Zeal

Yipee!

I have been procrastinating on writing today’s post because, quite frankly, I’m a little sad to see this year’s A to Z Challenge come to an end.  Writing daily is great exercise if you want to improve your composition skills, and I highly recommend challenging yourself in this manner if you harbor any type of writing aspirations.  But, enough about that – I will write a wrap-up post the week of May 7, in which I will go into more detail and provide feedback regarding the pros and cons from my participation in this year’s Challenge.

The word I have chosen for my final day in the 2012 Challenge is “zeal” because, frankly, nothing would ever get done in our communities if there wasn’t someone enthusiastic leading the charge to raise awareness about the many different groups and organizations that work so hard to improve the world in which we live.  All of us have different causes that are important to us.  And sometimes, as our lives evolve and our interests change, our convictions also change.  What should always remain constant, though, is our desire and willingness to share our gifts and talents with our communities in an effort to do our part in ensuring quality of life for all.  With that said, I hope all of you will continue to work toward making a difference in your own communities by sharing your strengths and wisdom with those around you.  I will continue to highlight various individuals and organizations that are doing great things in my own community in an effort to inspire and inform others about what can be done to keep life beautiful and enjoyable for all.  And I shall explore these things with great zeal!

One last thing before I close this post out.  Amy Stevens is a fellow blogger here in Joplin.  Strangely enough, I have not met Amy in person yet, even though she is neighbors with several of my friends.  A mutual blogger friend, ReneeJacobson (who I wrote that guest post for last week) “introduced” us.  Amy writes a wonderful blog, “Life From theTrenches” and last summer she wrote very eloquently about the tornado that hit Joplin and how it affected us all.  All during the month of May, Amy will feature guest posts about different ways people have found hope in times of despair.  She is still accepting submissions, and would like these posts to offer a celebration of the strength and power of the human spirit.  I am considering submitting a story about a time in my life when I had lost all hope, only to find it again through patience and perseverance.  Won’t you consider sharing your story also?  Simply contact Amy at lifefromthetrenches@gmail.com.  I know she’d love to hear from you.  Oh, and don’t worry, I plan on having coffee with her real soon – how funny we should meet in cyberspace yet live less than five miles away from each other!