thankful

Are you thankful, for everything?

This morning, the church message was about being thankful…..and considering I co-founded our non-profit Gratitude Girls, I of all people better be thankful and grateful right? 🙂 And I am…..

But, he did say one thing, I have struggled with (we can be open, raw, and honest, right? I am a real human) The Bible says in every thing, give thanks.

I believe the bible, I know the bible is true, and I DO *try* to give thanks in *every thing*….

Although sometimes when it is worded in a certain way, it is *hard*….example *write down everything that has happened to you, good or bad or indifferent* and say “God thank you for that”…..

Now granted, I DO believe that everything God *allows* into your life, you have a #choice if you #choose to use it for God or not.

Example, I do not think I could or will *ever* be *able* to say
“God, thank you for taking Bryan Delk to Heaven”.
I just can’t do it.

Now…..
I have learned to be thankful for the 2 years God allowed me to have him in my life, rather than be bitter at the next 20 that I don’t.
I have learned to be thankful for that happening and me being able to have the faith to move forward and speak to so many widows events, and God bring so many widows into my life and others introduce me to so many that I am able to help #WalkInTheirShoes and get closer to God, and be thankful in the process.
I have learned to be thankful that because of that, I was able to write my 2nd book #WeAllHaveChoices and became a #bestseller the day it was launched, and I am able to help and reach so many other women (and men) with that and bring them closer to the Lord.
I have learned to be thankful that through so many steps and changes the last almost 6 years, my life has changed so drastically, but for the good in so many ways, that I have felt that loving *protection* and *security* of my Heavenly Father saying to me “I am taking care of you in this area” — and that helps so many times, when I am praying in other areas I have not seen the answer yet….

So with that…..in case anyone has heard that message before, or struggled(s) in that same area as me…..Learn to be thankful and grateful in the areas that you *can* be thankful and grateful in, don’t beat yourself up in the areas that you are *not there yet* (frankly, I don’t know that I will ever be able to say that about my husband in that way – “I am thankful that he passed” — and who knows, maybe there is another way to word it…..BUT I CAN say – I am thankful, that *through* that situation, I HAVE had SO many #BLESSINGS in my life – that I am thankful and grateful for that have come to me.

I truly love my life….

I truly love my life.

I get to wake up every day and work with clients and people and make a difference in the world for better.

I have a wonderful family and wonderful friends.

How did you wake up this morning?

Do you wake up and take five minutes and truly be grateful and thankful for everything in your life….

or does the alarm go off and you get up and rush around and get ready for work or your day or whatever you have to entail…

and forget to take five minutes to be thankful and grateful for the things that you currently have in your life?

Everybody has trials and tribulations in their life.

The good Lord definitely knows that I have had my share of them but I try to focus every day of things that I can be thankful and grateful for.

I truly believe that as we do that we will attract more things in our life to be thankful and grateful for.

Happy Anniversary, from Your Widow

On this day, 24 years ago, Bryan Delk and I became husband and wife, and the 5th one that you are missing….Funny, 5 years ago, everyone told me, *one day* you’ll be able to look

back at this day and not cry, but just be thankful and grateful for the happy memories….back then, I was grateful and thankful still of course, but cried lots and lots too, and couldn’t even begin to imagine that these people that told me this were ‘sane’ in their thoughts…..Today, I can say I am more grateful for the 20 years we had, than crying, although some tears as I get flowers for your grave, but not near as many as in the past….. I remember so much, like yesterday…..

It was hot in Tennessee…. I cried some in the ceremony, but then you had look of relief on your face when I said they were tears of joy. 😉

That last 20 years, we faced many challenges but we got through all of them because through it all we loved each other and we loved God.

Today, sometimes you’ll find me crying again. I know you always hated to see me cry, but it can’t be helped sometimes….I try to remember your words you used to say always to me “I want to see you smile” and I try, I try every day, and I try to focus on the wonderful years God allowed me to have you.

The vows we took said for in sickness and in health and we did that very well, living up to those words. I am confident and happy knowing that you were mine and me yours only, for almost 20 years….The til death do us part, is the most difficult challenge of them all. I said those words without realizing what that really meant because somehow I figured it was going to be SO f

ar off in the future, we would be old and gray before we had to face that… I remember thinking and dreaming of us being in our 80’s, sitting on our front porch, and watching the grandkids playing….Well here we are, or….here I am, faced with life without you…the person I entrusted with my happiness and my soul and now you’re gone.

I am faced with the monumental task of going on with out you with the memories of the times together to see me through the days, weeks, months and years ahead.

Thank you baby for those memories and for the awesome and wonderful children we raised together. I know the road ahead will be bumpy but I know at the end of the road, you’ll be wa

iting for me with welcoming arms wide open to greet me and hug me once again one day.

I do not know how long it will take me to meander down that road, but my anniversary wish is that you are peaceful now and are not sad up there. Your gift to me has been acquired over the years….strength, courage, faithful, and a “we can do this” attitude. So, I wish you happy anniversary. I love you. I promise to always try to smile…I can still hear it in my head you telling me “I want to see you smile” – No matter what was going on, even if I was mad at you
– if you said that – you always made me smile anyway – and you knew it! 🙂

From the time we were married till he left this earth was
7,133 days
or 1019 weeks
or 171,192 hours
or 10,271,520 minutes
or 616,291,200 seconds
This is equal to exactly 19 years, 6 months, and 9 days

For our 20th anniversary, he had planned he was going to buy me an anniversary band to put on the other side of my engagement ring, to match my wedding band. And we were going to take a trip someplace special, don’t know where, but somewhere we had never been, we had thought of one of those couples resorts….

I love you more than anything, I love our wonderful kids God allowed us to have. I am very thankful God let me have you for almost 20 years. Yes, I wish it was more, lots more, never even had the thoughts of what happened….you know you think about sickness, maybe *one day*…..but never this….thought and dreamed about us being in our 80’s on our front porch in our little town, watching our grandkids run around, while we hold hands….sigh….such a pretty dream…..

I was told that one day, I will think that way, and not cry, but just think about the happy times, and be happy … I am thankful and grateful that after almost 5 years, it is more that way now…..although I still and will always love and miss you

Make yourself happy

If your every day problems are weighing you down, there are MILLIONS of people on Earth, that would GLADLY trade places with you right now – problems and all…..and feel they have been ROYALLY blessed…..think about it~

There is always someone who has it *worse* than you……

I remember once, on one of my *worst* days, after Bryan Delk was killed…..*whining* to God, about my situation…..but I had meetings to go to and work to do, I was in Panera doing some work on my laptop before my next meeting, and I ended up meeting a lady, who was a widow, her husband was also killed in a car wreck, but he had 3 of their 7 kids with him, that were also now gone…..God *put me back in my place* very quickly, of being thankful and grateful……

It is SO easy to get *overwhelmed* and let *drama* of a situation overtake us…..and I am not perfect, and I struggle with it every day, just like everyone else….but, I still *try* and *thinketh myself happy* — as the Bible says Paul did when going in front of King Agrippa to possibly get his head chopped off…..

Yes, it is hard sometimes, but sometimes, always, we *must* put forth the effort, and *maketh ourselves happy* ♥

Increase your Business Using Personal Greeting Cards

One piece of etiquette, that I’ve used in my business from the beginning…are unique cards. Just the power of sending a unique card…. They are sent so rarely, that when you do, you stand out. When people open your card and/or your gift, there’s a moment of surprise! and you’ve got their complete attention.

In today’s technology world, with email and texting and social media, that surprise is magnified 10-fold. I’ve been SO fortunate to receive THOUSANDS of thank you cards over the last 25 years in my business.

And….I have saved every single one, because they are special, they share thoughts and messages of love, gratitude and thanks share to me by friends, family, customers and clients.

It’s the POWER of APPRECIATION. The law of appreciation says – whoever you show appreciation to, will appreciate in value. In our personal and business relationships….it’s best to do the little things, consistently, to show that we appreciate others.

If we did a study on a group of married couples, or even in business/client relationships….
And asked, what is the biggest problem in your relationship….very FEW people would come back saying that they get TOO much appreciation…..they are shown TOO much kindness, bought too many gifts, given too many cards…..right? haha!

There has been studies that have shown the #1 reason “why customers leave”….is at 68% because of PERCEIVED INDIFFERENCE. That means that they were actually satisfied w the product or service, but they felt a LACK of emotional connection, or consistent appreciation – they just did not FEEL a reason to STAY!

Some ideas are – Send out a card – and customize it, so it is unique to THEIR business or situation, or even one of their interests (a tip for this is if you connect with them on social media as well, you can have a little insight into their personal life of their family, sports or other things they love and have a passion for.)

I have used an amazing system to help me do this, since 2004, called Send Out Cards, with GREAT success. With the Send Out Cards system, I have access to thousands of cards, in an instant, because it is ONLINE. with the card, I can also add a little gift, (or a big one!) like brownies, candies, herb teas, gourmet coffees, gifts for men, women, kids, or even pets! I can also even add a gift card if I choose.

With the system, I have the ability to send out the SAME card, customized with EACH person’s name, to 1 person at a time, 10 people, 100, 1000, or any amount of people I choose! This past Christmas I sent out over 3000 cards to friends, family, clients and customers.

Send Out Cards prints it, stuffs it, stamps it and puts it in the REAL mail for me – all for about a dollar including postage!

I can choose any number of fonts to write it in, just like when you choose an email, you can choose different looks for your letters, but I can also even fill out a form and mail it to the company and they will create a CUSTOM font of my PERSONAL handwriting, so the cards are actually sent in my REAL handwriting and/or signature! I LOVE this option!

I can import my contacts, or add them one by one, and I can put them into different groups, of how I want to categorize and organize them – that is unique to me.

If you would like to know more of how this system works, take a FREE trial on it, or have questions – please contact me at Iam@LaurieDelk.me

Now…..WHEN should you send a card to someone?
Whenever you think – someone went out of their way for you – send them a card
Whenever someone allows you to talk to them about your service or product, send them a thank you for their time.

When someone sends you a referral. When someone does business with you – after a sale.
These are times when it is really good to include a gift card, or a nice gift, to let them know you really appreciate them.

You can send cards to say “Great job!” “Well done!” “Congrats on the wedding” or the baby….
Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday, Sympathy……and so much for for any reason or occasion to reach out and build on your relationship with your clients or customers.

I can tell you from personal and professional experience in my web and graphic design business as well as working with thousands of other clients in order to help them increase their bottom line in their traditional business….that the habit of sending out cards, and gifts – is definitely worth the habit of developing…..it says a lot about you – and your business, who you are, how you handle your business.

The key is, using a system, and sending them out on a regular basis. If you just try it for a few months, and then stop, because you don’t see immediate results, you will not see long term results. I have seen this many times….but if you are consistent, every month, building relationships with your clients by keeping in touch, every single month, I can guarantee you, seeing results in your business around 25% increase….or I’d be even willing to bet reimbursing you the cost that you spent on those cards, if you followed those exact rules — sending a card, once a month, with NO sales spiel in it, just keeping in touch every month for 5 months, and then maybe 1 card within a 6 month period, some sort of sales promotion….we call this Master Relationship Marketing – You build the relationship 80% of the time, and market only up to 20% of the time.

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