Dear Reader:

Yesterday morning I woke up on the adorable B&B side of Tommy and Kaitlyn’s duplex…. the sun was shining through the trees-the skies were a brilliant blue with white puffy clouds floating happily in the breezes-I felt, for a moment, like I had landed in a Disney animated movie.

I went outside in their private, newly landscaped back patio area for guests and stared at the sun peeking through the tall tree branches. My eyes kept fluttering … but then something caught my attention.

One lone bamboo shoot, against all odds, had popped up, in spite of the gravel and underlying rocks. Immediately one thought took center stage in my mind ” Life finds a way.” When I looked the phrase up… to my surprise… Jurassic Park … emerged and then Jeff Goldblum ‘s movie quote:

We certainly see this line of thought played out every day in others, as well as, our own lives. Aren’t we all,as members of the human race, drawn to real-life stories of people who, against all odds, survive a situation so incredible, that the odds against them surviving would be nil to none? Overnight they become heroes and are in the news, or a book is written or movie produced to tell their story to a larger viewing audience. Humans love human ” gladiators” who emerge from life-defying everyday struggles gone awry.

Still… there is also the private small personal moments in all our lives when we mentally challenge ourselves to do something that terrifies us. But in spite of our misgivings we rise up and do it anyway because we know it will change our lives by doing so-perhaps even saving our lives.

Take a moment and think back to the last time you found yourself at one of these potential life-crossings. It might have been an interview for a new job completely unlike anything you had done before, but something your inner passion was screaming at you to be freed?

Perhaps it was a change in a relationship that would also be life-changing? A physical move that would lead you far from home and everything familiar to risk an adventure in a new culture?

So until tomorrow… like the one lone bamboo shoot risking life, itself, to take a different ” rocky ” underground path… and be rewarded by the feel of the sun’s rays, once again, shining down on it after dark days of the unknown… God calls us to become risk-takers in our own lives… life is to be lived fully!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Watching the Clemson game Monday night outside under the stars with family was so much fun-some of the grandchildren came over for the first part of the game -we had good food and a good time! And even though the Tigers seemed to purr a little longer than we would have wished… once they found their ROAR…. it was a mighty one!!!!!