Join The Big 'But' Give

Be a part of THE BIG ‘BUT’GIVE!

In an effort to reach every woman who has ever had a challenge, an obstacle, a big ‘but’ standing in the way of her dreams, Jean Bailey Robor introduces THE BIG ‘BUT’ GIVE. During November 17, 2011-December 25, 2011, she will promote the idea of sharing the book, SHE HAS A BIG ‘BUT’! GET PAST YOUR EXCUSES & REALIZE YOUR DREAMS with a friend, acquaintance, colleague (or even a stranger) to pay it forward, to encourage at least one other person to live a joy-filled and successful life and to know that there is a way.

Here’s how it works:

If you’ve purchased the book on Kindle you can do it for FREE! SHE HAS A BIG ‘BUT’! is available to loan, one time, for a 14-day period. To loan, all you need is the email address of the person you’re loaning to; log into your Amazon.com account, click on “Manage Your Kindle” under Digital Management. When your Kindle library is displayed, under the “Actions” drop-down, click on “Loan this title” and fill in the fields. During the loan time, you’ll be unable to access it on your Kindle but it will be available to you again after the loan period has expired. (By the way, this works for other Kindle books, too, provided the publisher allows them to be loaned out.)

If you have not purchased the book on Kindle, visit Amazon.com to purchase then follow the steps above.

Not a Kindle user? You can still be a part of THE BIG ‘BUT’ GIVE. Simply pass along (or loan) your paperback copy of SHE HAS A BIG ‘BUT’! GET PAST YOUR EXCUSES & REALIZE YOUR DREAMS by Jean Bailey Robor. You CAN make a difference! Haven’t purchased your copy yet? Click here.

Now, that’s not all…..
Once you’ve participated, be sure to post that you are a part of THE BIG ‘BUT’ GIVE on the SHE HAS A BIG ‘BUT’ Facebook page. Together, let’s change the world, one page at a time.

If your business, church or civic organization is interested in participating on a larger scale, contact the author for quantity discounts on the paperback SHE HAS A BIG ‘BUT’! GET PAST YOUR EXCUSES & REALIZE YOUR DREAMS and/or to bring the author to your town. Contact Jean at jean@jeanbaileyrobor.com. And be sure to visit www.SheHasABigBut.com.

(This is the first year for this and I hope to make it an annual event that begins each year on my birthday, 11-17, and ends on Christmas day. Thanks for your help in making it happen! -Jean)

Merry Christmas!

As you go through this holiday season, take time to enjoy those special moments, those moments with family and friends. Take comfort in knowing your gifts of friendship and love are long-lasting and make the greatest impact. I don't remember much about the gifts I've received over the years as much as I appreciated them. But I do remember the happy times, the joys shared with loved ones. And, at Christmastime, that has made all the difference.


While there may be moments when you feel sadness, maybe memories of a loved one no longer with you bring a tear to your eye, know that this Christmas brings great potential for happiness, and you have the power to make that happen. Over the years, I’ve found several ways that help take my loneliness out of Christmas and today, I’ll share 3 of them as my Christmas gift to you.

1. Feed your soul- Use the time you may have away from work and other activities to feed your soul. So often I find myself neglecting the spiritual part of me. (Not to mention the physical part, but that’s a whole nuther story)! We have so many resources at the ready to provide encouragement, healing, uplifting of our souls. Reading a scripture, singing or listening to soothing music, spending some quiet time in meditation and prayer. These are ways that I’ve found rejuvenate me and feed my soul. Sometimes, and this is really fun, putting on some upbeat Christmas music while I bake Christmas goodies does the trick. Now, does this keep me from feeling sad? Not completely. Often a Christmas song will evoke a precious memory, but there’s joy within the sadness, and the memories are sweet.


2. Give to others- There is so much joy in giving to others. Whether you provide a monetary gift to the less fortunate or donate food, toys or clothes, you’ll receive a blessing. And, you know, sometimes if the recipient of our gifts aren’t all they appear to be, it makes us feel bad. If that happens, know that you gave for the right reasons and bask in that knowledge. And know that, because you gave, you’ll be blessed. Helping others at Christmas and all year through is really what it’s all about and, when you give, that echoes the gift of God’s son, Jesus, whom we celebrate. He truly is the reason for the season. Celebrate Him by giving to others.


3. Host your own party- If you find that you’ll be alone on Christmas (and you’d prefer to enjoy the company of others), don’t wait for an invitation, host a party. Several years ago, I began inviting friends, family & neighbors over on Christmas evening for hors d'oeuvres and a time of fellowship. Nothing fancy. Nothing that took a lot of preparation. (Of course, it did force me to clean the house)! Some years there are few that show and it’s a cozy and intimate time. Some years there are many and a more party-like atmosphere. Every year, it’s a time of happiness and joy. Now, it’s become one of my Christmas traditions. And one that I, and others, thoroughly enjoy. All because I didn’t want to feel lonely at Christmas.
   
   So, if you find yourself feeling less than joyful this Christmas season, I hope that what I’ve found to help me will help you as well. After all, Christmas only comes once a year; enjoy the joy of Christmas! Bask in it!

Merry Christmas!

Jean

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Your Perfect Day!

Have you spent your whole life waiting for your perfect day? Most of the time, I believe, what gets in our way of a perfect day is stress. Stressful situations can steal our joy in a heartbeat!

Today, I'll share with you 3 tips that I recently shared on Celebrate Life! the Internet radio show, to help you realize and experience YOUR perfect day.

I believe the worst gift we can give ourselves is to allow stress into our lives. Why? Because it’s such a negative force. Stress is not only emotional, which is bad enough, it also affects us physically. There’s a reason they’re called stress headaches! And that’s not all. According to WebMD many types of heart diseases such as heart attack and high blood pressure can be brought on by stress. It’s a nasty little culprit that you can’t afford to let into your life. Too much stress can ruin your perfect day before it even gets started.

There are many times when things happen that are less than pleasant or downright traumatic. This is life and, I don’t know about you, but I can’t control all my circumstances. But there is something I can control and that’s how I react to unpleasant situations that come my way. It’s not the circumstances, it’s the reaction that matters most. And for you, it’s your reaction that matters.

In order to de-stress your life and live your perfect day, you have to find something that works for you. These 3 tips are what works for me.

1)Breathe. Yep, it's that simple. When stressed, I find that I take shallow breaths. If I remind myself to breathe and breathe slowly and deeply, it has a calming effect. When you feel anxious, tell yourself: When stressed, take 3 deep breaths.

2)Expose your perfect day. Take a few moments to visualize your perfect day. Expose it to yourself, in your mind. Then, take it a step further: write it down; expose it on paper. Now, take it another step further: speak it out loud at least 5 times.

3)Move toward your perfect day. It's not enough to de-stress by breathing deeply, expose your day with visualization and repetition. You have to put some action to your intentions. Don't wait for your perfect day. Move toward it! Take action to make it happen. Start by controlling your reactions to any situation that comes your way. It's not the circumstances that matter most; it's your reaction to those circumstances that can make or break your perfect day.

As I mentioned before, this is what works for me. What works for you? If these techniques help you realize your perfect day (or even if they don't)feel free to write and let me know.

And if you want more information on how you can live your perfect day, listen to my radio show, Celebrate Life: Live Your Perfect Day!

Celebrate life!
Jean

Hidden Blessings

Sometimes the hard times come to you. Life throws you a curve ball. You feel like curling up in a ball, shutting out the world, crawling under a rock.

Sometimes the hard times come to you. Life throws you a curve ball. Instead of succumbing to self pity, you choose to take it, to experience it, to make it real, to learn from it, to move on.

We have a choice in how we deal with the tough times, the hard things, the disappointments. We've all had times like that. Life is full of disappointments. However, life is also full of joyful moments, many of which we have to intentionally allow into our lives.

Have you ever had a little thing, a very little thing, tick you off so much you felt the anger rise within you? Those little things that get under our skin can set the tone for the whole day. They can cause us to snap at our children, our co-workers, our significant others. What if, instead of allowing the anger to rise up, we chose to laugh at those little things, and to laugh at ourselves for allowing them to get under our skin? What if we chose to find humor in those situations instead? If so, we might find that when the really hard times come around we're better able to deal with them.

The key is to change little by little. Start small. It can make the difference in living a miserable life or in living a life full of joyful moments.