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Getting Permission

I don't want to lose this memory so I am writing it here... Johnny and I rappelled down a 17 story building last week to raise money for Haitian orphans. When we told people, there were several funny responses like "Why?" and "Have you lost your mind?" but Johnny's mom had the best.

Stella listened calmly then exclaimed, "You didn't get my permission! You have to tell them you did not get your mother's permission!"

We all laughed then she said, "I want to be at the bottom to catch you if you fall."

Johnny and I both started tearing up and he said, "That pretty much sums up my whole life."

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Just a Sweatshirt

My husband, John, loves his sweatshirts. He wears them almost everywhere we go and I am okay with that because he looks so good in them.

We decided to go with family to the Smithsonian Udvar Hazy Air and Space Museum and he wore one of my personal favorites that is from our church and says, "The Best is Yet To Come."

Walking under the big aircraft, reading about all of the history and designs with amazement about how far we have come, a woman walked up to Johnny in tears.

She said that she had seen his sweatshirt and said, "You are not going to believe this." She broke down so my sweet husband walked her over to a bench where they talked for a few minutes.

Her story was so powerful - she had lost her best friend to cancer the day before and thought that taking her kids to the museum would help her focus on something else. Well, she explained that every text or card that she sent to her best friend were signed "The Best is Yet To Come." She said that seeing John's sweatshirt was confirmation that her friend had found her best.

Johnny explained to her that we believe that the best is yet to come no matter what happens because we believe in Jesus and the hope he brings. They talked for a few more minutes about their faith and how it brings us so much hope then hugged and he came back to us shaking his head.

It amazes us every day what God can use to provide comfort and peace to someone. A sweatshirt that he had been wearing for about three years gave hope to a woman that we will probably never see again. We don't even know her name but God does and He planned for all of us to be at the Udvar Hazy center that day.

What a great God we serve!

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Character designs for The Princess and the Frog by Lorelay Bove

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Favorite Bon Jovi Story: my niece wanted to go to KISSfest in Dallas in the 90's so I offered to go to chaperone. We loaded up her and her 3 friends to go to Fair Park and I actually took along a book. I was literally going to sit and read while the groups that they followed performed. But, there was a surprise artist on the line-up and I assumed it was just another of their age group.

Then I hear the first few notes of Livin' On A Prayer. I jumped up so I could see over all of the heads and there was Jon Bon Jovi, leather pants and all. It was part of his solo tour and all of the girls started screaming.

I turned to my niece and her friends (11 or so years old) and told them "Sit down, this one's mine!" I was waving my hands at them like a crazy woman motioning for them to take a seat because they had no idea who they were screaming for.

It took me straight back to high school and driving with the windows down and Bon Jovi playing at full volume. Throwing our hair back and forth and not having a care in the world. I'm glad I got to experience that with them but I was a little protective, like that moment was shared with an old friend of mine that was only an acquaintance to them.

Thank you, Jon Bon Jovi, for helping this Aunt to bridge the 20+ year gap with my niece and to share the best parts of all of those years.

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I did it again...

There seriously has to be a support group for people who forget the shoes. Today I wore the wrong shoes and would have been better off not wearing any at all.

We were at the radio station early for a meeting and went home for lunch. Great relaxing time getting ready for our show and then we loaded up and started back. We made it about half way and I looked down and gasped.

I had on my 15yo muddy, dog-walking shoes. They are white under all of the gunk. Quick U-turn to go home (about 20 minutes back and 20 minutes to catch back up) and get my black shoes that go with the outfit I am wearing.

Here's the kicker! The board of the radio station is coming in during our show this afternoon for a visit and a ribbon-cutting. Walking around in my stocking feet was not an option so I am grateful that my sweet husband went back so I didn't show my mental health deficiency in front of the board.

Is this a reflection on how well I am handling life? Why in the world can I not remember my shoes? What do shoes represent in the bigger society? Is it my First American blood that causes me to end up barefoot or with the wrong shoes time after time?

Thoughts to ponder...

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Let's See Those Hands

What would I find out about you if I saw your hands right now? Maybe you are a mom who has a Star Wars band-aid right now. Or a chef with your sliced scars. My dad was a mechanic so he always thought his hands looked dirty. And my grandfather was a plumber and his thumb curved backwards from "pushing pipe" for so many years.

Today, if you looked at my hands you would know I am a gardener. I spent the morning harvesting sunflower seeds for the Spring; some going to friends in NJ and others randomly bringing joy to those around me. My right thumbnail currently holds the brown and green of removing the seeds from their pods.

Johnny came downstairs and asked if I was having fun. I simply said, "This is my happy place."

So, what do your hands tell about you?

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Lauren Daigle tells about her legend! / 1 Minute Devotional / WGTS 91.9 ...

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Back-to-School Lunches

I promise, it is not what you are thinking. We had a discussion today at work about lunches at school and how the cool kids were allowed to buy their lunches. Or what weird thing did your mom pack in your lunch when you were a kid? It was a funny discussion (I recently learned that my friend Jess' daughter likes a whole, raw Zucchini in her lunch) and great for on-air.

Then I remembered the bully that I faced each day at lunch. It is amazing how talking about a non-subject like that can bring up memories that haunt us. Her name was Shawna and she targeted me regularly. She loved to try to take my lunch and would punch me in the throat to do it. I think she took it maybe 10% of the time because I really like food.

But I do remember one day when she was successful because I could not stop crying. Shawna looked me straight in the face and said, "I'm going to kill your mother." Where does a 3rd grader get that? I remember the panic I felt because this girl was the only one who had ever struck me so I had no idea what she was capable of. My third grade mind certainly thought Shawna would kill my mother.

I did my best to stay away from Shawna but life put us into each other's path. We were the competitors in the basketball toss for Field Day and I made the mistake of beating her. On the way back into the building, I was talking to my friend Carla and Shawna walked up and slapped my face. By this time, I expected to be struck by this person but it was what I saw on Carla's face when I turned to her for help. She turned her head and looked away. I was completely alone.

The final time that Shawna struck me was our Senior year of high school when we were playing Powder Puff Football. Her team was losing so, when I went to block her, she punched me right in the throat. I just looked at her and assessed the cost of taking her to the ground and pummeling her. I didn't but I thought about all of the years that she had threatened me, called me names and assaulted me.

But see, I knew that there was no way that Shawna could have had the happy childhood that I did so I just trotted off the field. I have no idea what happened to her but she learned all of those horrendous actions from someone. And that someone is the one responsible for the years that I suffered. Praying that Shawna got the help she needed and didn't carry this to her daughter. Yes, she is a mother now.

If she did not get that help, praying for her daughter and those that come into contact with her.

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Call Today

We do Drive Thru Difference on Thursday and today we played a call that we received a few years ago. It was a mom that was standing in line at a movie theater with her family and they began talking to an elderly couple in front of them. They chatted about their families and what movies they were going to see.

Terra described that, when they got up to the window to get their tickets, the elderly couple had paid for them. She went on, "what they didn't know was that I was about to deploy in a few days and I didn't know if I would see my children again." Her voice broke at the end of the call.

Fast forward to today. Terra's daughter called in tears. Her mother passed away a year ago and she heard her mother on the radio talking about how much it hurt to have to leave her children. She asked for the audio and cried even more as she talked about what it meant to her to hear her mother's voice. Don't ever say that God doesn't have a plan in everything that comes out of the radio.

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Blessing Robber

I am sitting on the beach in Ocean City waiting for the sun to rise. It is a beautiful morning and the light is just starting to peak over the top of the clouds. My husband and I always plan to spend one morning getting up before dawn and making our way to watch the sun come up over the Atlantic Ocean.

The sounds of the waves and the fewer people are big bonuses but I also love how it represents how small we are in the this world. And how big our God is in His creation. The ocean stretches out in front of me with nothing on the horizon but that soft blue that the sky takes on before a sunrise.

It was a little darker than usual but I was enthralled by the moment and how this particular sunrise was the only one I would see on our weekend trip. My husband and I work a lot. I have two jobs (one full and one part time) that I love and he is constantly coming up with projects surrounding his work and others he simply enjoys. When I say we work a lot, I mean we work about 60 hours each week. This is our choice for this time in our lives but that made this moment on the beach even more important.

Just the two of us, watching the seagulls, listening to the waves crash on the shore and knowing that this time was sacred. A woman had been about 10 feet away from us for the entire time until her children ran in front of us and she ran after them. My husband had gone down to the water so she slowed in front of me and said hello.

What she said next was so sad to me that it took me awhile to recover. She looked out at the beautiful ocean I was enjoying and said, "Looks like it won't be a good one today because it is way too hazy."

I simply said, "They are all beautiful in their own way." She continued towards her children and I thought about the how my words may have taken away someone's blessing in the past and I didn't even realize it. That was the only sunrise I was going to watch over the ocean for 2023 and I started to look at the haze and the clouds that were now a brilliant pink negatively. I didn't have other sunrises to compare it to so I was thoroughly enjoying this one until...

I recovered slowly and cherished every moment of our time there and the little peak of the sun coming up over the horizon. But I learned a very vital lesson. My words could change the way someone looks at the blessing they receive from God. He was the one who had chosen the sunrise that morning and created each piece. It was stunning and I was blessed to be there, before and after she said that. I just had to pull myself back out of her statement and recover the blessing.

You see, she did not know that bright pink sunrises and sunsets remind me of my grandmother. I remember watching sunsets with her and she would comment on how beautiful the pink shades were. I also remember her wearing pink and how beautiful she looked in that color. So now, when I see a sunrise or sunset that is a brilliant pink, I remember that moment and go back to the love that I shared with my grandmother many years ago.

I don't blame her for stealing that moment. I was able to regroup and still remember the love and cherish the moment. But I do thank her for teaching me that my words can change someone's perspective on their blessing. And making me a tad bit more careful with how or why I say what I am thinking.

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Can’t wait for October 6th!

Marvel Studios’ Loki Season 2, an Original series, is streaming October 6 only on @DisneyPlus

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The Walkie Talkie

My uncle was an incredible person. He loved so deeply and used his creativity to show you his love. He was a marketing executive at several large companies and shared his skills with those that were shopping at those stores. The story that made him smile a great deal was starting at Walmart and talking to them about getting rid of the smiley face. The way that he would describe the look on their faces was hysterical. Needless to say, Mr. Smiley Face stuck around even after my uncle was gone.

When we were traveling as a family and my uncle was present, he always made sure that there was a walkie talkie in each car so we could talk to each other. Even after cell phones came along, my uncle would provide a walkie talkie to the passenger so that he could point out things along the way. One of my walkie talkie tours with him was driving to his office at Walmart to visit “Walmart radio” and to see his office. It was super cool to see the facility and realize that all of the music and voices that you hear in every Walmart store came from that one place. 

The best part was seeing my uncle’s face as he was so happy to show me around. He pointed out every site of interest as we drove to the office (by walkie talkie) then, in his office, he showed how proud he was of me to his coworkers and also expressed how proud he was of what he was doing. It was a beautiful moment that we shared. It’s so funny when I think about this now because my uncle was doing this for me. I had recently lost my radio job and I was driving back with my little dog to Texas with my tail tucked between my legs. I think in some way he was trying to show me the possibilities that my career could hold and he was affirming for me what he had always believed about me. 

My uncle believed I could do anything I set my mind to. He would challenge me with books (that I still have). We both loved Seth Godin and books that made us think about marketing and life. He taught me so much about family and success and knowing exactly who you are. When you have someone in your corner it makes such a huge difference in your life.

Then they are gone. My uncle passed away less than a year after I was married. Even in death, he taught me to never take a breath for granted. He went out to get the mail at the age of 54 and never made it back inside. That bright light of a person lay dying on the sidewalk in front of his house. Our lives changed forever. This loss taught me that the battles that I always thought were so important, they really are not. I see those I love now as cherished beyond anything because he is gone.

And I can’t tell you how much I would love to have a walkie talkie right now with his voice on the other end. 

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Together

My husband insists that we put our coffee cups next to each other in the dishwasher. I mean right up next to each other, touching side-to-side. His says “Hello Handsome” and mine says “Good Morning Beautiful” so it’s like they are talking to each other. And we would not want them to get lonely while they are getting nice and clean. 

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Could not resist!

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Grateful for Hiccups

Recently I have been sad. The kind of sad that soaks into your bones and creates a hole in your chest. My friend told me that in some African countries, when asked how they are, a person will say, ��I am sad.” When asked how long they have been sad, they will respond, “Oh, about 30 days.” Nonchalant. They’ve been sad for 30 days. So that is the way that I have been thinking about this sadness; it’s a period of sadness. 

I know, it sounds like depression but it would have to be considered an adjustment disorder because I was recently cured from a very painful abdominal affliction and it took them more than two years to find what was wrong. I have worked through the forgiveness that was needed for a medical system that failed me. I am thankful that one doctor kept going and tested and retested until my blocked common bile duct was found. (I know! Isn’t that the sexiest thing to have wrong with you?)

Back to this sadness. I cried at the touch of a hat. I would have sat still for days if my sweet husband had not been there to keep me going. There was a little “why me” and a whole lot of “just really sad” to live with.

Fast forward to this week and I got the hiccups. It was after dinner and they came upon me. Worried that they might keep me up that night, I went ahead and got ready for bed while I was still “hic” “hic” ing. In the shower I started to laugh realizing that, for that short time, I had not felt sad for a moment when I was focusing on the hiccups. Right there and then I started to thank God for the hiccups and everything that they represented. Some part of my body was working and He had healed the rest. 

Since that hiccup moment, I have had moments of sadness when I think about the state of the world or upcoming changes in my life but they fade as fast as they come. I’m sure there is some biological reason that the hiccups and my gratefulness worked together to slow my sadness but for now, I am simply resting in the fact that I can smile again.