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

  “’The moment a child is born, a mother is born also.” ~ Rajneesh  As children we adore our mothers. Moms are our first home, friends, teachers, storytellers, and builders of our imaginations. They pack our lunches, give us the last of the ice cream and make sure Santa delivers, without fail. Moms laugh at our silly jokes, listen to our wild stories, replay our favorite movies repeatedly and frame our artwork on the wall like a Picasso.   Moms pick us up when we fall. Wipe our tears, dust us off and stitch us up. They’re our first confidantes, champions and defenders. Moms tuck us into bed, read our favorite bedtime stories and sing to us as we fall asleep.  Moms are the first to chase the monsters out from under the bed or out of the closet. They’re the first to soothe our screams in the middle of the night and make room for us in the bed. Moms are our safe places and our go to any time of day or night, anywhere. We trust our moms. The safety we find inside th...

“Half time goes by, suddenly you're wise. Another blink of an eye, 67 is gone. The sun is getting high. We’re moving on.”  ~100 Years/ Five For Fighting  From the moment we’re born each of us is aging. Every minute we’re breathing we’re getting older. One day closer to moving on, right? Now, most of us don’t stop and think about getting old. At least not while we’re young anyway. As we slow down and the double digits pile up, getting older becomes more of a reality than a possibility one day.  As children we rarely think about our parents' age. Or the fact that they might not be there one day. We think they'll live forever. They’re rocks. Always there. Steadfast, never wavering. Our parents are the steady force behind us. Pushing us forward. Believing in our dreams. Building us up. Encouraging us and always proud of who we are becoming. They give us our names. As children they tell us stories and sing to us when we're scared. Tuck us in at night. Turn the night light on...

    “No one tells you the hardest part of being a parent is when your kids grow up.” ~Unknown    Most of my adult life I’ve been a mom. In fact, for over 2 decades my whole identity has been and was wrapped up in one word. Mom. I knew no other name, job or calling. I was a mom, through and through. So, what happens when your children leave the nest? Or worse, become estranged.  How do you cope? There’s no map to navigate. And believe me, the host and array of emotions it brings is life altering. When you’re facing the sudden loss of your child, how do you keep your head above water or stop yourself from drowning in the deep end?     Truthfully, I have no idea. I wish I did. If the nest is emptied naturally, it’s bittersweet. If not, it’s devastating. As parents you wait your whole life for your children to spread their wings. You love, nurture and praise them. Build them up. Pray for them. Provide, sacrifice, and yes, you fail them just as many ti...

“True love isn’t found, It’s built.” ~ Anonymous Love, it all starts with a spark, doesn’t it? And afterwards, is where the real adventure begins. Sure diamonds are forever but adventures, now they’re the moments diamonds are made for. Each impression left across our hearts, every escapade along the way becomes eternally endless and enduring, right? We build our lives on these very memories. And as for the legacies we leave behind? Well, they’re each stitched from the very fabric God’s woven together from our greatest adventures. We find our true North as we set out, hand in hand chasing what sets our souls on fire. And for my parents that fire was found in each other some 49 years ago. Just like Genesis 2:18 God created my parents uniquely for one another. “ And the Lord God said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone; I will make a companion for him, a helper suited to his needs.” Now, they will both tell you they didn’t find each other first. Both felt the sting of rejectio...

"Christ is the head of our house, The unseen guest at every meal, the silent listener to every conversation."  ~ Unknown When you think of leadership what comes to mind? The leader of a country, a sports figure, maybe it's a job title or a position? So how often does the word family come to mind when we think of leadership? Probably not as much as it should right?. I mean someone has to be the leader, guiding and steering our families through adversity and hardship right? What about our dreams or our efforts and accomplishments, who spearheads those endeavors? There's usually someone behind us or beside us rallying, lifting us up and motivating each of us to push past what we see as our limits right? In every family there's at least one person who takes the reins.  That's leadership...where the buck stops, the fault lands and the liability for all decisions good or bad when push comes to shove. ...

"If you want to find the right road, follow many paths, be willing to try new things and don't be afraid to change the direction along the way. Leave your doors open."  ~ Anonymous It's unbelievable for me to fathom today my baby turns 18. Today he officially becomes an adult, a man in the world's eyes but in mine he will always be my baby boy.  Seriously eighteen years ago today I gave birth to our second born. I had no idea then how fast time would fly, and how much this little baby would change our lives forever. How could I know our Micah would challenge me to think so far outside the box or how he would inspire courage within myself in ways I never dreamed? And yet he has, over and over again. From early on we knew our son was authentic, genuine, the real deal and most definitely divergent. We saw his life, his direction moving towards a much less traveled path. Micah was not different, he was his own person, unique and contradictory in every wa...

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us." ~ J.R.R. Tolkien When I look back on my life, on the clock ticking away one minute at a time I'm left breathless. We all know the sun goes down, the moon comes up and the stars come out. It's the cycle of our lives but realizing how all those days and nights add up is pretty astonishing. Counting up my life span so far, as of February 26, 2017 my clock comes to 523 months, 2278 weeks, 15,947 days, 382,728 hours, 22,963,680 minutes, 1,377,820,800 seconds give or take a digit or two. That's startling actually if you think about it. Now think about this, something Henry David Thoreau once said, "The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it." So I guess my question is this, what are we willing to exchange for the life we live, with the time we have? As a little girl I held on to my daddy's hand and to his every word. As he still does, my dad hung the moon, ...

"Mom and Dad, I cannot begin to describe how BLESSED I am to have amazing parents in my life. Seeing true love through you both makes my heart happy. As your daughter, I see perfection in both of you. I love you." ~ Anonymous My Mom and Dad met in May of 1968 and married just 9 months later on February 8, 1969. Today my parents celebrate 48 years of marriage as husband and wife. For almost 5 decades my folks have built a life together, cultivated a family and been an example to so many of what true timeless love is. Growing up as my parents daughter I not only felt un-conditional love but I saw it in practice, in everyday life. I watched my parents, listened to them and felt their constant encouragement. I not only saw their love flourish through both good and bad times, I felt their love each and every day of my life, seeing it in continuous motion. To say my parents have endured trial by fire is an understatement. To say they have overcome does not begin to exp...

"Every empty bottle is filled with stories." ~ Anonymous Time is one of our most valuable possessions. It's fleeting and no matter how you look at time it's fluid, always moving forward. Time never really gives back instead time just reminds us it's already past by us. Stepping back, looking at my life as a whole I'm aware time stops for no one. At 43 years old I can see how quickly time has indeed continued to march on in-spite of all my protests. The reality is ,"life is a collection of moments." This has never been so real to me as this very moment. The truth is none of us are invincible, not one. Time takes from us what it will and when our time is spent, comes to collect us ready or not, young or old. I faced this reality much too young. I looked time in the eyes the day cancer came knocking on my door with her sickle and a pocket watch in hand.  Now I'm again realizing how precious time is, how it speeds by without a second thought...

"It is not happy people who are thankful. It is thankful people who are happy."  ~ Anonymous As we approach the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season, i want to reflect first on Thanksgiving. This year as most we gathered with family and friends. And like so many other years we have so much to be thankful for. This last year our family has seen so much growth spiritually, mentally, emotionally and financially. There's not much we can honestly complain about. Johnny and I are on solid ground, happy and our foundation stronger than ever before. The boys are in school.Micah is a senior, looking forward to starting college and yes planning his graduation trip. Joshua, he's 20, in college, becoming his own man and finding his own way. I'm working my dream job and Johnny's working for a good complany. My parents are in the prime of their lives, preparing for my dad to retire, to travel and enjoy even more time with each other. And there's the puppie...

“Legends are born in November.” ~ Anonymous I learned this very lesson during November of 1996. Yes, twenty years ago I became a mom… for the first time I might add. In the days before Joshua was born I was scared, excited and completely unaware how much my life was about to change. Sure I knew life was never going to be the same again but I never dreamed how infinitely it was about to. I knew what I’d been told by other moms. You know the old no sleeping, "don’t do that, but do this" speeches. I was ready for all that, but what I wasn’t fully prepared for was the ache I felt inside my heart. I had no clue the unbearable yet beautiful pain I’d feel loving my child more than myself.  How do you fully explain how a child changes you? I don’t know if anyone can really except to say your lives are turned upside down, changed and completely different within seconds. From the very moment we first heard Joshua’s newborn cries Johnny and I knew our lives would be forever alte...