She is my “Lovely” daughter

My heart with a paintbrush of expression.

When you think it’s too late , when you believe you can’t or you choose “I won’t” for the moment, inspiration will lift you and pull you to your feet. 

Will you listen , will you rise, will you pull up courage and determination, will you work hard, will you strengthen where you feel weakest, will you believe in yourself and encourage your own destiny to be all you want to be and find out you can be even more along the way, will you raise the bar for yourself , or not? 

Here is a story of my 39 year old daughter, she is an inspiration, a light in the world that carries deep pockets of courage and determination and she believes she can and there for she does. 

Many years ago she wanted to be in law enforcement but life had other plans for her to learn from first. She became a very successful business woman at an early age. No surprise there she was determined from day she arrived in the world , actually before that. (that’s another story).

Then she went on to create herself even more success in another career and had two beautiful children. So many changes and so much growth along the way but an unsettled desire to be in law enforcement. 

I’d asked her everytime I called” what are you doing”, she’d answer with reservation “I’m at work” , there was something missing, was it desire, a passion, so one day I asked “if you could be anything what would it be?” She answered , a cop or an English teacher. 

I don’t know how many times in the day she wondered and thought about all this, but I know it all became a decision and off she went. I have no idea if my questions opened a door that she needed a little crack to see through or if something I said mattered.

What I do know is that it’s important to challenge a thought and ask questions, that’s where exploring ideas, sparking dreams and possibilities come from. It isn’t our place to push, it’s our place to listen, ask and open doors where possibly over time we become so settled in what is we forget what’s possible or believe it’s too late.

Her answers prompted me to ask more questions. I could hear her working through it with more than wonder and one day she said “I’m going to take my law enforcement test.” Then she got her book to study and reinforced her love for working out and she made a goal, her dates kept getting moved closer and closer than planned and soon she was done testing , wow the depth of tests and paperwork were amazing. 

I want to tell you this story because her inspiring strength and determination to DECIDE and take the leap is a testament of what inner strength and courage can do, how it’s never too late even if you have already built success, which she did. She could have stayed doing what she was doing forever. 

What is success to you? 

Here is my painted expression highlighting her new courageous journey. May she always be safe protecting our communities with many brave people like her and may her success in all things bring her and her family happiness and a legacy of courage that continues in for generations. 

Gosh I love her so much!!!

Kerri-Elizabeth (Brandee’s proud Mom)

I searched for you and me

She dared herself to live with courage and found courage in living!
~Kerri-Elizabeth~

I searched for you and me

I looked high and low, in front and behind every tree

I glanced off the cliffs below

I searched long and hard, did you know

In the clouds and in the lakes

I searched rivers and mountains with no breaks

I called for you and no one replied

I cried for you inside

I drove miles and miles looking for a glimpse to pull aside

I longed for you and knew you longed for me

To find you was beyond my reach

I was looking for you 

Missing every queue

I looked for the depth of what I should be

Who someone else wanted to see

I lost sight of my own dreams

I thought I was lost where I once was found

Then one day courage stood its ground

Vulnerability spoke with a fierce sound

Wherever you go, there you will be

I’m you and me

~Kerri Elizabeth

When we experience life, life is also experiencing us, I believe. When we go farther and faster and search for ourselves instead of the experiences that creates our selves ,we miss the queues that it is ourselves we are escaping.

When we run from ourselves, we run from our faith, our beliefs, our dreams and our core foundation. When we deny our own existence is not enough because of someone else’s opinion or judgement, then we deny our ability to grow, to serve, to lead, to inspire, to be driven, to reach, to grasp courage with all your might and LIVE beyond limitations set by ourselves or others.

We become stuck within another or others lives and deny our own growth waiting for another growth. The best gift you can give yourself and another is the freedom to be loved at the exact place you are so they have room to move forward. This is courageous!

LIVE WITH COURAGE!

LOVE SHOWS

In our most authentic place is where we trust enough to fall and rise!

~Kerri-Elizabeth~

Happiness shines like the sun

Joyous is in the grass that tickles your toes

Courageous rides on the fluffiness of a cloud

Fearing not the unknown

Grace will slide down rainbows and sing out loud

Tears will create lakes where mermaids are found

Stars shake sprinkles in the sky

Falling in love with the Most High

Rock me and sing lullabies

I will trust in you, there are no goodbyes

Reflection, show me my image from God’s eyes

Let beauty build forth from the inside

I pray puppies chase my giggles and sleep by me at night

Leaping into wiggles as if in full flight

Laughter ruffle feathers on a porcupine

No feathers on a porcupine, you say

Ridiculous play

Must a porcupine say, I have no feathers today

In its actions you’ll know

If a feather falls upon you just so

Sunshine

It is in my daily life I see the masks we all wear to try to find where we belong. We laugh at jokes we don’t understand, we go to jobs that build anothers dream. We get stuck in a place our worth is defined by another.

ANYTHING less than our authentic selves serves no one other than our scars.

Courage is when we trust ourselves to trust GOD to break us free from the wonder if the person beside us has feathers or quills that will bind us.

Warrior wounds tell our story, the quills will fly no matter how fast or how high you dive. You will struggle and you will get hurt, if you didn’t you would never know the difference between a porcupine and a bird or a puppy and a wrong turn.

Thats why Christ died, so you had a chance to rise when you fall!