Follow Your Dreams - Blog

I was born and raised in a small town in Missouri, in a very nice community. When I became an adult I moved multiple times, including living 10 years in Oklahoma. In my lifetime I have done much traveling around the US as well as visiting a few places in Canada. Traveling allows me to see and experience different places and cultures, but no matter where I travel it's always a blessing to come home again.  Home is wherever my roots are and yes, that place has changed multiple times over the years. Each place I've lived I've found my niche of what I wanted to do, growing and prospering exactly where I was.  Doing so has allowed me to expand my knowledge and grow through countless experiences which have stayed with me as my life has changed and grown.  One lesson I have learned well is that no matter where I call home it is vitally important to grow in that place.   So often we are so busy looking for the next big thing that we miss out on what is right in fro...

  Have you ever felt like you've been given an unexpected blessing?  Had experience in a certain situation or felt you already knew what would happen and then suddenly out of nowhere "BAM" what you've always known to be a certainty is entirely different.  Depending on what is the cause of that sudden "BAM" might feel like a blessing or a burden.  When it's a burden it weighs on you, at times can almost feel like it takes your breath away. Now you're fighting and struggling to find your way through the mess that is all around you. When the dust settles and the chaos has calmed you can find a sense of peace and can even see the blessing.  Starting with you're still standing.  We are given blessings all day everyday, they are continually and some are as simple as the ability to breathe without thought, or waking each day.  Most of us have the blessing of all our senses as well as mobility and a life of our choosing.  Yes, there are struggles...

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Odds are you heard this and probably even said this as a child. It was our way of being tough and standing up for ourselves. However, the truth is words can be more damaging than sticks and stones. Words cut so deeply and the effects last far longer than physical evidence. Sadly, kind words spoken to or about us are easily brushed aside but the negative words, they cut deep, they last, and they rarely miss their mark. When those damaging words are said within a relationship that's very unhealthy. People consider that an abusive relationship only happens when someone becomes violent, but the truth is verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse are just as damaging. Using words to attack someone often makes them feel small and insignificant, causing them to become more and more withdrawn and isolated. They will start to internalize bad events and situations and actually start to believe they ...

The 4th of July is all about America's Independence! When I think of July 4th I think about how it is America's birthday.  Our country has been through so much since July 4, 1776.  Many wars have been fought to maintain our freedoms and many lives lost.   It doesn't matter your situation, your religion, or your political viewpoint; what matters is that you have the right to live freely in pursuit of happiness.  There is no guarantee of happiness for that is found within oneself, but you are guaranteed the pursuit of happiness.   I personally celebrate this holiday with enjoying fireworks during which I always consider "the rockets red glare", I also most often will attend a local gospel night where we thank God through prayer and song for our freedoms and ask Him to continue blessing us and our country.   I hope that you were able to take a few moments during the holiday to remember those who sacrificed so much to keep your freedoms alive and...

Perception is the way we regard or understand something.  What one person sees and understands is often different than what the other sees, such as in the picture above, to one the joy comes from finally seeing a boat and the other is overjoyed at seeing land.  It also explains why when 9 people witness an accident there will be 9 different stories of what exactly happened.  Our angle, our vision, even where we are within our lives at a given moment can have an effect on our perception of a situation.   Recently this came to a very clear understanding for me, and it wasn't different peoples perception it was simply my own and how I choose to view things.  First, let me clarify a bit about me, I am a very animated person, I talk to the trees and flowers, I talk to myself, I will even start singing and dancing if I feel compelled to do so.  I simply see this as embracing life and taking it all in on my own terms. Not long ago I was visiting my parents an...