The following is an excerpt from one of my book chapters.

[The setting: I am 3 years old trying to get my parents to give me a drink of water]

Knock. Knock.

The door remained closed. My father continued to scream. I made another fist and knocked a second time, a bit louder, less afraid and more determined for that drink.

Suddenly I heard a loud crashing noise. I called for my mom as my father swung open the door. He just stood there, no words, blood dripping from his fist that he had slammed into the very door I stood on the other side of knocking on. I looked down at my own fist. Oh, how different his and mine looked from each other’s.

We locked eyes as he screamed to my mother, “See what you made me do!” I froze. Speechless. Nothing. What did I want again? Why had I knocked?

From that moment on I learned to second guess every feeling I ever had. Every want, desire, thought, question, idea, hope…everything. I just knew that if I shared it that it would cause a problem in one way or another.

Parents, Mentors, Guardians, Leaders… What you do matters. Everything you do matters. And everything we do and say leaves a lasting mark on someone. Good or bad…it will leave a mark. Please, be mindful of this.

Oh, you mean you didn’t know I was the Chairwoman on the board of one of the most amazing NPO’s around?

Solace

Let me paint a picture for you…

You’re walking through the streets of downtown San Francisco. You pass by a strip club. A worker comes out and walks down the same street along side of you. What do you do? What do you think? What were your thoughts when you were passing the club?

I know for most of us we think, “Sick. How can people do that?!”

I used to be one of them. Now, having been in those clubs with Solace, I have fallen in love with each and every one of these people. They’re people just like me.

What Solace does is meet them where they are…every week with club visits. Solace’s heart is to encourage, empower and enlighten. And they do that by being real, loving, compassionate and accepting.

And one of the many ways these things are being cultivated is by having Help Portrait there with Solace, in San Francisco, and our beautiful Ladies and Gentleman on Valentines Day weekend.

This is going to be a huge event just for our ladies and gents. No one will want anything from them. This is all about giving to them. Giving them a picture of hope. Both figuratively and literally.

Please visit Solace and get to know more about why I am so in love and on board with them. And please pray for them and Help Portrait and all the volunteers that will make Valentines weekend, hopefully, a life changing event for many!

And please consider praying along with us for all that will be touched by this event.

What may be done at any time will be done at no time

Now that’s a good word for me. I am the queen of procrastination.

How do you prevent putting things off?

I had mentioned on twitter this week that I was gonna post a “most embarrassing photo” of myself and that anyone who saw it here also had to share an embarrassing photo of themselves.

Well, Brent can’t find the photo I was thinking of. And let me tell you…it was a doozie!! My hair had air dried, I had no make-up on and I had a whopping bruise on my right bicep. But, when Brent transfered all his stuff to his new computer about 1/2 his photos didn’t make it. I know, it is so fortunate unfortunate.

So, instead… I’m gonna post the most embarrassing photo of Brent and me. We were dating. It was 1990. And it was all about the big hair!

Now…share one of yours!

I’m going to finish out the year with my top 10 posts of 2011. Yes, I realize that is when all of you click off and run outta here cuz you’ve seen it already. Fine…be that way 

But…I’m doing it anyway…

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New study finds that 1 in 4 teenage girls have a sexually transmitted disease.

When I first read that I thought…

Phew…at least I never got one of those.

As if two abortions is somehow better and less embarrassing.

But 1 in 4 teenage girls. Wow.

When Kass was in High School there were 1,200 students enrolled. Say half of those are girls. That would mean 150 of those girls, statistically, have a sexually transmitted disease. And I wonder, how many more of them will end up pregnant. How many of them will wind up having an abortion.

When I was in High School they taught about abstinence. They taught about safe sex and had condom vending machines in all of the bathrooms. But…I remember our health teacher telling my class that it was impossible to expect us not to have sex. This is the same class that hosted a faux Spring wedding. My boyfriend and I were the couple the class chose for this project. We had to arrange our wedding ceremony, complete with dress, tux, wedding party, rings and reception, to be held at lunch hour on a friday afternoon during school.

I remember my mother being so upset at this. I didn’t understand her anger. But she was furious! She said it encouraged unhealthy relationships. It gave a false sense of being adults.

I was mad at her and her unwillingness to understand.

Well, wouldn’t you know it…the boyfriend I fake married at school…was the the same one I ended up having two abortions with.

Mom, you were right.

Question: As parents, what can/should we do to educate our kids on sex and all that it involves?

Do you agree with my high school health teacher that it is impossible to keep teens from having sex?

[Original post and comments here]

At what point do we just decide to do the right thing?

That’s all i want to know.

I am not a fan of Christmas shopping.

I’m not opposed to gift giving. Oh no! I love giving gifts! I love shopping for people! I just don’t care to shop for a bunch of people all at once. Because that requires a couple very important necessities…

Time and Money.

Both of which I seem to have little of in December. And, most other months.

So I have a question for y’all…

How do you get through December??

Do you budget?

Do you start shopping in the summer?

How much do you spend per person?

Does your family draw names?

Tell me everything you do. I need ideas!