Anybody Got a Story?

I thought I'd start this out with a Question today:  Does anybody have a story to tell where you wrote something down that you wanted or needed or prayed to get and then GOT?

I'm curious if I'm the only one?

I've had friends tell me they have and it worked!  So it got me thinking...

Please post a comment if you've ever written something down and then received or experienced what you requested or wrote.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know!?
;)

THINK.     WRITE.     BELIEVE.     ACT.

What have you written?

Things have been so chaotic lately... This week I will have moved four times in four months.  I've changed states, changed jobs, homes.  It's all good but seriously out of control, crazy!

Different times throughout the process I've felt excited, angry, thrilled, frustrated, scared, lost, found, whole, empty, and just about every other emotion.  That's what you feel when you're in the midst of incredible change - incredible growth.  It's a ride like the Amazing Race through your own life.


I found myself drawn to familiar things:  I've watched MAD MEN (great show by the way) because it reminded me of how I grew up.  I remembered those homes, that wallpaper, paneling, old appliances, clothes...  I watched BAND OF BROTHERS about WWII because I love history, and because I love the camaraderie...  I'm even more attached to my car - I love just sitting in it.  I like just seeing my guitar in it's stand.  Couldn't WAIT for college football to start!!!

Familiarity.


What's important?  

When you don't have familiar things, what do you hold onto?  What do you VALUE?  You'll find out quickly when you have none of what you know...  what brings you COMFORT?

I go back to what I'd written before.

Why am I here?? I'm here because I ASKED for this - I wanted something different.  I wanted a change.  When I think of it that way, I can't help but laugh!  I asked for this..............  God really DOES have a sense of humor.

When things get crazy in your life - even in the day-to-day activities you do - if you find yourself asking "How did I get here?"  or "Why is this happening?" or even "Wow, I'm so grateful..." THINK about the things you've SPOKEN:  either in prayer, in the midst of frustration.  THINK about the things you've WRITTEN:  lists you've made, notes you've jotted down about what you want!

If you keep track... If you go back and look... you'll find the VERY things you wrote or spoke may actually BE coming true!

WRITE YOUR VISION - 

WRITE YOUR VISION -

You may be surprised to find that you're right in the middle of your own dream!

  THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

Never Forget...

At 10:48 am this morning, I stopped.  I lowered my head and couldn't help but cry.  The emotion is still there... It's September 11th.

New York City - The World Trade Center's Twin Towers

Washington DC - The Pentagon

Shanksville, PA - A field...

2,977 heroes lost
Thousands injured

A nation broken-hearted at the cruelty, the depth of evil...

As an American, as a Christian, as a citizen of the world, as a human being - I will always mourn this day.  Yet, I also feel unbelievably proud of the first responders, those who rushed TO the danger... all those who gave their lives to save others.  For the incredible men and women of Flight 93, I cried the hardest for you - so proud.  I remember, through tears, raising my fist in the air and saying "YES!" because YOU stopped them.  You gave your lives to STOP them... YOU won.

Thank you for that...

 --------------------------

It is 'evil' we must hate.  It is 'evil' we must fight against, resist, and refuse to accept.  Sometimes evil does come in the embodiment of other human beings, but that should be as heart-breaking as anything because those souls are so so lost.  They are deceived.  Evil can be subtle in its brainwashing cascade.  The words and commands that run through a mind and twist the truth.  We are all susceptible to its lies... it's goal is to incite.  It's goal is to create chaos.  It's goal is to facilitate hatred.

Get ANGRY. 

Get angry at the evil... and vow to NEVER allow IT to win.

Remember...


Sites to record your stories:  
   Remembering 9/11, National Archives
   I Remember 

To Change or Re-live?

A friend of mine posted an interesting question on FB today.  She asked:

 "If you could go back in time only once, 

would you choose to re-live something or to change something?"

It really is a profound question that speaks to heart of who we are and how we choose to live.

Do you live with regret?

In my 20s, my motto was "No apologies.  No regrets."  Somehow as the years went on - I lost that focus, although on the whole I have been incredibly blessed... and I have come to realize that the mistakes I made truly were the things that opened my eyes to my own shortcomings and pride.  The mistakes were actually the events that taught me the most and shaped who I am today as much as anything.  Those mistakes showed me the value of love and loyalty, honesty and trust, and true faith.

So when looking at my life in its totality, I would not go back and change most events or choices - even though many were painful.

I lost the first person I truly loved to fear.
I lost the person I admired most to cancer.
... and I lost myself for a time as well.

Hmmm.

As I thought deeper about the question - would I choose to go back and change something or relive something - I came to some conclusions:

• My memories are so incredibly strong, I can go back and relive beautiful moments in mind whenever I want.

So while it would be unbelievable to be back in the arms of the person who taught me to love or thrilling to relive certain moments, they would just as quickly become memories again and be gone.

With that reality in mind then, I chose to change something...

• There are two fundamental decisions I made in ignorance that dramatically changed the course of my life - either of which I would absolutely go back and change.

Despite that fact, I still recognize those two events forced me to my knees.  Those two events introduced me to my character, my will, my unshakable faith, and my absolute belief in destiny and love.  Both times I was given the gift of seeing another person's reality as they saw it.  Seeing the impact of my choices or more aptly the impact my fear had - when I refused to chose or ACT because of fear.

Two decisions broke me as an individual and from that shattered heart each time came a newly formed, more formidable person - 10 times stronger than what I was before.

In fact, the very soul of my own Vision for my future is directly tied to reclaiming what I lost and teaching others about what I learned.

I've rewritten the ending to my own story and am awaiting the manifestation of that blessing.
I now live each day EXPECTING...
I live each day fully AWARE...
I live each day BELIEVING that my dreams - my vision - will come true.
...and because of that Faith, I make choices each day to BE the person I want to BE.

I do this because I am SPEAKING my own Truth and ACTING on my beliefs.

...because I refuse to BE anything less than what I am meant to be and I refuse to allow fear to steal one more moment from me.  I am determined.

If you don't have any regrets in your life, then God bless you!  Keep that sense of self and focus!  For anyone else who does have regrets - no matter what it may be - this is your chance to CHANGE! 

Choose to Redirect.

Refocus that regret into something positive!  Redirect those emotions, those lessons learned into your Vision for your future.  Apply what you know... and Expect your future to be better than your past!

WRITE what you want... not what you don't want!
SPEAK what you've written so you can hear your own words and BELIEVE in them!
ACT on what you expect not on what you fear!

Your Vision is worth your Faith.  Your life is worth living without regret.  No one can go back in time,  so make choices each day that move you forward toward your dream and each present moment is precious.

       THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.       ACT.

Dreaming Today...

I woke up this morning with thoughts, images and words running through my mind so quickly I had to shake myself fully awake to keep up...

and I realized that today was a day for dreams.

Do you dream?

So I thought I'd run through my stream of consciousness with you because I've often been asked:  "How do you write?" and/or folks say "My mind goes blank when I try to write..."

Here are my words today:

Nature   trees   the wind   -  I miss the mountains.   Cardinals and black bears, the river running through the mountains between Staunton and Elkins on Rt 250:  School.  The FALL.  College football. ESPN.   Sweatshirts and shorts.

Go Mountaineers.  Hook 'em Horns.  Gotta buy tickets -- to the games, to the music festival, to fly to Indiana.........

Family.  I miss Gram.    Lord, keep my family safe today - give them peace, show them joy, deliver them from fear and illness, bring us all closer however You can.  Remind them I love them as much as You do...

Hurricane Katrina:  5 years today.  So many families in need, so much hurt, frustration, and anger still and yet beauty, change, growth, community.   I miss community -- I miss Clarksburg, those WV hills.  Smile.  It was a wonderful place to grow up.  I want to visit New Orleans...

Love Alexander McQueen.  What a loss... someday I'd love to own one of his coats.  His work always gave me cold chills.  Amazing.  Genius.  Impact.

I want to make an impact... that's my real dream.  I don't know how yet, don't know where yet - but someday.

One person at a time.

At the end of my life, I want to know that the world, my family and friends were better for my having been in their lives.  That's my vision.  That's my dream.

What's yours?

Please comment because I'd love to know... ;)

     THINK.    WRITE.    BELIEVE.    ACT.

Remember Me...

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. -Eleanor Roosevelt

Today is the 90th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote... how special is that???

It made me think about the beautiful, wonderful, powerful women throughout my life beginning with my Mom and Gram.  While my life and dreams are mine, I am the embodiment of all that they are too:

• Mom's smile and mind - her intellect, love of history and teaching, her intensity
• Gram's heart and ability to laugh - her humor, love of hugs, her presence

I think of teachers like Mrs. Grant in 6th grade who made me read "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Illiad..."  Mrs. Burnside who challenged me though high school English...  Molly Petty and Mary Hill Cole who loved history and creative writing in college...

I think of my Aunt Jeannie who taught me about faith and belief in God.

I think of my Aunt Mary who challenged me to LIVE because each day could be your last.

I think of my grandmother Benson who taught me about strength in humility.

Consider the phenomenal women in your life from your past and your present - think of who they are and the difference they've made in your life - and for just a moment:   APPRECIATE THEM and their Dreams for you.  For those of you with daughters, teach them about the power of the past and remind them of the power of their own mind, their own abilities, and that their dreams ARE attainable!

Teach them to THINK.

Teach them to WRITE.

Teach them to ACT.

Teach them to BELIEVE...

and for the husbands, sons, and brothers out there -- remember Tennessee Legislator Harry Burn:

Thank you to Harry Burn who in the end changed his mind and cast the last deciding vote for suffrage because his mother asked that of him.  In today's politically divisive world, we could all learn from Harry's choice.  Although he didn't necessarily understand nor agree intellectually, he voted with his heart.  He realized the impact his decision would have on others and chose to give rather than deny...

What Do You Believe?

I wonder why some find it so very hard to believe?  to have faith?

Is it because you HOPED something would happen and it didn't - so now it's all about self-protecting?  Maybe you've been hurt in the past? Maybe you like tangible things - proof? evidence? facts?  Maybe it's easier to be a cynic than a dreamer?  Safer to be 'practical' than to appear to be foolish by someone else's standards?

Maybe you're just scared... afraid of being disappointed?

Whatever the reason you simply don't dream anymore... maybe you were never taught to dream as a child? So you don't really know how.............

How about if we talk it through together?  Because a DREAM requires faith and belief -

1. What is FAITH?  Defn: strong or unshakable belief in something, especially without proof or evidence.  
2. BELIEF/VE?  Defn: to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so.
3. What is FEAR?  Defn: a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. 

Isn't it interesting that 'fear' shows up PRIOR to anything actually happening?

So okay, let's start with something simple:  What did you want to be when you grew up?

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an archeologist & an oceanographer.  I loved history and wanted to discover it firsthand.  I wanted to explore. [and this was before Indiana Jones ;) ] 

As a child, I was taught to BELIEVE I could do or be anything I wanted.  I was taught POSSIBILITIES...

Were you?  If you weren't, it's time.  It's time to ALLOW yourself the freedom to be wrong, the freedom to make a mistake(s), the freedom to be disappointed without being devastated, the freedom to be courageous.

See, everyone has fears.  Everyone feels afraid.  The difference is when you CHOOSE to believe YOU and YOUR DREAM is bigger and more important than your fear.  It means being afraid and making the choice to have faith ANYway.  It means BEING courageous in spite of, in the face of fear.

Your dream - your vision - is worth a little faith.  It is worth your belief in it.  YOU are worth that.

What do you believe in now?  Allow yourself to dream again.  Allow yourself to believe in your dream - whatever it is - because if you can't believe in your dream, who else will?  Make the one choice that requires no money, no investment whatsoever but is entirely FOR you.

- BELIEVE in You and Your Vision -

Speak your own Truth.
Dare to have Faith in your Dream.
Believe.  And don't apologize for making that choice.
Live Courageously...

     THINK.       WRITE.       BELIEVE.        ACT.