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My son Sean is a theater kid. He really loves musical theater. He can spend hours in his room re-enacting plays and movies using his toys as the characters. We recently signed him up for a theater workshop through a local community group. During the workshop they will learn a Disney Jr. play and the workshop will end with a live performance. After the first round of auditions, Sean got a “callback” to audition for one of the supporting characters that has quite a few lines and some solo singing parts. I was thrilled! He and I have been rehearsing the scene all week. Last night while we were working on setting up the scene, my daughter Shelby came into READ MORE

A couple of weeks ago I attended the celebration of life ceremony for my uncle. He was my mother’s last living brother. It was 14 of them in total, 6 boys and 8 girls. Now there are only 5 girls left. My uncle’s name was Spencer Lake, but everyone called him Bill. I have no clue why. Actually, several of my aunts and uncles had nicknames. Uncle Bud’s real name was Roosevelt. Uncle Baybrother’s real name was Welton. Aunt Sis’s real name was Evella. Aunt Baybelle’s real name was Laura. That’s just what southern folk tended to do – give each other nicknames. It wasn’t until I was in my late teen years that I actually learned their real names. READ MORE

Hey Y’all, I’m back!!! After my last post about being intentional, I needed to pause to ensure that was exactly what I was doing. I’m here, in this space, being intentional and doing what God has called me to do. During my time away God spoke a word to me that I want to share with you. It’s what He said to me as I was reading and meditating on Matthew 14: 22-33 (NKJV). I hope it blesses you as much as it did me. I told you to go and you went. While on your way to your destination, you faced a challenge. I see you in the midst of it, and I am coming to you. Do not READ MORE

How y’all doing? We are a couple of weeks into 2023 and many of us have made resolutions, started fasts and/or have a word for our year. Many years ago, during a women’s conference, I was introduced to the concept of having a word be the focus of your year. I usually pick my word and start living it out on birthday since it is close to the end of the year. This year my word is INTENTIONAL. The word intentional means to do something on purpose; to be deliberate. I wear so many hats that a lot of times I find myself all over the place. This year I want to be more deliberate, intentional about what I do READ MORE

Yesterday I attended the celebration of life for Dr. Celeste Owens. She was a friend and sister in Christ that I met over a decade ago at church. Her ministry focused on surrender and has greatly impacted my life and the life of many throughout the world. She encouraged us all to make surrendering to God’s will a lifestyle. Her definition of surrender was doing God’s will, God’s way, all the time. She didn’t just talk the talk, she walked the walk up until the very end. As I read her obituary, I was amazed at the amount of achievements she had in her 52 years on earth. She had earned a PhD, held positions on the public school and READ MORE

“Then Daniel went to his house and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” ~Daniel 2: 17-18 (NKJV) When I was a kid, we used to watch safety videos in school. The one that sticks out in my mind the most is a fire safety video about what to do if you catch on fire. Stop, drop, and roll I think is probably engrained in the psyche of every kid of my generation thanks to these videos. It literally shows someone’s arm or leg catching READ MORE

Have you ever been set up on a blind date that you didn’t want to go on? Maybe it was your mom’s friend’s son or the friend of your friend’s wife. Whoever it was, you were only going out with them so the person whose idea it was would stop bothering you. In this day and age it was likely not even a “date”. More like a quick coffee meet and greet. Something with little effort or commitment. Something you can check off your list and keep going with the rest of your day. For some of us, we have been giving the same energy to our time alone with God. Someone told us we should do it so we READ MORE

My family and I just returned from a Disney cruise. My son is a huge Disney fan. He knows the songs to every movie and can act out most scenes. He was in awe of every Disney character he met during the cruise. He listened intently as they spoke to him and he felt safe enough to be transparent with them and tell them all about his love for their movie/character. As I watched his interaction with each princess, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and even Stich, I thought to myself – this is how Jesus wants us to be with Him. To be in awe but at the same time comfortable to share our thoughts and feelings. To not be afraid READ MORE

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” ~ Ephesians 4: 31-32 (NKJV) While taking my daughter to school last week, I encountered a road rage situation. We’ve all been there, someone cuts you off or someone is acting like they are driving Miss Daisy in front you. It’s frustrating and irritating, especially if you are running late. Most of the time the incident will result in a dirty look or possibly some inappropriate hand gestures. Unfortunately, some incidences result in more extreme and sometimes traumatic actions. As I turned onto the highway from READ MORE

My daughter’s school gave out free tickets to a Christmas Cantata a few weeks ago. The tickets were dated for a show in mid-September. A Christmas Cantata – in September?? Don’t get me wrong, I’m a pumpkin spice in August kind of girl. And I love a good Christmas in July movie marathon, but for some reason I was not feeling this Christmas Cantata in September. My daughter really wanted to go so we headed into DC in search of street parking for a Christmas Cantata – in September. The show was broken into three acts. As the curtain raised on the first act about the birth of Jesus the conviction hit me. The celebration of Jesus’ birth should not READ MORE