February 28, 2025 - More Poems to Encourage You From S.C. Lourie and Kathy J. Parenteau

Each day this week I've shared a couple poems in the hopes they will encourage you. As I've said, words have power and are able to lift our spirits while also challenging us to make choices which help us become stronger. Today I'm sharing three final poems, I hope they  will also do these things for you. If you would like to read the poems, you will find them at this link and this link.

February 27, 2025 - More Poems to Encourage You From Patricia A Fleming and Abimbola T. Alabi

Each day this week I've shared a couple poems in the hopes they will encourage you. As I've said, words have power and are able to lift our spirits while also challenging us to make choices which help us become stronger. I hope the poems I share today will do these things for you. If you would like to read the poems, you will find them at this link and this link.

February 26, 2025 - More Poems to Encourage You by Abimbola T. Alabi and Douglas Malloch

I've been sharing a couple poems each day this week in the hopes they will encourage you. Words have power and are able to lift our spirits while also challenging us to make choices which make us stronger. I hope these poems today will do these things for you. If you would like to read the poems, you will find them at this link and this link.

February 25, 2025 - Poems to Encourage You by Catherine Pulsifer and Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Yesterday I shared two poems with you and since words have the power to encourage us and help us push on, today I'm sharing more poems with you. You will find them at this link and this link if you want to read them.

February 24, 2025 - Poems to Encourage You by Reyna Biddy and Maya Angelou

Today I want to share with you two poems which are about self-worth, because I want to talk this week about how you are a person worthy of being valued by yourself and all who meet and know you. Poems can be a wonderful way to express ourselves and receive encouragement. I found these poems on line at this link and this link.

February 21, 2025 - It is Almost Spring!

I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to Spring, and happily, it is not far away! This past Monday morning it was -5 degrees where I live, and was even colder with the wind chill. Oh yes, I am most definitely looking forward to Spring - here are a few reasons why -

February 20, 2025 - the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Every day I say you deserve to be loved and I talk about how you deserve to feel at peace and experience safety. Today I want to talk a little about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was signed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris, France on December 10th 1948 and which is a defining document in history outlining 30 articles affirming individual rights. You will find an article about it and a full listing at this link, but I want to highlight a few of them - 

February 19, 2025 - Good News

It is easy to listen to or read the news and become afraid, angry, and discouraged as you hear or read about the horrible things the president is doing, but today I want to share with you some good news! There are States, such as the one in which I live - Michigan, where they are strengthening their civil rights laws, where they are standing up against the executive orders from the white house and choosing to keep Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion laws and policies intact in their schools, and where the Attorney General is joining with Attorney Generals from other states to protect their residents by choosing to sue the trump administration. 

February 18, 2025 - Priorities

Today I want to talk about the things which need to be priorities for us so we are able to live a healthy and joy-filled life - and yes, it is possible for us to live our lives in healthy and joy-filled ways. I know there are many things happening right now which are scary, and we do need to know what is happening, but we also need to prioritize those things which make us healthy and bring us joy. Consider the following priorities -

February 17, 2025 - Start the Week with Love

In far, far too many cases those who are left out, bullied, deal with physical/mental challenges, and/or are part of the queer community live their lives on the receiving end of unkind, even vile words and often feel unloved. Well, today I want to take time to let you know how dearly you are loved and encourage you once again to surround yourself with people who see your value and who stand with you.

February 14, 2025 - Remember to Love Yourself - Today & Every Day

For the past couple days I have been talking about loving yourself and I have shared words to encourage you. I have been doing this because you absolutely deserve to be loved and encouraged. Today is Valentines Day and I want to take this day to encourage you to remember to love yourself and to hold tightly to those who love you. Life is difficult at times, and may feel this way more often right now, but when you hold on to the truth of how you are loved and deserve to be loved, take the time to love yourself, and hold on tightly to those who love you, you will find you are stronger than you may think you are and you are able to move forward with a life of joy and peace.

February 13, 2025 - Self-Love Day

Nationaltoday.com says - "Self-Love Day is an annual celebration to appreciate and understand the importance of self-love. Self-love is one of the most powerful forms of love. It is something we all have coded inside us. Proponents of self-love believe it could strengthen a person’s feeling of being loved." So what is Self-Love - and what isn't it? Consider the following . . .

February 12, 2025 - Encouraging Words for Today!

While we may not receive encouraging words very often, and sadly, some of you may receive unencouraging words, we all benefit from being on the "receiving end" of encouraging words, so today I want to share encouraging words with you. Please know I absolutely believe and mean every word I'm about to say - I hope you will be encouraged!

February 11, 2025 - Peace & Finding A Balance

I've talked before about how things which are in the news may leave us afraid and/or angry - or both. This is completely understandable and how you feel absolutely matters. When I feel afraid and angry, I don't feel like I have the "power" in my life, which makes me feel worse, so today I want to talk again about doing things to help us feel peace and strength and like we are able to make solid decisions which will put us in the best place to move forward.

February 10, 2025 - I'll Say it Again, Hold Tight to Family & Friends Who Love You & Have Your Back

I know I've been saying it is important to hold on tightly to your family and friends who love you and who have your back, but today I am saying it again. Hold tightly to your family and friends who love you and have your back. With all the things happening in our country, you may feel stressed, frightened, worried, and angry on a daily basis - or even many times a day, but it is essential for you to take care of your own mental health and do the things which bring you peace. If you have parents, grandparents, extended family, and friends who love and care for you, then hold tightly to them and love and care for them, too.

February 7, 2025 - Increase Your "Happiness Chemicals!"

Today I want to talk about ways you are able to increase your peace of mind and overall health by increasing your "happiness chemicals" - yes, they are a real thing and yes, there are actual things you can do to help you experience happiness.

February 6, 2025 - Choose Peace by Holding on to the Truth

What I'm saying today is similar to what I said Monday, but I need to say it again. However; first I want to say, I have two amazing trans grands, so as I read and hear the news I am afraid and angry. I'm afraid for what the coming two years holds for people I know and love and for people I don't know and still love. 

February 5, 2025 - Choose Peace by Connecting with People Who Understand

I'm talking about peace this week, so I thought I'd start today with the definition of "peace" - "freedom from disturbance". There has certainly been a lot of "disturbance" in the news the past few weeks, but today I want to focus on how we are able to claim peace for ourselves. Yesterday I talked about spending time with those who love us and who, "have our back" as a way to help us experience peace. Today I want to talk about places you are able to find more people who, "have your back".

It is essential for us to "build" a strong wall of support around ourselves and there are places we are able to go in person and on-line to connect with others - consider the following resources -

February 4, 2025 - Choose Peace by Spending Time with Those Who Love You

I realize when you feel alone, are being bullied, have to deal with physical and/or mental challenges, or are part of the queer community - especially if you are Trans, "choosing peace" may sound like a nice thing, something you would love to do, but may feel quite difficult - if not impossible to actually accomplish. The rest of this week I want to think and talk about ways to do this.

February 3, 2025 - Find Strength & Confidence by Spending Time with Those Who Love You

I've been writing about ways for us to find strength and confidence and today I want to say one great way to do this is by spending time with those who love you. When you interact with people who love you, it will strengthen you and give you more confidence. So, make time to spend with others - and do something fun together! Play a game together (I recommend Abducktion - a weirdly stragetic game of duck kidnapping - yes, it is an odd name for a game, but it is a LOT of fun!) Rid bikes, take a walk through a park together, or do something fun like bowling! Make something with the ones you love. February is The Great American Pie Month and National Bake for Family Fun Month - so make a pie together - a fun and tasty way to spend time together for sure!