Saturday, October 22, 2011

Help the Homeless Walk & 5K

On Saturday, November 12, 3PM, the Help the Homeless Walk & 5K will be held at the Fair Park Band Shell.  Funds raised benefit The Bridge homeless assistance center.  It’s a great event for the entire family.  In addition to getting our daily exercise, there will be lots of fun, food and music. 
·         The North Texas Patriot Guard will lead off both the walk and run.
·         The presentation of colors will be led by the 4th Air Wing Honor Guard, Texas State Guard
·         Slappy and Monday (from Slappy’s Puppet Playhouse fame) will be on hand…a great opportunity for the kids to say ‘hi’ to the affable clowns. 
·         Dallas’ favorite band, Emerald City, will be bringing us the toe tapping tunes.   
·         Great, free food samples from Tiff’s Treats (yummy cookies), Little Caesar’s, Community Coffee, Pepsi, Powerade, Clif Bars, and Frito Lay.
·         Fun, interactive games, face painting and more!

For the $5 discount, those interested may use the code VETS.  Enter the code at Question #5 during registration.

For more info and to register go to: http://helpthehomelessdallas.org/

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

We have a Winner

Congrats to Adam G. who won a Family Four Pack to Disney Live!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Listening for a Legacy

The holidays provide a wonderful opportunities to get together with older relatives and hear stories from their lives. Biographies are a treasure house of lessons learned, fields full of wisdom that can be gleaned from the good and bad decisions of someone else.
My parents always encouraged me to ask questions that will help me understand the perspectives of others and I guess that has factored into my pursuing a degree in psychology and my love of acting. I spent three and a half years as a probation counselor to juveniles. As a part of the job, I would interview families and create a social history. This was my favorite and also saddest part of the job because as you might imagine, most of the family sagas were filled with dysfunction. For instance, the most violent offender on my case load took great pride in the fact that a great grandfather had killed another man with a frozen fish! I'm sure we all have a few black sheep in our family trees and I thank the Lord that his grace can deliver us from negative family baggage. Thankfully, most of us have at least a few  family members who set a great example.
Okay, I have a few suggestions for you to consider as you get together with family during the holidays. Consider setting down and recording some stories with some of those who may be approaching the final seasons of their lives. Jot notes, use the voice recorder built into your cellphone, or the video recorder, or a camcorder. Use your cellphone or a scanner to copy some of their important photos. Ask lots of questions and listen, listen, listen.You will probably laugh, cry, and learn many things that you never knew and be reminded of things that you have forgotten.
If you have the means, consider hiring a media professional, like me (unashamed self-promotion) to shoot an interview or edit your clips and photos into a presentation for your family. These make unique and meaningful gifts and can often be used in a powerful way at memorial services when our loved ones pass on.
If you are like me, too often we spend too much time at family get togethers, eating and fussing over the food and clean up, or talking about the weather and watching the game. Resolve now to prayerfully seize the opportunity to listen for your legacy so that you can pass it on.