Friday, March 18, 2016

Day 78 ~ Not Too Late!

Day 78 of my New Year and it's not too late!

My mind travels back to January 1, 2016. I was sitting in a booth, having lunch with my friend, Rhona. We were openly sharing our lives and the events of 2015. We talked about things we wanted to do better and goals for the coming year. I had read my journal from the year before and the entries were almost identical. I was still struggling with the same issues. I was ashamed to admit that I was in the same, exact, place as the year before. There was no growth, and surely nothing exciting on the horizon. I tried to quickly cover my shame by acknowledging that I wanted this year, 2016, to be different. I talked all tough and strongly asserted that I did not want another year to pass and not have something to show for it.

Rhona, is wise as a dove. She asked all the right questions and listened with intent, until she found growth that she could point out to me. I had made amends to 9 people in December and when she heard about that, she said, "See that right there? That's growth!"

(Can I just tell you that everyone needs a Rhona in their life?)

Making amends with those 9 people was difficult, and not all of the efforts were successful. It took me aback to consider that maybe I had accomplished something after all. As always, Rhona made me see the situation in a different way. I smiled a little bit. Maybe, just maybe, I WAS moving forward.

There's plenty of time to make a change.
Today marks Day 78 of this New Year and it is time to measure for growth. Take inventory. Look for changes, no matter how small. Don't be afraid to acknowledge change. You deserve to pat yourself on the back. Any forward movement or upward tick matters, because it shows you are headed in the right direction. Things may not go the way you planned. That doesn't mean failure. It means opportunity!

Real Gurl Life started off slooooowwww and I am one of those Fast-Food Life-Change people....I want it fast and now! However, the slowness has made it better as it allowed for new people to have input making way for better decisions, fresh ideas, and new options to come to light.

As an example, Real Gurl Life has a small, but working board. Shelly Patrick and Amanda Garcia could not have been better choices to serve as directors. They have proven themselves to be thoughtful, smart, encouraging, team members. More than once I have been sweetly surprised by their offerings of support. When I have felt like, "what's the use" they have guided me back to basics and stopped me from biting off more than I can chew. These ladies share the work and we each take on what matches our skillset. Together, we made a list and I am working on it!

I am also diligently pursuing health and new relationships with others. This is very uplifting too, as I see my quality of health is going forward with purpose. I am also rebuilding old relationships and start brand new ones as well! All of this adds up to a general feeling of well-being.

What does this all mean? Day 78 in a leap year means (according to Google) that there are 291 days left.  Progress, at any rate, is progress, right? With the support of others you can accomplish more than if you try it alone. Who knows what the next 291 days could hold?
This is my best advice.
Don't try to do life alone. We all need people in our lives that laugh like fools with us, love us in spite of ourselves, cry like a baby because we hurt, and show up for the hard stuff. Doing life together is the best way! Live well, my friends. The days add up to a life. Make it a life well-lived, a life well-loved.

#RealGurlLife



Thursday, March 10, 2016

Real Gurl Life Clubs!

 
We are a women's group working towards putting Real Gurl Life Clubs (after school) in middle schools. Here are some of the details of how these clubs will work and the curriculum that is being developed.

These clubs are geared for girls 6-8th grades. The basic theme is strategic life-planning. We aim to teach young ladies to learn who they are, where they want to go in life, what's it going to take to get there, and what rules are needed to keep their life on track. We will assist them in developing strategies for facing the many tough situations that young girls face today.

Decisions made early will stick!
We will encourage planning decisions regarding their approach to education, health, friendship, ethics, safety and more. We will use journaling, role playing, guest speakers, and weekly challenges to encourage these young ladies to make choices that will lead them to the life they envision; a life that is entirely possible by virtue of their choices, attitude, standards, and work ethic.
 
It is our belief that youth who have pre-determined their own "rules for life" before they are faced with a bad situation are more likely to feel empowered to stand their ground and choose what will benefit their life plan.


It is part of the "dream" that these young ladies will know who they are BEFORE they are in the back seat of a car with a boy and to make sound decisions when faced with the knowledge of their friend's deep secret and are tempted to inform the entire eighth grade.  These are simple problems that can have long-lasting consequences and impact on our girls. We want to equip them with knowledge on how to make choices that will follow their life-plan and what to do if they need help or have problems facing down a particular issue.

Are you a friend of Real Gurl Life? Have you LIKED our page or FOLLOWED our website? Please help us by clicking LIKE on our Facebook page and follow our website. We want to keep you informed of our progress. We are also accepting donations towards getting this program up and running. We appreciate your support in any way....just sharing our website would be great!
 
Currently we are working with two school districts to see how this program can fit into the current activities of their schools. We are open to public or private schools, church groups, girls' clubs, teams, or any place a group of girls gather! This can be an on-going meeting or a one-time engagement. There is no fee. Our group and our sponsors are helping us with this outreach.

Do YOU have a girls group that you would like us to visit? Would you like to start one? Let us know!!!
 
Questions or Interest? Contact Laura Holzbach at laura@realgurllife.org and you will be contacted shortly. We look forward to hearing from you!

Friday, March 4, 2016

Because! It's our March Monthly Meeting!

Hey Real Gurls!

I have been out of pocket the past two weeks with health issues. I cannot tell you how excited I am to see everyone. I sure hope you can make our next meeting. We will be hosting Interest Groups on three topics that are sure to interest you. Interest Topics are: Friendship Rules, Safety & Defense, and Dollars & Sense. Groups will be hosted by Laura, Shelly, and Mandy. 

We will be having a large group discussion regarding the word,



LOCATION:  M&M Restaurant in Gresham has agreed to host our group in their meeting room (where Gresham Rotary meets) without a fee. Orders will be taken for those who opt to eat a meal or have a tea or soda. No purchase is necessary so please do not worry about that!

We hope you will come and bring a friend. This is going to be a FUN meeting!

 
M&M Restaurant
137 N Main Street
Gresham, OR 97030