Quote:
"I am responsible for creating a climate of love, peace, joy, beauty and order in my home. I am raising responsible, future citizens of the United States of America. What do you do?" Pam Young & Peggy Jones
Have you ever heard the term, "You are TOAST?" When someone is "toast" it means they are up the creek, finished, exposed or kaput. Have you ever heard this term? "I am JAM." Ahh, but you really have heard it because we hear it all the time when we're out and about. See JAM is an acronym for Just A Mom. (This mom had nine girls! Brenda Lovell thank you for your volunteer service!)
When I hear a woman say, "I'm just a mom," I can't help myself; I have to say to that person, "You are NOT JAM, you are responsible for creating a climate of love, peace, joy, beauty and order in your home. You are raising future responsible, happy citizens of the United States of America. You are THE most valuable worker in our country and your "volunteer" service is appreciated by those of us who know the extent of that service and have reaped the benefits. And anyone who thinks you are JAM is TOAST in my humble opinion."
As I was writing that paragraph above I thought to myself, 'maybe I should save this to send out on Mother's Day,' but I don't believe in Mother's Day. I think it's just a way for Hallmark and Pro Flowers to stay in business. I think every day should be Mother's Day and we should all be on the lookout to help moms whenever we can; especially single moms. And if you are a mom, don't say you're jam. If someone asks you, "What do you do?" say, "I am responsible for creating a climate of love, peace, joy, beauty and order in my home. I am raising future responsible, citizens of (name your country). What do you do?"
I received an email from a treasured subscriber, Margaret. I shared her message with all of her fellow subscribers and it created a shocking volume of positive response. Here's what Margaret sent to me.
Dear Pam
I was reading the introduction to a book about William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. The introduction was written by James Scott Brady, the man who was shot by John Hinckley Jr. in an attempt to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan. His introduction was titled, "On Facing Adversity."
Here is the excerpt that inspired me. I hope it inspires others.
"To people who face and defeat daunting obstacles, "ambition" is not
becoming wealthy or famous or winning elections or awards. Words like
"ambition" and "achievement" and "success" take on very different
meanings. The objective is just to live, to wake up every morning. The
goals are not lofty; they are very ordinary.
"My own heroes are ordinary folks -- but they accomplish extraordinary
things because they try. My greatest hero is my wife, Sarah. She's
accomplished a lot of things in life, but two stand out. The first has
been the way she has cared for me and our son since I was shot. A
tremendous tragedy and burden was dropped unexpectedly into her life,
totally beyond her control and without justification. She could have
given up; instead, she focused her energies on preserving our family
and returning our lives to normal as much as possible. Week by week,
month by month, year by year, she has not reached for the miraculous,
just for the normal. Yet in focusing on the normal, she has helped
accomplish the miraculous."
Did you catch that? Sarah had very ordinary goals. She plodded along,
day by day, week by week, month by month.... and by reaching for
normal, she attained the miraculous. This could be applied to cleaning
our houses, or getting out of debt, or restoring a broken
relationship. It may seem that getting our lives or houses in order
would take a miracle, but by plodding along day by day, week by week,
we too can attain the miraculous.
Thanks for reading,
Margaret Bechtel
Have you ever heard the term, "You are TOAST?" When someone is "toast" it means they are up the creek, finished, exposed or kaput. Have you ever heard this term? "I am JAM." Ahh, but you really have heard it because we hear it all the time when we're out and about. See JAM is an acronym for Just A Mom. (This mom had nine girls! Brenda Lovell thank you for your volunteer service!)When I hear a woman say, "I'm just a mom," I can't help myself; I have to say to that person, "You are NOT JAM, you are responsible for creating a climate of love, peace, joy, beauty and order in your home. You are raising future responsible, happy citizens of the United States of America. You are THE most valuable worker in our country and your "volunteer" service is appreciated by those of us who know the extent of that service and have reaped the benefits. And anyone who thinks you are JAM is TOAST in my humble opinion."
As I was writing that paragraph above I thought to myself, 'maybe I should save this to send out on Mother's Day,' but I don't believe in Mother's Day. I think it's just a way for Hallmark and Pro Flowers to stay in business. I think every day should be Mother's Day and we should all be on the lookout to help moms whenever we can; especially single moms. And if you are a mom, don't say you're jam. If someone asks you, "What do you do?" say, "I am responsible for creating a climate of love, peace, joy, beauty and order in my home. I am raising future responsible, citizens of (name your country). What do you do?"
I received an email from a treasured subscriber, Margaret. I shared her message with all of her fellow subscribers and it created a shocking volume of positive response. Here's what Margaret sent to me.
Dear Pam
I was reading the introduction to a book about William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. The introduction was written by James Scott Brady, the man who was shot by John Hinckley Jr. in an attempt to assassinate former President Ronald Reagan. His introduction was titled, "On Facing Adversity."
Here is the excerpt that inspired me. I hope it inspires others.
"To people who face and defeat daunting obstacles, "ambition" is not
becoming wealthy or famous or winning elections or awards. Words like
"ambition" and "achievement" and "success" take on very different
meanings. The objective is just to live, to wake up every morning. The
goals are not lofty; they are very ordinary.
"My own heroes are ordinary folks -- but they accomplish extraordinary
things because they try. My greatest hero is my wife, Sarah. She's
accomplished a lot of things in life, but two stand out. The first has
been the way she has cared for me and our son since I was shot. A
tremendous tragedy and burden was dropped unexpectedly into her life,
totally beyond her control and without justification. She could have
given up; instead, she focused her energies on preserving our family
and returning our lives to normal as much as possible. Week by week,
month by month, year by year, she has not reached for the miraculous,
just for the normal. Yet in focusing on the normal, she has helped
accomplish the miraculous."
Did you catch that? Sarah had very ordinary goals. She plodded along,
day by day, week by week, month by month.... and by reaching for
normal, she attained the miraculous. This could be applied to cleaning
our houses, or getting out of debt, or restoring a broken
relationship. It may seem that getting our lives or houses in order
would take a miracle, but by plodding along day by day, week by week,
we too can attain the miraculous.
Thanks for reading,
Margaret Bechtel
Pam here: You are not JAM! Thank you for your volunteer service! If you need a little help
getting organized for this volunter service, The Joy of Being Disorganized is perfect for you. It'll help you learn how to delegate to those you serve and get organized just enough to please you! To purchase, click on this mom and those she serves, who BTW are now 20, 17 and 14. We moms serve for life.
Love,