Inspiration Wednesday. Meet Bridgette Kelley!

Inspiration Wednesday! Meet my young friend Bridgette Kelley. Her life has motivated me in more ways than one. Bridgette, tell us a little about yourself, your family, and where you live. 

I grew up south of Houston. I have three younger brothers. I decided to move to the West Texas area about six years ago and am currently in Pecos, TX. I teach 1st and 2nd grade Special Education and wouldn't change what I do every day for the world.

That's amazing. So proud of you! What is your passion, business, or hobbies? 

I LOVE to read. I have challenged myself to read at least 40 books this year, but, that's kind of a lowball as I read 54 books last year. I'd like to read even more than that though. I love to cook as well. Feeding people is something I love to do, although the dishes that await afterwards are never fun.

Wow, 54 books last year! I'm sure you'll reach your goal. I didn't know you liked to cook. So since I love washing dishes, we'll have to get together.  Where do you see yourself in five years?

I know I'll be teaching, no doubt in my mind. Where I'll be? I have no idea. I hope to still be in this area with the people I've chosen as family!

Definitely family! What are you currently reading?

Well, I just finished The Bookshop on the Corner and it was WONDERFUL! It was simple, romantic, and I just fell in love with the characters. It was incredibly bittersweet to have ended. This weekend, I'm going to start reading Elanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I've heard it's good and it's been on my list for quite a while to pick up.


I'll put those on my list. If you could have the world stage for five minutes, what would your message be to the world?

I would remind people to give children a chance. They are our future and our lights. They may say an do things that irk us, but at the end of the day, they're still learning how to be a decent human being. Heck, we're all still learning that. Take the time to listen to them because what they have to say is incredibly important. We often get so caught up in our perspective of the world, but a child reminds us of innocent hope and love. It's what we need more of.

Truly inspirational! Anything else you'd like to say?

Don't get so caught up in the daily mundane tasks that have to be completed that  you don't take the time to look at those around you. You never know what storms someone is walking through, keep a kind heart and voice.

I'm so glad you shared on my blog today, Bridgette. You are truly an inspiration. Even though you chose not to share about your health issues, I have to say that the way your persevere and rely on God has motivated me to a whole new level. Love ya!

UPDATE! Since Bridgette sent me this post about three weeks ago, she has received incredibly good news. Bridgette was in her 5th year of having been diagnosed with chiari malformation (simply put, her brain was sliding out of her skull down her neck). She was given a 5 year life span at diagnosis. We have watched her suffer seizures, and yet she kept believing, kept showing up, and served God with her whole heart. At her last brain scan, miraculously, everything is back UP into her skull where it's supposed to be!!!! Her doctor just said, "I don't know." Bridgette told him, "We've been praying." He said, "That's been known to work." WE KNOW IT WORKS! Praise God!

Inspiration Wednesday! Meet Sarah Shuttleworth:)

I'm so excited to introduce you all to my friend Sarah Shuttleworth. She's like a daughter to me, also partner in crimes of various sorts (writing, crafting, reading). She's a fellow nerd and we have a lot in common. I've watched her come out of her comfort zone the last two years, and the results have been amazing. She's bloomed like a rare orchid. Sarah, tell us something about yourself.

  I’m a mom of two amazing boys in Fort Stockton, Texas

And they are the sweetest boys ever, always giving great hugs. Their blonde locks make them look like little Vikings. They are great piano students of mine as well. What is your passion, business, hobbies?

I’m a very creative person and I have a lot of hobbies. I write and paint most. I recently started learning wood burning and that’s been an interesting learning process. 

I think you're like me in that you'll have to live to be 150 to do everything you want to do. I had so much fun at the Tiny Art Small Group you helped lead for church this fall.  

 Hopefully I’ll have learned and grown a lot in my creative pursuits. 

I have no doubt you will. What are you reading these days?

 A few books. The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm is one, and then I’m just starting The Great Gatsby as part of a book club. 

Just two? Lol! If you could have the world stage for five minutes, what would your message be to the world? 

Click to Tweet: Look for God in all the little things because I promise he's there and too often we get caughtup in ourselves or things that aren't even important and we miss out on so much. God loves you and you will never be alone. Trust in him and he will put you where you need to be.

Anything else?  Take a moment and create something at least once a week. It can be anything but use your creativity because God created you to create!

Definitely a messages the world needs. Thanks girl! See you at Writers Group, or church, or The Garage Coffee Shop, or at Piano Lessons, lol. Whichever comes first.



 

Charli Had to Die

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My Pastor told a story on the last Sunday of 2019 that was both humorous and thought-provoking. His family went to the store, and like most parents the week after Christmas, warned that there would be no toy purchases on this trip.

Inside the story, their four-year-old son asked  for a toy. Pastor Vic said no. The child asked again, and this time the Pastor decided on a different response, although he wasn't prepared for the response.

"I'll buy you a new toy on the the condition that we throw away all your new Christmas gifts."

The child thought for a moment, and then replied, "OK."

So Pastor Vic went a step further. "Besides your new toys, I'll also throw away all your old toys, including your super hero collection."

"OK."

This was getting sticky. Pastor Vic then thought he had an ace-in-the-hole with, "Your new puppy, Charli, was also a Christmas gift. In order to buy you a toy today, I'll have to put Charli out in the cold, and she probably won't make it. You'll have to go and tell your sister."

The boy thought for a moment, and then finally said, "OK."

The situation was resolved without putting Charli out, and without buying a new toy. Pastor's point for the message was, "We focus so much on what we want that we forget what we have." Since my mind was on New Year's goals, this really spoke to me. Sometimes I focus on what did not get done the previous year. The promise of a fresh start can sometimes be daunting and stressful because of the tendency to make huge, difficult, and nearly impossible goals in an effort to make up for lost time.

What if goal-oriented people decided to just build on what God has already done? Maybe it's time to assess the progress already made and build on that, instead of wiping the slate clean and starting all over. That's probably needed in some situations, but most likely, if one truly looks at what God did in their life the previous year and then ask God, with gratitude, to help build on that progress; goals are more attainable.

We've been given a promise, "Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6, NIV) God began it, and he will complete it. We just need to thank Him and keep walking toward the goal.

"Father, I may not have accomplished all I wanted to in 2019, but I'm thankful for the progress that was made. Help me to build on that as you complete the work You started in me. In Jesus name, Amen."

Click to Tweet: "Sometimes we focus so much on what we want that we forget what we have." Pastor Victor Lopez, Gracepoint Church 

People Who Inspire Me - Meet Laurel Pickens!

The Pickens' first trip to Montana

It's Inspiration Wednesday! This new feature on my blog will highlight people who inspire me. Meet Laurel Pickens. I met her several years ago as a homeschool mom and adult piano student of mine. We enjoyed our lessons, but had a hard time not talking away the half hour. I hated that she moved away, but she is thriving in her new digs.

Laurel, tell us a little about yourself.

I'm originally from Marble Falls, TX, and I've been married to the ever patient Todd Pickens for twenty-one years. I'm mother to two teenage boys, and I've never wanted to be anything but a wife and mother in a small town. God has blessed me with the important parts of that and I've found that location is not the important part. We currently live in Midland, TX.

I love that Laurel, you knew what you wanted and live it out beautifully. What is your passion, business or hobby? 

I like to crochet and do whatever Todd and the boys are doing. Todd makes coin jewelry at https://www.etsy.com/shop/OldManCoinCrafter. He's the artist on of this duo.


I just took at Todd's site. That is some beautiful stuff! I see some shopping in my future. We have the love of crochet in common. Where do you see yourself in five years?

Drummond, MT, gardening, milking cows, raising chickens, and playing in the snow with the Pickens men and possibly the younger one's families.

What an awesome dream! I can see you doing just that. I can see some grandbabies in the picture. What are you currently reading?

The Bible. Lots of stuff going through my head right now, and thought I'd get back to basics.

Can't go wrong there. If you could have the world stage for five minutes, what would your message be to the whole world?

Truly work to be molded into what Jesus would want you to be. This world is not about what you or I think.

See why this woman inspires me so much? Such good advice. Thank you, Laurel, for coming by today. If you're ever back this way, please give me a holler. Y'all seriously check out her husbands jewelry link. Stunning stuff.

Click to Tweet: Truly work to be molded into what Jesus would want you to be. This world is not about what you or I think.

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Happiness Is...How I Got Started

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This guy! Charlie Brown and Peanuts have always been a favorite of mine, since I was a little girl. In 1962 Charles Schultz wrote "Happiness is a Warm Puppy," a collection of Happiness Is quotes from an earlier Peanuts comic strip. He didn't think he could come up with enough quotes, but found out soon enough there were plenty of reasons to be happy. The idea took off. When I was in the 5th grade, Peanuts comics were still going strong, and "Happiness Is..." could be seen everywhere.

I wrote a poem called Happiness Is that year. I don't remember anything about it, except that the last line was, "And at schoolwork, doing your best." That's probably why I was called to the principal's office and got to letter the poem on poster board, and then the poem was displayed in the foyer entrance of the school. The idea that words I wrote made some kind of impact stayed with me, and is ultimately the reason that I write.

Another inspiration came as I was reading one of my favorite book series, Anne of Green Gables.  I was already a mother by this time. The third novel, Anne of the Island, finds Anne and her young adult friends facing life's challenges. Ruby Gillis is a chum who had never given any thought but to her day-to-day pleasures. Unhappily, Ruby is now dying of consumption. Anne pays her a visit and finds Ruby terrified of death. Ruby's "soul clung, in blind helplessness, to the only things she knew and loved". Anne left that meeting a different young woman. I was changed as I read Montgomery's prose of Anne's thoughts: "The little things of life, sweet and excellent in their place, must not be the things lived for; the highest must be sought and followed; the life of heaven must be begun here on earth."

That sentence first inspired me to "the highest" and reinforced my faith. Second, I was consumed with the desire to write in a way that would encourage people to aspire the way I did at that moment. The notion began as a desire and has blossomed over the years into a full-blown passion and calling. I will never forget it. Over time, I have reread and highlighted many such inspirations in Montgomery's work as well as many of the Masters and Christian authors.

So thank you Charlie Brown and Anne Shirley (Charles Schultz and Lucy Maud Montgomery) for inspiring me on this writing journey.

Happy New Year!

Just popping in to wish you all a very Happy New Year! How can I pray for you?