It's Five Minute Friday when I link up with The Gypsy Mama .  We receive a one word writing prompt and get to write for five minutes flat. Our word for this week is TRUE.
GO

True stories.  What do I share? I read many stories mama bloggers write.  I laugh and I cry as they share. They encourage one another. They teach one another.  I love how they help one another realize they are not alone.  There are many mamas trying to do their best out there.

But ...I am not a mama. 

It's something I always wanted to be.  I dreamed about having a family since I was a little girl.  I played school in my upstairs bedroom with all of my dolls lined up on the window seat.  My little sister Christine was plopped right in the middle of them all.

I imagined a story book life; loving husband, several little ones and a house with a white picket fence.  But my life didn't turn out that way.  I've certainly had an exciting life in so many ways but it wasn't what I planned.

But God intervened in my life.  He took my circumstances and made something beautiful.  Because He is God and He is good.  He has plans for my life.

I have a loving husband.  Even though I wasn't able to have children, I have many nieces and nephews.  And I've been placed in a preschool classroom with many children to love.

What can I say that's true?  God is good.

STOP

Blessings and love,

Can we do it?  Yes we can!  Those phrases are repeated every morning during our entire school year. Little three and four year old children learn the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make.  Heidi and I try to make learning fun.  So with each new school year, the children learn to move their arms as we shout 'YES WE CAN'.  It's important to be motivated and have fun while learning.

This can also be applied to us older students.  As I journey along to a healthier lifestyle, I need motivation to keep going. And I need HOPE that I can do it.  Yes I can!

I love to watch the TV show "Extreme Weight Loss". Chris Powell is such an amazing motivator and fitness expert.  By the way, Chris and his family live in my neck of the woods: Phoenix, Arizona.

Pinterest

Chris added a comment to this photo on one of his Pinterest boards.  Can you guess what he wrote?

"Today is your day!  You can do this!"

Here are a few additional motivational tips from Chris Powell's Pinterest boards.

Pinterest

I'm always saying this.  One day at a time.  One step at a time.  It's often a moment by moment choice.

Pinterest

To what are you clinging?  I see it every day.  Children cling to their moms as they are being escorted to their classroom at school.  The little ones don't want mama to leave.  That separation is so hard, especially for moms. :)

There are times when children cling to my legs.  It's like Velcro that sticks.

And then the children find one another and cling to each other.

According to the dictionary, cling is defined as:

1. to adhere closely; stick to
2. to hold tight, as by grasping and embracing; cleave
3. to be or remain close
4. to remain attached, as to an idea, hope, memory, etc