The Big Ten

I am part of an online writing community called The Story Sessions and I signed up for a class on Blogging. There will be some changes around here: new look and name in the near future. The class is "40 Days of Blogging" where we will be getting a daily writing prompt. So...what that means is that I am going to try my very best to blog almost every day for the next 40 days. Some of my topics and posts may be a little different than normal but bear with me as I grow in this area.

Today's prompt was "Ten Things About You."

So...I'm going to try and think of 10 Random things you may not know about me. Feel free to share some unique things about yourself as well.

Here we go:

10 RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME:

1) In my early 20's, I used to make a special guest appearance on an online radio show called, "Clowning Time" based in Montgomery, AL. The host was a rodeo clown and I would be his co-host at least one night a week.

2) My high school mascot was a Skipper. That's right, a skipper. (That in and of itself could be a fun fact, but there is more). Remember the dress up days for homecoming week? Well, our library staff tried to piggy back off of that idea and they hosted an "El Nino" day. Being the incredibly spirited person I was, I sported a yellow poncho around the school halls ALL DAY. I was recognized for this effort in front of my peers and presented with ..............(drum roll)...................an umbrella. (face palm).

3) When I was 12 years old, my dad took me to pick out a new car for my mom. Once the car had been selected, my Dad gave me the honor of picking out the color. I was 12. Sparkly things were pretty. I chose a very shimmery aqua. Little did I know that I would be driving that as my first car in high school. It was deemed, "The Aqua Bomb."

4)"Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh...Hangin' Tough"...."Step by step, ooo baby, gonna get to you girl".....Yep. I was a die hard New Kids On The Block fan in elementary school and my 9th birthday party was none other than a New Kids on the Block themed party. We did trivia games, dances and my cake was topped with one of those really big pin on buttons that used to be "the thing." My favorite gifts included my very own Joey McIntyre sleeping bag and NKTOB towel set. "I got the right stuff....baby."

5) My signature dance move is what I refer to as "The Donkey Butt." It's kind of a hybrid of a gallop mixed with an occasional rodeo rope swing action. This has been my dance move since the mid-90's and I still like to rock it in large groups. I don't photo bomb. I donkey butt bomb.

6) Every thing makes me think of a song. You can ask my husband. There was a period during our first year of marriage where I would pull up youtube karaoke songs on my kindle and sing one or maybe 8 to him every night before bed. (And THIS is exactly why I said I wanted to attach a camera to my head for a day. I really think I could be the next YouTube star).

7) For my 30th birthday, my husband gave me a pack of markers and let me color in the tattoo on the back of his leg. I laughed like a kid the entire time and he usually presents me with this opportunity at least once a year. I am 33. I see no problem with this. Is that a problem? Should it be? :)

8) I have this weird thing with my toes that if one of my toes is popped, ALL of my toes have to be popped. If they do not willingly pop, I enter into this weird panic of "the world is going to end because it drives me crazy not to have the same thing happen to BOTH of my feet." That is the ONLY thing I am remotely OCD about...except towels. Don't fold my towels. There IS a right way.

9) Once upon a time I mentioned to my husband that my nose was cold. Well, maybe I was like a broken record and then he decided to fix the situation with this gift and I occasionally break it out on cold nights....in my bed. lol

10) I am fascinated with weather. I am glued to the Weather Channel when there is a hurricane. A few of my friends refer to me as meteorologist Morgan during these times. I actually tracked down a weather channel anchor who was doing coverage of the "Snow" we were supposed to get in Savannah this past winter. Tracked down is kind of a light way to put it. I basically stalked the weather channel on Twitter and camped out at the park until they made their return. Then I tried to act normal for a picture. It was on my bucket list for crying out loud. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

What are some fun facts about you?

Taking Back Your Key

I've been traveling for the past 3 weeks. I learned a little something about truth.

In Europe, I spent time with Holocaust Survivors. I will write more about this incredible experience later, but for now, I want to focus on one idea.  The first night someone stood up in front of them and said, "We are not the Christians who wore the black crosses." This would be a reference to the Nazi's who did horrible things to them and their families in the name of Jesus. These precious people spent a time of their life being told that the truth was that they were worthless and had no place on this earth. That was the "truth" to the Nazi's and it was being "PUT ON" the Jewish people. The Nazi's took "their" truth key and locked the Jewish people in a cage of torment.  Then, seventy something years later the same Jewish people were sitting at a retreat with Christians who had a very different opinion of that awful "truth". We spent the week loving on them, serving them, walking with them, laughing with them, doing all sorts of charades due to the language barrier and ultimately hoping to give them back a key to unlock the truth of what Christians really believe.  I'll never forget the Jewish women touching their heart and extending their hand to my heart to express that we are connected in truth and love. That is the type of truth that brings freedom. 

There is a different kind of truth. A truth where people feel like "their" truth is more important than "your" truth. This is the truth that comes without regret of the damage that can be done when it is unleashed. This is the truth that is unapologetic and cares more about being heard than the heart of the person receiving it. There is no clean up crew for the damage left behind. Maybe you've had that kind of "truth" spoken over you. Maybe you have been the one who feels compelled to carry the message. This kind of truth only results in one thing: being caged. I would venture to say that this kind of truth, really is not truth at all. 

There is a quote by Dr. Seuss that I absolutely love.

Friends, I know that sometimes we have good intentions in what we say, but the only thing we need to "put on" is love. Are the words coming out of your mouth meant for good? What will the result be? Is the person you are saying them to in a place to receive them? If you can not answer those questions then for the love, PLEASE choose silence. Don't slam the door shut on someone's cage and take their key.

If you have been hurt, know this....no matter how well someone else knows you, they do not know you better than you know yourself. Take back your key. Know yourself well enough to know the truth about who you are. Surround yourself with people who remind you of that, so that when the naysayers come, you can rest in the fact that it is more about them than you. 

It is  too easy to lose our key and feel caged by other people's opinions. It is too easy to slip into that place of competition rather than complement. Opinion rather than truth. Selfishness rather than selflessness. 

So go on and pick up your key. Unlock your cage. Maybe you have a friend whose key is laying in the dirt while they succumb to the cage around them. Pick it up, dust it off and hand it back to them. They may need help unlocking their cage. That's what friends and sisters do. 

You will know the truth and the truth will set you free?

Notice that FREEDOM is a result of truth.

Let's not cage the captives, but set them free.

I'm thankful for the people who drop keys back into my cage and help me unlock it from time to time. 

Which one will you be? A thief of keys or a lock smith?