“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.”-Barbara DeAngelis

The most eye-opening civics lesson I ever had was while

teaching third grade.

The presidential election was heating up and some of the

children showed an interest. I decided we would have an

election for a class president. We would choose our

nominees. They would make a campaign speech and the class

would vote.

To simplify the process, candidates were nominated by other

class members. We discussed what kinds of characteristics

these students should have. We got many nominations and from

those, Jamie and Olivia were picked to run for the top spot.

The class had done a great job in their selections. Both

candidates were good kids. I thought Jamie might have an

advantage because he got lots of parental support. I had

never seen Olivia’s mother. The day arrived when they

were to make their speeches. Jamie went first. He had

specific ideas about how to make our class a better place.

He ended by promising to do his very best. Every one

applauded. He sat down and Olivia came to the podium. Her

speech was concise. She said, “If you will vote for me,

I will give you ice cream.” She sat down. The class

went wild. “Yes! Yes! We want ice cream.”

She surely would say more. She did not have to. A

discussion followed. How did she plan to pay for the ice

cream? She wasn ‘t sure. Would her parents buy it or

would the class pay for it. She didn’t know. The class

really didn’t care. All they were thinking about was ice

cream. Jamie was forgotten. Olivia won by a land slide.

Every time Barack Obama opens his mouth he offers ice

cream, and fifty percent of America reacts like nine year

olds. They want ice cream. The other fifty percent know

they’re going to have to feed the cow.  

The short answer: We used to be a nation of farmers. The long answer: Congress chose November because the harvest was over and the weather wouldn’t be bad enough to prevent people from traveling.

As for Tuesday, people used to have to travel overnight to their polling location. (In 1845, horse was the preferred method of transport) In an effort to avoid religious days of rest, Congress chose Tuesday, leaving Monday and Wednesday as travel days. Tuesday was voting (and horse-resting) day.

Change by Jim Rohn

Any day we wish; we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish; we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, “The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves.” We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions. They need the truth. They need the whole truth. And they need nothing but the truth.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. And then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

And if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life - If you don’t like how things are, change it! You’re not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life - and it all begins with your very own power of choice.

“There are no hopeless situations; there are only people who have grown hopeless about them.”- Clare Boothe Luce

This is going to be short & sweet!!!

The days have all been running together around here, we’ve been busy.  That’s a great thing, though.  We have been receiving cattle and doing alot of sortin’ and shippin’ too.  The weather has been fantasic.  I hear there is a cold spell comin’ in Wednesday night.  I just heard someone say a “cold spell”, so I don’t know how cold that spell is suppose to be.  I guess what’s cold for one person isn’t cold at all for the next.  Oh well, bring it on!! 

We are leaving Wednesday for THE Bud Williams School in Dallas, Texas.  It is going to be 3 Full Days with Bud & Eunice. 

Chance will be holding the fort down while we’re gone.    

Isn’t this time change great??  It actually gets light in the morning at a decent time and dark at night at a decent time!

Have a great week!!