Muchas Gracias!

So, for those of you who have been waiting on the edge of your seats...

...I did not forget about that contest I had mentioned in celebration of 5000 pageviews on "The Good".  Just so happened that we reached that 5000 mark around the same time that I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl!

(Drumroll Please..........)

For those of you who have "liked" our Facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/thegood2012 ), you will be entered for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to your choice of our two home-based businesses here at The Good:

1) Just Duckie Personalized Blankies (www.justduckieblankies.blogspot.com)
2) Goodies Sweet Eats (www.goodiesbakery.blogspot.com)

If you have not liked our page yet, head on over and do so!  Deadline for the contest will be Sunday, November 11.  Winner will be chosen at random and announced on the blog.  Thank you ALL for your continued support and readership!  I feel so blessed and so happy to play a part in helping you look for the good in your lives!


*Side-note:  As of today, we have almost 8000 pageviews here at The Good. Wow!

Your Life's Dream

What is your life's dream?  Do you have one?  Something you have always wanted, always been passionate about, never stopped hoping for?

Mine is to write a book.  Or books, plural.  I've started a few...never given up on them, but never finished them either...

but today, someone who shares my life's dream of writing a book has done it.  She's actually done it...she's written the last page, she's gotten the book deal, and her dream is happening.

Robin Kramer, founder of Pink Dryer Lint (one of my favorite mommy blogs), has finished her book.  What a great achievement, Robin!

Robin's book, Then I Became A Mother, will be released on October 20th.  Please tell your friends, family, everyone...Robin is such a great writer, and I would love to know that when my day comes--when it's my words going to print--that my friends and family would be shouting it from the rooftops.  So let's pay it forward, and do this for her.

Congratulations Robin, can't wait to read it!

*Find more information at www.pinkdryerlint.blogspot.com

Just When You Start to Doubt Yourself...

As you all know, I've been working hard to catch up on the days I've missed writing on my blog since my baby girl was born.   Some of you are probably asking yourselves, why does it matter? why not just leave those days unfinished and keep going?  Well, it matters to me.  My goal with this blog was to write every day, to try and make people see the good, look for the good, find the good, every day.  So that's what I'm doing.  Slowly, but surely.

However...nobody is perfect.  And everyone has their off-days. I was having a couple of them last week.  I didn't post anything, I didn't try to play catch-up, and I even started to doubt myself.  Does the blog really matter?  Is anyone really reading my words?  You know how it goes...we've all doubted ourselves at some point or another.

And then, an old friend shows up at my door to bring me something.  We talked for a little while, and as she was leaving, she said she had been having a rough couple of days.  "But," she said, "tomorrow will be good.  I've been reading your blog everyday, and when I read it, it really makes me think about finding the good in everyday."

Just when you start to doubt yourself...God will remind you of your path.  He will send someone to remind you that what you are doing does matter, no matter how small you think it might be.  And even if my blog were only reaching one person every day, it is worth it.  It really is.

Thank you to that old friend...you know who you are.  Thank you for reading my words faithfully, and thank you for telling me what they mean to you. I really needed that.

And in the end, tomorrow really is good...isn't it?

Look for the Good in People

When I started this blog, nearly five months ago (hard to believe!), I made a call to action to all of you faithful readers of my words.  I asked you to look for the good in people. I asked you to put a smile on your face and try to pay it forward.  I asked you to look beyond the grouchy sales clerk or the super-rude co-workers.  Because you just never know what they might be going through.  And, when it's your turn having a bad day, or a bad week, or God forbid a bad year...never under-estimate the power of a smile and a kind word to cheer you up, even if it's only a little bit.

Since I started this blog, I've really been trying to remember my own advice.  To be honest, it's not always easy.  But it does always feel good in the end.  I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life, and they deserve credit for all that they do for me...they make it a lot easier to look for the good in this world.  This summer when I was on bedrest, they were here at a moment's notice to help me with my boys, to clean my house, to make us dinner.  During the last miserable month of my pregnancy, they were here...laying in bed with me, timing my contractions, driving me to the hospital for false alarms. 

And in the days since my precious baby girl arrived, we have been blessed beyond words.  Countless home-cooked meals, beautiful baby presents, loving words and friendly visits.  So much help, so much love.  And for that we are immensely grateful.

So let me ask you the same favor again...look for the good in people.  Turn the other cheek when they treat you wrong, and try to always treat others as you would like to be treated.  There's a reason they call it the golden rule.  I, too, will continue to try my hardest to live with this mindset, this goal in mind to always look for the good in everything.

And so continues the blog.  I pray that you all stay on the journey with me.


Have you found some good in your life lately?  What was it? Please share!

Share the Goods #1: Your Home.

As I mentioned in my "Summer Challenge", one of my goals this summer is to make this blog more interactive.  In other words, I feel like it's your turn to get a chance to talk!  It's always me, me, me...let's hear from you!
In order to achieve my goal, I need your help (obviously).  So, I'm starting a new series called "Share the Goods".  Basically, it's just an open forum for all of you faithful readers (you know who you are!) to answer, discuss, comment, etc.  I have mentioned before how overwhelmed I've been by not only the number of readers this blog has gotten, but more so by the amazing feedback you have given me.  Keep it coming, please!  In fitting with the overall goal of my blog, to look for the good in everything, I think the best way to do that is to share the good with everyone else, and that's the point of this new series.
And so, since it is Tuesday and we are looking for the good in our homes, I ask you to consider the following questions:

1. What are some things you love about your home?  Why?

2. What are some things you would change about your home, if given the chance?  Why?

3. What does the word "home" mean to you?

...Please take the time to answer these questions for me.  I would love to hear from all of you, and I'd love to see how all of your answers stack up to one another's.  I am excited about the new series, and I am praying that we can get some good, positive conversations started together.  Let's get talking, let's have a great discussion, and above all--let's keep looking for the good.

**If you do not have an account to comment on this blog page, please feel free to comment on our newly-made Facebook page! Find us at www.facebook.com/thegood2012 .  And while you are there, go ahead and "like" us, too!  Thank you so much to all of you who faithfully read my words.  To a writer, there is no greater pleasure.  You are much appreciated!