More About Me

Must Haves:

God, love, my family, my Bible, forgiveness, grace, peace, sunshine, coffee, cheese, chocolate, green tea, dental floss, wine, laughter, a good writing instrument, music, dancing, writing, books, and my beloved friends and prayer warriors. 

Things I Can Live Without:

CANCER! 

Four categories of things I admittedly have too much of:

1. Books
2. Shoes
3. Make-up
4. Note-cards

My Mantra:

If we're not adding value, then what exactly are we doing? We should be adding value every single day and in every thing that we do.

About Decision Making:

My decisions are either deeply thought out and considered or completely spontaneous without much thought. There is rarely anything in between for me.

About Reading:

Reading for me has always been an exploratory activity. It's about discovery and revelation and reading in between the lines of what the author has written and pausing just long enough as I read to hear what God might be whispering to me after each paragraph or chapter. When it comes to reading, I love reading books that inspire me. These kinds of books make me feel healthy, hopeful and strong. They awaken something deep within me and encourage me to carve out quiet times of reflection and self-examination. This is the kind of practice that helps me grow both emotionally and spiritually. These books are often filled with fragrant words and stories and lessons-learned that cause me to exhale love and mercy, kindness and compassion. They also inspire me to live fearlessly and courageously by practicing acts of courage and faith. I'm learning that exercising what I've learned after emotional and spiritual nourishment is what strengthens me and helps me to live my best life, to be my best self. 

My Note to God:

Father God: I searched and searched and found no one greater than You. I ascribe every good thing in my life and every single blessing to You. Thank You. Thank You for Your kindness and thank you for your grace. Thank you for being so gentle with me even when I didn't deserve it. Your grace is both amazing and astounding. And Your love for me overwhelms me every time I think about it. How lucky of me, how lucky are we to be loved by you. My cup runneth over ...

The Desire of my Heart: 

To love and to be loved and to have God's approval stamp over every decision I make. Can I let you in on a little secret?  My desire is to love God just as richly and just as deeply as He loves me. I'm not sure if that's humanly possible, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna die trying.

Some of my favorite Bible verses:

1. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished! ~ Luke 1:45 (I especially love that this is an exclamatory verse! I've LOVED this verse since 2001.)

2. The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your Lord. ~ Psalm 45:11

3. Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. ~ Ruth 3:11

4. Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered - how fleeting my life [really] is. ~ Psalm 39:4 

5. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. ~ Psalm 119:50 ( This verse spoke to me for the first time in 2002. His promise is ever lasting life for those who believe. When life feels hard or unbearable, this is the verse that keeps me going. This verse reminds me that I'm just passing through and that heaven is our real home.  

6. All things are made beautiful in His time. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:11 

(This verse was placed on my heart in December 2011.)

7. In you I trust, O my God. ~ Psalm 25:2 (The closer I get to Him, the more He makes me see. And the more I see, the easier it is to trust Him.)

8. So, faith comes from listening, but it's listening by means of Christ's message. ~Romans 10:17 Translation: Common English Bible (This verse came alive for me in a season when I was experiencing a serious faith crisis, and by hearing God's word, sermon, after sermon after sermon from various teachers daily and weekly and being diligent about reading His word on my own, my faith increased. This activity changed me and it changed my prayer life, the way I pray.)

9. Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one get's the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24 (This became a very meaningful and sacred verse for me in December 2011.)

10. Your beauty should come from the inside. It should come from the heart. This is the kind that lasts. Your beauty should be a gentle and quiet spirit. In God's sight this is of great worth and no amount of money can buy it. ~ 1 Peter 3:4 (New Life Version)

11. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. ~ 1 Corinthians 13:7

Favorite Movie Quotes;

1. What we do in life echoes in eternity. ~ Russell Crowe (Maximus from the movie: Gladiator)

2. I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse. ~ Don Corleone (The Godfather)

Favorite Quotes:

1. I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do every thing, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.           ~ Helen Keller

2. I want to think quietly, calmly, spaciously, never to be interrupted, never to have to rise from my chair, to slip easily from one thing to another, without any sense of hostility, or obstacle. I want to sink deeper and deeper, away from the surface, with its hard separate facts. ~ Virginia Woolf

3. My idea of good company ... is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company. ~ Jane Austen (Chapter 16, Persuasion)

4. When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me. ~ Erma Bombeck

What I know for sure:

It took me thirty one years to learn that in spite of my imperfections and the poor decisions I have made in life, God still loves me for who I am and has always loved me for who I am. When I discovered this and came to really believe this, something inside of me changed. It changed in a really good way and it changed the trajectory of my life. It also changed how I love God, myself and others. What I know for sure is that God has only ever given me and humanity His best and Jesus is the hero in my story.

Thoughts on Writing:

I believe God made me with purpose and when I write, I feel His pleasure.

Favorite Songs:

Gosh I love so many, it really depends on the season I'm in but if I had to choose two songs I would choose: I Dreamed a Dream and Bring Him Home from Le Misérables. Both songs are hair raising, both moved me to tears the first time. The melody and the lyrics in these songs are incredibly moving. Sometimes I still tear up a bit when I hear these songs. Music is incredibly powerful because it can be both beautifully and painfully evocative.

Favorite Movies:

I have many favorite movies but one of my all time super favorite movies is "It's a Wonderful Life." It's such a fantastic movie!  Love it! Love it! It's truly a cinematic gem.  I watch it every year in December and every year I cry as if I had never seen the movie before. It does something to me inside and moves me in a really good way. I also love Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice, The Count of Monte Cristo, Jane Eyre, Good Will Hunting, Shawshank Redemption, Public Enemies, The English Patient, Legends of the Fall, When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle, The Story of Us, The Family Man, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bridges of Madison County, Hope Floats, Evening, Step Mom, Letters to God. Oh! And  I love all the Godfather movies. Is there anyone who doesn't???

Also on my list are rom-coms. Here are some of my faves: When Harry met Sally, You've Got Mail, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, Something’s Gotta Give, The Proposal and It’s Complicated.

Skincare:

Favorite skincare products that I use on my face are from ACURE Organics and Mineral Fusion.