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

“Cause you never think that the last time is the last time. You think there will be more. You think you have forever. But you don’t.” ~ Unknown They say, “go where you feel most alive.” I say find your happy place, wherever that may be and go there often. And when you find it be content, untroubled, light-hearted and cheerful. Be all there in every moment...fully and completely. Don’t overthink or over plan. Just be part of the moment and make it yours. Why? Well truthfully we never know when a moment will be our last...when we’ll see a person or a place for the very last and final time. We live and we die. Nothing beyond is guaranteed. Everything in between is a gift. No one really knows when our time will be up, but we do know it will be... someday. And this is why it’s extremely important we find time for the people and places we love. Being in our happy place and better yet sharing it with our family and friends has the ability to truly fill us with joy and happiness. So ...

"Protect your family. Honor your elders. Teach the young. Be loyal to your friend, Voice your opinion, Stand your ground. Take charge when others show weakness. Play when you can. Work when you must. Always leave your mark." ~ Celtic Wolf Code It's no secret I come from a long line of Irish. I'm not quiet about being Irish either,but then when is an Irish woman ever really quiet? Our family is most definitely American - Irish, but our roots are still very much tied to Erie. County Limerick to be exact and our family there continues to tie us to our family tree. Now the reality is St. Patrick's Day is a completely different kind of celebration over here. We've more than Americanized it to be sure. From the green beer, to the corned beef to the beads. We tend to forget the religious part of the Feast of St. Patrick, emphasizing more on the wide spread idea that everyone is Irish for a day. No matter how we celebrate, if you're Irish it's a day to...

“She’s my confidant, my joy, my private dairy, my strength. She’s my soul sister.” That’s exactly what I have in my dearest and closest friend Shawna. We all have best friends; they are the people we can’t do life without. We share our families, our time and our joys with them. They are family through and through and no one can take their place in our lives. There’s that one friend though, maybe two if you're really blessed as I am. Not to the exclusion of your best friends,  this kindred is simply a soul friend, a sister, a brother, something almost beyond words, a relationship altogether different from any of the others. Now speaking as a woman, finding your soul sister is a pretty remarkable thing. It’s best described as looking into a perfect mirror image of our own soul. You are not in any way sisters by blood; instead it’s almost as God created your souls as a whole, then split it into two separate, distinct, beautiful and rare but connected pieces before sending each pi...

“You never know the last time you’ll see a place or a person.”  It’s such a sad but true statement. One we know all too well. Saturday we said goodbye to one of the greatest men I have had the joy of knowing and loving. Perfect, not a chance but legendary, you can bet the farm on it. He was a man of true grit, a transplanted Philadelphian who called Texas home in the last years of his life.  He loved his Phillies, Eagles and of course the Fliers. He supported Breast Cancer and Autism Awareness among so many other causes. Our dear friend was a man of real character, tender hearted though he could be tough at the same time. He was generous, loyal and simply real. A man who worked very hard to live the kind of life he was proud of. This man, our friend not only touched my life but was also a big part of it. He was family even if it wasn’t through blood. Sadly not even 60 years old yet Mike was here and gone way too soon. Mike just had a way of putting you at ease and...

Life is a funny thing. Nothing is guaranteed and nothing is completely safe. We can try and predict all we want but we cannot fully anticipate life’s twists and turns. Life is beautiful this way. Everything can fall apart only to be revealed as stained glass once broken and restored. Memories they too can be tricky. Just like our emotions they can become fuzzy, blurred, vague, unclear and distorted. I’ve heard it said before a picture says a thousand words. Memories are in many ways like a photograph. When we invision a moment in our thoughts sometimes those memories aren’t as beautiful or as horrible as we imagine. It’s when we actually look at a memory captured on film we can see the truth revealed. Our faces and our eyes they don’t lie. Happiness, love and joy or even hurt, sadness and anger speak for us. In those photographs our unsaid words are captured.  I know for my family, we’ve had many more happy memories than sad. The problem is sometimes those sad, hurtful mem...

What I’ve learned about life? That’s a loaded question. There are so many things I could say and just might before I’m finished. I mean where do I begin?  Life has taught me a million and one lessons. But if I’m truly going to be forthright, I’ll start with this one as it sums things up quite nicely. “I tried to be normal once; they were the worst two minutes of my life” (Unknown). True story but now that we’ve gotten that out of the way maybe you’ll understand my thought process just a little better. Let’s just say I’ve never been nor will I ever be “normal”.  As Joshua has always said,  "Normal is overrated."  I'm awkward and shy, loud and sassy all put together in one package. I’m a seeker, a dreamer, a thinker, an “imagineer”, a nerd, a geek, a realist and yes an optimist stitched together into one very unique tapestry. When I look back, I don’t regret how I was raised and brought up at all. I found my voice early on growing up to becoming the woman I am...

They say, “Ain’t nothing in the whole wide world like a southern girl.”  Well speaking as a southern woman, I have to agree we’re a different stock, a totally distinct band of womenfolk.  A bit of sassy mannerisms, conflicting signals, unconventional qualities and independent streaks mixed together.  We’re the bare feet and pearls go with anything kind of girls.  Growing up in the South as a fishing, mud pies and dirt road kind of girl I found my place quickly. I grasped, discovered and learned  from my tribe, my family, from those who surrounded my life, whether in church or around the dinner table to be authentic.  What is an authentic life?  Well, it’s about being true to yourself, not compromising who you are for the attention of the few. Most importantly, it’s knowing yourself, not the idea of who you think you should be. We’ve all heard the saying, “Be an original, don’t die a copy.” Being authentic, being 100% yourself means nothing i...

Have you ever wondered where our silver linings come from? Why some folks can easily find one and others can’t? Maybe it’s a gift we are given, maybe it’s an inheritance or maybe we have to find them all on our own. No matter how we come into ownership of these brilliant and beautiful treasures they are magnificent indeed to behold. I know how I came into mine, and why I’ve held onto it all my life. It goes something like this… Anyone who knows the Dowling - Olachia clan will hands down inform you we're a Disney family. It's just in our DNA I guess. Maybe the "whole whistle while you work" concept is so ingrained in us  we have no problem finding our silver linings haha. That said it shouldn't be a surprise our family's favorite quote, our motto of sorts, one we hold near and dear is from a Disney movie. Those who know us well will tell you without hesitation it's from Micah’s favorite movie, Lilo and Stitch. It goes something like this, “This is my...

Life lesson #29: Don’t grow up too fast. Don’t get ahead of yourself, racing into tomorrow or back peddling through yesterday, believe me,  it can only lead to disaster.  What you can do is create a beautiful tomorrow simply by living in the reality of today. If I could write a letter to my five year old self it would go something like this: Christie, take your time, slow down and don't rush through anything sweet girl! Please, please don't ever forget what Granny always said, “You have such a long, long time to be old, Christie and such a very short time to be young." These are words to the young from the wise, mark my words! Whatever you do, stay close to Jesus honey, He will never, ever abandon you, and just keep your eyes on Him in everything! Always keep your faith darling, even when you feel lost and alone. This alone will serve as the sole key in finding peace in the journey ahead of you. Make sure not to let the aches of this world steal your j...

To say I'm a blessed woman is an understatement. I'm always struck by the grace which abounds in my life. I realize so many of us feel we are lacking, instead of embracing the grace our lives provide each of us. Sometimes our fantasies take hold of our reasoning, the way we think and feel about those unattained desires we want for our own. Sadly many times we fail to appreciate all we have in the process. The truth is if we could just step back and take a good look at all we have, the love we carry inside us, the blessings our lives give us daily we'd find real happiness. Maybe our lights would even shine a little brighter? Seriously how many times do we actually take inventory of our own heart, our soul and spirit? How many times do we truly accept we have everything we need without longing for more than we have? Why is it we can't accept the gifts we've been given without the need to take more? As I share advice here on my blog, you should know the adv...