Tag: writing

(April 2023) Investigating Truths…

Wiwohka10 Comments

Episode 1

I have been sitting here, staring at my own idle fingers on the keyboard, and watching the little clock down in the corner of screen.  It is now almost 7:30 am, and I have been sitting here since just before 5, but I have been awake since 2.  All my life, sleep and I have not been very good bedfellows.  Whether it is a bad dream, or maybe just an overthinking mind, some times I feel like it is more frustrating to try to sleep, than to just get up! 

I think that more times than not, getting up and writing out what’s going on, brings me peace.  The sad part is, even after I write and feel better, I am still pooped.  I might as well keep writing, because I cannot go back to bed until tonight, or I will mess up my whole sleep cycle.

So, what has kept sleep at bay for me?  I’m glad you asked.  Well, let’s see now, I think it started about 3 or 4 days ago.  Have you ever had times where you just feel like you are invisible?  Like there are so many souls moving around you, but eyes are vacant?  I had come home from an activity that was packed with people, and I should have felt happy, but climbing in to bed that night, I honestly felt like not one of those people would ever remember my name or even my face. 

No harm no foul…no one did anything wrong, I simply mean that I felt like it was just a bunch of souls all caught up in their own stresses and struggles that most were just too exhausted to really try to make any real or enriching connection.

Anyway, I just felt a bit deflated, as I rarely stray far from my home to interact with anyone, and once again, it was just an unfulfilling attempt at connecting with others.  I’d been feeling that disappointed ever since going out, and just couldn’t seem to shake it off. Then something happened that brought my attention front and center! Sometimes, it’s the little things. This little thing happened to be a knock on our RV door, only the next evening. 

When I opened the door there was this girl, just standing there looking at me with a look that I cannot explain.  It was enough, though, to draw me completely out the door and down the steps to speak eye to eye with her.  I am going to share some things with you, and you may make your own suppositions from there.

  I cannot say how old she was, but my best guess was late teens, early 20’s but that’s the best I can do.  When I first came out the door, she had a cigarette in her hand and asked if I had any more.  I explained that I’d given it up a ways back. She immediately put hers out, gently picking up the cigarette butt and placing it in her pocket.  I remember asking her if she was alright, but here is where things get fuzzy…

What I thought she said was, “You are just like me, you know what its like, right?” 

The young woman’s voice was so small, I had to lean forward in order to hear her better. 

She pointed to my husbands work truck and said that she stopped at our home because maybe we could give her work.  My heart ached for the girl, as I had no easy answers or fixes.  I gave her directions of where to find shelter and food, but I just felt like that was no consolation. 

Then I just thought, I See You!

And, well, my dinner was sitting right inside the door.  I begged her to stay there while I went and gathered what I could.  I truly thought she would be gone when I got back, but she’d waited. I found her still rooted to the spot behind the truck where I’d left her… patiently waiting for my return. 

Please don’t judge me, but all I had was a cheese sandwich and some sliced watermelon.  I felt stupid.  She looked up at me with such a grateful smile, it seemed as if I had given her a steak from the Outback, or something.  She accepted the food, thanked me sweetly, and simply disappeared.  I haven’t seen her since. 

Looking back, I have pondered a few things… 

First of all, at no point did she ever ask me for money.  In these times, we all just expect it!  They are going to beg for money. Usually, if you offer them anything other than cash, they’ll just take off.  She did none of those things.  Could she have been a drug user,  an alcoholic, or maybe a prostitute, possibly?  Does it matter?  Should it matter?  I don’t think so.  I feel like God was telling me to just give and let Him worry about the rest.  Why does my ability to share anything God gives me, hinge on whether I think it is deserved.  Not sure that’s in the Good Book, anywhere! 

Secondly, I have been stymied by her statement about me being just like her and knowing what it was like.  I have gone back over it in my mind, and I am now not even sure she actually said it. 

Did I hear her say it? 

Did God say it in my mind? 

She could not know of my cultural origins… I am not even sure what I am!

  She couldn’t possibly know that I spent many years of my youth on the streets, just like her.  How could she know what I’d sacrificed to stay alive.  No one does fully, myself included, because survival instincts sometimes require us to block and/or forget that which was needed for the surviving.

For most it may seem trivial, but for me… I am left feeling like God brought someone directly to my door, because He knew I would answer.  I am not tooting my own horn in all this, trust me. I’m telling you about it, only because it was a major shift from my own tendencies. The old me from my upbringing was quite rigid, stubborn, distrustful, and willful.  It took a lot of confidence and faith in my spiritual growth, for God to send her my way. 

Was she the reason I’d been called in from the wilderness by my Father? 

God’s been the only one with the power to draw me in! Honestly, I would prefer staying away, out of self-preservation. I have a tendency to find more comfort and solace in the desert than I do around society. The difference in my life now is the willingness to go in any direction God calls me to.

 Sometimes, we don’t even have to go anywhere in order to serve God’s purposes… He brings them to us!

(April 2023) Insight…

Wiwohka5 Comments

As I am sure you have noticed, I have written several times recently about my attitude of late.  I would like to share with you some things that I discovered during this time, all of which are things that I have never realized about myself.  Let’s just say that even though it was a very painful lesson for me, I think maybe for the first time in my life, I am going to walk on from this mountain, and return to it no more…

I have really been struggling of late, really missing my animals, as I am a non-pet owner for the first time in my 54 years.  Since I am the one always talking about letting go of the Whys, I thought you should know that I still sometimes get caught up in them.  I can sometimes be very demanding with God, and overstep myself, pushing Him for insight that I think I deserve.  It is times like this that God teaches me as only He can!

I gained this insight, sadly, with great cost to another’s feelings!  I guess, in a way, I am sharing this with you so that by writing it down, I can reinforce the lesson gleaned from the damage done, and encourage myself to trust more fully in Gods Timing, not mine!

So, what does this have to do with missing my pets, you ask?  Well, long story short, I discovered that for my entire life, the only way I have ever understood what love felt like, was to receive affection from my pets.  Not people, just animals.  Looking back on my whole life, I realize that somehow, I got all the way here, running off of nothing more than puppy love…not kidding…silly, but totally honest!

I have been struggling terribly of late, feeling so lonely and unloved.  I finally see why…I do not have any understanding whatsoever of how to RECEIVE love from people.  Animals have been my source of emotional strength since I was tiny, masking the real problem.  Believe me, there have been many who have tried to give me love, I just do not know what to do with it, so I continually reject it. Love is given to me and I simply toss it aside, not knowing what it is or what to do with it!

How is this even possible?  I am on a hunt to understand, not look for a why, but to understand where the damage is within me that clouds my judgement, in order for God to heal and restore what was broken.  I finally see that my pets have been surrogates for me all of my life, and I acquired the habit of turning them into lifelines…

My mother with her dog
Gidget
Sadie
Bear
Ollie and Penny
Moses
Ghost
Harley

So, the insight is this…There is hope for me yet!  God allowed me to lose my crutches so that I might learn to hold His hand for strength, as I learn to accept love for the first time in my entire existence…I know, weird right? 

If you are wondering, I think one day I will surely encounter another little furry soul, but maybe this time I can focus more on what I can give them instead of seeking only what I need from them.  For now, I think it is time that I focus on some emotional renovations and damage recovery.  I have a lot of catching up to do…

(2023) Do You Remember…

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Truth Tellers…

Sometimes, our kids say the darndest things. Yes, I know that phrase has been widely used, but I am still going to use it though. If we think about it, the blatant truth of all the things our kids say, would be a catastrophe if we grown ups said them out loud. I guess this memory is the closest example I can give to prove my point.

Out of the mouths of our tiny human replicas, come some of the most jarring, yet accurate truths!  While it can sometimes be embarrassing and/or even upsetting, we cannot fault the little truth detectors.  As they have no clue regarding protocol or appropriateness of word usage, they are innocent of any malice.  Just unadulterated truths that we grown ups learned how to keep zipped up. 

Our small protégé are also emulating many of our own beliefs and attitudes, whether we wish to admit this or not.  Monkey see monkey do, and our kids often reflect our behavior.  But they often reflect to a greater extent, when they blurt out things we have said in the past.  We were unaware they were mentally recording us.  Childhood also does not come with a full understanding of what, or why grown-ups say and do the things they do.

While talking with my brother-in-law the other day, I was reminded of a funny situation back when his girls were little ones.  When my husband and I were first together, he took me to visit his brother and family.  It was wonderful to spend time with them, and I instantly fell in love with their daughters.  These two girls were so sweet, and very bright for their young age, so I was enthralled.

On one of the mornings of our stay, we all sat around the breakfast table visiting and talking about this and that.  When my husband mentioned that I was a photographer, the girls got all excited and asked to see my pictures.  I pulled out my laptop and loaded up a file of my recent pictures, taken along our journey across the states to visit them.  Somehow, I had a picture in the file of a woman I had done some work with recently.  The girls were watching me scroll through the file, and when the picture of the woman appeared, the oldest of the two girls made two consecutive statements, one right after the other… without even a moment’s hesitation.

The first comment could possibly be classed as a reaction verses a statement… she exclaimed, “Oh My!”… and right on the heels of that, she declared, “She’s Hideous”! 

I am not sure what was funnier… watching the girls mom turn three shades of red, and immediately try to correct the child, or my brother-in-law almost choking on his food, while laughing hysterically.  I wish to point out some very important things to note here.  One thing to note here, is that the woman did indeed have a unique look about her, and another note was that the child looked at her parents with some confusion… the tiny truthteller had simply called it like she saw it.  She was not being mean, but rather, trying to describe what she saw on the screen.  It did not help that my husband was laughing just as hard as his brother, and I was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down my face. 

Those girls were probably so confused by the grown-ups, they had no idea what to even say sorry about, or if it was ok to laugh with us or not.  At the time, I sucked it up and sided with their mom, as I understood the ramifications if the outburst was not squelched then and there. They could have ended up getting kicked out of daycare for being cheeky. On the other hand, they were not my responsibility in the morality and respect departments, that job belonged to the parents. I found it absolutely Haylarious!

I will end this memory with two observations. One of which, is the fact that the child new without a doubt, what hideous meant and she used it properly. When I was small, my older sister blurted out in the grocery store check out, “John, you are so illegitimate”! He was trying to read the cover of the magazine on the rack, and she thought to say illiterate. The second observation I have made all these years later, looking fondly upon those two girls all grown up. Not only did they turn out to be very bright and beautiful woman, both have their mothers sensibilities as well as their fathers sense of humor… guess which parent they heard the word Hideous from… I wonder.

(2024) Why?

Wiwohka1 Comment
Daily writing prompt
What alternative career paths have you considered or are interested in?
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As I’m soon to be looking back at 55, I think my path is pretty firmly set in one direction… God’s!

We’ve recently answered a prompt, regarding taking a risk at something new, and another prompt asking if we were guaranteed not to fail, what would we attempt… so I’m not sure how many more times the prompt can try to beat a dead horse, as they say.

Still, I realize that not everyone has seen these questions before, so I shall do my due diligence at answering with something decent, for those that are new to the daily prompts.

So, in the words of Shakespeare, “once more unto the breach.” I got this…

While I have pursued multiple different careers throughout my younger years, I’m no longer interested in any of them. Add to that, the fact that I’m not considering any new directions at all, aside from the path I now follow… this one’s a deal breaker on any other pursuit I’ve ever chased after!

My career pursuits involve following only One CEO, One Leader… One! How boring and confining, you might be thinking. On the contrary, my friends. This career path has me fully engaged, at every moment, and in every action or thought. I walk with a magnificent Leader, who has me in the word, on my knees in prayer, feet on the ground out here in the trenches… and fully sustained, at all times!

My life is full of joy, adventure, action, suspense… and He has me constantly on the move… and with Him, at all times.

In all my years, never have I been hired by someone who knows me better than He does… and I’ve not been fired yet!

Before you start thinking that I’m lazy or something, maybe living the posh life, and too comfortable in my current position… you might consider my resume before being too quick to form an opinion on this matter:

0 to 13 years of age, severe childhood trauma

13 to 18 years of age, ^#$%^&^

18 to 34 years of age, pregnant 9 times with only 3 born to me, divorced, denied by the church, disowned by my family, and abandoned by those I knew as friends.

Lost and running in the wastelands for 16 more years… 16!

The rest of my career credentials, as well as my production timeline, will be within the archives of My Closet. I’ve already shared far more of my job description than anyone should have to wade through… and no, there won’t be a cover letter to accompany this Responsume…

But I did make cookies…

Honestly, I don’t know how these exec’s are going to get anything accomplished, with their mouths stuffed with cookies… sheesh guys, slow it down!

Wednesday Words…

Wiwohka16 Comments

If you hadn’t already noticed, my writing has been rather ping pong like, of late. The lack of nutrition, lack of proper medication, and lack of any urgency by my doctor, has begun taking a toll on my ability to concentrate fully… not to mention the mental and emotional toll.

The soonest the surgeon could see me is November 6th, due to his being on vacation. Apparently, when a doctor takes time off, the world has to stop getting sick til they get back in the office. I’m rather surprised that a fully functioning hospital only has one specialty GI surgeon on staff. Anyway, they were going to make me wait until December 18th until I began to sob uncontrollably and beg them to see me sooner. According to the surgeons scheduling nurse, my referring GI doctor has at no point, made mention in my chart notes of any urgency in things. I don’t think doctors want to doctor any longer.

At least they moved my appointment closer, but that means I still have to make it another 2 more weeks, just for the consultation. I’ll still have to wait for him to agree that it’s medically necessary, let alone schedule a surgery.

I’ve been surviving on a bowl of oatmeal, and a chicken/rice/vegi bowl thing I’ve concocted for optimal caloric and nutritional needs… I can’t get beyond about 650 calories per day. This has been my meal plan since the beginning of July.

That means no coffee, gluten, dairy, chocolate, and absolutely everything outside of a list of about 8 safe items to meet my needs daily. I am slowly starving to death, but at least it’s SLOWLY, which buys me time.

I am fully in God’s hands, so no worries. Like I’ve mentioned in the past, writing out my feelings on WordPress, is really my only outlet. I often share my journey with you, not for pity or pocket change, but to remind myself that I exist, and am called to continue forward in faith… even when my strength is gone. Thankfully, that is where God shines the brightest!

The reason for all this TMI is simply this,

For the next few weeks I’ll be posting articles solely from the archives. As I feel that my health situation has compromised my ability to write amidst this part of my journey, I’ll be relying on all the oldies but goodies, so you should enjoy it, I think.

I won’t be absent from you, nor will I stop reading and supporting you in all that you do. I simply need to get past this little dip in the road, if that makes any sense.

Let’s have some fun with these next few weeks and go wild with all the memories! I want to do a whole retro thingie, reposting some of the Do You Remember Mondays, Investigating Truths, Live Novel Fridays, Note To Self Saturdays, and even some Live Wire Sundays.

And, I give you my solemn oath that I shall bake fresh virtual cookies, even though the articles aren’t fresh. Stale cookies just won’t do…

So which Way is it, anyway?

Wiwohka6 Comments

Now, I’m not saying someone did something wrong, or anything, but they sure made it confusing for us young readers.

Driveways, Parkways, Freeways, Doorways, and such, all share the Way part… but that’s where any normalcy ends. I get the meaning of way, because it’s describing the meaning of passing through, or

Definitions from Oxford Languages · Learn more

way /wā/

noun: way; plural noun: ways

  1. 1. a method, style, or manner of doing something.”there are two ways of approaching this problem” h Similar:methodcourse of actionprocessproceduretechniquesystemplanstrategyschememeansmechanismroutinemannerapproachrouteroadmodus operandi

There was more detail in the definition, but I’m only interested in the first part, which is simple enough to understand.

I understand the definition of Way… but that’s the only part that makes sense. It’s the other half of the word never makes much sense…

Why do they say Driveway, when we park there, but call it a Parkway if we drive on it? Have you ever been given gifts or complimentary packages while driving on a Freeway? Doorway makes sense, because it’s a door that you pass through, right? I don’t want to guess what a Highway is supposed to offer, verses the rest of the Ways… sheesh!

I think grown-ups make these word things a lot harder than they should be, if I’m being fully honest. In truth, I’m fairly certain that we all do this at times. I think it’s in our nature, or something like that…

Let them pat their own backs…

Wiwohka5 Comments

Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
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First of all, I think that the prompt would have been far more entertaining if they’d asked about failures… just sayin! I could have had a glorious time picking out a hilarious mistake to write about, and who I thought was to blame, lol! Secondly, why should I write about one person, in particular?

If I could have it my way… oh, wait…I can! This is my website, so I get to do whatever I’d like, right?

Perhaps, I’ve become jaded over time, what with the daily struggle to survive, and all. Maybe, I’m just sick of always watching entitled furry fruit bags, strut around flaunting what they got, like it was the end all, be all!

The point is that I am feeling aggravated this morning, and WordPress, you’re NOT helping! I’m fairly confident in saying that these prompts being repeated year after year after year after year, tells me that WordPress has either successfully pushed my angry button, or successfully made me rethink why I bother answering the prompts, at all!

I’m successful sometimes, and a failure, at others… aren’t we all? Some might focus their attention on a musician, writer, actor, or other specific artist that accomplished great things, sure. But, what about the thousands of human hands and feet that make someone else so successful, like the workers in those wonderful car factories, or the farmers who work to feed them, the ones who build those houses for the successful people to live in. The list is endless.

Success is defined as what, I wonder? Let’s take a look…

suc·cess /səkˈses/

noun: success; plural noun: successes

  1. 1. the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”there is a thin line between success and failure”
    • the attainment of fame, wealth, or social status.”her success owed more to hard work than luck”
    • a person or thing that achieves desired aims or attains fame, wealth, etc.”overall the fair was a great success”
  2. 2. archaicthe good or bad outcome of an undertaking.”the good or ill success of their maritime enterprises”

You see, I believe that every human being has the potential for being successful in whatever they pursue. Now, there isn’t anything wrong with using someone else’s success as your personal motivator, but the danger in that is an insidious and wicked villain, called Comparison. This villain often employs his friends, Self-doubt, Self-pity, and the worst of the gang… Covet! He’s a bugger to get rid of, because once he gets into your space, he assumes that he can stay for as long as he likes!

Honestly, nobody’s ever given me a free ride, on anything! I had to work til my fingers bled, study til my brain went numb, bear the beautiful, yet bitter memories of all my past successes and failures, and have lived most of my recent life, like a rabid Badger, just to stay alive! And, not once, in all those years did I think, if this particular person could go from rags to riches, then so can I. I learned early on that nobody was going to come for me… I had to get up, dust myself off, and walk on.

You know how I often say that when I write out all my grumbles to you guys and gals, by the end, I find that the answers were there all the time… I was just too grumpy to see them. Well, we’ve arrived…

When I think of the word successful, I think of Jesus. He succeeded in absolutely every single thing He was sent to earth to do. Perfect creation, perfect life, perfect example, and perfect prophesy fulfilling death and resurrection. I am successfully alive today, because of a Perfect Savior… now that’s sayin something!

Cookies?

I’m fairly certain that the ground is covered in chocolate brownie dust, not dirt, so the cookies should be safe to eat.

Well, State Farm did say they’d always be there…

Wiwohka3 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What makes a good neighbor?
View all responses

What a silly question! Are we really so far gone as a society that we need to even ask or answer this question?

Doesn’t everyone pretty much hope for a neighbor that’s quiet, friendly, and unobtrusive? Maybe a few of us that run a bit on the wild side might dream of joining things like neighborhood barbecues, yard sales, and kid’s sports events. But, honestly, does anyone actually invite their insurance agents to their weekend lawn clean-ups?

I would truly love to meet those who have such a close relationship with their insurance provider, they’re frequently given things like free babysitting, house watching, and providing cups of sugar, when we’ve run out of what’s in the cupboards!

Personally, I’d be far more willing to let my neighbor into the back yard than I would an insurance agent. I stopped letting salesman enter my home years back when a carpet salesman threw coffee grounds on my living room carpet and then tried to vacuum them up with his fancy machine. Whose bright idea was that? The company had to pay for the spot to be professionally cleaned.

Years ago, when I was heavily pregnant with my second child, the pump went out, flooding our entire basement with that which we shall not ever mention… it was horrific! We had little money, and no idea what to do. Until our neighbor from across the street, along with several other neighbors, completely repaired, replaced, and re-sanitized the entire lower level of the house, while I simply sat dry-heaving in the front yard. If your insurance agent provides this kind of neighborly service, would you please send my their telephone number, cause our truck is about to throw in the towel!

Maybe it’d be easier to answer this prompt if we opted to use the word brother instead of neighbor, or, for that matter, insurance agent? Why? Because, when you consider what to expect from a family member, can’t your neighbor simply become an extension of that? Or better yet, switch this whole prompt to What Makes a Good Human Being. Let go of names, titles, and relationships… just focus on your fellow humans.

I believe that you should treat every other human being in this world with the respect, love, and kindness that you seek for yourself. Scripture says that we should treat others as we ourselves wish to be treated. I can certainly attest that I strive to never do to others, that which was done to me. Note that I said strive… I’m far from being flawless!

What I am, however, is forgiven, and redeemed; bought and paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ! Therefore, I am called to love my neighbor, my brother, AND my enemies, as myself… Just sayin.

Cookie?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Too bad you aren’t my actual neighbors, or you’d be getting the real thing…

(2023)Tuesday Thoughts n Things…

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Doesn’t Fall always give birth to nostalgia, or am I the only one who thinks this way? Every year, just as the weather begins cooling, I find myself digging through the archives, and pulling out some of my old articles to read. Though I realize this site has an archive page, but many readers don’t have hours of free time to go digging through all that stuff.

That’s why you’ll occasionally see them re-posted, because the more recent readers might not have read them, yet.

From now on, if you see (20__) on an article, those will all be called Tuesday Thoughts and Things, like this one. I will be pulling up some of my favorite goodies from the archives, going all the way back to when Journey With Me began, in 2016. Yes, you get to see all my typos, commas,,,,,,,,,,,, and poor sentence structure, but hey, I’m still learning. If nothing else, we can all see how my writing skills, and style, have changed over the years.

So let’s do this!

This came from October 24, 2023…

I was going to post a picture of my plant today, but found this while searching my photo files… I figure that the plant can wait a few days. Have you ever been in a place where you see something you yourself have done, written or said… but it seemed as if someone else did the writing or saying, though you know it was you?

I guess I write so much, I occasionally find myself surprised at things I myself wrote. It is not a disappointment, nor something to be proud of necessarily, but it makes me happy inside for some reason. Perhaps I am able to see my true reflection in the words written for others…

I think all too often in life, we do and say mostly what the world will accept of us, or what we perceive the world might accept from us.

I think I like the way I write better, when I don’t care what the world thinks, but more so what I think or even better yet, what God thinks… in my opinion.

Maybe reading old writings of my work, encourages me, because it reflects a spirit of healing, growth and faith, which had not been there for so much of my life. Our human propensity to overcome, rise above and walk on, always amazes me… that comes from God folks, not us, but the one whom we were designed after. We are all made in His image, and therefore by design, are fully capable of tapping into this part of our spirit.

It comes down to Freedom… freedom of choice! God has given us all we need to get this life done, we need only accept the tools given and get it done! Will it be easy? Is it ever? Life interruptus happens for everyone.

Choices, choices, choices… what we do with what we have is what makes us who we are… Period!

When I look back over the things I have written over time, I clearly have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of my choices, as well as the lasting scars of the choices made by my predecessors. I have also witnessed a resilience within myself, that has apparently always been there, but had been obscured by my attempts to just survive!

Perhaps I have simply arrived finally, at the cross roads of Too Damn Tired and Suck It Up Buttercup! Whatever it is, I like it! When someone came up with the phrase, “What don’t kill you makes you stronger”, I now have a full understanding of what they meant.

When I read that poem I wrote a ways back, it resonated with me, as if a stranger had written it for me to read, and not the other way around.

That folks, is growth! As I heal and grow in my walk with God, the words that begin flowing onto the page are actually quite beautiful, and I can say that without pride, as I think they fully come from God… maybe not for you, but rather, for me…

Everybody’s got a list, right?

Wiwohka9 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What could you try for the first time?
View all responses

Undoubtedly, most everyone has a mental list that they’ve probably carried with them since childhood, filled with possible adventures, achievements, hopes, and dreams. But, as most of us discover over time, that mental list morphs into three… would you, could you, or should you!

Take for instance, surfing… surfing, or any water sport, for that matter, could have been something worth trying, but not only has it now turned into a question of whether or not I should, but also aligns with the reality of would I even want to try it?

The answer, in this case would be that while I could have tried a number of open water sports, I wouldn’t have… are you crazy? There’s sharks swimming out in those waters, so I’ll stay on the boat, if you please! Not only that, but at this point in my journey, there’s no way that I should try it… not without breaking something!

I shall now try to write a new list of things that I could, would, and should try for the first time. It’s not nearly as easy as you might think. For example, there’s Karaoke, which is something I always thought I wanted to try. It is something that I can say I would try, and even go as far as to say that there’s no reason why I shouldn’t try it, but the trouble now is that I’m not sure I could! Perhaps what I should try for is the confidence needed to get up in front of people. Will I ever find the courage? Probably not, lol!

Before you start thinking that I’m just a coward, and am too scared to try new stuff, let me remind you of what I have tried…

Modeling, College degree, dog breeder, bird breeder, the entire field of equine husbandry, and horsemanship (dressage, vaulting, breeding, and showing), Mother, Bible Seminary, global travel (England and Ireland), camping, hiking, driving in a semi with my husband for 3 years, painting, pottery, ceramics, crocheting, sewing, becoming a blogger, publishing a book, and soon to be a Grandmother of 8 + my Godson, Peapod!

So, as you can see, I have always had a list, along with every other human being. Who knows how many more years I have left on this beautiful planet, but I don’t ever want my list to stop growing, not ever! I’m fairly certain that I’ve caught God writing on it, though He is rather sneaky about it… He absolutely loves to give me gifts and surprise me with things. I’m not gonna give that up, are you crazy? Don’t ever give up on your list, because that’s where God gives you purpose, my friends.

Don’t forget to try these new cookies for the first time…