Jada Pinkett Smith Inspires Me Too!

Katie Holmes told PEOPLE "Jada is so strong...She is a rare woman – a phenomenal friend, mother, wife. She inspires me." Then adds Tom Cruise: "Jada tells it like it is. She creates art in her life ... She's effortless. She just has such class." Katie summed up not only Jada but also the woman that I continually strive to be everyday.

I am in the middle of my annual period of goals evaluation, goal setting for the upcoming year and examining who I am, where I am and where I want to be. This process lead me to do a brief study of various women who possessed traits and characteristics that I admire and the list began to form. The list includes so far Maya Angelou, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Lisa Ling and continues to grow everyday.

A new silver lining was revealed to me a few weeks ago in the form of the new addition of women that I admire. She is DiAnne Malone, the author of Who's That Lady?. I was so moved by the following passage in her very first blog post that I gasped!

As women of God, we should strive to posses that same glory and let it !bling! within us. People should see women of God and gasp in wonderment, “Oh my goodness! Who’s that lady?” Wouldn’t it be absolutely delicious for God’s glory to have such a profound effect on you and those around you? http://web.me.com/diannemalone/WhosThatLady/Blog/Entries/2008/10/13_In_the_beginning%2C_there_was_a_Who%E2%80%99s_That_Lady.html

I want to be a “Who’s That Lady”, do you?


To read more of DiAnne’s Blog, visit the Who’s That Lady blog http://web.me.com/diannemalone/WhosThatLady/Blog/Blog.html

Take Time for Your Life

Everyday is a better day - this is something that I have been telling myself lately just to make it through the day. I've been in this little funk lately; feeling overwhelmed and anxious about trying to do all of the stuff on my "Things to Do" list. It was literally driving me crazy - to the point that I just had to STOP and begin to refocus my life on what is really important. It is so easy to let others and issues take control over your life to the point that you are longer living for you but for everyone else.

Time is such a precious thing and we always seem to never have enough of it; so I have decided today to be extremely selfish with my time. I want to focus on what I am called to do and what I want to do and nothing else!

Have you had any "Me Time" lately? What are you focusing on today? Is it benefiting you and making you better? If not - just let it go! It is truly liberating!

Come on over to this side of the street - there are so many Silver Linings over here!

"Have you still got your space? Your soul, your own and necessary place where your own voices may speak to you, you alone, where you may dream. Oh, hold onto it, don't let it go."
—Doris Lessing

The GLOW. Shine and Succeed Today.

It is a beautiful sunny morning here in Atlanta. While enjoying a great cup of coffee, I discovered The GLOW Project. The Glow Project is the new businesswoman's success manual, filled with valuable information, education and inspiration. As a solopreneur who has to dig deep to find the resources for making my business better, I was not only excited to discover The GLOW Project but actually exhilarated. The GLOW Project is my Silver Lining for today. Check it out if you like http://www.glowproject.org/GlowMovie/GlowShort080630.php.

The real message in all of this is that The Universe will reveal exactly what we need at the precise time EVERYDAY if we only open our hearts and minds to see and smell the flowers - Flowers are Life's Silver Linings.

Flowers are Life's Silver Linings

Flowers Bloom in the Moonlight is the title of a letter that my beloved wrote to me many years ago. From the moment I read those words, I knew that it's message would remain with me forever. My darling describes our love as the flower that bloomed during a very dark time in his life. The more I meditated on the phrase, I began to take notice of many of life's experiences that seemed dark and hopeless yet were transformed into life's beauty.

My new friend, Melissa, described it best when she said that Flowers are really our silver linings; hence the title of my blog. I am currently compiling poems, short stories, letters and journal entries of life's silver linings. If you have a story to share please visit http://www.flowersbloominthemoonlight.com/ and submit your work for consideration.

You can also share your "Daily Silver Lining" here.

Your Flowers will be more than just words of encouragement to the reader; they will be planted seeds in the blossoming of a new life.

Always remember to look for Flowers - They are Life's Silver Linings.