MIRACLE MONDAY ~ Leadership ~ June 6, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

I have a dear friend in my life that I have known since I was six years old.  We started off in first grade together.  This particular friend is a born leader.  Ever since I can remember when it came to electing class presidents, she was the one chosen.  She has incredible leadership skills and organizational qualities.  This friend has held several jobs and each and every one of them has always been in management.  If she doesn’t start off with the position, she inevitably ends up with it.  If there is any one who knows how to get a job done it is her. I have so much respect for her.

Not all people are so lucky that their personalities are so distinctive or apparent.  Usually, true followers can be as easily identified as true leaders. At times, however, being seen as a follower doesn’t necessarily endear you to others or even to yourself. Take charge people don’t always understand those that need to be given direction and encouragement along the way.  When we don’t address our personality type, we don’t always understand why people could possibly become aggravated when we don’t do things their way.

I know that there is a grey zone when it comes to these two very different personalities. Nothing is ever that cut and dry in life. I can very much say that I have traits that fall into both zones. You may very well be the same.  By having a real honest evaluation of which category we fall into, we can learn to better handle some of the changes we might want to make in our lives.  Thus we can become more responsible and accountable for our own happiness.  “In the last analysis, the individual person is responsible for living his own life and for ‘finding himself’.  If he insists in shifting his  responsibility to somebody else, he fails to find out the meaning of his own existence.” (Thomas Merton)

As previously stated, there is absolutely nothing wrong with either personality.  It all boils down to self acceptance and mutual respect for each other.  We aren’t all made from the same mold.  Life would be very boring if we were, so the ultimate goal is to learn to appreciate ourselves for whom we are, and to change the things about ourselves that are changeable.  It is extremely difficult to alter an innate part of our basic being.  We can’t expect others to do things our way either.

We need all types of personalities to effectively make this world of ours go around.  If you are a
follower, the key is to follow the right people.  If you are a leader, the key is to lead, not boss, people in an admirable direction. If you fall somewhere in between, use your God-given talents in both areas as wisely as possible.   The best way to deal with all personality types is to realize, who we are, what we have to offer and to work toward achieving a common goal for the greater good.  We can all achieve our goals if we learn to better work together.   “There is no higher service than human service.  To work for the common good is the greatest creed.”(Albert Schweitzer)

Excerpt from my third manuscript ~ Up The “Down” Ladder

Thanks Joan for being an inspiration to me and for being such a good friend!

FREE DRAW ~ Anyone who leaves a comment on any article from now until June 15th, gets their name put in a draw for a free copy of my book ”Growing Up & Liking It”.  The more comments that you leave the greater your chances of winning. Good Luck!

MIRACLE MONDAY ~ Standing On Your Tiptoes ~ May 30, 2011

Only as high as I reach can I grow,

Only as far as I can seek can I go,

Only as deep as I can look can I see,

Only as much as I dream can I be.

Some things are just worth repeating…this is one of them. There comes a time in life when we must learn to reach out in order to accomplish our dreams. There may be a niggling inside us that is yet to be fulfilled. It doesn’t matter our age nor our stage of life…what matters is the desire to be all that we can be.  The sky’s the limit. It’s never to late to go for it!

“Surely there is grandeur in knowing that in the realm of thought, at least, you are without a chain; that you have the right to explore all heights; that they are no walls nor fences, nor prohibited places, nor sacred corners in all the vast expanse of thought…”(Robert G. Ingersoll)

FREE DRAW ~ Anyone who leaves a comment on any article from now until June 15th, gets their name put in a draw for a free copy of my book ”Growing Up & Liking It”.  The more comments that you leave the greater your chances of winning. Good Luck!

BOOK REVIEW ~ Cruelty To Innocents ~ May 23, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

Title: Cruelty To Innocents (The 911 Abductions)

Authors: CK Webb & DJ Weaver

Publisher: Suspense Publishing

This novel starts off with a bang. You are out of the gate so fast that it can’t help but grab your immediate attention. There’s no way that I could have ever predicted the outcome. Cruelty To Innocents is a real page turner and a book that you won’t want to miss out on.

It starts off in the small town of Aberdeen, Maryland. A typical single mother, Chloe, is having a discussion with her thirteen year old daughter Danni, on the way to the grocery store. This heated discussion is about an unchaperoned event that Chloe doesn’t want her daughter to attend. After this point is settled, Chloe and Danni enter into a grocery store and witness an older man having a massive heart attack. Chloe instinctively tries to resuscitate this dying man and while doing so her daughter mysteriously disappears. To anyone’s recollection, this is the first ever abduction to take place in this small community.

The plot of the story quickly thickens as Sloanne, Chloe’s best friend returns to Aberdeen to support her during this worrisome and frantic time. Sloanne has not been to Aberdeen for several years because of her past. She has no desire to return but her friend’s need outweighs her uneasiness. There is much intrigue and suspense to follow as Sloanne witnesses a tragic accident and meets someone from her past, an old school mate by the name of Shawn. She hardly recognizes this “ruggedly handsome” fireman who was once the “scrawny kid” she remembers from her youth.

As the novel unfolds, during another unfortunate tragedy two more young children, a set of twins, mysteriously disappear from the van they are sitting in as their parents assist in the crisis at hand. What is happening in this almost crime free town of Aberdeen?  Two mysterious abductions in a matter of days….and then there’s Simone who has been beaten to a pulp and lays in a coma.  Will she ever wake up? Will she survive her brutal attack?  Can she help identify her attacker? Are the abductions and this horrible beating connected? So many questions and so few answers. The police are on full alert. What will happen next? Sloanne is now tapping into her background as the daughter of a deceased police officer. Will she be able to get to the bottom of these unprecedented events?

Four miles away from Aberdeen, in the small community of  Havre de Grace, another mysterious abduction takes place. Sloanne along with Shawn and Chloe are putting their heads together to find the common thread in order to unravel this sadistic mystery. Every time a young girl disappears, it seems to be at the scene of some kind of emergency. Is this just a co-incidence or can they piece together this case?  Will Sloanne follow in her father’s footsteps and come up with the much-needed clues?

CK Webb and  DJ Weaver have co-authored this well-written, suspense novel with numerous twists and turns. The unknown and the desire to know more keep you riveted to every word and each and every page.  This dynamic mother-daughter duo have managed to write a book in such a way that it makes the reader feel like they are actually viewing a movie as they read it. I could mentally visualize all that was taking place making it  virtually impossible to not become part of the action. I eagerly returned to read this book time and time again in order to see what could possibly happen next as the clues unfolded to solve the mystery in “Cruelty To Innocents”.  You will not be able to put this book down.   

CK Webb was born and raised in Mississippi, and dreamed of writing like the greats; Emily Bronte, Edgar Allan Poe, and Stephen King, to name a few. CK joined the US Navy and traveled the world, but eventually returned to settle down in the tiny town of Millport, Alabama. A self-proclaimed ‘reformed bad girl’, this thirty-something writer now shares her life with her husband and two beautiful children.

CK also enjoys spending time with her friends, family, and book club. Although CK delights in preying on the fears of others and enjoys killing people…thankfully she does it the legal way; in her novels. She has just completed the first two novels in the ‘Innocents’ series which she co-wrote with her best-friend and mother, DJ Weaver. CK writes in a variety of other genres.

 

Originally from Pascagoula, Mississippi, DJ Weaver relocated to north Mississippi in 1980. She attended Mississippi University for Woman and Mississippi State University, studying paralegalism and Human Resources Management.  DJ recently completed two books in the three-novel Innocents series, Cruelty to Innocents: The 911 Abductions and Collecting Innocents, which she co-wrote with her daughter and best friend, CK Webb.

DJ writes in a variety of genres. When she isn‘t writing, DJ develops and maintains WebbWeaver Review blog, where she reviews books and interviews published authors regularly. She serves as co-chairwoman of WebbWeaver Book Club. DJ also writes book reviews for Suspense Magazine. DJ is a 50-something year old mother and grandmother who works part-time and makes her home in Millport, Alabama.

Websites: http://theinnocents.weebly.com WEBWEAVER

FB fanpages:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Webb-Weaver-Fans/104281169603829

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-CK-Webb/154867487887428

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-DJ-Weaver/156387674395890

FREE DRAW ~ Anyone who leaves a comment on any article from now until June 15th, gets their name put in a draw for a free copy of my book ”Growing Up & Liking It”.  The more comments that you leave the greater your chances of winning. Good Luck!

MIRACLE MONDAY ~ “LAFF” ~ MAY 2, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

In two of my previous posts I mentioned my great pleasure in the solving of all kinds of puzzles. I also stated that one of my favorite expressions is Live…Laugh…Love. When I found this quote, it made me think about both of these earlier posts. Instead of repeating what I wrote, perhaps you would like to take a moment to read them.  Please click on  “LAFF” or  “Psst…Hey EWE” and you’ll know exactly what I mean.

MIRACLE MONDAY ~ Movies ~ April 25, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

To follow my tradition of discussing topics on the lighter note on Monday, here goes.  I love going to the movies. How about you? Actually the best part about going to the movies is going out with our friends. During the winter months, we usually go to a movie once a week. Afterwards, we go for supper together and oftentimes, we discuss the movie we have just seen.  This is a wonderful social event for us, but it’s so much more than that because we have the opportunity to discover more and more about each other by sharing our impressions of the movies we enjoy or the places we prefer to eat.

Recently, we went to see the movie “Limitless”, and although the ticket attendant said it was a good movie, we didn’t agree. The best part about that evening was going for Vietnamese food afterwards because the movie really didn’t score high points with any of us. On the other hand, the week before we went to see “Lincoln Lawyer” and we all thought it was wonderful. It held our attention throughout the whole two hours and we discussed it extensively. When I walked with my friends the next morning, we continued to discuss it even more.  The acting was excellent as well as the plot. The story was not only suspenseful, but unpredictable as well. 

Sometimes I see a movie and I can’t say it was bad, nor can I say it was good. Other times, I see a movie that I feel I can comfortably recommend for others to see. “Limitless” falls into the first category, and “Lincoln Lawyer” falls into the latter. If you haven’t seen this movie, it’s well worth seeing.  If you’ve seen either of these movies, it would be great to know what you think.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES AND ANECDOTES ~ April 18, 2011

This is a very profound quote.  If I can leave anything with you today, I would like to give you the gift of believing in yourself. It won’t happen in one day, but maybe it will be the first seed that when nurtured, will bloom into a very fruitful tree. So many of us look for validation outside of ourselves to identify who we are by how others react to us.  We may look to others for approval instead of being our authentic self.  It is necessary to find that validation from within in order to have a true belief in ourselves.

If we rely on others to form this belief, we may lose sight of all that we hope to be because we have compromised facets of our own personality and character so that we will be loved and accepted. This is conditional love. It takes real courage and true grit to be different and stand up for our beliefs. We can only find this courage when we have the strength and determination to validate who we are from the inner stirrings of our Maker.

These stirrings may begin by a dissatisfaction or lack of contentment in our lives that just won’t leave us, but there is a reason for this. If we are always satisfied with our situation in life, there would be no room for growth or any desire to change our circumstances or anyone else’s for that matter.  Growth results in many fine attributes like self-worth, self-esteem and a desire to make a difference.  With these attributes, we learn about hope and the gift of believing in ourselves…a gift so wondrous that we can stand tall and be exactly whom we were meant to be regardless of other people’s opinion of us. Be true to these inner stirrings and you will learn how to believe in yourself.

MIRACLE MONDAY ~ A New Word To Make You Smile ~ April 4, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

I heard a new word the other day on TV for the very first time. I honestly don’t think it’s a real word or that you could find it in any dictionary but I really like the sound of it. The word is “smize” .  Actually it is probably spelled “sm-eyes”.  Have you ever heard this word? Do you know what it means? Before I tell you what this TV host said it means, I want to ask you another question.

Have you ever heard the expression that the “eyes are the window to the soul” ? I love this saying because when I look into people’s eyes, I see their spirit. Sometimes, I see kindness, joy, sadness, anger and so on. I think the eyes really do give away our innermost feelings if we let them. The expression in our eyes can really make us feel quite vulnerable. I think our eyes are our most precious feature. In fact, I think they are the most important feature we have and the one I certainly like the most.

Okay, so now back to the meaning of this so-called new word.  I kind of gave you a clue to its meaning when I clarified the spelling.  “Sm-eyes”  means to “smile with your eyes”.  I like the meaning of this new word.  To me, when our whole face lights up when we smile, is what  true “sm-eyesing ” is probably all about . What do you think?  Have you ever smiled as you look into a mirror?  Hey, give it a try. You’ve got nothing to lose. Have a good look and see what other people see when you smile at them. I’d be honored if you let me know if you “sm-eyes”.

MIRACLE MONDAY ~ MOON DANCE (a novel) ~ Book Review ~ March 28, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

Title: Moon Dance  ~ a novel (321 pages)

Author: Susan Earl

Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the novel, Moon Dance, by Author Susan Earl.  It is very easy to discern that Susan is passionate about her relationship with God as she so skillfully intertwines her own values in her novel about Maggie and Joe.

The story takes place in Texas during the Great Depression yet despite the poverty and hardship that so many people endured; Maggie and Joe manage to find love and romance. Although, the main plot of Moon Dance revolves around the love they share, there are many other delightful characters that enhance the story line. There is much sadness and sorrow that is also addressed in this well-written, descriptive novel, but the faith of the family and the love that they all share manages to bring it to a happy conclusion. This book grabbed my attention right from the onset and I enjoyed it immensely.

Susan K. Earl grew up in a small town deep in the heart of East Texas. Her writing often reflects her roots, where good-hearted folks left a lasting impression on her life.

She has been blessed with a large, loving family, has been an educator for twenty-five years, and lives in Central Texas with her husband, her cat, and her dog.

MIRACLE MONDAY ~ THE COUPON QUEENS ~ March 21, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

It seems so much easier to admit some of our silly, little habits when we find people who operate the same way. My mom was one of the biggest coupon people I know. She loved cutting out coupons and taking them to the store to redeem them for cash. The stores weren’t nearly so sticky all those years ago and they would dole out cash for your coupons whether you bought the product or not. My mom loved this little practice because money was tight in those days and this coupon money ended up being her extra cash to spend the way she saw fit.

I’m a coupon clipper. There’s no getting around this fact. The other day when I went to the local pharmacy with my wallet full of coupons, I got a bunch of excellent deals. When I jumped in the car and looked in the mirror, I realized I had become my mother. Oh my, I could hardly believe it.  I not only look like her, I’m now doing the same darn thing. The scary part about it is that the realization crept up on me in such an unexpected  way that it brought a smile to my face. 

I don’t really need to engage in this habit. I’m not in the same position my mom was all those years ago, so why do I do it? I’ll tell you why! I have a group of friends that I socialize with and guess what?  We all do the exact same thing. It’s actually hilarious. It’s a wonderful game that we all seem to enjoy. We go shopping and to restaurants with our handy coupons. Buy one meal, get one free has been the deciding factor in many of the restaurants we frequent. There is even a half-price day at the local movie theater.  Our husbands have started to be as hooked as we are and they are cooperating to the fullest extent.  Usually you can only purchase one item per coupon, so the “guys” sometimes join us so that they can use a coupon too. You know how much these men like to go shopping but yet somehow or other we get them to come along with us so we can benefit from two coupons instead of just one. 

As I’m writing this and trying to describe this habit of ours, it makes me want to burst out laughing. Here we are…all excelling in the art of being thrifty. We are so proud of our bargains. When we’re gone and leave our children their inheritance, if there’s any to be had, I’m sure they’ll spend it faster than you can “shake a stick” and probably without a moment’s hesitation. We’ve had a blast saving our money. Hopefully, our children will have as big a blast spending it!  What do you think? 

MIRACLE MONDAY~ Divine Plan — January 24, 2011 by Dolores Ayotte

Blue Skies today, always and in all ways…

The majority of my writing is faith-based and I draw from my own personal inspiration and relationship with God.  I don’t know the plan.  All I know is that I am…as are you, part of the Divine Plan which is far greater than anyone of us could possibly imagine.  If things don’t go quite as we see fit, it doesn’t mean to say that all won’t turn out for the better.  Miracles take time.

Often times, life can appear magical but miracles don’t happen quite as fast.  We must exercise extreme patience and diligence in order for our own personal plan to unfold.  God is not in a hurry. “The sculptor will chip off all unnecessary material to set the angel free.  Nature will chip and pound us remorselessly to bring out our possibilities.  She will strip us of wealth, humble our pride, humiliate our ambition, let us down from the ladder of fame, will discipline us in a thousand ways, if she can develop a little character.  Everything must give way to that. Wealth is nothing, position is nothing, fame is nothing, manhood is everything.”  (Orison Swett Marden) 

Good things can and do happen to good people.  God has promised us many things and is true to His Word.  We must count on that in our daily lives. “Each experience through which we pass operates ultimately for our good….This is a correct attitude to adopt…and we must be able to see it in that light.” (Raymond Holliwell)   We don’t always recognize the work of God, but if we are patient with ourselves and take the time to reflect, we will create the opportunity to see exactly how God works.