Have you heard??

Moranda Hern and Kaylei Deakin...have you heard of these two young women? Are you aware of what they are up to?? Well...they are on a mission to provide support and inspiration to young females ages 13 to 18 who are from military families. They are in the process of planning a conference called the Sisterhood of the Traveling BDUs...their desire is for young women to unite, be inspired and to be leaders in their communities. Check out their Youtube video and their project info on dosomething.org. Props to NPR and All Thing Considered for covering this story and spreading the word!

I am unsure how much progress these two young ladies have made thus far, but I hope to make an attempt to contact them and determine whether or not there is any way to support them in their dream to make a difference. I will keep you updated.

You may wonder why I would be interested or drawn to this story...well for a couple reasons...

1)here are two young women wanting to uplift and inspire other young women who are possibly hurting

2)my friend, Chelle's daughter, Hilary, is currently in the military

3)teens doing something positive

If you are interested in learning more about this project, you may want to check out this blog post of Air Guard Spouse, as well.

U Go Girls!!

Freedom?

freedom-available to some and an enigma to many...

...from whom and what? are we really free?

are we able to do as we please? do we bend

our knee to God or fame or self and spend

our life chasing a fruitless existence only to wake

and find our truth to be a lie? will we take

before being taken like Madoff? or sleep

to never be waken? Michael, what deep

pain were you attempting to escape in this life

and where are you now? what about the strife

and bitterness that breeds cancer and sadly

all the hatred that still lingers USA, while gradually

the freedoms that bring us together tear us apart?

are we really celebrating with a free heart?

tkaeu 07/09

We do have freedoms to celebrate! But we also have much work ahead...as a country and individually. You can't really change a country without people allowing their hearts to be changed. Some thoughts that come to mind:

Respecting other's differences

Allowing others the freedom to live life as they desire

The Golden Rule - treating others as we want to be treated

Yet it is sobering to then reflect on these statements as well:

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit his very self? (Luke 9:24-25)

...be transformed by the renewing of your mind... (Romans 12:2)

When I feel the most free...

being outdoors.

Maybe this is because it is also when I feel closest to God.

Itching to get back to writing...

Where have I been? Focused on healing my knee, improving my health and my attitude.

My goal is to write more often...but most likely less on each blog. Honestly I think shorter is better! It is just easier to follow. Anyway I'm still attempting to find the focus of this blog...so excuse me as I flounder around trying out new things.

My family is on FACEBOOK and they've asked me to get my own facebook page and join them. I have yet to do so though, because I've already put so much time and effort into this site, my wordpress blog and myspace...now to begin again on facebook?? Eventually I may find a way to take the three places I blog and combine them into one or connect them to facebook. I just have not found the time or motivation to begin again on yet another site. Just how does one manage so many sites and actually "live" life?!? There is much I have yet to figure out in life!

Oh I recently ran across a new musician that I encourage you to check out! REGINA SPECTOR!

Though I am a great lover of music and have at times memorized the words to countless songs I sung in high school age performances of one kind or another, I cannot for the life of me remember the lyrics to popular songs! It drives me crazy!!! So naturally I could relate to the comments made during an interview with Regina on NPR about forgetting the words to a favorite song. (here's a bit of the lyrics to Et pronounced "eat" and you can check out Regina on youtube singing Et on her new cd Far)

It's like forgetting the words to your favorite song
You can't believe it
You were always singing along
It was so easy and the words so sweet
You can't remember
You try to feel the beat

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet, eet, eet, eet
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeteeet, eet, eet, eet

I was amused and intrigued by the free-flowin, yet deep, and at the same time, exhuberant way this musician expresses herself in her words and through her music.

Regina was born in Moscow in 1980. Her family is jewish. Her mom is a music professor and her father plays violin and is a photographer. Her family left the USSR in 1989 and lived in Austria and Italy and eventually settled in New York. Regina began playing the piano when she was young and studied classical piano when she was 17 years old. She began songwriting when she was 16 years old. You can read more about her at wikipedia.

A bit from the NPR interview with David Greene on Morning Edition...Spektor is a petite woman with striking red hair and bright lipstick. She writes about what's on her mind, and her music often defies explanation. But she says that doesn't concern her. "If I could explain every word of this song, then I wouldn't have been very inspired when I wrote it. I would have been more crafty and intellectual," she says. "I would really hate it if I could call up Kafka or Hemingway or Salinger and any question I could throw at them they would have an answer. That's the magic when you read or hear something wonderful — there's no one that has all the answers."

However, that's not to say she doesn't want people to look for deeper meaning behind her songs. "It's not like I have all the answers," she says.

You can listen to the NPR interview and/or check out this video...Laughing With is one of my favorites on the Far cd...though each song has its own unique message and makes me smile. =D I was unable to download the videos for whatever reason (maybe I'm out of practice).

In case you have difficulty understanding the chorus lyrics to "Laughing With" as I did...here are the words...but check out the video because the entirety of the song is extremely thought provoking.

*Chorus*
But God can be funny
At a cocktail party when listening to a good God-themed joke, or
Or when the crazies say He hates us
And they get so red in the head you think they’re ‘bout to choke
God can be funny,
When told he’ll give you money if you just pray the right way
And when presented like a genie who does magic like Houdini
Or grants wishes like Jiminy Cricket and Santa Claus
God can be so hilarious
Ha ha
Ha ha

If you think belief in God is a joke...then you've never really faced hard times in your life. Listening to the lyrics of Laughing With gives me chills. It is pretty amazing to think that she is singing these lyrics on mainstream stations.

Ok at this point in the post you may be thinking...shorter posts?!? Well...I've never been really good at saying what I want to say in as few words as possible so...all in due time...lol.

This post is dedicated to music lovers everywhere who can't remember the words to their favorite songs & the subsequent AWE felt of those who can :)