Monday Morning Mantra - 10/19

Good morning all!

Happy Monday to you! Despite the gloomy weather, I enjoyed a great weekend with my family. Nerissa won both of her basketball games and Donte went to a Redskins game while Nerissa and I visited my mom and uncle. It was a nice break from the chaos of the week!

This week's Mantra serves as an ecouragement whenever we're feeling inadequate:

"If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you." -- Muhammad Ali



Do you ever doubt yourself? If so, welcome to the club. But Muhammad Ali's words are evidence that anyone can achieve their dreams. No person is exempt from doing amazing things, including you.

This week, remind yourself of this every time a doubt enters your mind.

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Have a great week!

Nicole

Monday Morning Mantra - 10/12

No, you're not seeing things - I am posting the Mantra for the week on Wednesday. I apologize for the delay, but Monday was my wedding anniversary and while I had a great day with my husband, it's taken me a little while to catch up!

So please find our Mantra for the week below:

"You've got to get to the stage in life where going for it is more important than winning or losing." -- Arthur Ashe

There is something to be said for just "going for it." There will never be a perfect time to jump out there and reach for your dreams, and there is no guarantee that you'll get exactly what you want. But the most important thing is that you TRY, and that's where it gets exciting.

This week, jump out there and do something you've always wanted to do, and remember that it doesn't matter if you win or lose.

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Have an amazing week!

Nicole

October is Let's Talk Month

As you know, I'm a big proponent of the importance of communicating with your children. I've seen the value of this play out in my own childhood, and I try to stay true to it every day with my own children.

My friends over at the Alabama Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy sent an announcement out that October is Let's Talk Month, which emphasizes the importance of communication between adults and youth in helping young people make good decisions regarding their sexuality.

For more info on Let's Talk Month, please click here.

Nicole

Monday Morning Mantra - 10/5

Happy Monday!

I needed a pick-me-up this week, and this mantra is perfect. It's one of my own, and it reminds us that you can't get anywhere in life without hope that good things will happen, you can overcome, you can persevere, etc., etc.

"Hope is the number one, necessary, secret ingredient to anyone's success." -- Nicole Lynn Lewis

Remember to have hope this week - no matter how bleak and gloomy a situation may seem. It will help you come out on the other end!

If you want to receive our mantras in your inbox each Monday, please click here.

Have an amazing week!

Love,
Nicole

"Teen Mom Craze"?

In the October 2009 issue of Glamour there is an article on a supposed "Teenage Mom Craze" that could be causing the teen pregnancy rate in American to be on the rise again. The article suggests that the media has been glamorizing teen pregnancy therefore more and more girls are getting pregnant because they think it's cool.

I don't think there is much validity to this argument, and it's an argument that I hear all the time when I talk to people about my book, Glori. Shows like "16 & Pregnant" are not showing teen moms living the good life, and my own account of my experience as a teen mom includes homelessness, an unhealthy relationship, and more.

So here's a letter I wrote to the magazine in response to their article:

Dear Glamour,

I'm writing in response to your article "Let's Stop the Teen Mom Craze" which appeared in your October 2009 issue.

I am a former teen mother who has written a book entitled Glori on my experience of overcoming the odds and earning a college degree despite homelessness, a drug infested environment, and an unhealthy relationship. I had to self publish Glori because literary agents and publishers are fearful that it might glamorize teen pregnancy. This idea - which is essentially discussed in your article - is really interesting to me.

The majority of girls don't get pregnant because they think it will be a glamorous experience. Lack of information on contraception, low self-esteem, little to no communication with adults about sex, and even molestation are far more serious and likely causes.

When there is a documentary on homelessness or drug abuse, people aren't quick to say that these shows are glamorizing life on the streets or heroine addiction. In the same way, shows that depict the lives of teenage mothers like MTV's "16 & Pregnant" don't glamorize teen pregnancy - they are simply telling a story that young people need to hear. Our problem with these shows has more to do with society's reluctance to discuss and to acknowledge teenage sexuality than anything else.

In closing, I think it's important for young people to see what life as a teenage mother/father is all about. Not only will it help them make better decisions, but it will also encourage other teenage parents by letting them know that they're not alone. The best thing we can do for teens is not to rip these shows off of the airways, but - as Sarah Brown from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy said in your article - talk to them about their goals, their future, and what it really means to start a family.

Thanks.

Got an opinion? Love to hear it!
Nicole

Further Evidence on the Subjectivity of Success

In my September newsletter I talked about the subjectivity of success - meaning success isn't always measured by dollars and cents. In fact, I'm learning that it is never defined by dollars and cents.

Well, my husband forwarded me an email from Family Life in which someone further reinforced my theory. Here is the excerpt below:

A friend sent me an email posting from Ruth McGinnis, a Nashville recording artist and author, who had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. In the midst of her ordeal, God began reframing the definition of success in her life:


One of the most powerful insights I’ve had as a result of this unexpected detour in my well-planned life is truly understanding that the value of my work—the books I’ve written, my instrumental recordings, the speaking and performing I’ve done for countless years—has nothing to do with commercial success. I always thought that to be “successful,” I would have to register in the marketplace with some measurable impact, like making the New York Times best-sellers list. As a result, even though I’ve enjoyed a rewarding career as a creative person, I’ve always felt that somehow I’d never quite arrived—that my life was incomplete. Having cancer has forever changed this. The cards, letters, gifts, phone calls, and emails I’ve received from people I know—and many I’ve never met—have revealed to me that the reach of my work and the value of my simply being here is greater than I ever could have imagined. I am convinced this is true for each one of us. That we all tend to be hard on ourselves and measure our achievements against harsh standards. We fail to appreciate our own contributions, and we forget to acknowledge the gifts, beauty and efforts of others. I will never think of success, fulfillment and contentment the way I used to. Cancer has swept the veil away from my eyes—has given me a new way of looking at life and rethinking everything. It is an unexpected gift.

Your life will be measured, not by the amount of money or power or fame you gain, but by the way you allow God to touch others through you.

How do you define success?

Nicole

Monday Morning Mantra - 9/28

Happy Monday!

As a new mom you learn how to become an expert at managing your time. One of the things I'm learning to do is to cut out activities that don't have good reason or benefit behind them. So this week's mantra will help us remember to put our energy into things that are important:

"Everything that I decide to do means something, otherwise I don't do them." -- Celine Dion



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Have an awesome week!

Nicole