His message of not only hope but peace and selflessness was so profound.  As the Mother of young Black children, it is important that I (we) teach our children to respect and embrace not only their race but the races of others.  This important idea of self-love and respect was instilled in both my husband and I and we are doing our best to instill this in our children.

As we constantly think of ways to teach our children to be humble yet purposeful, we have found ourselves always going back to the spirit of giving.  Much like Dr. King’s messages of peace, hope, and selflessness, we find that by showing our children how to give selflessly to others we are keeping his dream very much alive.

It is in this spirit that I ask each of you reading this post to consider helping our brothers and sisters in Haiti.  Take the time and make the decision to give your time, resources, and of course prayers to people who are in need right now.  However, do not approach this lightly, involve your children, and involve your church, community, and business.

Be an advocate for those who very much need it right now.  What better way to thank Dr. King for giving so selflessly than to do the very same for another?

If you are interested in giving, consider using one of these (well researched) organizations:

Yele Haiti

TylerPerry.com

American Red Cross

Unicef

Save the Children

World Vision International

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Instead, adopt a room a day philosophy.  Take a few minutes (about 15 or so) each day to clean the “Room of the Day”.  You’ll find yourself much less overwhelmed and stressed about cleaning.  You’ll also find your not as embarrassed by your clutter when someone drops by your house unannounced.

One great suggestion is to include your family in on this routine.  Pick one room for each day of the week and have each member of your family perform one task.  What you’ll find is that you’re not the one doing most of the cleaning and soon you may not be doing the cleaning at all.  Can someone say…bubble bath!

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Instead, ditch the TV as much as possible.  This will bring more peace and quiet to your life.  It also trains your mind to find other sources of entertainment.  One really interesting benefit of watching less TV is that your mind tends to seem much clearer.

Not only have I but many of my clients seen the increased mental function and clarity of watching less and less TV.  Sure it’s perfectly okay to watch that favorite show, the key is to balance your entertainment with many different outlets.

BTW, did you know that by watching less TV you’re kids will follow suit?  Try it for a month (2 if your kids are over 10 years of age) and let me know if you’ve noticed them watching less TV as well.

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I’d like to wish you the following in 2010:

• Blessings from God
• Peace
• Wisdom and understanding
• Prosperity
• Good Fortune
• Love
• Friendship
• Life
• Respect
• Humility
• Laughter
• Strength
• Good Health
• Joy
• Sound Mind
• And much much more
  

Happy New Year!

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Instead take time to plan resolutions you can not only keep but maybe even accomplish by summer.  The key is to be specific.  For instance instead of saying I want to get in shape, plan on taking an certain aerobics class.

You’ll find it is much easier to accomplish specific resolutions rather than vague or general ones. BTW, my #1 resolution is to spend an extra hour a week doing Pilates.  What’s yours?