The Good News!

Hey everybody! What a great day it is, out here on the coast. Sun shining, warm temperatures, and another chance to live!
As most of you know, we have a major fire going on out here. They say it's the worst one in over 3 decades. The last estimate I heard was 16 million in damages.
And here is the reason that I started this newsletter. No injuries or deaths. That's " The Good News!" And " The God News," part of it, is that within 2 weeks, the trees that are blackened, will have small green sprouts of life. How amazing is that? Even the trees get another chance to live.
When I finally heard about the fire, I instantly got sick to my stomach. I personally know a lot of the EMT's, the County and City Officers, our Fire Chief, and most of the Horry County, and Conway Firefighters. I know their wives and kids, and how completely AWESOME, these guys are! They all worked , and are still working to put out the fire.
It is 100% contained, but without some rain, it could flare back up at anytime. But, we also got assistance from NC, GA, and the surrounding community Depts. And the outpouring of food, clothing, shelter,and even shelter for animals from the Vet Clinics, has been comforting to see.
God doesn't cause tragedies, but He definitely uses them to teach us.
Maybe today is the day you decide to listen and do something for someone else.
Instead of just forwarding e-mails, that originated from someone you don't even know, add a little note to it, to show someone, that you are especially thinking about them. Even as I'm typing this, I have no idea what's coming next, but I do have at least one of you that's reading this, in mind. The reason I don't use your name, is because I don't want to hurt your feelings, or embarrass you. That's not my intention at all.
There are messages that God tries to get to us everyday. When's the last time that you stopped, and really received it?
We all have the ability to control our destiny. The power of thinging only positive thoughts, maybe difficult sometimes, but it is possible. We choose who or what enters our life.
I had an MP3 download, by a man called, Antonio Thornton. It was a brief version of his take on , "The Law of Attraction." And one of the things he mentions, is how you can determine a lot, by looking at the 5 people, that are closest to you. Your financial circumstances, and your ability to live a positive life, were just 2 of them.
I mean, seriously, that should be a, "Here's your sign," moment. If you have 5 negative, and broke, peolple influencing your day-to-day life, how do you think your life would be affected?
The hardest thing, is when these people are your family or maybe even your significant other. Do you subject yourself to them, because you think you have to?
Well, let me be the first one to tell you, that you need to put some distance between you and any source of negativity, that comes your way. It's not going to be permanent. I actually had to do that with my own kids.
Lacey didn't live with me, and Megan doesn't live here, but Jeremy and Cody do. And although I still have to remind the boys, it gets easier everyday, and I can definitely see the change in them.
I love all of my kids the same, and as a mother, I always will. But I am not their friend , I am their mother. When I say," If you don't have anything positive to say, I don't want to hear it," they better listen. It's not disrespectful or mean.
This is the way I choose to live my life today. And, I refuse to go down the "what if, or why didn't you," road anymore.
We have this moment to live the right way. We are never guaranteed the next moment.
Any of you that know me, know how negative my life has been. But, I never realized just how exhausting it was to live like that. I still have my moments, but they only last as long, as I CHOOSE, to let them. It's a conscious choice we all have to make.
So, this week, I hope at least one of you, has your ,"AHA moment." And as always, I will be thinking about, and praying for you all.
Hope you all have a very blessed moment! Talk to you soon.