In Dad’s final days, he shared stories with us. I recorded them, and my brother and I are celebrating these memories and stories throughout the month of July. In today’s audio clip, Dad shares an acrostic he has written in the middle of the night using an acrostic from the Bible verse Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men……” using the word SHINE. Here is Dad’s middle-of-the-night acrostic poem:
Dad’s SHINE Acrostic
Set goals
Hang tough
Invest wisely (it’s not money….it’s time)
Nurture others
Empathize
He says the Jim Valvano speech is the best ever, and that we should all listen to it, so I’m linking it here: https://youtu.be/HuoVM9nm42E. Today, in memory of Felix Haynes and Jimmy Valvano, let’s all go out and laugh and think….and cry.
Common Threads 
Thanks to your dad, I will be thinking of ways to SHINE today! Thanks for the link, too. I’ll take a listen on my walk later! I just know this writing and being able to relisten to the tapes re helping oyu to keep shining through your grief. It is an honor to read and listen along with you. Thank you.
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Again, as I’ve said before, these clips are priceless. He preached to the end, didn’t he? He had a good message. Shine! I’ll carry that thought with me today.
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Sally said it so well. What a beautiful project, you and your brother are undertaking. Your readers are building a sense of your wonderful father. So much is revealed in his short acrostic poem.
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He was preaching to the last, my friend. I love hearing his beautiful voice – an accent so familiar to me <3. I especially love his point about getting out of the comfort zone – that is, indeed, where all the growth occurs. And also his point about keeping the message short or you lose the audience’s attention – truth! What a beautiful, beautiful gift, Kim – from him, to you, to us all. I absolutely treasure it. Yes. Let us SHINE, and remember why.
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Kim, it was a pleasure to listen to your father share his middle of the night wisdom with you. I love that you are honoring his memory with these snippets. I’ve set aside the video to listen to later, but in the meantime, I’m going to remember to laugh and think and cry. My favorite two lines of his acrostic are “nurture others” and “empathize.” I’m trying for that too!
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What a beautiful way to honor his life and legacy. Those recordings are priceless as are the lessons he left you with. He’s always with you.
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Kim,
I love that bible verse and know it by heart. It seems particularly important these days. I wish those on team you-know-who would follow the last half of that verse better. You’ve given me an idea about something I might work on. Those parting words from your father are lovely, as is your acrostic. I suspect your dad already knew you’ve been following his sage advice many years.
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nurture others and empathize are so so so important. This is such a special way of documenting and processing, and I really admire your bravery each day. Thank you for sharing with us this wisdom and your strength.
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Thanks again Kim and Felix! I am putting Felix’s acrostic on the inside over of my journal so he can remind me every day just how to shine. I will listen to that Jim Valvano speech, but I’m afraid I will cry for days right now.
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