Shine on!

Dear Sparkly Eyed Girl,

Sometimes we feel like there is nothing left in the world that we can count on...like everything will fail us, disappoint us and leave us feeling abandoned.

Sometimes we forget that the sun is so pretty when it comes up, and so spectacular as it is going down...sometimes we can go weeks without ever noticing the beautiful show that is going on in the sky every morning and every night. Sometimes we stop noticing entirely all that is going on for us every single day.

Without fail, the sun rises every day and goes to bed every night.......only to come up again the next morning. The seasons come and the seasons go....new plants show up and fruit grows on trees. The mountains fill with snow and the lakes and rivers fill with water. This has been going on for thousands of years.

Yet sometimes we let confusing times of our lives lead us to believe that we have been abandoned, left behind or forgotten.

All around us is proof that the world is kind and good, that life supports us and that there is light to be found in the darkness. Often we are left alone by people or things that were once companions to us, but we are never left entirely alone.

There is always something good and true to be learned. Sometimes being “alone” is our very best teacher so that we can learn the deepest truths that come in the blessed silence that is left when we are in new parts of our lives.

Look around today, sweet friend, at all of the things that have been hard to see and to remember lately. Know that just like the sun, you get to rise tomorrow and start a brand new day...with the opportunity to light up the world with your own light, which is one of the greatest happinesses of all, one that can never be taken from us.

You are so spectacular, and so loved.
Shine on, beautiful girl!

Music is good for my soul!

I love music! I always have the radio on, in the house in the car. When the kids and I are driving, I turn a good song up and they each play an air instrument, drums, guitar, fiddle, piano, even the occasional harmonica, and everyone sings. You might think I'm crazy but I love it and I'm pretty sure they love it too! Sometimes we break out the microphones (water bottles, lotion bottles, anything we have handy). We don't care what the people in the car next to us think and we have even seen people singing the same songs! I love all music, but my #1 pick would be country. But as long as I can get a story out of the song or if it relates to my life somehow, then I will listen to it. Reba McEntire is my absolute favorite! That woman has a song for every occasion and feeling. If you have made an impression, good or bad, in my life, then there is a song that reminds me of you, guaranteed. I was seeing a guy (Sorry you didn't know Mom), and now that its over, he has a song, he has a couple actually! Now, not every part of every song relates to my life but, "She wasn't good enough for him" by Reba McEntire and "Best Days of you Life" by Kellie Pickler are the top picks! I could go on and on about music and tell you songs, I feel like my whole life is a musical! ha ha ha You can YouTube the songs if you feel like it, or not! I try everyday to be strong, but after you've been burned its hard to imagine everyone isn't going to do that to you.