by Sandra Jones 

This path I’ve chosen
Or was it chosen for me
All I know is it seems
As if it was meant to be.

Never in a million years
Would I have said in my youth
This is my dream
This is my truth.

|And yet here I am
Always justifying the joy
Of raising a spunky girl
And a very intense boy

I stay grounded in knowing
This is where I’m supposed to be
It’s a lie that all can be had
Well, at least it is for me.

No one told me it ended at kindergarten
Or maybe I didn’t hear
And did I plug my ears when they entered middle school, junior high….high school?
Or was the message just unclear?

Am I absolutely crazy?
Is there something wrong with me
To invest in something so intangible
In things I can’t possibly see?

What is the gain
From this sacrifice?
Will I see a reward
For paying this price?

Maybe a badge of martyrdom
Or perhaps bragging rights?
A trophy a medal
My name up in lights?

No, I don’t need a badge
I don’t need to boast
Deep inside
What I need the most

Is to know that I accepted
This gift, this treasure
This responsibility of a life
The rewards I cannot measure

And as they have grown
I know this labor of love
Is blessed and anointed
From the Power Above.

by Renee Burchfield

This year for vacation my hubby and I decided that we would drive from Central Arkansas to Orlando, Florida, that is a 15-hour drive. On the way there we would be driving through the night so that we would get there with plenty of time to enjoy a full day in Orlando.  I tend to fall asleep after an hour in the car anyway so I decided to find some things that would keep our minds busy so we would be able to stay awake. 

Road Trip Games

• 20 questions – One of us thought of something then the other asked questions until they could guess it. We actually played this the most and had a lot of fun with it. I was surprisingly good and able to pick some tricky things for him to guess. 
• The Alphabet Game – Our rules were that the letter had to be the first letter of a word on a sign or on a big truck. We played this a few times each way. It was a lot of fun to see who could find the letters first. Q, X, and Z are by far the hardest letters to get.
• The license plate game – Not sure if this counts as a game but we kept a look out for different plates, and recorded each state we saw. This trip surprisingly did not have as many as a shorter drive to Atlanta a few months back did. 
• Spouse Questions – We did not get to this one, but I think it would be great. The questions dig a little deeper into each other. Here is the list of questions I had found.  I just printed them out and would have asked him and then gave my answers. 

To help keep us from stopping all the time for food, because I get hungry very often, I packed us some yummy travel snacks. My first thought was to get something that would keep us full and give us some energy, so I went for my favorite chewy protein bars. Then our favorite candies, Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, mini Oreos, and some Lays Stax chips. They made the drive a little more fun and tasty.

Listening to a variety of music and comedy tracks was another great way to keep our minds off of the amount of time that we had been in the car, and how much longer we had left. We listened to quite a bit of Blue Collar Tour and it kept us pretty entertained.

We did survive though both ways and had a blast in between that it almost made us forget about the drive.  Hanging out in a car with my Husband for 30ish hours was pretty fun and seemed to go by pretty quick. 

What is the longest distance you’ve driven or rode before? What were your favorite games or things to do to keep your mind off the drive? 

Renee shares her favorite things in life at Married and Hungry. Hoping that her newlywed situations and thoughts will help another new wife out there, and to let them know they are not alone. Being a self-proclaimed food nerd, with a degree in Food and Culinary Science, she shares her recipes and experiments. Her and her husband call Central Arkansas home for now. You can find her at home making the kitchen a mess, trying to cross stitch, or playing with their dog. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
 

By Brenda McClain

Saturday a new friend called and wanted to drop by — usually I am dressed by 11AM — but this Saturday was the exception. Still in my robe, no makeup, hair not combed, I said sure. Was thrilled she called; met her at the door as I was. Authentic. We had a really good visit, and makeup would have done nothing to make it better.

My journey to live authentically includes several years as publicist for Entertainer Mark Lowry. There is nothing more authentic than working with and for an entertainer. Mark Lowry was no exception. I learned more about myself in those times than working with any other artist I’ve represented.

There are very few entertainers as authentic as Mark Alan Lowry. If you see him on stage, you know what he’s about. Allow for a little history of Mark Lowry’s journey as Singer, Comic, Songwriter, and Story Teller. Keep in mind, it’s Mark Lowry who wrote the lyrics to “Mary, Did You Know.”

It was Beverly Lowry (1934-2013) who encouraged Mark to sing in church. He was four years old. Then, as most mothers, his Momma signed him up for PeeWee ball. “I was not athletic and I had ADHD. It was a disaster waiting to happen.” Mark said. “I was given the job of water boy, and my jersey had the numbers 00 on the back. No, it was not fun at all.”

It was then his Momma discovered Houston’s Musical Theatre. “She made an appointment for me to audition for then-Musical Director, Tommy Tune.” Beverly told Mark before his audition to “Sing like you do for the old people at Church.”

He did, and Tune cast Mark in the role of Winthrop in Music Man. “Winthrop was to sing and dance with the cast, but Mother would not allow me to dance. I was a Baptist, you know.” Mark recalled that Tune kept Mark in the role. “I stood still, singing while the cast danced around me.”

“Tommy told Momma if she would allow me to dance, he would take me to New York for the play, Oliver. “Momma went home and started praying. She prayed and she prayed. A short time later the theatre went bankrupt.”

No more musical theatre in sight, Mark continued to sing at Church and music festivals. It was at the National Quartet Convention he was offered a recording contract. “That contract lasted until my voice changed!”

“So, I returned to school,” Mark continued, “I was so happy to be back with kids my own age I made straight A’s. My comedy was an accident.”

Mark continued singing through college, but his funny stories were saved for his socializing. The stories got such a good reaction from friends, he tried them on the road during his concerts. “Great, funny stories were great fillers when the sound man was changing the tapes!” 

“It’s like putting whipped cream on cornbread.” Mark Lowry, upon being inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame for the second time.

No one on my own journey has made me laugh, think, and create more than Mark Lowry. Mark eventually made it to Broadway, the Beacon Theatre, for his concert “Mark Lowry on Broadway.”

The Beacon and his show at “The Mother Church of Country Music”, the Ryman, are where Mark made the biggest impact on my Authentic Grace. It was at the Ryman from my vantage point that I could see the entire audience. One audience member laughed, and while laughing through the entire show, he would stand up, hit the pew in front of him over and over at every hilarious story Mark told. This fan was enjoying the show, and felt free to be who he was.

Have you ever felt that free? It is a terrific feeling, and with few exceptions I’ve found it thanks to work and friendship with Mark Lowry and a few others.

I wish this for you. Authenticity on your journey. Nothing can take the place of being who you really are, who you and I were meant to be. It is the best thing we can do for ourselves. And if you are inclined, Mark’s newest music is just out. “How We Love” is a don’t miss! Watch and listen to his body of work, because Mark clearly knows how to love in spades.

Brenda McClain is a media consultant and has produced shows with Animal Expert Jack Hanna, created a skincare line with Jennifer O’Neill and developed the PBS series The History of Southern Gospel Music. Recruited by David Foster & Linda Thompson, Brenda produced Randy Travis, Garth Brooks and Kathy Mattea for Desert Storm’s Voices That Care, introduced Gaither Music to National media; She has worked in television, film and publishing, as Special Projects Director for Hoffman Media including Cooking with Paula Deen and Cottage Journal. Today Brenda spends her time with visual artists, as Gallery Director for Art on the Green, a top-drawer Art Gallery in Littleton Park, Conway, Arkansas. Visit Art on the Green and visit Brenda’s Entertainment and Lifestyle blog.

by Connie Ash

Kelly McGillis said “Life is a journey and it’s about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are.”  

The last 20 years of my journey have been about growing and changing and coming to terms with who and what I am and loving who and what I have become, while realizing that life is like a wheelbarrow – if you overload a wheelbarrow it becomes off balanced,  it falls over and things fall out, get run-over, or broken.   

Most of us have career plans, financial plans, family plans – the points we want to reach on our journey.  For me my career goals began when I became a registered nurse.  I immediately realized that education opens doors. So I set my career plans – a Bachelor’s Degree before 35 and my Master’s Degree before 40.  I hit every mark – my journey wasn’t all smooth but I made it to each point on time.

Feeling like I needed to keep moving I started a doctorate, wrote three chapters of my dissertation. Then my journey stepped off in a different direction – I enrolled in a family nurse practitioner program.   This is where I realized I was trying to fit 20 plus hours of activity in each day.  I had a fulltime job as the director of clinical support for a local hospital system, I was managing a free health clinic, taking care of my family and 14 rescue dogs, and volunteering with the local humane society, Red Cross, my church and a political organization.  In my spare time (I know some of you are saying –what spare time) I was trying to keep active by running.

Finding balance is not easy when life pulls us to be everything to everyone.  When we see Facebook post, blogs, and Instagram phots of women doing it all, work, family, crafts, working out, and volunteer activities, we want to be that person. We are taught at a young age we can have it all.  Yes, we can have it all, but have you ever tried to push a basket or a wheelbarrow over flowing with stuff – it is hard to push and sometimes it falls over, because it is out of balance. 

To find a balance in the journey of life you must first – stop, unload some of what you are carrying or trying to fit into your life, balance the wheelbarrow.

What are the correct items to put in the wheelbarrow?  I try to keep things simple – so my balanced wheelbarrow includes only four things:

• Spirituality – Develop a spiritual life is important.  I take time to strengthen my spirituality by going to church and reading devotional books.  I set aside time each day to talk with God and not just to him. Just as academic knowledge can have power and open doors, so can spirituality. 

• Family – Relationships are important.  I am spending time developing a strong bond with my family, I strive to give as much attention to my family as I do my career.  In the blink of an eye your family can be gone, tell them you love, listen to them with intention, and most importantly make lasting memories.  I do not want my family to remember me in constant motion – but rather to remember the time we spent together cherishing each moment we have together.

• Health – are bodies are made for motion and for rest.  There is no need for heavy workouts, a thirty-minute walk or jog daily or even dancing inside the house, is all you need.   I have come to realize that rest can be quite time, a nap, or a minimum six full hours of sleep.

• Work – you will never have a balanced life if you are unhappy with your career. It is vital that you have a job that you love or can learn to love, otherwise you will always be complaining and dreading the hours of work. I love being a nurse practitioner I can’t imagine doing anything else.

Is my life always in balance? No – but I know now, when I am out of balance – I know when my wheelbarrow is starting tip over.  
Do you know when your wheelbarrow is starting to tip over?  How do you find balance? 

~ Connie ~

Connie Ash is a  50-something wife, mother, Nana, doggie mom, vegetarian, living in the small community of Blytheville, AR. located in the far Northeast corner of the State. She shares a home with my husband aka The Big Man, our 14 rescue dogs and six chickens. Collectively they have five adult near-perfect children and five perfect grandboys and 2 awesome granddogs.  Currently, she is a family nurse practitioner in a small family practice,  manages a free health clinic (Great River Charitable Clinic), and is the proud owner of Bed and Biscuit Boarding. Her hobbies include scrapbooking, trout fishing, volunteering with the local humane society and running. 

by Deana Wood

Every family embarks on a journey.  Many times the journey includes job changes, moving, and raising children.  But recently, our family began the journey to adoption.  I say recently….but that’s not exactly accurate.  

Actually, my husband, Tim, and I began our journey about 14 years ago, before we were even married.  While we were in college at Arkansas Tech University, we both volunteered for an at-risk children’s ministry where we were mentors for elementary-aged children.  We loved those children so much, that the little boy that Tim mentored became our ring bearer at our wedding.  However, every day we would drop “our kids” off, look at each other, and say, “Can’t we just take them home with us?”  

A few years passed, we married, graduated college with degrees in Early Childhood Education, and we both began teaching elementary school.  Each year, we would have one or two students who just broke our hearts, and again, we would find ourselves asking each other, “Can’t we just take them home with us?”

A few years later, we actually began having our own biological children to take home.  Three of them, to be exact, and they were (and still are!) absolutely beautiful. In 2008, my husband was deployed to Iraq with the National Guard, which left a four-year gap in age between our oldest and middle children.  When my oldest child, Isaac, was in the first grade, we made the decision to home school, and it was a great decision.  We spent large portions of our days reading great literature.  It was through the biographies of the great missionaries, George Muller and Gladys Aylward, that the desire to adopt stopped being a dream just for my husband and I and began being a dream for our family.  I vividly remember the day my 7-year-old son and I were discussing George Muller.  I was commenting about how amazing it was that he was able to make such a difference among the orphans in Bristol, and I asked, “Do you think we could ever adopt a child?”  And he replied with a chuckle, “No way, Mom, that’s just for people like George Muller!”  To which I replied, “Well, why can’t we be like George Muller?”   I could see the beginning of the wheels turning in his mind.  Over the next year, our three kids were just as excited about adopting as we were.  But still, we weren’t sure it was time.  It just wasn’t right yet.  

As the weeks wore on, I began to feel more and more uneasy.  When I counted my kids as they boarded the van (yes, I count them!), I began counting four instead of three.  I constantly felt like I was missing someone.  Our six-person dinner table seemed unnatural with the one empty seat.  The four year gap between my oldest and middle child seemed to expand to ten years.  Then, although I never miss sleep if I can help it, I would lie awake at night and think about the child that was out there who needed me to be their mother. Once, we visited Tim’s cousin, also an adoptive mother, for her perspective on adoption and when she knew it was time to move forward.  She said it was when she couldn’t sleep because she felt she was missing a child.  As we sat on her couch and spilled out our heart to her, the tears began to flow from my eyes, and I was powerless to stop them.  I began to realize that it was either time to move forward or I was losing my mind!   

Then, one Sunday morning, and my husband and I were sitting in church behind a family who had recently adopted a precious little baby.  I had stared at that baby the whole service.  At the very end of the service, my pastor said, “I don’t know why I’m saying this, but if you’ve ever thought about adoption, keep that alive in your heart.  Don’t let it go.”  That was all we needed.  When we got in the car after church that morning, I looked over, and said, “Tim, I think it’s time,” and he said, “Oh yeah, I know it is.”  

Within a couple of weeks we went to our first adoption meeting with The CALL.  Now, you’ve heard the horror stories about paperwork and adoption…well, it’s all true!  The paperwork is endless and frustrating at times, but I quickly realized that the paperwork of an adoption is much like the pregnancy leading up to birth.  You anticipate, you are emotional about everything, you begin hoarding items that you think your new child might just need, you clean, you begin to imagine how this child will rock your world, you eat too much.  Wait, what?  

It took almost a year from that point to get all the paperwork done, all the visits completed, and all the training finished.  We thought it would never happen.  But just a few weeks after we got all our paperwork in, we got a call.  We had been matched.  Then the whirlwind began.  Within a few days, I had a little 7 year old boy in my home calling me Mom.  Those first few weeks were hard, and when I say hard, I mean they were brutal.  Our family went through two rounds of the stomach bug in that first month and I spent the month sick with a sinus infection that would not heal.  Within a couple of weeks, I felt depressed.  My expectations for being his perfect family went down the drain with the first round of sickness.  It was a long four weeks of depression like I’ve never felt before.  It took a while for me to realize that my dreams of being his perfect family were totally unrealistic, and it wasn’t until I decided to let go and trust God that I began to see daylight and experience joy again.  At that point, I was able to begin bonding with my new son, and what a gift that has been!

There have been hard times of walking through hurt with our little guy, but then, there have been some amazing times of victory that we have shared.  We have taken this journey together, all six of us.  I know how cliché this sounds, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.  I would take this journey again and again and again because everything that our family was missing…we have found in this little boy.  He has brought this life and energy into our family that we desperately needed.   

Adoption is a journey unlike any other that you will ever do in your life.  It is a journey that you cannot prepare enough for, you can’t perfectly plan it all out, and it will stretch you to every emotional extreme that you can experience.  So why do I encourage you to takethis journey?  Because although there will never be a perfect time for you to adopt, there also is never a perfect time for a child to lose their home.  They did not ask to be a ward of the state with no one calling them family, and I promise, they didn’t deserve it.  

A child doesn’t need someone who is perfect.  He needs someone who is willing.  Someone willing to hang in there for as long as it takes for him to realize that he’s worth loving.  He needs someone who is willing to grieve with him for what he’s lost.  He needs someone who will be totally honest with him so that he will learn to trust again.  He needs someone willing to see that they needed him too, someone to take the journey with him.

Right now in Arkansas, hundreds of children are waiting for a forever family.  They are waiting for the chance to “come home” for good.  So, what I will leave you with are the words that my pastor spoke that Sunday that changed our life.  If you’ve ever thought about adoption, keep that thought alive.  Keep it in your heart.  Don’t let it go.   And when the time is right for your family, take the journey.  

To find out more about adoption in Arkansas, visit The CALL and The Arkansas Heart Gallery

Deana is a homeschooling mom of four.  She loves reading, bird watching, porch-sitting, and writing.  Her blog is Redeeming the Days where she writes about adoption, homeschooling, children’s ministry, and her faith.