If Home Is Where Your Heart Is. . . .

 Maggie has been waiting for so long to be an Aggie.  (I am going to have to be a big post on Hays the Aggie since I haven't blogged while he has been there--I am just so proud of him.). We walked onto the Texas A&M campus when she was a Freshman in high school and the clouds parted and angels sang (Hullabaloo Kaneki Kaneki, I think) and she knew in her soul that she was going to be an Aggie.  She got a little Sheltie named Kyle Field for Christmas and life has never been the same--our closets are full of maroon and we know all of the words to the Aggie fight song.  The Braner family bleeds maroon! I dropped her off a couple of weeks ago and, even though my heart broke because I was leaving my girl in Texas, my heart swelled because I knew that Maggie was exactly where she needed to be!  I cried so many tears, but on some levels it was such an easy goodbye.  I miss her like crazy, but I would never wish for her to be anywhere else! She and Hays a...

I want to brag on a friend of mine for a minute. . . .  Alexis Cook was one of our KIVU Gap Year students several years ago and since I moved to Nashville she has become a dear and treasured friend. Y'all, Alexis is AMAZING!  She really really is!  She and her business partner, Corbin, have started an unbelievable social enterprise jewelry company and I want to brag on it! Unlocked is a jewelry company that is so much more than a jewelry company.  The jewelry is just the icing on the cake, but the cake is so much more!  Their website says:  "We believe in investing not only in great products but in the health of our community.  That's why we employ women transitioning out of homelessness to make all of our jewelry, unlocking the opportunities they need to build a brighter future.  Empower our neighbors and building a more equitable community isn't just a side project.  It's the reason we are in business, and it's at the core of what...

On Friday I drove Maggie twelve and a half hours to drop her off at Texas A&M (that is another post for another time) and on Saturday I drove home.  As we were heading West down I-40, the sunrise was in our rearview mirror and as I was heading home, the sunset was in my rearview.  I'm sure there are many ways that I could correlate that to what that drop off meant in my life, but for now, I'm just talking about sunrises vs. sunsets. Like the beach vs. mountain question, sunrise vs. sunset it typically a great get to know you bit.  And I don't know the answer to either one of those questions for me.  I love the beach!  I love the mountains!  I love sunrises!  I love sunsets! For me, a sunrise is HOPE!  When I see a sunrise, I feel hopeful.  It doesn't matter what I know that day holds or what yesterday held, for a few minutes I feel hopeful. And on the other hand, for me, a sunset is peaceful.  That is the weirdest part--it ...

I drove by this tree the other day and I had to made a big u-turn and go back to take a picture!  It instantly spoke to my soul.  Here is this dead stump (cut down by man) with an amazing new tree growing right out of the center towards the sun and fresh air.  Do I monologue about this and how this was a little sermon screaming to me or do I let it speak to you in the words you need?  That has been my dilemma for the past ten days.  And I've decided to let it speak to you because what it shouted to my soul may be different than what it whispers to your heart or speaks to your mind or shouts to your soul!

The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.  (Romans 8:16-17) I used to read this verse and have a combination of the following questions mixed with extreme doubt, skepticism and disbelief: Co-heirs? Equal heirs? Fellow heirs? With Christ? Seriously? So, let me back up a little bit…. Let me take you into my baggage and into my experience with love—past and present.  I grew up thinking, and I still struggle with believing these lies today, that love is two things. ·     Love has favorites. ·     Love is conditional. . . I will never be good enough to earn or deserve or keep someone’s love. I grew up enjoying being most people’s favorite.  It was easy for me and I unknowingly fell into the tr...

Maggie, Tiki and I went to see The Lion King  a few days ago and it was really good.  I loved how close they stayed to the original cartoon, too.  Throughout the movie, I was struck by the role shame plays in Simba's life and how it relates so much to real life. For the "shame" takeaway, the characters are: Mufasa:  God Scar:  Satan Simba:  Man Timon & Pumbaa:  New Friends Nala:  Old Friends Pride Rock:  "Home" The land where Timon & Pumbaa live:  Run Away Land It was so interesting to me to watch shame play out-- it played out like it did in the garden with Adam and Eve and it played out the way I have seen it play out closer to home. . . . Simba was casually following Scar into the gulch to prove something.  At that point, it was fairly harmless just as it is in life.  Often, we need to prove something to ourselves or to others and it is fairly harmless, but in proving something, we are walking b...

When I started my blog many years ago, I ran the title through my head.  I remember thinking about Braner Party of 7 and wondering if I would still call it that if I lost a child and I remember wondering if I would change the title if we ended up adopting again.  Braner Party of 7 had the greatest ring to it (in my ears) and I hoped it would never have to change, but I thought about a couple what if scenarios.  I never once dreamed that I would be changing the title because my marriage was over.  Not only was that not an option in my head, it never even crossed my mind as a reason why Braner Party of 7 may not be a forever title. I love that I was that naive.  I love that I was that hopeful.  I love that I believed in forever so much.  I love that I had that much faith in us  so much. . . . I'm blogging again.  Blogging was so good for my soul and I have been a little bit lost without it.  I didn't know how to blog dishonestly when ...