Let's get right to the essence of what I want to talk about today. We are all faced with ups and downs in our lives and sometimes we might forget that it isn't the situation we face that really matters, it is how we handle it.

Here are three examples of what I am referring to. (1) Ronnie Milsap was born blind, was abandoned by his parents, and at age one he was taken in by his grandparents. It was literally a struggle for him just to stay alive, but he prevailed and went on to record some of the most beautiful music in the world, such as: "Those precious hours we know can't survive, but love's all that matters while the past is alive. Now and for always, till time disappears, we'll hold each other whenever we hear 'In the still of the night , hold me close, hold me tight, oh so real, and so right, lost in the fifties tonight'", and this one, which was one of my beautiful daughter Jessica's favorites as a teenager, "Once in every life, someone comes along, and you came to me, it was almost like a song."

(2) Doc Watson was stricken with blindness at age one following an eye infection. Despite having to face an early life of poverty and permanent blindness, this incredible human being went on to become an influential acoustic guitarist, banjo player, and singer. He was a singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. He won seven Grammy Awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, for such renditions as: "I went down to the river to pray, learning about the good old way, and who would wear the starry crown, Oh Lord show me the way."

(3) Ray Charles began to lose his sight at the age of 5, not long after witnessing his brother's drowning. When he was an infant, his family moved to Florida and he began his musical career at age 5 on a piano in a neighborhood cafe. At the age of 7 he became totally blind when his right eye was removed due to intense pain. Still, he forged ahead and went on to perform many award-winning presentations, such as this one: "I can't stop loving you, so I've made up my mind, to live in memory of love's lonesome times, I can't stop wanting you, it's useless to say, so I'll Just live my life in dreams of yesterday."

Folks, this is just a tiny sampling of the literally millions of people who chose, even in the face intense adversity, to "Keep on Keeping on." So the next time we encounter a situation which might lead us into a "Woe is Me" attitude, let's replace that response with this one, "If it is to be, it's up to ME."

Now to close with a little humor: "Country music humorist Cousin' Minnie Pearl, told about what happened as she prepared to take the stage entrance to the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville, Tennessee.
She said that as she opened the door to the stage entrance a man came up to her with a gun in his hand and said, "Give me all your money!" Minnie replied, "I haven't got any money." She said the man then frisked her up and down and all around, and finally said, "You haven't got any money have you?" To which Minnie replied, "No, but if you'll do that again I'll write you a check!"

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!