Celebrating My Sisters!

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERS!!

Earlier in the week I had a special guest blogger - Dondi Scumaci.
Today we are giving away two of her books!
Congratulations to the following winners!!

1. Belles Blog ~ You Win Dondi's Book- Designed for Success.
2. Danette ~ You Win - Read, Set...Grow!

Please email me your address information so we can get your prize out to you!
Thank you for comments and participation!

AND NOW...

Continuing with this month's theme of CELEBRATING, HONORING AND ENCOURAGING the women in our lives...I want to take the time today to CELEBRATE Mi Hermana's!!

In previous blogs I have mentioned that I come from a family of 7 children.
There are 5 girls and 2 boys in our clan.

With my mom being a military wife and then a widow...the older girls had the great joy of helping take care of us little ones (my brother's and I)...especially me since I was the precious baby!

My sisters were my babysitter's, my playmate's and later in life two of them took on the sudden role of becoming my place of shelter and protection.

Because of my sister's...

* I know all about Disco! I remember often watching some of my sisters get all fixed up to go out dancing...oh how I would beg for them to take me with them...ha, ha...I was in elementary school and could not understand why they would not let me join them!!

Because of my sister's...

* I have a love for a variety of music because of my exposure to musicians like Carole King, The Beatles, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac, Doobie Brothers, Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel, Moody Blues, Gino Vanelli, The Bee Gee's, Donna Summer, The Commodores and lets not forget The Osmond's and Bobby Sherman!! LOL!

Because of my sister's...

I have discovered some great recipes and tasted some wonderful treats! They are all great cooks and bakers!!

Because of a sister...

* I got a job at a clothing boutique...had the opportunity to meet and work with some pretty amazing women - each of them poured into my life so much kindness, and wisdom!! The whole experience was a provision of God!

Because of a sister...

* I had the opportunity during my high school years to attend an amazing Church and go to Christian concerts. I had never heard worship and the message of Christ presented like that. The message and the music gave me hope and is where I began my journey with Christ!

Growing up with these gals was always an educational and learning experience.
Sometimes I learned from their personal choices and difficult journeys...other times I learned from their unselfish giving and provision.

I am grateful for my sister's, our family and our birth order.

If I had been the first born in my family - my name today would be - Delia Irma Ibarra Smith!
What about being born second?
Today you would be reading something written by:
Herminia (Mini) Ibarra Benavides!!

Love those sister's of mine!!

Take the time this weekend to CELEBRATE your sister's...leave them a tribute on my blog, send them a card or go visit them and tell them in person how much they are loved!!

And remember...if your sister is in a hurry and leaves without saying good-bye...then girl she is wearing your jewelry!!

Live Inspired,

Vern



This blog story is an excerpt from my CELEBRATION Message...for more information on booking me for a ladies event go to my Topics page to read more and the Contact page for booking information. Thank You!

Break Some Glass!

Welcome to our second day with my special guest -
Author and Speaker: DONDI SCUMACI!


My latest book Ready, Set…Grow invites you to pull from your life what doesn’t work, plant into it what does, so you can produce something extraordinary. The journey begins with what you believe. We all have self-limiting beliefs. They hold us back, and keep us from realizing our possibility. Here is an excerpt from Chapter 1 of “Grow.” I hope you enjoy it.

A root-bound plant has run out of room to grow. The life-giving root system becomes so confined and twisted that it cannot bring nutrients to the vine. The same can happen with our roots, which are the beliefs that bind us to our current condition and shape our future.

A story that illustrates this is of a farmer who plants a large field of pumpkins. Early in the season, he walks through the rows inspecting the new crop. The pumpkins are just beginning to appear on the vine.

Thrown off to the side of the rows is a glass jar. As an experiment, he places one of the tiny pumpkins (still on the vine) inside the jar. When he returns a few weeks later, the crop is flourishing! The pumpkins have grown so much . . . with the exception of one. The pumpkin inside the jar has grown to fill the glass. It has completely conformed to this prison and simply run out of room to grow.

What happened to that pumpkin also happens to people. What we believe about ourselves, others, our future, and even our past will shape our growth and influence our results. If we want to grow, we must learn to break the glass of self-limiting beliefs.

If what we believe about ourselves and what we believe about our future possibility are contained in a vessel that will not allow us to stretch and grow, we become root-bound.

Picture yourself holding a glass jar containing your current life—a life conformed within that glass jar of your own beliefs about . . .

Yourself and your abilities
Your future and your possibilities
Other people
Life situations and events

As you continue reading you will learn to break the jar of self-limiting beliefs and free the roots of your potential.

It is easy for the roots of belief to become twisted and tangled. When they do, our relationships and results suffer. Unbinding the roots is a four-step process:

1. Identify the beliefs that limit you.
2. Understand how those beliefs are impacting your results and relationships.
(Understanding the impact will motivate you to make the changes necessary.)
3. Exchange self-limiting beliefs for empowering ones.
4. Identify beliefs you want to add to yourself. These are possibilities you may not have considered until now, but they are possibilities. (And they can be yours.)

I encourage you to break some glass today, because you were Designed for Success and built to Grow!

Dondi


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THANK YOU Dondi for being my guest this week and for sharing with us words and wisdom that can radically change a person's lifestyle!

It is my prayer that everyone who reads this blog - as well as those that hear you speak or read your book - will think upon these things and make necessary changes to break the very thing that confines and limits them!

These are words of knowledge that we should never stop strengthening and growing in our lives!

I am so excited to announce that today we are giving away a copy of Dondi's book -
READY, SET...GROW!
Leave your comments or questions on the blog by clicking on the "comment" word below...you can post as annonymous if you do not have a blog name.

Come back here tomorrow when we will announce the winner!

Visit Dondi's blog for more great reading!!
www.dondiscumaci.com/blog

Dondi will be speaking this Thursday in the San Antonio area.
May 14th, 2009
7:00 pm
Cornerstone Church in the Chapel

Hope you can join us!

Live Inspired,

Vern


Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them!
Ephesians 5:11


WINNERS UPDATE
I will combine the comments from this weeks posts and facebook responses to select the Winner's of Dondi's books...Come back on Saturday to see who won!!

Put Your Own Mask On First!

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, over the next few weeks we are going to specifically take the time to Encourage, Honor and Celebrate the women in our lives!!

I have special friends and guests lined up to share wisdom, hope and love. It is all of our desires that The Word, the testimonies and the stories will strengthen your faith, your relationships, your homes and your journeys.

Several years ago at a ladies conference, I had the wonderful privilege to meet and work alongside an amazing speaker and author named Dondi Scumaci. Besides being drawn to her unique name, I was impressed with her captivating confidence and her passion that is full of His power and might!

Dondi Scumaci, is an international speaker, author, and an expert in professional and personal development. She is well known for her high energy on the platform and for the dramatic results that her seminars and ladies events inspire!

Her seminars and events have made a positive and lasting impact on many...including myself!

We are so glad you stopped by today and hope you will encourage your Mother's, Daughter's, Sister's, Girlfriend's and Mentor's to join us over the next several weeks as we Celebrate all of them in our lives!!

Leave us a comment or question and be entered for a chance to win a copy of one of Dondi's books!!

Be Inspired,

Vern

It is with great joy that I introduce to you today my guest & friend ~ Dondi Scumaci!!


Put Your Own Oxygen Mask on First!

With Special Blogging Guest:
Dondi Scumaci, Author of Designed for Success and Ready, Set…Grow

Women can be very good at taking care of others. Many of us have a nurturing gene hardwired right into our DNA. And women are strong. When you combine these two elements, the result is both beautiful and heartbreaking. Beautiful because of the difference we can make in the lives of others. Heartbreaking when we forget to take care of ourselves in the process.

But selflessness is a good thing, right? Yes and no. Like anything, if it is overdone or under managed it will begin to undo us. If we do not include ourselves in the list of people we take care of, we will soon be running on empty.

Empty includes energy, clarity, creativity….and what the heck, we might just as well insert all the gifts of the spirit here. Empty. Poured out. Dry. That is heartbreaking. (Trust me, I've been there, and I'm betting you can relate.)

Empty is not attractive (or heroic). It looks tired and worn. Empty sounds impatient and resentful. No, empty is not pretty or dynamic or effective.

To illustrate "empty," I often use the airline safety demonstration. (I travel a great deal and I've memorized that little speech.) The flight attendant goes through a list of do's and don'ts and "in case of emergencies" at the beginning of each flight. Pointing here and there, the exits are highlighted and we learn how to buckle our seat belts. Then she comes to the part about "sudden cabin pressure changes". We try not to imagine what that might be like as she demonstrates "putting your own oxygen mask on first." For the longest time I got stuck right there.

Put my own mask on first? (Sounds pretty selfish to me.)

I'd like think of myself as the person slapping masks on others before taking care of myself. I'm good in a crisis. (I imagined myself running through the cabin securing masks on young and old alike.) It bothered me enough to ask about it, and this is what I learned. If I don't put my own mask on first, I WILL PASS OUT IN 30 SECONDS. If that happens I can't help others and I am now in the way! Then I understood these ground rules:

I cannot give what I do not have and that means I must take time to restore.

I must give my permission to take care of myself and I must not call that selfish.

I must set boundaries and learn how to say, "No" without feeling guilty.

If I fail to set boundaries and others take advantage of me, I am responsible for the damage.

I must be careful about what I "put in" and "take on," because these are things that will shape my life and my ability to serve.

I encourage you to "put on your own mask" today. Give yourself permission to take care of you, so that you can pour yourself into the life of others and never run dry.

You were Designed for Success and Built to Grow!

Dondi


For more information or to check out Dondi's blog visit her website at -
http://www.dondiscumaci.com/

We would also like to invite you to join us at this upcoming event!

MAY 14, 2009
7:00 pm
Cornerstone Church
Dondi will be speaking and signing books in the Church Chapel.

A Month of Celebration and Honor!

CELEBRATION ~ A time to honor by solemn ceremonies or by refraining from ordinary business.

HONOR ~ Showing of a usually merited respect.

I am going to take time this month to concentrate on the expressions of Celebrating and Honoring. This will specifically include paying tribute to those ladies in our lives that we have profound gratefulness, love & respect for.

Throughout the rest of this month I have invited some special friends and guests to share precious jewels of wisdom, joy and love to encourage you in your own personal journey. Intertwined with their messages we will share stories to celebrate women who have inspired us personally.

I cannot wait to introduce them to you as we CELEBRATE our Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Girlfriends and Mentors!!

Let the Celebrations Begin!!

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There is something that all of us have in common...We all have a mom.

Today I would like to Celebrate and Honor the one who brought me into this world...My Momma!

My mom gave birth to 7 children. Guess which number I am?
She was a military wife that became a widow when I was 4 years old.
Her strength and endurance is what I want to honor today.

She came from a large family herself.
She experienced a hard life with much heartache, suffering and struggles.
She was determined to provide for us and had to overcome much to accomplish that.

About 11 years ago my mom completed her journey here on earth after experiencing a difficult battle with cancer. My final days with her were some of the most precious memories that I will forever cherish!

I would sit by her hospital bedside and read The Word of God (The Bible) to her and sing songs over her...she thanked me as she squeezed my hand and smiled.

Little did she know that I had prayed many years for that day when we would share the joys of Christ together.

Today - I rejoice knowing that the Lord has rescued her and that she is now completely whole and full of joy! She is free from pain, heartache and despair and as my husband has said several times..."She would not return here for nothing"!

I miss her and her tortillas!!


I would also like to take this time to Celebrate and send a greeting to my mother -in law this Mothers Day.

Nonni, THANK YOU for extending much mercy and love to this favorite Daughter -in - law of yours! You will never know how much your compassion and prayers have affected my life...I love you!

"If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance!"
George Bernard Shaw


HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!