Welcome to my world...

Hi everyone and welcome to my little piece of the world!

It has been evident to me since I was in about seventh grade, that I love writing and it is a talent I have been blessed with . It wasn't until I reached the ripe old age of 28 though, that I realized God had a much bigger plan for the gift he had given me.

Through blogging on MySpace, I was able to reach not only those that I knew in my own life, but also complete strangers and was amazed at how just my "ramblings" had helped so many people to be inspired, encouraged, or just to think about things in a new way.

From there, it grew into an inspirational column in The Charlotte Observer, then a religious news column in The Statesville Record & Landmark, a speaking engagment for a women's church group and now, a gig as a religion news freelance writer for The Charlotte Observer.

The writing that is closest to my heart though is not the news reporting, but the words that come from my soul - the words that I know God puts there not only to help me to understand life better, but also those around me.

I hope you feel encouraged, enlightened and inspired but what you read here and of course, I look forward to hearing back from you too!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

A is for Awesome

So... here I lie with type A influenza.  Serves me right for opening my big mouth and saying I didn't need to get a flu shot because I "never get the flu."  Uh huh.  Anyway, what better time to write a blog then when completely incapacitated?

I can't believe I'm even going to utter this sentence, but I was very inspired by the Oprah show today.  Ugh.  And by what Michelle Obama had to say on there.  Double UGH.  Anyway, the episode was about military families and about how most Americans don't really think about the sacrifices they go through unless they know someone in the military personally.  That sure, most people will stop a soldier in uniform to say thank you, but that's about it.  That if your life hasn't been personally touched by the experience of having a loved one deployed or of having lost a loved one in the war, it is easy to disconnect.  I personally have two family members that are in the military and two friends that have already been deployed multiple times, and I know it is still easy to forget about the reality of war, once your loved ones are back home, safe and sound.

The basic idea Michelle Obama was getting at though is that she wants to start a nationwide initiative of everyone in America doing something.  Employers should set up plans for military spouses to be able to move through satellite offices when having to relocate often, principals should be aware of children who are in military families, and that even those of us who think we can't do something, can always do something.  If that means showing up on the doorstep of a military family with a homecooked meal or if you work in a salon, offering a military wife a maincure or pedicure... a chance for her to have a little break.  Basically, the same idea that I wrote about in my very first column with the Charlotte Observer... just do whatever it is that you're good at and God will make something bigger from it.  The same rule applies here.  Just do whatever it is that comes naturally to you and there will be some way for it to grow into a larger way to help others.

One of the military wives mentioned that besides the obvious issues military families deal with, there are also other things that no one ever thinks about.  For example, after the big, tearful homecoming, the solider who's just returned home, has to figure out how to fit back into the groove of things at home.  That they often have missed so many important events with their families, they can feel left out or unneeded.

It's another one of those cases where it's something we should be aware of all the time, but tend to easily forget.  Thank you to all of you who have served in the military in the past, to those of you that are leaving your families to go serve right now and all of you that will continue to do so in the future.  Thank you is really an understatement, as no words can truly express the sacrifice you make so the rest of us can live a life of freedom and peace.

God bless you all! 

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