I made a Blog Button... and other proud Olympic moments

There is a process by which we all must go through in order to accomplish a goal, a task, or even a dream.  We set our minds to work at it, set time aside to study it, and take action to do it.  Do you have a dream? A desire you want to see come to fruition in your life?   As little kids, we were encouraged to dream.  Remember this question, "what do you want to be when you grow up?"  In essence, we were told to dream.  Catch a vision and chase it.  As adults, we loose sight of dreaming and hoping sometimes.  We get settled in and can easily become complacent with everyday life, but that is not how we are to live.  We should always be striving toward something, no matter how small or insignificant it may seem.  Will there be difficulty? Of course.  Set backs? Most likely.  Dream stealers?  Possibly.  In all of it, I'm reminded of this verse, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."  (Col.3:17)

Congratulations Team U.S.A.  You amazed us all!  {Source}

I just love watching the Olympics, but I find a greater pleasure in learning about the stories behind the athletes.  We all know they have worked hard.  For many of them, they've prepared for years for their Olympic moment. They are committed and completely invested with early morning training sessions, top notch coaches, and state of the art equipment.  Sure, most of them are young, blessed with a natural, God-given talent, but do you know about those Olympians who are older, living their dreams beyond youth.  These Olympians defy the odds, and the only thing they share with their younger team mates is their desire to compete and live their dream.  They are all inspiring and here are a few of their stories.

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 As women, we take on many roles.  For this athlete from Malaysia, Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi is taking multitasking to all new level.  She is a shooter, aiming at a coin sized bulls-eye from 10 meters away.  Many women compete in air rifle, but Mohd Taibi is doing it while she's 8 months pregnant!  She gotten a little flack for competing so late in her pregnancy.  WRONG!  The last thing you want to do is tell a pregnant women what she can and can not do.  You go Mama! Do your thing!

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Allow me to introduce you to Hamadou Djibo Issaka.  He's making a name for himself in rowing, not because he's won a single race though. In fact, he's come in last in every heat he's participated in, coming in a a full 2:00 minutes after the leader.  In a sports world where every second and 10th and 100th of a second counts, that's a lot of time. But Issaka pressed on and didn't quit.  He finished each race with the crowd cheering him on as if he were crossing the victory line.  In a way, he is.  You see,  Issaka comes from the African country of Niger, where there are no water ways to actually practice his sport; a sport he officially started and began properly practicing  for only three months ago.  In the land locked desert city where he lives, he practiced in a wooden fishing boat.  He didn't even get in a professional "skulling" boat until this week, when he reached London.  He plans to continue rowing and making it to Rio for the 2016 games.  I love his courage and determination to continue.  Go Hamadou!

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This is Jan Ebeling, originally from Germany, but riding for the U.S.A.  He is 53 and making his Olympic debut!  That's right, at 53, he's going for it. Lesson to learn here- you're never to old to get started!  His beautiful horse is named Rafalca, and though I don't know a thing about the sport of dressage, I will cheer on my countryman while wearing a big, bright hat, and sipping tea. Carry on and Cheerio, I say! (with a really bad English accent.)

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Then, there's Hiroshi Hoketsu, a Japanese equestrian rider who is making his 3rd Olympic visit, 48 years after his debut in the 1964 Tokyo games where he finish 40th. The obvious lesson is this:  if at first you don't succeed, try again- no matter how long it may take you.   At 71 years, he is the oldest Olympian at the games.  What's even more impressive about Mr. Hoketsu is that he is coming back to the sport he loves after retiring as a successful international businessman and training for the last year apart from his family.  He successfully qualified for the Beijing games 4 years ago and again for London 2012.  Committed? you bet!   He's become pretty popular in Japan and is a poster boy for the elderly. Go Hoketsu Go!

So you see ladies, there's always time to DO SOMETHING.  As long as you have breath, you have time to finish school, change to a new career, come home to be with your kids from a career, write your book, or even start a blog.  I never thought I'd be starting something new like a blog at 38 years old.  There's too much involved and so much to learn...so I made excuses to myself. Then after a year of praying, (yeah, a full year) I read this book by Miles McPherson.

It's not a blog book.  It's a book about the true stories of everyday people who are making a difference in their everyday life.  It's about not settling to cruise through life.  Do Something challenges us as Christians to live out our faith in a way that impacts the lives of others.

I'm a mom- a stay at home, home schooling mom, and pastor's wife. I've been at home for 12 years, and it's easy to get lost in motherhood and cruise a bit.  I know spending these years with my kids is the most important thing I'll do, but it's not easy by any means.  Starting something like a blog came out of my passion for do it yourself projects and living beautifully on a budget.  I had to learn about blogging, html, photo editing, and a whole mess of others things.  I haven't arrived.  Lewisville Love isn't exactly where I want it to be...yet.  I know it's not "important" compared to world events taking place, but it's for moms, to help moms, to encourage moms, and to motivate moms.  I wanted to do something for all the mama's out there, so this is my little contribution.  And I will do it as unto the Lord!

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So here's my "Olympic" moment.  I really don't know anything about blog design (as some of you might be able to tell), but I learned something new.  I learned how to create a blog button with an html code.  It's right over there on my side bar and above as a sample.  Blog buttons are used by other bloggers to display on their own blogs.  You can see I've displayed other blog buttons from sites that have featured my work.  For months, making a blog button seemed like something I wouldn't be able to do with out having to pay someone.  The budget side of me said no way, and my patience(and cheapness) paid off.  I found a great tutorial about how to create my own button.    So I'm learning something new and doing something challenging.  Is it gold medal worthy? Not really, but I'll take it.  It's a great place to be!

Have a great week everyone, and GO USA!

Blessings,

Lisa
I link all my projects with some wonderful blogs.  To visit them, go to the {Link Party Love} page found at the top of this page on the {Home} bar.
Also linking to:
Between Naps on the Porch
Savvy Southern Style
No Minimalist Here
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Saved by Love Creations 
Miss Mustard Seed
Funky Junk Interiors
Coastal Charm 
Restore Interiors
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