Extra in The Ordinary

A couple of weeks ago I learned a lesson from my kids in courage, and I just have to share this. It's a precious memory I'll keep with me forever. So, it was a hectic Saturday morning, the Saturday before Easter, and we were getting ready to go out to eat breakfast. IPK (our 7 year old precious daughter) wants to put on her magnetic earrings. Ok, I tell her. (She'll take them off in about 10 minutes because they pinch her ears, but until she has the courage for real piercings, this is what she likes to wear). So she puts them on and looks happily in the mirror. Big smile, and then she trots off to her room. 5 minutes later..... Punkin (our 5 year old daughter) goes into IPK's room and notices the earrings and wants to put them on, too. There's only one pair, so the conversation isn't getting very far. Mr. Extraordinary (husband) hears this conversation, and says- "Hey IPK, do you want to go get your ears pierced?". She gives me a look I'll ne...

I was blessed to have an extraordinary week of snow and winter weather (in April) in Colorado this week.  This morning I was so overwhelmed by the view out of my window of 18 mountain tops, as seen below, that I wrote a poem. Yes, I counted the mountain tops! I hope you like it! God's 18 Mountains 18 Mountains paint my view God declared through fog and hugh 18 peaks lift my eyes I lift my face up to the skies On and on the mountains go On and on new mercies flow Like rivers down the rocky slope God's love and grace brings down new hope Nature's perfect glory song 18 mountains go on and on

The value of actions depends on the courage they require. Ordinary people who do extraordinary things for others are those we later call heroes. When asked why they performed as they did, they often say, “It was nothing anyone else wouldn’t have done in the circumstances.” Perhaps that’s their way of saying we all have the capacity for greatness. It is only when we are severely tested that we rise to the occasion and perform at the highest levels of our competence. You become a person who does the right things when presented with great opportunities the same way you achieve success at anything: through force of habit. If you make it a practice to take the appropriate action even when it seems unimportant and insignificant, you will do the right thing — without thinking — in important situations. If you let your actions speak for you, you will never have to worry about others recognizing your contribution.  _____________________________________________________________...