Adored
She sits in the dark brown leather recliner, book in hand, totally engrossed in the daily devotional reading. Every morning has started this way since giving her the Adored daily devotional. Many times before, she picked up my devotional books and flipped through them. Now she has her very own that speaks to her heart and is specifically for her age group.
Is there a special little one in your life that needs to hear the message as brought forth in this daily devo? Wouldn’t it just thrill your heart to find your child, pre-teen, or teenager reading this book all on their own and not just because you’ve asked them to?
The thing is, she hasn’t just picked this book up once and then lost interest. This has been a book she’s continued to go to in the mornings.
What a way to start the day!
Special thanks to Fly By Production/Propeller for this precious gift that my daughter has come to adore! How appropriately titled … how she feels, the message the book relays to her, and the devotional entitled Adored 365.
#MeToo
I said I wasn’t going to address this topic since it’s been all over the news, radio, and talk shows! I didn’t want to join them, but here I sit typing these words on my laptop. Why? Because in the mist of all of this that has come to light recently, especially with talk of Matt Lauer, someone pointed the question directly at me,
“Shirley, have you ever been sexually harassed at work?”
I paused for a moment because I honestly just wanted to forget it ever happened. I didn’t want to “re-live” it, yet I didn’t want to blatantly lie to this person either. I took a deep breath before I continued answering,
“Yes, I have.”
They turned all the way around as if they were completely shocked and just stared at me as they asked,
“Really?!”
The surprised look on their face was strictly because they knew my former employer and who was “in charge” at that facility. He asked if I ever reported the sexual harassment, but I told him that another situation was brought to the executive director’s attention, yet nothing was done! Therefore, I knew nothing would be done about that situation either. I worked within the “good ole boy” system, and the two individuals that crossed the line at work had been employed there for years longer than I at that point. I knew those individuals were tighter with those in charge and the higher-ups would side with them. So, instead of putting in a formal sexual harassment complaint against them both, I decided to spare myself the agony of describing the unwelcome advances and encounters. I left that job that threatened to steal my sanity with all I had to endure, and it was my hope to leave that nightmare behind.
My husband was not fully aware of what took place behind those walls in small offices. The desks were positioned in such a way that you were trapped once someone came into your office, blocking the only entrance and exit.
It started with uninvited comments, at first. Then, knowing they were at an advantage when you were trapped behind that desk, they would get extremely too close for comfort. After invading my personal space, they decided to push their luck even more with the uninvited hugs. To say it was uncomfortable and provoked extreme anxiety within me is an understatement! I felt like I was always on edge while at work, and it was always on my mind after hours on how to avoid being alone in my office with them behind closed doors! The best thing I ever did was leave that job!
I did not publicly post #MeToo on my personal social media page because I didn’t want to be known as “that” person. I didn’t want people to question why I didn’t report it back then, as it’s been five years ago now. I also didn’t want to be on trial for what I may have done, in some people’s minds, to invite the advances. There is a lot of victim blaming and shaming that goes on, which makes the person feel 100 times worse than they already do! First of all, no one should ever have to endure any type of bullying or sexual harassment PERIOD, but especially in the work place! Secondly, it isn’t the victim’s fault that someone tried to take advantage! I wasn’t wearing inappropriate cleavage showing clothing or dresses that hardly covered leaving nothing to the imagination. Instead, I was very conservative with my clothing, and I was not someone who flirted. I was actually the opposite and was known as “Miss Goody Two Shoes.”
My point in sharing this today is to let you know that I’ve been there. I did not invite the advances, nor did I enjoy them at all. When I saw what management allowed or turned a blind eye to, I knew I had to get out of that toxic and unhealthy work environment! It wasn’t my fault. I didn’t do anything to encourage it. And I got OUT before it went from sexual harassment to sexual assault!
If you have been affected by someone doing something against your wishes, I want you to know that you are not alone! It is not your fault! And you will find nothing but compassion here!
Thanksgiving 2017
Families are flying in or driving great distances to be with the ones they love on this day, Thanksgiving 2017. Our friend-of-the-family for 20 years drove all the way from Illinois this week, and while he didn’t solely do so to visit with us for Thanksgiving, he is, indeed, joining us on this holiday. We’ve been a part of each other’s lives for so long, we’re family. Almost like nails in a house that have been a part of the structure from the very beginning, that is how it feels here with our friendship. Friends turned into family. That is a better description, for they are the family we choose for ourselves.
Some folks have started the 30 days of Thanksgiving, where they share what they are grateful for each day for the entire month of November. This is a great exercise to get people to focus on how good they have it, instead of focusing on the negatives that run so prominently through our minds at times.
What are you truly grateful for?
For me, I cannot adequately put into words the love, appreciation, and thankfulness I have in my heart for my family. My two blonde haired, blue-eyed daughters, who are my heart, soul, and reason for living; my parents, who didn’t have much when we were growing up but gave us all they had and guided us on the right path; my sister, who I miss with all my soul and would do anything to have her here with me now; my husband, who isn’t perfect (and neither am I) but works hard to provide for our family and comes home to massage my feet nightly because he knows how much I enjoy it; for my daughter’s boyfriend, who restored her faith in relationships and showed her what it means to be loved; and for my family of choice, the ones I choose to welcome into my home, into my heart, and into my life. My heart is grateful as I extend this to my work family as well; the ones I see day in and day out, who share laughter, as well as tears, with me inside the walls of that office. They have no idea how grateful I am for them. We pick at each other relentlessly at times, but deep in my heart, there is a great love and appreciation for my work family.
Health. We often times take this for granted, until we are forced to face an ordeal where our health and happiness is threatened. Then we realize how precious our health is, and we strive to safeguard it and protect it to the best of our ability.
My animals. They are my little furry (or feathered) therapists who calm my troubled heart, soothe my nerves, and provide unconditional love. From my 1200 pound quarter horses, with their fluffy winter coats just starting to come in, to my ever demanding two-pound dog that insists on being in my lap with her 11 pound sister fighting for my undivided attention, to my yellow and white Cockatiel with the orange dot on his face, they are all precious to me and provide unconditional love and are always so happy to see me no matter if I’ve been gone five hours or five minutes.
The beauty that surrounds us. The ever-changing leaves of Fall; the sky God uses as a canvas for His masterpieces we call Sunrises and Sunsets; waterfalls cascading down the side of a mountain; all the things we rush around without noticing the majority of the time, but oh how it would speak to our souls if we would slow down enough to appreciate them more!
These are just a few of the things my heart is grateful for on this Thanksgiving 2017.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your beautiful family! May God pour out His blessings upon you all!
