborhood, with neighboors, who would help them and be there for them when they needed them. So, when that adult shows up tonight, just give them a piece of candy, wish them well and remember, you live in a neighborhood, not just a house, someday you may knock on their door and want something from them and they will remember your kindness and most often return it!!! Make the Change this Halloween!!!

Scott

Spend More Time With Me

We hear it all the time, I need more hours in the day, I just don't have enough time in the day, I wish the days were longer. All of these excuses we use to explain why we don't spend more time with our family, friends and acquaintances. We also use them to comfort ourselves when we know that we should spend more time in other areas. Interestingly enough we find hours to spend watching our favorite TV shows, or our Sports Teams. If something comes up that interests us, we find time. There are people in your life everyday that would love to spend more time with you, kid's who beg you to spend more time with them, spouses that pray for more time together. Will you "Make the Change" in your life and make a decision to turn off that TV, say no to those extracurricular activities that just come up out of the blue and spend more time with those in your life that need you?!!!

Make the Change,
Scott

Life Stinks

I know, I know, not very encouraging right? Life Stinks, that is how a lot of people in this world think. They go through life just wishing for it to be over, one problem after another and for them, life really does stink. However, other people who go through the same problems, have the same issues, seem to enjoy life and can't wait for tomorrow and what it will bring. Strange how people can be so a like in circumstances, but so different in life views. Who's right? Well, I think the real question is, who do you want to be like? So many times we question others and judge others, because it's easier to do that, then to search ourselves and find in ourselves what it is that we want to be.

I have found that in life, judging people feels good for a time, but never really changes them in any way and often times makes them worse and makes our time with them more miserable. However, if we see in another something we don't like, then we should make a mental note to ourselves that we need to make sure that we are not doing that in our own life. If we judge, we simply make a snap decision and often find nothing good in it. Judge's are only used for bad situations, people who have broken the law, or have wronged us in some way. Judge's don't look to find a way to make a bad person better, they simply look at the law and see if you are in line with it. We are not judges, we are neighbors, friends, relatives, son's, daughters , fathers, and mothers, who need to find ways to make ourselves better and use that to help reconcile our relationships and make more friends then enemies.

Make the Change Blog is about changing the way we think and act, in order to help us remember why we used to sit on our porch swings and talk to our neighbors, as our kid's played together. Why community used to mean something more then a place where there are a bunch of houses close together, but instead, where there are a bunch of people living together and walking through life together, looking out for one another and caring for one another. This is how America used to be, this is what Make the Change is all about. Let's work together to bring back the communities of yesterday. Go buy a porch swing or a few lawn chairs, sit out in your front yard and meet the people in your neighborhood. Go ahead "Make the Change"!!!

From flying to dying

Have you ever had times in your life where everything was just going so good and then all of a sudden you find out something horrible and your life seems to stop and your world seem to heave like a storm cast sea and you feel like you've went from flying and soaring like an Eagle, to plummeting down to your death, not knowing how your going to save yourself? If you've been alive for long you have had these moments. The question is, will you lose yourself in the storm and never be the same again, or will you hold true to yourself and fight your way back to the life you loved before it all came crashing down.
These are the things we need to think about, when we deal with people everyday. There may be a person that you have known for years that is funny and always smiles and never has a bad word to say, then one day, BAM!!! Their not smiling, the jokes are gone and they can only complain about life. What do you do when this happens? Do you judge them and get mad at them and gossip about them, or do you try to understand them, comfort them and try your hardest to bring back the person you knew before? It's very hard sometimes to put ourselves in other peoples shoes and try to understand them and why they act the way they do. It's easier just to shun them and write them off and not care, but if we are to make a change in our communities, our families, our friendships, we must step back and try to understand that people are human and they like us, have times in their lives that turn them upside down and tears their heart apart trying to figure out what comes next.
So, the next time you find yourself dealing with a angry, rude, mean person, before judging them and writing them off, try to step back and give them another chance, because maybe the effort you make investing your time and heart in them, may help them to not lose themselves in the circumstances of life, but bring them back to the life they had, before their world was turned upside down. Make the Change!!!

Scott

What really matters?

I just finished watching a documentary called "The Human Experience", it followed two men from a Halfway House looking for the answer to the age old question "Why are we here"? Also, "Why does Man exist"? The places they travel for these answers might surprise you though, the streets of New York to live and talk with the Homeless. Africa with a bunch of Surfers to care for children who's family couldn't afford to care for their medical needs. A leper colony just to touch and love on people who are outcasts from their families and villages. Then back home to a reunion with their father who one of the men haven't seen in 10 years because of the abuse he suffered at the hands of this man.

What did they find? People matter!!! Why are we here, to love and care for people. Why does Man exist, to love and care for people! They talked through out the show with different religious leaders and scientist's and all of them agreed that we need to do a better job at caring and loving people. I agree, as a Christian, I serve a God who said the night before he was to be killed, " Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. He also said "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

The phase that really struck me above and throughout the movie is "you will be blessed if you do them", we must be doing things for people and each-other, if we are "doing" then we will be blessed. Blessed with what? Well, watch the movie and see the smiles and the joy that come to these to men, as they see that even the most outcast among us, love life so much and believe in life so much, that they know something we don't, that being a community means that we talk to one another, we give to one another, we share with one another and that brings hope that our lives matter and that when we leave this world, we will have left it full of the life and hope that we spread, no matter how long or how short that life was.

Are you leaving an impact on your community, by sharing your hope and your love to people around you and to people who need it. If not, Make the Change today!!!

Listen To The Voice Inside Your Head

The title of this blog "Listen to the voice inside your head" is usually opposite of what we are told, when we start hearing voices in our minds. However, all of us have a voice called a conscience, many of us learn early to ignore this voice, but those who have to use it to keep them alive or out of serious trouble, learn to listen to it closely and they call it instinct. What ever you want to call it, "Conscience, Instinct, God, the Spirit, or Madness", we all hear it at certain times in our life's and most of the time, it is a good thing and can help us to follow a path that will lead to some pretty great things. Have you been ignoring that voice in your head? Is it trying to tell you something, maybe help you to understand your purpose, tell you who to help or where to help? I believe that we often ignore the voice in our heads, because often it asks of us things that we know are right, but are inconvenient and often time consuming and we don't have time for that! Maybe, it's time for more of us to listen to that voice and watch for opportunities to help our neighbor as ourselves, or show a kindness to a stranger, or simply tell our loved ones we love them when they need it most. Usually, that voice is pretty good at knowing your heart and knowing how to help you succeed in your efforts, if your willing to stop and listen, then take the time to do what it says. Make the Change, Scott

A Heart Shattered, an Opportunity Missed, but Not Forever.

A family shattered by a act of violence, a person's heart and spirit torn apart and an opportunity missed, all things that happen everyday, but when it happens to you, it all hits home and makes you have to think about what we are so busy for, that we miss out on what could be life changing relationships.
We meet people everyday, some that we will never see again, others who beg for our attention and others who we can't wait to see again. Each person has a story, a life, a dream and a reason for who they are. I found out this week, that I missed out on what could possibly have saved a person from a horrible fate. I can't say for sure, no one can, but what I do know, is that this person, had been asking over and over again to have a relationship with my family and because we were just to busy, I just never got back with them and a life changing event happened and now they are changed forever. I think to myself, what if I had made that call and invited them over and what if they had been with us, instead of where they got hurt? Again, I can't say that what happened to them wouldn't have if I had just made the effort to befriend them and include them in my families life, but then again, I can't deny it either.
I am finding more and more, that we have to look so much deeper into the decisions that we make and understand that like it or not, we make more of a difference then we would like to admit. How about you, are there people in your life that have been asking for more time and you've been to busy to accommodate their requests? If so, think hard today about making time for them, you never know what being with you might save them from. I'm not saying that we are better then anyone else, I'm saying that we are people who have the opportunity for relationships and those relationships are far better, then the things we busy ourselves with each and every day. What are you waiting for "Make the Change"

It's the Month of Love!

Hello Everyone,

It's Valentines day and today we are suppose to show our love to our spouses or those that we love and I joined in on the fun and did my part. However, did you know that there are thousands of people at war right now who are apart from their Valentine? Today you can send those in the military a Valentines card, just to let them know they are missed and loved. Also, there are many who may have lost their Valentine in the past year and today will be bitter sweet. A note from you, may be just what they need to get them through the loss and pain. Go ahead, Make the Change!!!

Find a hobby that helps your community and brings your family closer.

My kid's have been sick for awhile now and it's the middle of winter and we were really trying to find a thing to do that was fun and family oriented. We called the local animal shelter and found that they needed knitted blankets for their kittens. What a fun and very family oriented activity. We collected the knitting supply's we needed and have now begun making blankets for kitty's. It is so much fun and we get to spend lots of time together as a family. So what are you waiting for, Make the Change and find something for you and your family to do now.

Make the Change,
Scott