Musician’s Widow

Did anyone watch The Voice last night? I don’t generally watch singing competition shows, but I’ve followed this one this year because of one particular singer on it.

Holly Tucker caught my attention a year and a half ago at the MDA Muscle Walk in Waco. She sang a couple songs, and I couldn’t stop gushing over her talent afterwards. (Here is a video I took of her singing “Hero” that day.) I declared that she’d be a star some day, if she’d just never give up on it.

She’s on The Voice this year, and has made the top 10! Last night, she sang, “How Great Thou Art,” choosing to stand behind her belief in God and proclaim it to the world. She gave me chills. She brought tears to my eyes. God bless her, she stood strong against the critics that were sure to come.

Yesterday, a horrible, horrible tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma. A week ago, a tornado hit Granbury, TX. Last month, a fertilizer plant exploded in West, TX. At the end of last year, a shooter walked into an elementary school in Newtown, CT and killed 26 people.

And you know what I saw every single time. EVERY time? People sending prayers and thoughts to the victims and the survivors. An overwhelming number of prayers going up to God to give them all strength and to hold them in his arms. And I loved seeing that.

Why? Because I am sick — absolutely SICK — of people being made to feel embarrassed for believing in God. Holly said in an interview that her choice of song last night was not to push her belief on others, but to show who she is.

WHEN DID IT BECOME WRONG TO SHOW WHO YOU ARE??

I’m tired of people being told they can’t show they are praying because it might offend someone who doesn’t believe as they do. Why? Why can’t they pray to their God and ask for his strength? Why do they have to deny a part of themselves so as not to offend someone else? At what point do they say, “You telling me I can’t pray offends ME.”

Why is it only okay to proclaim you’re sending prayers up when something bad happens? Or when something really great happens? What about all those other mundane normal days? Isn’t it okay to pray then? Because, frankly, there’s more mundane days than horrible or amazing ones.

I’ve read a few of the critics of Holly’s song choice. Some saying she did it because she knew people would eat it up. Others saying they didn’t like seeing a gospel song on a singing competition. To both, I say they are entitled to their opinions. But to Holly I thank her for having the guts to do it. To stand behind her beliefs and not be afraid to show who she is.

People have been persecuted for their beliefs for thousands of years, and even in this country that was founded on freedom OF religion we’re still fighting persecution. If you proclaim belief in God you’re a “bible thumper” and society mocks you. If you sing a Christian song you’re “doing it for the votes.” If you pray in school, you get expelled.

But I am here, right now, to tell you I am a Christian. I believe in God. I pray every day in my own way. I have faith that He has a plan. And if that offends any one, I am not going to apologize. I’m simply going to say that I am still me. I’m not here to push my faith on you. I’m here to simply ask you respect that its part of who I am. Don’t ask me to deny my God… because I won’t.

The last week, I focused on trying to come up with a blog plan that will help me stay motivated and organized. I have noticed many of the most successful blogs have a plan and stick to it… readers know what to expect day -to-day. I’m finding it helps the writer to know what to expect day-to-day, too!

Mondays are “Making it happen Monday.” I blogged on this last week.

Tuesdays are one of my open days. A day to write about absolutely anything I might be in the mood to talk about. It’ll be a place to review things, rant, share a funny story… anything!

Wednesdays, I’m off. Taking the day off… if I blog on Wednesday, there must be a very good reason!

Thursdays are the #DrinkUpLinkUp fun with the Purple Giraffe!

Friday is my random day with “Five on Friday.”

Saturday is another open topic day. This is the one day I’ll probably struggle the most to write… time-wise as well as motivation-wise. But I’m going to do my best!

Sunday is my Photo Share.

I’m actually enjoying already mapping out the weeks to come, using this schedule. It’s taken a lot of stress away and instead started to make it more fun. It’s all about making it happen!

Photo Share is my personal replacement for Weekly Winners, since that link exchange is no longer happening. It’s just my own challenge to take great photos through the week, as it gives me a venue to share some of them on this blog. Consider it my own little P.S. on the week before.

Photos this week taken with my Sony DSLR A230. Edited using Lightroom 3… or using my Droid Razr and Instagram. You can probably figure out which is which.

Faders

Southern Scapes

Trash can art

Gerbera Daisies

Reach for the light

A bar is no place for a rose

CIder

Big wheels keep on rollin’

Bokeh fun

Alien flower

VTX

Bokeh reflections

We are in graduation season! Many colleges graduated a week ago. And the next few weeks will be full of high school graduations. (As well as Kindergarten, Junior High, etc.)

Graduation — the award or acceptance of an academic degree or diploma; commencement

Graduation is, to me, both the final award and marking of a lot of hard work done as well as a moment to look back and remember all you did in the time it took to do the hard work. It’s also opening the door to the next phase of life, be it more schooling, going into the workforce, or choosing to start a family. Graduation is a BIG DEAL.

I remember my high school and college graduations with pride. Heck, I still remember my junior high graduation! They’re moments that mark success as well as big changes.

I encourage the class of 2013 to hold tight to this moment and let it carry you years into the future. When you feel like you just can’t do it, think back to this success. You have it in you to do anything! Dare to dream and chase those dreams.

Congratulations to all of you… and look out world. Here you come!

Five random musings from the last week…

1.  My husband got a new keyboard, thanks to his brand new endorsement. He’s like a kid at Christmas! I stressed over this purchase, even though I knew he needed it. Now that its done, I’m SO thankful everything came together to make it happen. Exciting times!

2. Checked out Soulshine Pizza Factory here in Nashville, finally. Its only been open six months, and its been on my “wishlist” ever since it opened. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for a pizza and beer on the patio upstairs. I highly recommend checking them out if you’re looking for good food and a fun vibe in Nashville! (Or their three other locations in Mississippi.)

Soulshine decor

3.  I broke my go-to pot lid this week. I know its such a dumb thing to blog about, but this truly bummed me out. It was that lid that fit multiple pots, so I used it all the time. It happened in slow motion. I set it on the counter, but I guess it wasn’t flat. It slid. I couldn’t get to it. It shattered. We’re still finding glass shards days after… the latest in my husband’s foot last night. Le sigh.

4. I’ve decided that about 70% of accidents could be avoided if people used and/or respected turn signals, and 98% of road rage could be avoided the same way. I made those percentages up, of course, but this week’s top driving frustrations (or riding as a passenger) all came from people not using their turn signals or people ignoring ours. They’re standard equipment on cars… USE THEM.

5. This has been one of the busiest weeks I’ve had so far this year… and next week is almost the same. I thought May would slow down after I got out of school, and before I’d have school-age kids. Nope! It’s perpetually a busy month.

Last week, I needed a few items from the grocery store. I decided to go check out the new Publix in my neighborhood. (If you’ve never shopped at a Publix, you’re missing out. I know my Texans are going to gasp when I say I like them better than H-E-B but… the customer service at Publix is, hands down, the best ever. I never leave a Publix without a smile on my face. So many businesses could learn a lot from them.)

I was determined NOT to go down the beer aisle. I didn’t want to be tempted! Unfortunately(?), an item on my list forced me to go down it. And I noticed that the new Publix has “build your own 6-pack” option that is ALWAYS so much fun. As I skimmed the options to build your own mix, I saw it. A beer that… well… just might be my absolute favorite beer.

“Well. Crap,” I said to myself. I walked a little further and there it was… a six pack of the beer goodness. On sale, at that.

“CRAP!” I said a little louder, as it went into my basket. I did NOT plan to buy beer, but I couldn’t leave it behind!

Abita Strawberry Harvest. I’ll be honest, I don’t remember where I had it first. I just remembered that I loved it. A lot. And every time I’ve found it since, I’ve HAD to get a six-pack. It’s a beer that even beer-haters tend to like. It’s got that sweet summer strawberry flavor that just makes the palate HAPPY.

Abita Strawberry Harvest is a lager brewed with pilsner and wheat malts and Vanguard hops. Real Louisiana strawberry juice is added after filtration resulting in a crisp lager with a sweet strawberry flavor, aroma and haze. — From Abita’s Site

I love it straight out of the bottle, but pour it in a glass for an even more happy experience.

This is a perfect summer beer. It’s light, fruity and just makes you feel… well… like summer! I’ve turned friends onto it, and I have yet to hear anyone say a bad thing about it. I HIGHLY recommend checking this one out!

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