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Preface: I am blessed that God put Susan in my life this year. She loves the Lord and walks the walk. She’s real. I hope you find strength through this story.
When Susan Norris was dating her now husband, Randy, she befriended his childhood friend, Jason, and Jason’s girlfriend, Courtney. They became close friends… planning their weddings together, planning the birth of their children, and vacationing together. Susan’s son Timothy and Courtney’s son Tucker were born 12 weeks apart.
Courtney and Susan
Shortly before Tucker’s first birthday in 2001, he was diagnosed with cancer. Susan remembers the year of chemo and hospital visits that they would make to see Tucker. She remembers how Tucker’s eyes would light up to see Timothy, and Timothy would push him around in a cart or wagon.
Tucker gave his last battle against cancer last May, shortly after his ninth birthday. Susan’s son Timothy sat at Tucker’s bedside during his last week on Earth. How, as a parent, do you teach your child to deal with grief at such a young age? How does a 10-year old boy process that he has lost his best friend?
Timothy Norris, with the help of his parents, is learning how to deal with his loss. He is living out Tucker’s bible verse that Tucker embraced throughout his battle with cancer, Joshua 1:9. “Be strong and courageous for the Lord your God is with you.”
Recently, while out to eat with his parents, Timothy saw a Relay for Life kick-off party at the restaurant and said that he “should do that for Tucker.” Ryan Gaines, a member of the Norris’ church, had the idea to create a video for youtube.
Sometimes kids come up with ideas and they stay just that – an idea. Not this time. Susan made sure to put the action behind the idea to make it a reality.
Susan worked with Timothy and asked him what he wanted to say. She helped him write the script and helped him to practice. Details didn’t go unnoticed. The video is shot in Timothy’s bedroom, and the trophy on his bedside table is one that was given out at church for memorizing 15 bible passages. Tucker had one just like it.
Timothy has a goal to raise $1,000 for cancer research, and he invites kids to join him in the Relay for Life walk. Susan purchased plastic bats, cut slits in them for money collection, and gave the bats out to kids to collect donations. Timothy, with the help of his mom, is teaching other kids the ethic of service and how to show compassion for others.
Thank you, Susan, for teaching us about love and courage.
Love and Blessings,
**If you would like to read Tucker’s story, you can click here to read it on CaringBridge.
**Read about The Church at Ross Station here (where Randy Norris is the pastor).
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Why do Random Acts of Kindness make us feel so good? Whether we are the giver or the receiver, they make our hearts smile. Recently, I was on the receiving end of an Random Act of Kindness. I was feeling a little blue, because I was missing my nieces who live 2 hours away. Then in my teacher’s box at school, an apple and note appeared. I was so tickled. So simple, yet it meant so much. I had no idea who did it or who to thank.
Why did it make me feel so good? Did the randomness make me feel like it was a smile from God to encourage me. Was it because I was reminded that the simple things in life are the best things? Maybe I was being reminded that love is a verb and not a feeling like Hollywood tries to teach us.
I later found out it was a precious teacher. Instead of giving up something for Lent, she decided to do Random Acts of Kindness. Mrs. Hairston, thanks for teaching me about love “the verb”.
Why do you think Random Acts of Kindness make us feel so good? How do you teach your kids about Random Acts of Kindness?
Love,
Lisa
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Has this ever happened to you?
Something exciting happened to you, or maybe you learned something new. You are about to burst to share it. The person you want to share it with is on RED. You share it anyway. Then you are really disappointed, because they didn’t listen. It wasn’t that your loved one was mad, in a bad mood, or doesn’t love you. They simply weren’t ready to listen.
Several years ago I listened to an audio book about being a good listener. I must share with you the color system that I learned. I’ve shared it with many friends. This system saves feelings from being hurt and time. Everyone I’ve ever shared it with, loves it.
If you need attention for an important matter start by asking the listener, “What color are you on?” If they don’t know the color system it gives you the perfect chance to share it.
RED - I don’t have a lot of time to listen. I’m busy. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, so please don’t tell me anything I need to remember. I NEVER share my heart with someone on RED. I make it short or I usually go back later.
YELLOW – I have a little time if you hurry, but don’t tell me your life story in order to ask a simple question. I NEVER share my heart with someone on YELLOW. I share information only and as quickly as possible.
GREEN – I have all the time in the world. Let’s go sit on the porch and talk. GREEN is the only time I share my heart.
I’ve learned to take expectations off of people that they should always be ready to listen. The other person usually likes the fact that I respect their time enough to ask “What color are you on?”. The system works well, especially on the phone when you can’t see their non-verbal cues.
What color are you on?
Love,
Lisa
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I think that being a mom is a rewarding, scary, stressful, fulfilling, daunting, wonderful, overwhelming responsibility. I also think that for me to be the best mom I can be, I need to be the best person I can be. By best I mean happiest and most successful.
I’ve recently started reading a new book by Marcus Buckingham called Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently. In it, he asks readers to take the Strong Life Test at StrongLifeTest.com, where it will measure the answers against nine life roles and indicate to a reader/test-taker what her Lead Role and Supporting Role are.
I took the test today, and as no surprise my leading role was TEACHER. Here’s what the test said about that role:
TEACHER
You begin by asking:
‘What can she learn from this?’
Your best quality:
Your faith in the others’ potential
Your smartest career move:
Any job where you’re paid to facilitate the success of others.
My supporting role turned out to be ADVISOR. Here’s what it said about that role…
ADVISOR
You begin by asking:
‘What is the best thing to do?’
Your best quality:
Your ability to find a solution
Your smartest career move:
Any job where you’re paid to be opinionated
This is stuff I’ve always known. However, I’ve been in a position where my employer wanted me to be a different person… to be more of a “Caretaker” or “Weaver” by Buckingham’s test. I actually thought that my personality was flawed. The pressure was on that I needed to be like someone else. Those were some of my unhappiest days.
As most of you know, I have two daughters. Their personalities are very different, and I don’t try to change them. I appreciate their differences and try to build up their strengths rather than try to change them to conform to my own desires or to be like each other. Because I want them to have their happiest and most successful life, too.
Are you currently in the role that is best suited for you in order to bring strength and satisfaction to you? Try taking the test at StrongLifeTest.com and find out more.
Let us know how we can help you, and share with us how you celebrate your children’s personalities.
Love,
During the 17 years that he spent at the Gallup Organization, Buckingham extensively researched the nation’s best leaders, managers, and work places. He has written four bestselling books, First, Break All the Rules , Now, Discover Your Strengths, The One Thing You Need to Know and Go Put Your Strengths to Work. Find out more at MarcusBuckingham.com.
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Last Christmas my parents gave me an iPod. I like to listen to music on it, but I LOVE to listen to podcasts. The best part is that they are FREE food for my brain. I commute a good distance every day, so I love to listen in my car. Among my favorites: Joyce Myer, Dave Ramsey, Church of the Highlands, Suze Orman, Dishy Mix, and now Strong Mothers!
Our Podcast is available in iTunes. This week we have an interview with Shelia Vickery. She is the Strong Mother of three daughters. She tells stories of her childhood and motherhood. One theme in her life is “Don’t Tell Me Can’t!” There is no doubt that you will be able to relate to her triumph over obstacles along her way. Did your chores while you were growing up include washing bricks and raking the carpet? Listen to find out more……
Step 1 Click on this Link to our Podcast!
Step 2 Subscribe to our FREE Podcast through iTunes
Step 3 Enjoy our Podcast and give us feedback.
Step 4 Tell us who we need to interview next.
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Got a good caption for our Wordless Wednesday? Leave a comment with a caption for the picture below and we’ll select our favorite. No prizes, but 15 minutes of fame and some braggin’ rights.
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The following review is by this week’s guest blogger, Susan Robie. There are two things she says that I really like…. she says, “Will I make a change? Not sure. But if I don’t, it’s not because I don’t know better.” She’s talking about making a change to a healthier lifestyle, but I think it could apply to lots of areas in our lives. Don’t you agree?
The second thing Susan mentions is the 80/20 rule: Susan writes, “She advises readers to follow the 80/20 rule, which advocates following her advice 80% of the time and giving in to your cravings the other 20%.” No matter what the areas of our lives, if we try to make too many changes at once, we are setting ourselves up to fail. For long-lasting change, take it step by step, only changing a few things at time.
Enjoy Susan’s review below!
Love,
Paula Owens Knows Her Stuff
by Susan Robie
Paula Owens knows her stuff. As an expert in the field of holistic nutrition, she has read hundreds of articles from dozens of medical journals. She reports her results clearly and succinctly in The Power of 4, a book that helps women move toward the “4”: health, vitality, longevity, and fat loss by educating readers about nutrition, physical exercise, supplementation, and lifestyle.
Fair warning, you will be overwhelmed. But Owens starts her book with a clear message: work toward changing one or two bad habits a week. She advises readers to follow the 80/20 rule, which advocates following her advice 80% of the time and giving in to your cravings the other 20%.
Owens devotes chapters to topics such as sleep, drinking water, avoiding milk, reading food labels, dietary supplements, and getting the most out of your exercise. In each chapter, Owens presents a good amount of information but helps the reader focus on the main ideas by adding charts and “winning formulas” at the end of each chapter.
I’m not exactly a health nut. Nowhere close. And as I started reading the book, I got frustrated because Owens leaves out many links in the causal chain. For example, she links dairy consumption directly to strep throat and claims that eliminating dairy will cure strep without telling exactly how. But every good writer has a purpose; Owens’ purpose is to present the information that she finds critical to holistic health in a way that is accessible to every woman. She provides detailed citations at the end of the books so that curious or skeptical readers can hear it straight from the horse’s mouth.
And what she says makes sense. As I read the chapter about sugar intake, I came across the list of symptoms of insulin resistance, a result of too much sugar. I had 7 of the 10 symptoms.
Will I make a change? Not sure. But if I don’t, it’s not because I don’t know better. Owens begins and ends the book with the same challenge: choose just two habits a week to change and see if you don’t feel better. We owe it to ourselves to take her advice.
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You know, we’ve learned that posting on blogs is a funny thing. We’ve got lots of friends who read this blog and they make comments to us in person, and many made comments to us last week about the book, weight loss, nutrition…. but we only had 4 comments posted. We almost had only 3, but Sandy Frederick made it just in the nick of time.
We hope more of you will post comments in the future. We believe in your input, insight, and experiences. We want this to be a place for sharing, learning, supporting, and growing. Our tagline, “Sharing Our Stories, Sharing Our Strength,” sums up our belief – we’re better together, and we’re all in this together. Let’s help each other to be our very best – for ourselves and our children.
Our 4 wonderful readers who commented on the book giveaway are all winners of The Power of 4 by Paula Owens. Congratulations to Glenda, Jan, SueMac, and Sandy. (Please email your address to jenniferhogan@strongmothers.com and I will send you your new gift!) 
If you haven’t read Paula’s article, The Top Ten Foods to Avoid, I highly recommend it. Also, her radio interview is very informative.
Have a wonderful week!
Love,
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