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

“The body remembers. Stuffed until an event, a sound, a sight, a touch, a word or a person awaken them.” ~ Unknown   The tale I'm about to tell you is dark, suppressed underneath the depths of one little girl's soul for decades....an account almost too disturbing to tell. At first the darkness gave me no choice. The truth screamed to be heard but today I hold the pen in my own hand as her cries for help no longer fall on deaf ears. The truth inside me has surfaced, forming into words. See, she no longer begs, she demands her story to be told. And after all this time, what I know to be true is this...sometimes we have to take the first step, say the words out loud and let them fall where they will. And so, with courage and bravery today, I’ll not only confront but pen an open letter to the thief who stole her young stainless heart so long ago.    There’s no question my story is dark. The tale I have to tell you is one of betrayal and brutality. It’s dastar...

"Even though there are days I wish I could change some things that happened in the past, there's a reason the rear view mirror is so small and the windshield is so big, where you're headed is much more important than what you've left behind." ~ D.I. Quotes Three years ago this month my life changed. Actually my life went up in smoke. Uncontrollable flames reached epic heights and the smoke of what was left of my life up to that point billowed. I'm not talking some small campfire either, not even a bonfire. No, I'm talking about a raging, out of control wildfire, burning and destroying everything in it's path. This sweeping fire consumed everything, all of me, who I was and who I thought I should be. Three years later, the fire has been extinguished. Truth, for a time there I was fighting hot spots spontaneously re-igniting, area's of my life left unattended. I was lost, hurt, betrayed and abandoned. Night had fallen, the sky was black, I...

I remember a while back, I asked my counselor why God was allowing so many hurts to pile up so close together in my life. Do you know what she told me? "Boundaries Christina, it's all about boundaries." Let's just let that sink in for a moment. I know I had to. The truth is I have lived my entire life trying to please everyone. The reality, it is clearly impossible, and simply never ends well. Honestly, this is probably the hardest, most miserable life lesson I have ever had to learn. A lesson you can be certain inevitably pushed me through a barrier, over a cliff and to the bottom of a ravine.  The moment leading up to my hallelujah, come to Jesus meeting got it's first start some 19 months ago. Life at the time wasn't bad; in fact it seemed pretty good to me. As with any typical month in our household, we had our ups and downs. Sure I knew life wasn't full of gumdrops and lollipops, but life wasn't exactly sinkholes and tar pits either. I ha...

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...