Dear Reader:

This month marks the 11th year of the Chapelofhope stories. It all began on August 7, 2000! The biggest turning point in my life. ..when I decided to reach out into the new frontier … at least for me… cyberspace.

I was physically shaking I was so nervous but I was more scared of never going after my dream of writing… unleashing a lifetime of locked up stories, thoughts, and ideas.

By August 31… the last day of this cornerstone month in the new millennium …my competition with the fabled Scheherazade began and I never looked back… even after the 1002nd story was told I was on to the next story.

Writing is not just my passion…it is as integral a part of my life as breathing. It is my connection to people’s lives, feelings, hopes and dreams … at least as close as I will ever get on this earth. We are all connected and never do I feel this more than while writing, reading and listening to your thoughts!

… And what a great thought came in from Jo Dufford yesterday… a God Wink for this blog post.

Since recently we have been sharing thoughts about unconsciously depleting our energy reserves until suddenly sirens go off inside our bodies and minds… blinking bright red to STOP and wait on reserves.

Jo sent me this thought, aka author Barbara Johnson…

” The brook would lose its song if God removed the rocks.”

Once again we are being reminded that there is a purpose under the sun for every obstacle that we encounter along the way.

I go back to the first time I saw St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope in Trust, North Carolina on a hot July afternoon and how I knew I was home-this was where I was supposed to be at that moment. The chapel had been waiting…

Outside butterflies were in abundance and the brook was singing joyously as it’s melody was created by the stones in its path.

I remember one of the first stories I wrote was” Keeping Cancer at Bay … One Story at a Time. And for eleven years that has exactly transpired!

So until tomorrow… welcome the beautiful songs of the brook made possible by the stones encountered along its winding way.

“Today is my favorite day”

Fun with Mollie and kids!

Our gymnast-Lachlan

Our football quarterback!

Our cheerleader-Eloise

Great way to brighten a Gray day!