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

"Everything has changed and yet, I am more me than I've ever been." ~ Iain Thomas If my life were a book it would start something like this...There once was a little girl. She was kind, and good. She loved Jesus and her Mama. She was her daddy's little girl and had his grit to boot too. This little girl loved to sing and dance, to laugh, to play and to jump on beds. She was a bit of an oddball, wearing tiaras and capes, always full of spirit and adventures running wild through her own imagination. She loved silly thingys, nonesensey dodads, fantasy thingamajigs and make-believe whatchamacalits. She liked to read, write and create. And she loved to quote the great Dr. Seuss in such ways as this,"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope, which is what I do, and that enables  you to laugh at life's realities." Birthdays, partie...

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...

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...

Have you ever wondered where soldiers go when they retreat? When they need to step away from the battlefield and care for their wounded? When they must crawl out from their fox holes and away from the blazing fire falling down upon their heads? Sometimes it’s not even by choice these brave few must pull up their gear and fall back. No sometimes it’s about survival, the chance to fight another day. To recoup losses, call in reinforcements and then charge the enemy one more time. I have often wondered why retreat has seemed inconceivable and why it is so bitter sweet... that is until now. For the last few years I have been fighting, wounded, stitched together and branded all while advancing forward with my sisters in arms. Digging myself in behind the enemies lines has never been a question. I have never thought twice about this battle leading to the next one ahead of us. I have lived day to day amazed by the power and conviction of these women who have both lived and died beside me in ...