You can't recover....

RIP Zig Ziglar

Zig Ziglar, upbeat motivational speaker and author, dies at 86
Copied from Washington Post Article

In Zig Ziglar’s world, the morning alarm rang on the “opportunity clock.” And “if you aren’t on fire” when you get to work, “then your wood is wet.” And you have to remember that “money’s not the most important thing in life, but it’s reasonably close to oxygen.” And there will be setbacks, but “failure is an event, not a person.”

Mr. Ziglar, a motivational speaker whose “Success Rallies,” “Born to Win” seminars, more than 25 self-help books and countless audiotapes attracted millions of devoted followers with homespun advice on career advancement and moral uplift, died Nov. 28 at a hospital in the Dallas suburb of Plano. He was 86.

He had pneumonia, said his executive assistant, Laurie Magers.

Rising by one’s bootstraps through the “power of positive thinking” has long been a compelling narrative in American lore. Few messengers of prosperity have been able to sustain a relentlessly upbeat and lucrative career for as long as Zig Ziglar.

Zig Ziglar! A human exclamation point! The world’s most popular motivational speaker, as he was often described, was always excited because “you never judge a day by the weather!”
He was a presence at corporate retreats and conferences for firms such as IBM and J.C. Penney. For the general public, some people paid $49 to hear him live or $1,595 to buy his complete written and audio package. He won over crowds with his faith-filled proverbs and earnest metaphors about setting goals and facing down adversity.
“If you’re going to have to swallow a frog,” he said in his Southern drawl, “you don’t want to have to look at that sucker too long!”
Or: “You can get everything in life you want if you will just help other people get what they want!”
Or: “Have you ever noticed that people who are the problem never realize it? They’re in denial. They think denial is a river in Egypt!”
Or: “The more you gripe about your problems, the more problems you have to gripe about!”
What his words lacked in depth, they made up for in conviction.
“I’ve asked myself many times how Zig can say the same things people have been hearing all their lives, and instead of getting yawns he gets a tremendous response,” his friend Fred Smith, the former FedEx chief executive, told Texas Monthly in 1999.

“I think he’s a little like Billy Graham, who has never really departed from the same sermon he was giving back in his 20s yet who’s never lost any effectiveness,” Smith said. “After all these years, Zig still devotes every day to living this life he talks about, to applying some eternal truths about character, commitment, hard work and self-determination.”

For his most fervent admirers, Mr. Ziglar was an inspiring leader who every morning leapt out of bed to the opportunity clock, bussed his wife (“Hey, Sugar Baby”), and willed himself into a positive mindset by seldom lingering on crime stories and celebrity gossip while scanning his morning newspaper.
Texas Monthly described Mr. Ziglar’s love of comic strips, stories about sports teams that win and human interest tales that touched on the miraculous. He clipped them out and stored them in a file cabinet brimming with anecdotes about people who overcame disabilities and poverty and made it to state championships and the executive suite.
“Isn’t it amazing,” he told Texas Monthly, “how we are designed for accomplishment, engineered for success, and endowed with the seeds of greatness?”

Advancement in all its forms appealed to Hilary Hinton Ziglar, who was the 10th of 12 children born in rural Coffee County, Ala., on Nov. 6, 1926. He was raised by his widowed mother in Yazoo City, Miss.
He described his mother as the foremost influence on his life, a strict and devout woman whose mental storehouse of adages (“The person who won’t stand for something will fall for anything”) remained a cornerstone of Mr. Ziglar’s speeches and writings.
After Navy service at the end in World War II, he was married in 1946 to Jean Abernathy. He attended the University of South Carolina, but he was a middling student and left to work as a door-to-door cookware salesman.

As he was promoted through the ranks of the company, Mr. Ziglar became drawn to the power of self-help speakers and their ability to influence others. He began giving talks at church and Rotary Club meetings, often reprising his mother’s advice and relating his own experiences of smiling through setbacks and grief.

He settled in the Dallas area by the late 1960s, initially for a job training workers at a direct-sales company. The business soon folded, but the demand for Mr. Ziglar’s speaking had intensified. He launched a business called the Zigmanship Institute, now simply known as Ziglar Inc.

His first book, “Biscuits, Fleas, and Pump Handles,” published in 1974 and later retitled “See You at the Top,” urged readers to re-evaluate their lives with a “checkup from the neck up” and to quit their “stinkin’ thinkin.’ ”

Mr. Ziglar spoke often of his religious awakening in 1972 and invoked his faith in book titles such as “Confessions of a Happy Christian” (1978) and “Confessions of a Grieving Christian” (1998), which he wrote after the death of his eldest daughter, Suzan Witmeyer, from pulmonary fibrosis in 1995.

His other books included “Courtship After Marriage” (1990) and “Staying Up, Up, Up in a Down, Down World” (2000). He wrote a memoir in 2002.

Mr. Ziglar, who sometimes earned tens of thousands of dollars per speech and other times waived his fee, kept up a rigorous touring schedule until retiring in 2010.

Besides his wife, of Plano, survivors include three children, Cindy Ziglar Oates of Southlake, Tex., motivational author Julie Ziglar Norman of Alvord, Tex., and Tom Ziglar, who is now chief executive of Plano-based Ziglar Inc.; seven grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; and a great-great-grandson.

Mr. Ziglar adapted his maxims to every aspect of his life, not least the golf course. Every day, he sought to break 70 but never did.

“Yesterday ended last night,” he liked to tell himself. “Today is a brand-new day. And it’s yours.”

_____________________________________________________________

SaraHHouse365 | Never Too Late....to be a better You!

SaraHHouse365 | Making Excuses....

SaraHHouse365 | Staying Positive is Work but well worth it!

Article Credits: Washington Post article

Hermina Wahlin turns 108!!

 

Move over!! Sunday wasn't only celebrated by my parent's 35th wedding anniversary!!

 It also marked someone's birthday!! And let's just say, it wasn't her first rodeo!!

Hermina Wahlin, my ___________ (check back in a few days to see relation) Hermina Wahlin of Evansville, MN turned 108!!! Holy caprits!! 108 years old!! I wonder what her secret is?

 

Her great grand daughter Ashley Hart tells me that she's the oldest person in Minnesota and just a few years under the oldest person in the United States who is 111!! Wowsa!!

 

When my Mom reminded my brother and I about her upcoming birthday, my brother commented that not many people could say that their age was more than their weight!! Funny yet true!!

 

Hermina Wahlin of Evansville turns 108!! Photo credits Ashley Hart FB

"It's what makes a person rich" - Mary B.

Nov 28, 2012

Man, I love this.

"As for life...what an I say?" Sometimes it comes at you full speed ahead and it can knock you down...hard. But you get back up. So it knocks you down again. And you get back up. And somtimes it feels like all life ever does is try to knock you on your ass! But every time you get back up you're a little stronger and a little wiser. And pretty soon you don't sweat the small stuff...and life is good :) Some days are painful. Some days you're overwhelmed with happiness and contentment. They're all feelings. They're all experiences. It's what makes a person rich."

Mary, these words probably anxiously came out the tip fo your fingers tonight yet I thought they were written like someone must've taken 12 years to write them.
 Little did you know the effect and people they would reach. I just had to share...
thank you!

If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."

Mark 9:35
And sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mom!!



November 26th, 1977
On this day, John House choose Barb Hanson
 to be his bride and they tied the knot in Scandia, Minnesota.

November 26, 1977

Time flies!

 

In good times....

 

 

 

and in bad...

 

35 years later......
- 4 children
- 1 son-in-law
- 1 daughter-in-law
- 4 grandchildren and one on the way

and still going strong!

 

August 2012
Congratulations on 35 beautiful years Mom and Dad!!

Honor one another above yourselves: Roman's 12:9-13

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves.
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fevor, serving the Lord.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

--Romans 12: 9 - 13

Every Moment, Thank God.

Half Moon Bay, California. March 2010.

"Happy moments, praise God.

Difficult moments, seek God.

Quiet moments, worship God.

Painful moments, trust God.

Every moment, THANK GOD."
--Tim Tebow's Facebook

A successful 2012 Wood Season!

In 1997, my dad purchased 18 acres just north of my parents home in Melby. Every fall since '97, we have been using  the wood off "The 18" to heat the homestead. These past 3 days, my brother and I have assisted Dad in gathering yet another year of firewood. This year I decided to snap a few pictures to share this family tradition that started with that real estate purchase 15 years ago.

Every year we (my siblings and I) looked at it as a chore. The cutting, the splitting, the hauling, the loading and unloading, the stacking.  We  complained, we nagged, we dragged our feet, we did everything to avoid this dreaded task. The last few years have been anything but. In fact, I look forward to it! I enjoy the process as a whole more than ever now!

I don't know if it's because I've spent the last two years in the LA area  with a go-go-go type of lifestyle or if it's just with age, you learn to appreciate things differently. Probably a combination of the two. Either way, it is so refreshing to get out and enjoy the woods these last couple days. Nature offers so much. In between the chainsawing, there's a beautiful silence. There was a couple times I had to walk a distance in the woods a lone and it offered such a beautiful time to take in all that God has given us through nature. The silence reminded me of an important lesson I learned towards the end of this past summer. I was living in California still and a friend from home and I were discussing a topic via Skype. I really wasn't able to add much to the conversation because I needed to think about it. I promised I would think about it and get back to him on my thoughts. It felt like I never fully was able to get back to him on it - I was always trying to find the time and place to think. He on the other hand, who lives in a rural setting and spends quite a bit of time in nature brought some pretty major issues up. He was really able to think it out. How the heck? Where in the world did he find this? It wasn't until my next visit home where I got to visit him and experience his day to day living  that it hit me. I took a walk down an old dirt road near his house and when I got back approaching the driveway, I was amazed at all the thinking that I had just accomplished. There was no distractions. No cars, no other people, no crosswalks, no earbuds. Just nature. It was my thoughts, that old dirt road and God. It was beautiful.

Nearing the end of my walk, I sent him a text along the lines of now understanding where he got his thinking done. I added I thought it was somewhat unfair. I was joking but there was a ton of truth in it too ;)

The past couple days in the woods have reminded me of the peace that nature can give you if you allow it. I appreciate the life in the trees we took and I'm looking forward to planting more in their place. (Note to self: Apply the life of trees to the game of hunting in next blog to explain to some of my anti-hunting friends)

I overheard my dad put it like this, "There is no better day than a day in the woods."

A hidden work out!

Now I know how the Amish can intake 4,000 calories/day and still remain fit!

The work is done. Time to celebrate.

To a successful 2012-2013 wood season!

SaraHHouse365 | I feel those who do not know the outdoors
SaraHHouse365 | Where nature has not yet been rearranged

Home - Philip Phillips

I remember my Mom told me about this guy a while back (she said I should marry him!) when he was on American Idol. The other day in the car, she asked me to look him up and play it. I was pleasantly surprised with Mom's taste! And I'm not going to lie, I am a little surprised how much it has stuck with me!
It's a great song as y'all travel home and enjoy your families this Thanksgiving weekend!






Hold on, to me as we go
 As we roll down this unfamiliar road
And although this wave is stringing us along

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. oo-oo-oo-oo [x2]
Aaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa. aa-aa-aa-aaaaaa [x2]

Settle down, it'll all be clear
Don't pay no mind to the demons
They fill you with fear
The trouble it might drag you down
If you get lost, you can always be found

Just know you’re not alone
Cause I’m going to make this place your home

Ooo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo. oo-oo-oo-oo [x4]
Aaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aa. aa-aa-aa-aaaaaa [x4]

BINGO for Tatum!

BINGO!!

Friday Night my brother Lar and I went and met my sister in law Kari for a night of Bingo at Dreamweavers in Elbow Lake. My older brother Tom is part of the Lions Club so he was helping run  Bingo for the night. I thought we were playing for cash and turkeys (yes, turkeys!!) until Kari told me a little background story about the night. The Lions Club is huge on Community Service and new to me, the club also have a sweet spot for . . . vision or anything eye-related. Kari goes on to tell me more about this sweet little local girl named Tatum who discovered a red spot on her eye. They brought her into the doctor who referred her to a specialist and after doctors upon doctors, they ended up flying to Philidelphia to find out every parents worst nightmare: it's cancer.

As the family continues to fight this, the community pitched in to help where we could with the monetary fight. Proceeds from the night all went to Tatum and her family to help with medical and traveling expenses.

As I was thinking back on the night, I thought Bingo was a great way to fundraise!

#1: Who doesn't love the great American game of Bingo?
     -- It's a great way to get people together!! Bingo is relaxing, a game you can SIT through the whole game, the anticipation of only one more, just one more. We had a few drinks and even ate dinner while playing. Oh, how could I forget they brought coffee and FREE cookies around!!

Bingo: Fun for all ages!
Here's two 6 month olds enjoying the game!

#2: Bingo is fun for all ages!
     --We literally had a 5 month and 6 month old in high chairs at the end of our table along with Kari's Grandpa (age 75+ ?). What better way for a 4 or 5 year old to practice their letters and numbers and for a 75 year old to practice their letters and numbers?! haha :)
#3: It's affordable yet brings in very decent profits!
     --It was 50 cents/game (or card) and they played 40 games. So 40 games x $ .50 = $20.00 a person. Now that's $20 for only 1 card. Many had 2-3 cards per person. I bet they had 300 people there.
$20/pp x 300 = $  6,000.00 1 card
$40/pp x 300 = $12,000.00 2 cards


Many people who won throughout the night gave their winnings to the family or donated their turkey to the food shelf.
The announcers throughout the night were wonderful and funny. Tatum got up and announced the numbers halfway through the night as well - everybody cheered loudly!

Tatum's family was able to get up and thank everybody for their support. Tatum's dad was barely able to squeak out the words "Thank You" during his first round. When you see the emotions in such a young father such as Tatum's dad, it really hits you. He was able to say a little more on Round 2 as they thanked everybody for all they have done. They were overwhelmed by the support. I was overwhelmed by the support. These are the events that time and time again show how much support a small town has when it comes to difficulties like these. Absolutely amazing!


 About halfway through at Game 20, the crowd started to decrease just here and there. It picked up and more started to leave by Game 25. By game 30, I bet half the crowd was gone. Some of our table overbought tickets and they generously shared so that  we were able to share to play 2-3 cards per person.
Note to self: Next time play 2-3 cards towards the end when everybody is drifting off and leaving!!

Overall it was a great night full of fun and laughs!! And all for a great cause!!
Pictures below are postcard sized flyers they gave out.

 

 

You to are who you are....Zig Ziglar

North Carolina. June 2012

You are who you are
and what you are
 because of what has
gone into your mind.
You can change who you are
 and what you are by
 changing what goes into your mind.
 - Zig Ziglar

 

JRae & Joey - h.s. years

Just going through old pictures while hanging at Mom and Dad's. Here's a few pictures of Jenna and I in our high school years.

 

Yearbook School Pics - 10th grade? 2002-2003?

Jenna, Mr. Dennis Lang, Sarah

Mr. Thomas Hanson and the ladies

Algebra with Mrs. Caneen

State FLA

Chanhassen Dinner Theatre

Jenna's Confirmation

 

Junior Prom!

My birthday party

2nd grade maybe?

 

 

 

 

 

Offer results, not alibis.

Offer results, not alibis. There are many people who — perhaps with the best of intentions — make promises they somehow never get around to keeping. These folks have usually developed a number of perfectly plausible explanations for not meeting their commitments; they have become experts at explaining away their failures. Successful people, though, are those who accept responsibility for their lives. They know that talk is cheap; actions are all that really matter. The world is waiting for men and women who seek the opportunity to render real service — the kind of service that lightens the burdens of their neighbors, the kind of service that 95 percent of people do not render because they do not understand it. When you provide a truly useful service, enthusiastically and in a spirit of genuine helpfulness, success will automatically follow. The world seeks out such individuals and rewards them accordingly. Permanent link to this post: Offer results, not alibis. ---Napoleon Hill Foundation

Saying Good-Bye to Baby Clothes

This little outfit now has a new home!
Luke - 6 months

Ruth and I have been going through Luker's infant clothing and selling them as lots on Craigslist. Last night I brought a Rubbermaid tub up full of his 6 month clothing to be gone Monday morning. Ruth opened it and started reminiscing on some of the clothing and memories connected to it. She got that look like she regretted putting it up for sale. Oh no! No no no no....please don't start that!! I started to try to think of something to reassure her these clothes needed to go (a long with the other 57 tubs of clothing!) even though I shared some of the same feeling as I remember how small he was then compared to a now 3T.


I have been following Dan and Christine Lawson of Fergus Falls, parents to 3 year old Isaiah whose fighting Neuroblastoma, a rare childhood cancer. This is the same cancer that baby Natalia Dorsey fought. Natalia was just 5 months old when I met her and her brothers, the first family I ever nannied for. I really don't know how Dan and Christine do it. They have amazing faith and every journal entry they write, I'm inspired. Once you read it, you'll know what I'm talking about.
This morning as I read Christine's entry, my heart swelled and tears dripped down my cheeks as I read how it was difficult for her to pack up Isaiah's things as they get ready to move into a new house (their current home is not suitable for Isaiah's immune system any longer).
I've copied and pasted her journal entry this morning...

Cycle 2 Immunotherapy begins

Written 1 hour ago

This morning Isaiah and Dan are on their way to Fargo for cycle 2 of  Isaiah's immunotherapy. Isaiah will be admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at 8:00 a.m. I will join them later today after getting the two other children situated in Fergus with Auntie Lisa. 

Isaiah will be admitted for 12 days. Quite a stent. This round is sort of a double whammy of drugs back to back, thus the long hospital stay. We anticipate a rough road with side effects more difficult than cycle 1 of immunotherapy (because of the drug combination). Dan was able to take off the time from school, so the 3 of us will be there together. 

In the meantime, our current home will get pack up and put into storage bins. We need to be ready to move from our current home November 30th. Our move in date to Isaiah's house sometime the first week of December. We will stay with family days in between until the house is ready. At this point, we don't anticipate Isaiah coming back to this house because of all the dust that will be rustled up. Isaiah's new address is 

          1526 North Cleveland, Fergus Falls, MN 56537

Before we can move into Isaiah's new house, everything has to be wiped down/washed down everything, before we can move in. Isaiah will pass his 100 day mark during this hospital stay and his medication regiment will change. 

If you are on Facebook there is a Friends of Isaiah page you can watch for needs we may have during these next few weeks related to moving, preparing Isaiah's house, caring for Isaiah at the hospital or our other children who will be separated from us. 

The word FRAGMENTED has been lingering in my once again. I am not a procrastinator, but last night I could not get myself to pack up Isaiah's things. I just didn't want him to go again. My mama bear heart wants to protect him......but I know we are protecting him from what may come. This is theBEST POSSIBLE treatment we know right now. 

Knowing how weak and helpless I felt last night and knowing how WEAK and HELPLESS Isaiah will feel, there is no better place to fall than to Our Rock. He is still waiting at the bottom to catch us, sustain us, encourage us, rebuild us and strengthen us in every circumstance, no matter our inadequacy, helplessness or fear. He will be there. He will show up. God, my Father, my Firm foundation, my Mighty Fortress will be there. He will display his boundless mercy, enduring faithfulness and unhindered love to Isaiah. With prayer and thanksgiving (in all circumstances) we will put one foot in front of the other and move forward. 

This hour, we will pick up our son, take our first step and walk in faith towards healing.

Here's more of Isaiah's Story.

Perspective.
Once again, my perspective this morning has changed.
As you start your work weeks and groan about another "Monday...Monday", I hope your tone, attitude and perspective has changed after reading. I know mine has!

Thank you Jesus for my beautiful niece and nephews and their health.
Please keep the Lawsons in your prayers.

Veteran's Day - thank you!!

Here I sit on this beautiful November afternoon in a beautiful log home in central Minnesota, contemplating between a nap or taking in the last couple hours of deer hunting gun season. What an honor and a privilege to be able to have an afternoon like this.We are so unbelievably blessed to live in a country where everyday we have the comfort and safety around us built by the sacrifices that our Veteran's and their families have had to endure.
Thank you to the  bravery of our men and women who fight for our freedom every day!

May God bless you and your families, everyday.

John 15:13

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Thank you to all the Veteran's out there!!

I am a Christian.

Human faults are like garden weeds.

Human faults are like garden weeds. They grow without cultivation and soon take over the place if they aren’t thinned out. Habits are formed so slowly that most of us don’t realize what is happening until the habits are too strongly entrenched to be broken. Seldom can one pattern of behavior be eliminated without replacing it with another. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum and will always find something to fill a void. The best way to thin out the “weeds,” or faults in your character, is to identify those traits with which you are dissatisfied and replace them with their positive counterparts. If you have a tendency to lose your temper, for example, find a replacement for your anger. Neutralize it with a positive expression or affirmation, such as, “No one can make me angry unless I let them. I will not let anyone else control my emotions.”  Permanent link to this post: Human faults are like garden weeds. They grow without cultivation and soon take over the place if they aren’t thinned out. SaraHHouse365 | Napoleon Hill SaraHHouse365 | You can think your way in or out

Go to the throne, not the phone.

Watching Joyce Meyer last week, she was talking about how often we try to figure it out a lone.
What should I do? What should I do?
And then, we go to our friends and again, "What should I do? What should I do?"
This part is my favorite: Go to the throne, not the phone.

She spoke such a great sermon on prayer. How true is it that we always try to figure it out first before consulting or discussing it with God.

Pumpkin Carving 2012

Carved pumpkins with Luke and Avery last week - loved it!! I love being in Minnesota for the fall day!