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

  “Your mistakes don’t define your character. It’s what you choose to do after you have made the mistake that makes all the difference.” ~ Dave Williamson If my life was a montage in a film, you’d probably be surprised by the bloopers reel. And when I say bloopers, I mean gigantic, enormous, colossal epic fails. My life is full of them. Quite regularly too. I’m an ordinary, everyday run of the mill, clumsy, muck it up, fish out of water. If there’s a way to mess it up, I’ll find it. Kinda like those Pinterest fails. Yep, that’s me. I start out with good intentions and suddenly the whole thing goes sideways before I know what’s happened.  So, let's get this out in the open right away. I’m about as flawed as they come. I don't have any superpowers. Well, that is unless you’re counting my ability to put my foot in my mouth or trip over my own feet. Then I have some rather amazing, dynamic and extremely high-powered capabilities.  Not that my whole life is amuck, all the time...

  “I think as you grow older your Christmas list gets shorter, because the things you want can’t be bought.”  ~Unknown    I’ve always loved the winter season, especially during Christmas time. As a little girl I’d bounce around the house with joy and curiosity watching my mom decorate. Hanging stockings, stringing lights around the tree all while listening to Christmas music fill the house. I’d dance in delight with the smell of cookies coming from the kitchen and the perfectly wrapped gifts piling up under the tree.  I remember waiting eagerly for each and every Christmas special. Everything felt magical. My excitement and enthusiasm built until Christmas day finally arrived.  As children, this time of year is wondrous and many times mesmerizing too. But as we become adults, Christmas can become complicated, burdensome even. It’s not that the magic is gone. We’re simply aware of life’s complexities. We carry stress and anxiety and at times feel more awkwar...

“I like weird people. The black sheep. The eight balls. The left centers. The wallflowers. The underdog. The loners. The rejects. The outcasts. The odd ducks. The eccentric. The broken. The lonely. The lost and forgotten.” ~ Unknown    I grew up the oddball. Maybe you did too. You know, a little weird? I was different and not in the funny girl kind of way either. I was always too much for a lot of people. And honestly, it’s been that way my whole life. People either love me or they hate me. I rarely find anyone who falls in between. If you're a member of this club you know exactly what I'm talking about. You and I have never been what anyone expects; or to be honest, who they want us to be. I’ve never moved in the popular circles. I’m a wallflower and a book worm with a big imagination. Even now I’m not a girly girl, but I’m not a tomboy either. I was and have always been somewhere in-between.    To this day, I’m still the oddball. I’m sensitive; and believ...

“I’m not the same girl I used to be and I’m not sorry about that. It’s called growth --- and I thank God for it every day.” Cici B. How would you describe yourself? Are you quiet, shy or loud and the life of the party? Would you rather have your nose in a book or be the bell of the ball? We’re all different. We react, respond and reciprocate in vastly passionate ways. Personally, I’ve always been a Princess Mia. “My expectations in life is to be invisible, and I’m good at it.” I  don’t like the spotlight. I’m happy with being a wallflower and I rather like things this way. I’m not a fairytale princess. I’m not trendy. I’ve never been popular. I’m definitely not ironically beautiful, that’s for sure. I’m a redhead. Freckles are my only real indication of a tan. I’m weird, awkward and odd. I’m a writer. Not a starlet or beauty queen. I’d rather be the woman fixing another’s crown than the person shouting to the world it was on crooked to begin with. I like being behind...

"I'm a pencil in the hand of God." ~ Mother Theresa Have you ever just stepped back, looked out over your life and simply evaluated where you are and how you got there? Think about it, how many times have we grabbed the pencil out of God's hand, scribbling down whatever nonsense makes sense in the moment rather than relying on His greater understanding? If we laid our story out on the table, flipping through the pages of our life, I wonder if we'd see alternate endings or resolutions all missed because of our need to control the pencil? Personally, I have snapped the pencil out of God's hands more than once or twice. We all have if we're being honest. That is where most of our troubles arise, where the conflict exists and where those resolutions I was talking about take place. If I look at my life as a whole I see without a doubt God's hand steadily writing my story on every single page of my life, through each chapter from my birth, illnes...

“Sometimes you don’t realize the weight of something you’ve been carrying until you feel the weight of its release.” ~The Power of Positivity For years I told myself I was going to lose weight. I had very good intentions, believe me, but intentions aren’t actions. Intentions don’t produce results, hard work does. I had avoided the weight issue for years, slowing gaining more and more weight telling myself I would...eventually take it off. I was a mom, dong mom things. I didn’t have time for lipstick or fashion, heck I didn’t even have time for a shower some days. I had somehow lost myself and the woman I was before becoming a mom in the process. Andie Mitchell’s quote “we put our lives on layaway until we lose weight…and lose years not just waiting but hating ourselves too” honestly hits home for me. I was giving myself every excuse possible from still carrying baby weight, breast cancer, early menopause or simply stress. By 2013 I was at my heaviest, wearing a size 16 at ...

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...

Growing up is scary. And by growing up I don’t mean getting older or putting mileage on. No, I mean growing into men and women who were born victorious.  None of us are born to live a life of defeat. Yes some are given more, while others have to fight to get to the top but we're not meant to live derailed, crushed or rejected. What I do know from my own difficulties, is I want to be the kind of woman who doesn’t settle but walks with purpose, allowing the fire inside me not to scorch my surroundings but to burn brighter inside of me. Growing up isn’t about who you are,where you're from or where you're going in life because we’re all still growing, learning every day whether we’re 10 years old or 80. The truth is up until we take our last breath our hearts and minds continue to illuminate and compose our story. Our tales are never fully told or revealed until the last word is penned on the very last page of the final chapter and the book is closed. Honestly, until...