jinnyhenson

Now Trending: Bearded Dragons

March 12, 2015March 12, 2015 jinnyhenson

Nim’s Island had been out a year. The movie starring Abigail Breslin, Jody Foster and Fred the bearded dragon spiked a marked increase in lizard fever and our household was not immune. Fred was so cool; sitting on Abigail’s shoulder, giving high fives and doing long division. In the 2009 fog of grief and temporary insanity, we gladly accepted the “gift” of a bearded dragon from a “friend.” Jack loved him. Freddy looked like a dinosaur and was fun to watch hunt crickets. For a solid 13 minutes. That was 6 years ago.

My cousin Bill gave into his kid’s bearded dragon request. In the pet store check out line he casually asked the cashier what the typical lifespan was. When the Petco worker mentioned 15 YEARS, Bill dropped the 50 gallon tank and basking lamp quicker than you can say Little Miss Sunshine. He got all the brains in the family. He intuitively knew that a pet which lives three times as long as the average marriage in our country is a bad call.

I blame it on pet stores. They should really offer reptile counseling to protect people like me from myself. Or at the very least have a Match.com kiosk to see if this is actually a good fit. But they don’t. Not at all. They manipulate consumer demand: advertising eye-catching propaganda like “BEARDED DRAGONS COMING SOON” on empty tanks with fake jungle backdrops for effect. In reality there is an overabundance of bearded dragons, they just hold them like diamonds and release them intermittently. DeBearded Dragon style.

Most of our collective poor parental judgement is nothing but exhaustion. We are just too tired to fight sometimes. Between work, permission slips, laundry and travel soccer something’s gotta give. And it is usually our sanity. Parents are only as happy as their least happy child and kids are cranky these days. That’s why we give our nine-year-olds iPhones and impulse pets like bearded dragons. At least the iPhones are breakable. I still have a creepy micro-dinosaur upstairs scratching off his days on a calendar with his pointy nail like he’s in San Quentin.

To be fair, life with Freddy has not been all bad. We’ve had some fun. He’s hung in there like a champ unlike the 2 hens which turned out to be roosters and the fire toad to whom I literally administered mouth-to-mouth breathing in 2009. Don’t judge me; there had been just too much loss. I’ve taken the little prehistoric guy on field trips. Jack wanted Freddy to meet his fifth grade class. So I wore him like a broach into the First Baptist Church School building where unfortunately the preschoolers had already lined up for carpool. About 10% of the toddlers were stoked while the other 90 screamed bloody murder.

The truly beautiful circle of pet life continues. When our “friend’s” wife wanted my opinion on getting a chihuahua for their 10-year-old daughter, I gave her my honest opinion that every pre-teen girl needs the unconditional love and unlimited clothing opportunities of a chihuahua. Olive the precious puppy was adopted on Tuesday and already has a Spring Wardrobe. Her life is totally made and as soon as Spring Training is over and our “friend” returns home he will have an awesome surprise waiting for him! No worries, Don, they only live about 15 years.

Female friendship, first impressions, little league moms, motherhood

Hand Warmer and The Gypsy: Judgement, Friendship and Little League

February 26, 2015 jinnyhenson

The aluminum stands chilled by a frosty Spring night cut through my long skirt and coat with ease sending shivers up to my floral headband. My 5th grader with 3% body fat shifted weight back and forth, waiting for his turn in the dreaded little league draft. Two long-time female friends to my right were huddled together when the one in scrubs loudly proclaimed a crude comment about hand warmers. The two laughed uproariously. She glanced my way and I nodded politely but with kids within earshot, I was a little taken aback. The ballplayers were released and I warmed the car and readied the Gatorade for Jack. Try-outs were over but the real work had only just begun.

With back room politics which would make Huey Long blush, the 2010 draft was complete and Jack landed on The Dodgers. To his delight he discovered that many former teammates would also wear Dodger Blue. Being the Tiger Mom that I am I was most excited about the hours of guilt-free social time with moms I never got to see. I know there are awesome mothers who know how to bubble in the little score thingy and run the scoreboard. I always considered my lack of volunteering for the book or board my highest contribution. At the end of the first practice I heard a loud laugh from behind me and realized that someone else was a Dodger Mom, too: The Hand Warmer.

The season progressed and within that little league environment of camaraderie and overexposure, peanuts and sweet tea, friendship grew. Hand Warmer proved to have comedic observation skills, unique phraseology and a keen wit. I had to love that. I enjoyed her stories about growing up with deaf parents and began to appreciate so much more about her than I could have ever known at first blush. Coach Trey drove the boys hard and brought out a championship title from them. He repeated this the next year and almost a third. Acutely superstitious, Coach wore the same shorts every game. In support, we vowed to wear the same clothes as well. I was all in before I realized that my commitment meant wearing my peasant dress every night for five nights. In a row. I was deemed the village wench before it was all over.

Our third season together, Hand Warmer and I reminisced about our false first impressions of each other. I said, “Do you remember watching the draft that frozen night and what you said about HAND WARMERS? I quoted her phrase back to her and told her I thought she was a thoroughly brash woman. This time we both howled with laughter at her comment. She laughed and said, “How hilarious, I thought you dressed like a gypsy! In fact before I knew your name I called you the gypsy. You always had some crazy colorful skirt and matching earrings on!”

I thought about Hand Warmer today in the fondest way. Thankful for the seasonal friendship we shared and the respect I still carry for her. While the golden days of little league have passed and our boy’s interests and schools have taken them different ways, I still reflect with love and admiration for the women behind the raucous laugh: a sensitive, kind and beautiful soul. An unlikely woman whose spirit surprisingly warmed me.

What are some of your first impressions of other people which turned out to be all wrong?

humor, hunting, mother son relationship

I Love it When a Plan Comes Together!

January 26, 2015 jinnyhenson

Click here for Video of Jack’s prank!

It will surprise precisely no one who knows us that the heat went out of the truck en route to Mimi’s in Houston for Christmas. Luckily we had the three dogs with us so it was literally a three-dog-night. On wheels. Christmas Day. We stopped in Nacogdoches for coffee and further orchestrated the Fed Ex charade (sha-rrodd) we were playing on Mimi with our surprise early arrival.

None of the gifts I sent my Mom via Fed Ex actually made it to Mullins. NO doubt this woman was kicking her restless leg in the air on the sofa by 6:57 the Saturday our delivery man supposedly rang the doorbell. (Personally, I envision the guy who drops the TV over the 5 foot fence and scurries off) Subsequently my Mother had NOTHING to open from me on Christmas Day. Jesus’ Birthday, no less and the woman who bore ME was gift less. As a daughter the thought of your widow Mother not opening a gift from you on December 25th is anathema. So after our Shreveport Christmas gift openings and dinner we packed up Ramstein and hatched our plan.

Because I never learned how to let upended plans, knocked-over wedding cake or undelivered gifts to the woman who plans for months what the 16 of her offspring will receive get the last word, something radically fabulous was in order. And oh yea, Jack delivered a grand slam performance. If the highest form of flattery is imitation, there is a heroically awkward Fed Ex guy with scruffy goatee and a speech impediment whose buttons should be busting. Jack nailed you awkward Fed Ex guy.

Since there is no costume shop open on December 25th, (go figure) I improvised. Poverty teaches you to be resourceful and you don’t have two babies on a missionaries’ salary and not learn a thing or two. I scoured the house for Halloween wigs but they were long since donated and probably hanging in some third-world market I had seen on 60 minutes by now. After cranking out the Christmas ham, the faux fur of a Christmas stocking caught my peripheral vision. I knew instantly in my soul depths that this trim married with a healthy wad of double-sided tape was just the eyebrow/ sideburn/ goatee of my dreams and of my 16-year-old’s nightmares.

He went full boar on it. Armed with the actual Fed Ex receipt from the defunct delivery attempt, clip board and BIZARRE questions we arrived at Mimi’s with nothing to lose. John, God love this man, parked a block away as not to give away our true identity. I left a message at 9:30 that the new delivery had been delayed but they promised to be there by 10 p.m. with something from me but she would have to sign. I roped Brother Brink into my ruse and he told her she needed to sign for the gift.

I was hidden around the corner with phone at the perfect angle to video Mimi in her post-bath, disoriented glory. Jack rang the doorbell and I let out a muffled laugh of absurdity as often pops out right before a hysterical plan unfolds. Mimi hesitantly opened the door and immediately was taken aback by the hunched-over appearance of the “Fed Ex Employee.” After teaching non-verbal communication on an adjunct basis for DBU, i knew how important the props were. I ironed-on FED EX letters on an old ski cap and sweatshirt and knew that those would temporarily trick Mimi into buying the weirdo’s story.

Jack secured Mimi’s signature for the poinsettia and proceeded to ask a battery of questions, each one more bizarre than the next. He began with your son “Jimmy Henson” who sent a package from Albuquerque and addressed the package to “Mim” Richardson. Which she corrected to Mimi then finally for safety sake let it go with the wave of the hand. He proceeded to butcher my name, calling me Jimmy and Janie before snickering. Mimi reacted by inching backward and drawing the front door to more of a closed position. Then she asked him if he was ok after he snickered. He responded with some story about his buddy “Joe,” being in a “predicament.” Oh my… the improv! Eventually Mimi through furrowed brow asked, “Jack. Is that you?” and the gig was up.

But the gig of punking my poor Mother was enough to be watched 18.7K times on Facebook. How crazy is that? If only we would’ve foisted the unedited version out there in cyber space! So, frozen or not, we arrived to surprise my poor, unsuspecting Mother on Christmas Night, It was a BLAST. So even an epic Fed Ex fail does not have to mean an epic Christmas fail. It may just be the perfect set up for a hilarious stunt. And clearly we do all our own.

Christmas in New York, #todayshow #salvationarmy #tiffanys

Christmas in New York

December 27, 2014December 27, 2014 jinnyhenson

Bell-ringer dance here: Bell ringers rock
Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus. There’s also a sketchy Elmo in Times Square with matted neon red fur who wants to be your next Instagram post for 5 bucks. Such were the lessons learned this December.

For my 45th birthday we went to the most magical city at the most magical season, New York at Christmas.
We arrived at JFK, collected luggage and John consulted his NYC-map Moleskin journal. He mapped out the subway route from airport to hotel which would save us around $250 bucks while I crammed my suit case breech birth through the jaws of life turn style.

It helped that exits are additionally entrances. That coupled with my heightened awareness of stranger’s disdain made the sweat run down my awkward back.

Ten stops West of Jamaica Station we emerge from the subway to freezing rain and wander toward the assumed direction of our hotel. After keeping my molten lava of travel frustration below sea level for a good eight hours, I finally cracked.

“I’m getting a cab. I am freezing. We cannot find our hotel. This is it.”

Ten minutes later a cab splashed over, asked our hotel name and told me to take a left. Interestingly enough, we were less than a block away.

Safely checked in, river of shame replacing that of frustration, I was suddenly in a better mood. We took our Big Apple bite: Rockefeller Center Tree, Macy’s windows, Santa Land, Elf escalator reenactment, Empire State Building and dinner.

New York at Christmas feels the exact way it looks in movies from 32nd street to Home Alone. Pure Magic. Whether standing in front of a Van Gogh at the Museum of Modern Art or glancing at the golden keepers of the Rockefeller rink, it is all amazingly surreal.

Broadway’s Wicked was an especially magical moment. This year the cast and crew of Wicked, led by wizard Tom McGowan, actually honored our daughter with a Maggie Lee for Good Project. We were floored Tuesday Night to meet Tom and receive a backstage tour.

We saw behind the magic curtain and even the huge flying house which lands on the witch. I ecstatically thrust my phone into Johns hand, laid down next to house with legs akimbo and said “take my picture!”

Tom, veteran of stage and screen said,”Wow. Never seen that before.”

Something I had never seen before: Al Roker the next day asking for security as I squeezed him in a flush of post-selfie adrenaline. He seemed to be totally joking.

Matt Lauer came by next, let me grab a pic and then motioned to Al. In my mind his gesture meant “The camera is rolling, be sure Al gets you and your fabulous sign in there! He’ll want to feature you for sure!”
In reality, Matt was trying to convey without shushing me that Al was attempting to do the weather.

John and I ate brunch at Norma’s caught the gingerbread house display then ventured to Central Park. The Plaza Hotel called to us through the guest only entrance to take a photo in front of her majestic tree.

We rounded the corner and caught sight of the iconic blue awnings. The one and only: Tiffany’s. As we approached the Christmas music became louder and I noticed bell ringers more joyful than any I had ever seen before. Their faces were radiant and their dancing so happy that there was only one appropriate response: to join in.

After the super-fun holiday donation gyration John and I toured the many levels of Tiffany’s. It was interesting to see the pages of the Christmas catalog come to life in the form of a full-length cab with trunk overflowing with little blue boxes.

More frivolity remained: securing doggie T-shirts, fabulous food and Les Miserables. One of Maggie Lee’s friends, Kristen, saw that we were at Les Miz and asked if Ramen Karimloo was performing that night which he was. This led me to a tragic mistake.

The epic show closed to a standing ovation and doorkeepers beckoned us exit through the side doors of the 1920’s theater. From there we journeyed down the stairs to a front exit. As we were leaving, I noticed a stage door opening and fans crowding around. I thought I would be a shero and get the actor’s autograph for Kristen.

The actor seemed as though he could have been Valjean. Boy wasn’t that ironic? I waited as John readied the phone and provided a pen for my Playbill. The actor acknowledged me and I gushed, “You were absolutely amazing! What a performance. I’d love your autograph!” I noticed him glancing at my Playbill as he listened.

“Now, did you see Les Miz? I’m actually in Pippen.” John unable to hear kept snapping pictures.

“Oh, yes. Yes! Pippen. Tried to get tickets tonight. Can’t believe we got to see you. Thanks so much!”

He graciously took another pic my face is in flames and I bolted to tell John what happened as we made our escape toward Times Square.

I learned this Christmas: even when you don’t get all of the details right if you have an open heart and an adventurous spirit, Christmas in New York can be magical. Yes, Virginia, it is.

Uncategorized

Why Me?

December 20, 2014 jinnyhenson

This time of year I am dogged by this question which refuses to go away. Perhaps you are plagued by similar feelings as you glance at the lives others are living this season.

The holidays lead us to inevitably compare our lot against that of others. Comparison leads me to look to Heaven with those profound two emotion-charged words. The sentiment birthing them: “so what did I do to deserve this?”

I am certain that I did precious little to warrant this life I lead. I had virtually no hand in determining who my parents would be. That they would unconditionally loved each other and me was an unwarranted gift.

My Father was sweet, kind and hilarious. My Mom was and is honest, loving and affirming. Neither one of them descended from such functional homes. The odds were stacked against me growing up with invincible optimism, confidence and joy.

Despite my gender, I was not abandoned. I was not tasked with fetching water which would preclude my receiving an education. I was not married off or sold into slavery at 13 as is the horrific reality of others.

I graduated from High School and thankfully was accepted to a university for which my parents shouldered the total expense. My parents persevered through my academic mediocrity, held their breath and prayed me through to graduation. Then instead of admonishing me to quit while I was ahead, they even encouraged me to attend seminary.

I married a good person, something you cannot truly know until months or years after the cake is cut. He is my polar opposite as anyone who is even a passing acquaintance of ours will recognize. I was engaged to someone else as was he and we both called things off two years before dating in seminary.

We had no trouble conceiving unlike so many thousands of couples do. Our daughter was born with no defects.
Nearly two years later our son was born in perfect health. Although the missionary salary John received would have qualified us for government cheese, we eventually paid off the medical bills for both of our children.

I have been blessed with the rarest of friends and family, those whom I always hunched would go to the mat for me. I hate that I know how unshakable God’s love through them is.

Unlike so many I have met whose support system evaporated in the darkness, mine pressed in closer to remind me of the light inside when I felt it was forever extinguished. Whispering gently and patiently that I was beloved of God even if my life was indeed upended.

I am still a wife and a mother, two of my most favorite roles. I sit here this Saturday listening to Jack play some crazy video game and my John work the New York Times Crossword Puzzle. I am not cold, hungry, penniless, thirsty or desperate for peace. And I am lead to ask, “Why me?”

Charity, Christian Faith, kids making a difference, Maggie Lee for Good, Uncategorized

Who Cares?

November 17, 2014November 24, 2014 jinnyhenson

Each Maggie Lee for Good Day has a rhythm all its own: a cast of colorful characters from various countries, races, religions and ideologies dancing out a good deed in their unique way. The timbre they hear and follow differs but from our perspective they are a beautiful flash-mob of random kindness unleashed on October 29th.

Some reach out just to let me in on their secret, “Hey, don’t post my name anywhere but we’re paying a month of bills for a single mom we know. We had her sister sneak into her house and find out to the penny what her bills for November will be. We’re giving her a wad of cash! Maggie Lee for Good!”

Others like my friends Gina and Colleen sent out fliers for their well-orchestrated events. One lady in Flower Mound, TX who was moved by the MLFG story sent Maggie Lee’s Closet a check for $750.00 and simply told Colleen, “I understand how they feel.” Another friend, Jeff, listed his custom duck call along with the reason why he was selling it on a message board and it brought $450.00. The craftsman who made it was so moved that he is replacing it fee of charge.

Impoverished kids in Tipton, GA, brought cans of food to share with their food bank as well as Caddo Middle Magnet School kids-to the tune of thousands of pounds of cans. Oh, and every single CMM student received a post-it note of encouragement on their locker.

The FBCS student body which had raised over $400.00 already through candy sales came through with generous donations for each of the charities highlighted at the celebration.

Andy donated dog food to a shelter while his wife answered my 911 call for a huge replacement 4 balloon for the donation celebration here. Rodan+Fields rep Elizabeth brought Halloween costumes to MLC and made MLFG the charity for October.

In Fayetteville, NC Jessie’s fifth annual costume fun run raised over $1,000.00 for NC Organ Donation Services. On her 18th birthday trip to New York she represented MLFG and hot great pics with the Today Show hosts Al Roker & Savannah Guthrie.

In New York the cast of Broadway’s Wicked collected kids’ clothing to help little people in need. Some like my mom who knew Maggie Lee well and whose random chin hairs remained untweezed now that she is gone breakfast for three different groups in need.

So who cares? You do. Doing your festive little dance in Senegal flinging loaves of bread in Jesus’ name, reaching out to the homeless in New Orleans, baking cookies in Houston and collecting donations for doggies in Shreveport.

The whimsy of God, the winsome ways of his partners, the wondrous unfolding of the Maggie Lee For Good story. How woven together we truly are.

Changed for good, maggieleeforgood

MLFG Year Six

October 23, 2014October 23, 2014 jinnyhenson

Six years of Maggie Lee for Good. And you people are still out there being fabulous on her birthday? What gives?

John and I scratch our heads when asked, “How does one start a movement in a child’s name?” Since Maggie Lee for Good was not even our idea we truly cannot answer that very well. I have learned that most parents prove excellent stewards of their loss. Countless projects, scholarships and foundations exist because people funnel their dire devastation into positive action. And usually friends and family gladly lend support.

What support we have felt. When Maggie Lee died her Caring Bridge Site had over 250,000 visits. All of that interest and good will really had no where to go when we lost her. People just truly wanted a happier ending for Maggie Lee. There is something beautiful in the human spirit that rallies to bring good out of bad and so many of you have. It’s phenomenal.

As most of you know the song, “For Good,” from Broadway’s Wicked was sung at Maggie Lee’s Celebration Service. She and John had seen Wicked the Fall before on her school’s New York trip. This year, the Wizard from Wicked (actor Tom McGowan) is actually on board with MLFG and I cried when I learned that their 11th anniversary of being on Broadway was none other that October 29th. Like so many others he has given generously of his support for the cause.

Another wonderful aspect of this year’s MLFG day next Wednesday is the MLFG Donation Celebration. Since local school and church groups commonly ask for ideas for Maggie Lee for Good Day, we finally just created some. Four local charities will be highlighted along with Maggie Lee’s Closet. The party will be on October 29th from four to six p.m. Groups will bring in their precious donations to thankful agencies and we’ll all celebrate. Wouldn’t Maggie Lee love other people get great presents on her birthday?

Wicked's Wizard Tom McGowan — Wicked’s Wizard Tom McGowan

boys

The Glory of a Boy: Homecoming Prep Edition

October 10, 2014October 10, 2014 jinnyhenson

I knew I had it easy last July when the girls working in Maggie Lee’s Closet talked about ordering homecoming dresses. Several dresses. Since I am way out of the girl loop this was news to me. As one known for changing clothes and hairstyles five times before heading out the door, I get it. But, with me, its more about camouflaging the pear shape and parting my bangs strategically to cover the forehead acne I’m getting 30 years later.

So even before the last trip to Rosemary Beach, homecoming dance preparation for some girls had begun. When most high school guys were in baseball tournaments, mowing grass, or fishing, girls were finding the perfect dress for the October night. No wonder guys have had to get more creative in the way they ask a date to this dance. Girls are invested. The least a guy can do is spell out homecoming? with cupcakes, a pizza or in Jack’s case, in the fresh mud on his truck.

With plans–picture pre-party, dinner, dance and post-party breakfast–coordinated, the day arrived. What I had not planned on was the opening of squirrel season Homecoming Dance Saturday. While girl moms posted manicure, hair, and makeup preparations on Facebook, the scene over here with Davy Crockett was a little different. I could have chronologged Jack’s various stages of homecoming dance preparation: donning the camo, prepping the pellet gun, and peeling out in high gear on his John Deere.

Since the picture session with his closest 30 friends and their dates was at 5:30 and we had to gather his date and be back across town, I asked him if he could shower by four o’clock. I was running errands so I called a little after four just to make sure he was in forward hygienic motion.

“Hey Jack. Have you showered?”

“Uh. (pause) Almost” he answered.

“Almost?” I asked in a puzzled tone.

“Yea. I’m skinning a squirrel. I’m almost done.”

SKINNING A SQUIRREL AN HOUR BEFORE HOMECOMING PICTURES?

So I race home. Thankfully he is running water as I pray he uses the nail brush. He jumps in the suit and I drive us to his Bailey’s house where I am again struck by what the sportsman’s paradise our state is. Bailey’s Dad answered the door and welcomed us inside. Down from the stairs comes beautiful Bailey, a vision in royal blue. I joked around about a picture I had seen of a Dad and brothers with shotguns and the caption “Ready to meet the girl’s date” Bailey nonchalantly mentioned, “Oh, I have a .22 under my bed.”

My face had a confused look of, “Wait. What?” While the squirrel hunter’s countenance exclaimed, “That’s hot.” Dad shot up the stairs, got the firearm and we grabbed a photo. My absolute favorite of the night. To no one’s surprise these high school girls looked utterly amazing. And the boys, well, after you rinse off the varmints, dress them in a suit and pin a flower on, they clean up pretty well, too.

Hope, Survival

Always Room for Hope

September 30, 2014September 30, 2014 jinnyhenson

Monty Python's Holy Grail — Monty Python’s Holy Grail

You remember the feeling. Whether from a cheap shot on the football field, a sweaty-handed monkey bar slip or an unfortunate double dog dare involving a roof and flying, most know the sensation of getting the wind knocked out of us. A forceful blow to the solar plexus brings the dome-shaped diaphragm muscle to a halt while simultaneously emptying our lungs of air. We cannot breathe and that is terrifying.

It has been a season of sucker-punches for those I call friends. A freak jet ski accident claimed the life of my friend, Lynne’s son-in-law. Another friend, Kevin, lost a custody battle which leaves his youngest in a neglectful situation and him in tremendous debt. Even more grave is the report from a McAfee classmate of John’s, Jessy, in Liberia where the Ebola virus is rampant. He writes, “People are dying day by day. Please pray for the people of Liberia.”

Because of instances like these and hundreds more, hope seems in short supply. Who can begin to forge an answer for the unexplainable tragedy, life-loss and just plain struggle to survive so many face? Not me. In fact, anyone who claims to have life completely and confidently figured out scares the fool out of me. While I cannot claim to begin to have the answers,what I do know is that Christ is my best example of how to do life, my survival of any trial is a gift meant to be given to other people and there is always room for hope.

1. Guess what? Jesus was o.k. with not knowing everything so I should be, too

In Mark 13:32 with the cross not far in the distance, Jesus admonishes his disciples to be alert for his return and claims that no one but the Father knows the day or hour that will be, not angels in heaven, nor even the son. Did you catch that? Jesus, who is headed to lay down his life out of obedience to his father in utter selflessness acknowledges that even he does not need to know when his return is scheduled. You may think he’d be curious about such things, right? This boldly exemplifies Jesus’ trust in God. If Jesus did not demand answers before he obeyed perhaps we can learn something here.

2. We are not responsible for what befalls us but we are responsible for what we make of it

Dallas Cowboy’s Jason Witten, who has been selected to the Pro Bowl eight times, grew up with an abusive father. At 11, his mom and brothers fled and moved in with his Grandfather. The Boys and Girls Clubs in Elizabethtown, Tenn., helped him, “It was a challenging childhood for me and that was a place where it seemed like you go in those doors and there were people who truly cared about me.”

In turn, Jason has taken his experience and reached out to encourage others. The polar opposite of some NFL players, he created a mentoring program for the children of women in domestic abuse shelters called The SCORE Foundation. Jason Witten is inspiring because instead of hiding the abusive past he survived, he seeks to give a hand up to those in the midst of their pain.

Whatever you have survived, there is someone in your life who needs to know that they can make it, too.

3. There is always, always, always room for hope

In the Summer of 2009, we had the wind knocked out of us. An accident left Maggie Lee in the Pediatric ICU. Sweet Dr. Travis Stork (Host of The Doctors,) sent a simple phrase through a friend of mine: there is always room for hope. Though our hope of her miraculous recovery was not meant to be, God has used that truth in my life to fill the expansive chasm of grief and lift me in a way which only he could.

When tragedy hits hard, dare to hope that despite all appearances your life is not over, your prayers are still heard and that one day you will feel normal again. Even if doing so makes you feel as deluded as The Black Knight in The Holy Grail, dare to hope. There is always room for it.

Changed for good, Christian Faith, Maggie Lee for Good

These Girls Are on FI-YA

September 24, 2014September 24, 2014 jinnyhenson

Meredith, Colleen & Kathleen Doucet, Flower Mound, TX

I asked Colleen Gibbs Doucet to share what her family has done for Maggie Lee for Good Day (10/29) These girls have crazy-fun enthusiasm and I LOVE IT!

Our daughters were so impacted and inspired by Maggie Lee’s life that for the past 5 years we have done a MLFG project. Several years ago we started a Hot Chocolate Drive Through to raise money for Maggie Lee’s Closet ( a free children’s clothes closet in Shreveport serving the community’s most under-resourced). At one point last year we had 18 children helping us.

Each year it has grown and grown and the neighbors and community members come out to support by driving through our Hot Chocolate drive through. The kids plan an execute the entire effort with posters, flyers, plans all their own. The day of the event, the kids are all here dark early to prepare and to pray. They rotate through serving in different areas (promotion on the corner, taking orders, filling cups and the all important marshmallow station). The children are FULLY engaged and have such joy each year as what we have raised has grown.

This year we are looking for companies to match what we raise. We always stop and pray before and after the event that the children and families who ultimately receive clothing or school uniforms through Maggie Lee’s closet will be blessed. Maggie Lee inspired all of us and our daughters and their young friends are reminded that regardless of their age, they can impact the world through doing good. The Hot Chocolate Stand we do each year IS doing good …. and not just for Maggie Lee’s Closet. It brings neighbors, strangers and families together while helping a charity that is near and dear to us too and we are humbled and honored to be a part of carrying on Maggie Lee’s legacy!