Brave Heart, Brave Soul. She who is brave is free.

“The best things in life are the people you love, the places you’ve seen together, and the memories you’ve made along the way.” ~ Unknown I have an incredible life. I can’t deny it. I’m blessed. Now that’s not to say I haven't had to fight for my happiness or overcome sadness and difficulties. Believe me, I have over and over again. In spite of all the ups, downs or moments life’s gone sideways, I still count my blessings every day. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times. I’ve been raised on Jesus and sweet tea. Truth is so have my boys. The world outside our door may be falling apart, but the life we share inside these walls keeps us together. Our glue has and will always be family, Jesus and a cold glass of sweet iced tea on a hot, humid, Texas summer afternoon. The honest to goodness truth is life has been anything but effortless and trouble free. Our family description would more than likely read a little something like this in a church directory. Complic...

“You can’t be sure of most things in this world, but you can be sure of the love that lies between a mother and daughter.” ~ A Parent’s Humor   The truth is, there’s not another woman alive that can take my mama’s place. It’s just the way it is. Mama’s kind, gentle, loving and a beautiful, good and lovely soul. She’s not perfect, but then none of us are. I’ll tell you what I know. She’s spent her life encouraging my dreams of writing. Mama’s fostered a sense of humor and self-esteem inside my heart by inspiring my imagination and motivating my creativity. She's protected me. Sometimes at her own expense too. When the vultures have come, she’s fought them back. When clowns have appeared with buckets full of water looking to drown my voice, she's been my life boat. Even when beastly mobs descended out of the darkness seeking to extinguish the light within her baby girl, she never  wa vered.  Mama always knew how to shelter me from the storms, but nev...

“When you go through tragedy, you can either let that destroy you and you become bitter and never let it go, or you can let it make you stronger and let it make you grow.” ~ Evanescence The reality is life's not a bed of roses. If anyone taught us this, it’s the Red Queen from Alice in Wonderland. For all the roses she had, she was still angry, bitter, broken and never happy. Life can deal us tragedy, pain and hurt just as much as it offers hope, joy and happiness. It all comes down to how we decide to play the hand we’re dealt. Personally, my life has been a constant struggle. I’m not just talking the physical disadvantages or disabilities either. I’m speaking of spiritual battles, emotional scuffles and mental brawls. Life is difficult. There's no other way around it. My children have learned this first hand. As life has had it, they’ve wrestled their own demons to the ground along the way. Jane Campion shares a wonderful perspective. She says this. “Tragedy mak...