My World Hopecast Interview

 

Many of you have heard of motivational speaker Dr. Paul Jenkins, well I am being interviewed by him on the WORLD HOPECAST next week, so please sign up now to listen!

This is a record breaking internet podcast with interviews of experts from around the globe in a record attempt (certified by Guinness) for the longest live-streamed audio webcast, while providing powerful messages of hope to the world, from around the world.

Registration is Open! Please take a moment to register yourself, and then invite your friends to do the same. Once you register, you will receive a unique link and instructions that allow you to follow the live stream. I will be interviewed on Friday at 12am Mountain Standard Time. Tune in online, Thursday night just before midnight to hear my Friday 12am interview podcast live. Let me know if you can't listen to the even that night. I will have a direct link to my interview after the entire podcast for World Hopecast is over.

The link you receive will work for the entire event, not just my interview. You will also have access to the schedule and can share the event with others. This is the direct link to the registration page:

http://WorldHopecast.com/registration

World Hopecast does not sell or share your e-mail information. Even if you can't listen to mine, register and listen to other podcasts or mine at a later date :)

Grace Marie Chumley

"Put on your natural make-up, SMILE"

Author of:

"Grace Under Pressure - Smiling Through Adversity"

Food #6 Learning From Young Pros

Sometimes amazing opportunities just land in your lap. As a substitute teacher, I usually work a classroom one or two days in a row and then move on. This year I was given the opportunity to do a long term substitute job at a local high school. I am loving it! I have been able to teach Child Development (one of my college majors) and cooking. Yes, cooking! I have two classes of Cooking 1 and then the Pro Start Restaurant class.  My units to teach in Child Development are on genetics and the reproductive system. They even have the simulator babies to start taking home including a car seat!

It didn't take long to get caught up to speed in the Child Development or Cooking 1 classes, but the Pro Start was way beyond me.  These are high school students who really know how to cook in a restaurant kitchen. Once or twice a month, they run a cafe in the school for teachers to eat lunch at. The students are responsible for management and running the front of the cafe as well as running the kitchen in the back. 

 

This is the front of the house or the cafe. It is small and very nice. I am standing by the cash register and the door to enter. Teachers pay to come eat at the cafe. Each student has to run one cafe a year where they are the manager, plan the menu, and then assign the rest of the students jobs. One day we do a run through and cook a small amount. Then the students give me the grocery list depending on how many teachers sign up. I get to do the shopping! Then they do the real thing for about 30 teachers. It has been really fun. 

We did the unit on salads and garnishes and they made some really good food and some fun garnishes. I get paid to teach, sample food, grade, test, and go shopping. This has been one of the best sub jobs so far. They even gave me a lap top and trusted me in Skyward. That is the student system that I just happen to have worked in for over 14 years so I didn't need any training there.

Needless to say, these amazing students have taught me a few things. There are some great students out there that have a passion for learning, who are well disciplined, and who appreciate a substitute teach that is studying at home so that their time in class is not wasted.  On top of that, I am learning some great cooking skills and I have a great kitchen to work in. Just look at this place! Teaching doesn't get any better than this.

 

 

 

Just some of the fun garnishes they made with whatever they could find in the kitchen. 

One of the Quickest Ways to Start to Heal is Through Forgiveness (Healthy Habits #6)

One of the hardest things in the world to do is forgive, especially when you didn’t do anything wrong. Our mind and even the world communicates to us there is no need to forgive. I was right or I was the victim. When we hang on to what someone has done to us, it causes bitterness, anger, and resentment in our hearts. When we don’t let go our heart becomes darker. Here are three personal examples that I hope will explain what I mean.

When I was a young mom, there were two men at my church that held leadership positions that I had a difficult time with. They had said several things that really hurt my feelings. One day I walked into the church and one of the men said, “Hey you pregnant again or just getting fatter.” Now I don’t know how you would feel, but for me not being pregnant, that was a huge insult. I could go on and on and list the things that were said over the course of a few years that were so out of line. It made me angry. I had such feelings of bitterness and hatred towards these two men. What were they thinking?

Did they treat me like that every time I saw them? No. But the bitterness was already in me and it festered. I went on hating them for almost five years. Every time I was around them my mind and heart were filled with animosity. One day I noticed that they really had no idea I was angry at them. They were clueless and I was filled with bitterness. That is one of the first times I realized how this principle works. It is like I was drinking poison and expecting them to die. One day I saw them alone in a room together. I went in and told them I wanted to apologize to them for having negative thoughts toward them. They both looked surprised and asked me what they had done. I told them it didn’t matter and that I was sorry. It was like someone took a weight and lifted it off my back. This is a simple example that I allowed to last much longer than necessary and in the end it really only damage me.

Another example is when my daughter had a boyfriend who turned into a stalker. It put our family in an upheaval when I had to have her in hiding for seven weeks in another state. During that time I was angry at him for what he did and I did everything I could to protect my daughter, but I also prayed for him. He was messed up and really needed help from somewhere. Although I hated his actions, I tried to remember he was also a child of God. A messed up one, but one none the less. It took a lot of work, but it kept my heart from becoming bitter with hatred toward him.

Finally, after my mother died at 85, I went to her home to collect her belongs. She had been living with her elderly boyfriend for the last 13 years of her life. I knew him well and I had stayed at their home on several occasions with my children. He would dote over my mother and loved her very much but was very distraught at her death. That night I woke up to the horror of him naked in my bed. I won’t go into detail about what all happened and how things ended, but I was angry, violated, and disgusted. I drove the moving van the five hours home breaking down in tears and anguish as to why he would attempt to do what he did. I had always felt safe there or I would never had gone alone.

The feelings of anger, violation, and disgust did not last long this time. I went to an ecclesiastical leader of my church the next day and we talked and I cried. He assured me that it was not my fault and I did nothing wrong. Then he gave me a blessing and told me everything would be alright and to find forgiveness in my heart. It was easier this time. I was not asked to forget or to let him back into my life, I was asked to forgive him for his sins. When we forgive, we aren’t expected to forget. We often need to remember to keep ourselves safe from the situation repeating itself.

The lesson here is that when we are the victim, we are continuing to allow them to win when we become bitter and angry. We are giving them power over us. When we forgive, our hearts are softened and our healing can begin.

Author’s Note: If you are in a violent abusive relationship. Don’t remain in it. Get to a safe place. Even if you forgive a hundred times, the abuser will continue their abuse unless they get help and learn to truly change. Remember forgiveness is to help in your healing. It does not mean to continue to allow the abusive behavior of others to hurt you. (GMC)

Healthy Habits #2

Today at my church a great lesson was taught based on a talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf entitled "Grateful in Any Circumstance." It is a favorite of mine. He talks about knowing how to comfort and support people in their trials. He teaches that if we choose to develop a spirit of gratitude, it will bring us true joy and great happiness. Many times we wonder what we have to be grateful for when our world is falling apart.

I felt that way 6 years ago when my husband took his life. Where do you find the good and happiness in a situation like that? This week was the 6 year anniversary of that loss and I felt more sadness this year than in some of the past years. Sadness that a man with so much to offer couldn't see the good he was providing the people around him. For the most part, I have done very well after such a devastating loss. Many people have wonder how I have bounced back and how I have done so well, so I am going to let you in on a few of my successes with this tragedy.

First, it was not my fault and there was nothing I could do to stop what happened or change it. So I chose not to take the blame for his decision. No going to the 'what ifs' or 'if I'd only."
Second, I focused on the good he did in this world and the stories other shared about how he helped them.
Third, I wrote. I wrote my feelings of sadness, happiness, trials, pain, joy, and loss. As I wrote, I tried to find humor and peace in the crazy things life was throwing at me.
Fourth, and this one took awhile longer, I realized the good I could do because he left me well taken care of.
Fifth, and most important, I made the decision to be happy. Happy with what I had in the past and with what I still had.

Was life easy, no. Was I always happy, no. But it was my choice and I believe it was what carried me through to a healthy state of mind so quickly. I never needed counseling, but I did need my friends and their support and understanding.

So what is the point of writing this entry? Hopefully to help other see that life is tough and we have many things thrown our way to knock us off track, but most of us hold the key to being happy. Our health depends on it. With a smile and a happy heart, I believe we can help our bodies stay healthy too.