In choosing one area of our lives where ‘I Believe’ we were truly blessed as a family, was our involvment in 4-H. After a long and hard prior year with Market Beef, our son’s steer won Grand Champion Market Beef. Being the proud parent and seeing the affect it had on him, made us realize that all of our support, and the support of 4H, helped shape him into a stronger, more self assured man he has become today. All his hard work and effort paid off as he not only received the top award, but was able to sell his steer at top dollar. He pushed thru the hard times of raising a beef, learned to handle a large animal and not be afraid, practiced teaching the animal to lead, fed and groomed the animal all on his own in order to show himself and us that he had what it took to accomplish this task. As it turned out, this was one of the greatest accomplishment in his young life. Knowing he could accomplish this one task set him up for many future accomplishments he would never have thought possible without this early training.

The same is true of our daughter, who won Queen at the Fair. She was involved in an automobile accident in her Senior year of High School, where she broke her neck. Being laid up most the the year in a neck brace and having to go thru surgery to fuse bones together, she still had the courage to try out for ‘Queen at the Fair’ with her horse. Not having ridden alot that year, her horse “took care of her” as she rode and she not only won Queen, but also the ‘Horsemanship Award’ and the ‘Personality Award’. The stamina and character she showed by not giving up and the follow thru she exhibited in order to accomplish her dreams, proved to us that not only were we blessed with a wonderful daughter, but we were also blessed by her example of determination and her accomplishments in the face of over-whelming deterrants.

Participating in 4-H activities helped teach us all that hard work, committment, responsibility and also persistence was a lesson worth learning and living. The rewards were outstanding and today the kids still strive to be the best they can be. They work hard, have great jobs, wonderful families and they are there for each other and will pass on those and other lessons to their children.

My hope is to be able to instill the same lessons in my grandchildren that were instilled in my children through 4-H and at home. In addition to the lessons we all learned from 4-H, we also learned that no one accomplishes all these things alone. We have learned that in addition to an organization like 4-H, friends and family are also an important support system for each of us to see us thru the tough times and the hard times as well as the good times.

So, in conclusion, ‘I Believe’ the most important lesson I feel we learned was that we are all “Family”. The kids won the awards, the ribbons, the crown for Queen, the feeling of being the Grand Champion, but we all worked TOGETHER ! We encouraged each other, we felt the sweat and tears when things didn’t go as they should, and we were happy and excited when they did. We were a “WE” and “WE” are all in this together – Friends, Family and a wonderful organization called 4-H!

If you would like to share your “I Believe” thoughts or for more information, please go to our contact page and become a part of our family. ‘We’ are all in this together and would love to share your thoughts.

Thank you for sharing your time with “Me”. You are appreciated.

From Me 2 You Online
Barbara.

My parents taught me the important values of Honesty, Integrity, Loyalty, Love, Family values and Commitment. I believe all of these can be summed up in “Life is what you make it.”

First of all I believe GOD is our stronghold for these values and helps up to follow, learn and obey so that each of us can place these core values in our lives. Our greatest gift is to instill these in each other, in our children and in our youth.

Believing in ourselves that we are strong enough to make the choices that are best for us and everyone involved is hard. As long as we make choices that do not hurt anyone physically or emotionally, we are doing our best. We can become better people, more giving and loving, more helpful, more understanding of each other and we can change our habits if we are willing to take the step to make life better. Whatever the challenge or obstacle, we have the help from GOD to carry us thru and guide us and teach us HIS will. We can overcome anything if we ask for direction and listen. HIS promise to us is that the same circumstance will never happen to us again if we trust in HIM and follow HIS lead. I believe your head, and your choices, follow your heart. Keep your heart clear and clean and your choices will be the same. Keep honesty, as your most important choice and the rest will come. Life IS what you make it as long as you are willing to take responsibility for your actions and make it a long and lasting journey.

Thank you for sharing your time with Me!

Barb M.
From Me 2 You Online

Creative Rule #1. Follow your heart and the beat of your own drum. When you listen to the suggestions of others it only brings disharmony to the garden you are trying to create. When you have a unique idea, don’t waste your time or effort trying to please other people. They will never appreciate the full measure of your uniqueness because they are never in the exact same space or mindset as you. If you notice, the usual help or advice you receive will normally come in the form of negative feedback, like “Don’t plant that kind of flower or lettuce – it doesn’t grow very well here”. If everyone listened only to the negative information, and not to their hearts, we would probably not even bother planting a garden. How sad would that be? Listen to yourself – you have all the information you need!

Creative Rule #2. Get outside and sit with your garden and your thoughts. When you are sitting quietly, in your own space, clear and relax your mind, breathe deep and allow that creative spark in you to awaken, flourish and grow. It will come. The more time you spend in your garden the more you will find your special gift of creativity. You will also soon find that others will welcome your originality more because it is uniquely yours and it allows them to see how important an asset you are; and in allowing yourself to be special, you are encouraging them to do the same.

Creative Rule #3. There is no need for fancy gadgets or tools. A true artist reduces the number of tools in their gardening shed because as we gain experience in our garden we know what works, what doesn’t, and we find we only need a few perfect tools. I have a perfect shovel, a couple of different rakes and a hand trowel I would be lost without. What more do I need?

Creative Rule #4. No garden will happen without some kind of passion. Does it wake you up in the mornings? Do you think of the flame burning in your fire-pit? What is the flower you have to have in your garden? Are there any plants you must have or your garden will be incomplete? Are you a flower child or the vegetable green giant type? Is the outdoors your passion and you really don’t care if it is a flower garden or a vegetable garden, just as long as you can be outside? That is passion and that is what will keep you going.

Creative Rule #5. Take a walk through the neighborhood and check out other gardens. Look online for inspirational ideas, pictures or through magazines and/or gardening books. You can’t force inspiration. Sometimes it hits when you least expect it, so for those unpredictable, yet inevitable moments, you might want to be prepared by having a notebook with you to record your ideas. In recording your ideas you will also discover your own style. Is it brightly colored flowers or do you like the pastels? There are so many choices, but only one will be uniquely yours.

So, again, think of all the colors in the crayon box – which ones do you like the best and which ones will you stay away from? Get your notebook, read the thoughts you wrote down and know that you are capable of creating the most beautiful and bountiful garden in both your heart and your yard!

Thank you for sharing your time with Me.

I wish you peace, joy and balance in all you do. Enjoy the garden of your life!

From Me 2 You Online.