Double Portion Inspiration

My boys just had their six month visit to the dentist. The news after their examination wasn't fun.  Both boys had cavities.  I took them back to get their cavities filled.  Thankfully, it was easy and painless for them. Numbing medication is a life saver. We had to wait about 10 minutes for my son's mouth to become numb. During that period, he had to have a cotton roll inserted into the side of his mouth. I asked the doctor, "What is that for?" The dentist told me, while his mouth is going numb, kids have the tendency to bite their lip or cheek. It feels weird to them so they start nipping at it. Because there isn't any pain, they can literally chew through their lip. He told me a story about how it has happened in the past. Sure enough I saw my own son start to bite on his lip. It was at that moment it became clear, pain has purpose . Pain allows us to have a present awareness of danger that is around us . It alerts us to an impending injury. If we couldn...

Last Sunday started different than most.  My morning began at 3:30 am in preparation for my 2nd half marathon.  An early start was necessary so that I could meet a few ladies from my BGR  group.  By the time most were waking up out of their warm beds, I was well into my frosty 13.1 mile run.  When I agreed to run the race, just the week before , I would have never imagined the Florida race would commence in nearly freezing temperatures.  This race would be different for a number of reasons. My twin sister wasn't there That was a huge difference for me. We've shared everything from a womb, dorm room, and even our first half marathon finish .  She was my encouragement every step of the way, despite difficulties she faced along the race course.  I depended on her to encourage me and keep me motivated in the times when the journey became difficult.  Although she couldn't physically be at the race, her phone calls at m...

I hate Valentine's Day.  I know these are strong words coming from someone who is called to be "inspirational" but I must tell the truth.  I think more than the holiday itself, I hate the commercialization of it.  Being in retail, I experience people scrambling (always at the last minute) to buy the perfect and affordable gift that says, I love you. How can you sum up love in just one gift?   How can the actions of your love really be summarized in a last minute stop to the local grocery/drug store to buy flowers and candy?  Most people don't put much thought into one of the greatest words we should ALWAYS hear-LOVE!  The love and care felt that day is (in most cases) contained only to February 14th. Now for my positive side:   God is the greatest example of love .  The only reason we are capable of love is because He first loved us (I John 4:19).  His love was sent to us through His son Jesus.  I don't think this is what most pe...

We love you Whitney! 1963-2012 There has not been anything else, this weekend, that has affected us as much as learning about the sudden death of Whitney Houston .  Renee and I grew up listening to and loving her music.  She was the ultimate musical inspiration for us.  She was someone who relied solely on her gift of singing to catapult her into stardom and success. I remember attending a concert of Whitney at a jazz festival and I was spell bound by her voice and beauty.  She was our black American princess who has now been taken from this earth way to soon. Our hearts and prayers are with her daughter (Bobbie) and her mother (Cissy).  I, like most people, am glued to the tv/radio watching her videos and listening to her songs.   No matter the cause of her death, we choose to remember her gift and talent. The Greatest Love All I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows If I fail, if I succeed At least I live as I believe No matter what...

Have you ever wanted to blog ?  Most of you know we celebrated one year as bloggers on Wednesday!  Some of the highlight's from our first year were shared in last week's post .  We are often asked how to get started and what are some secrets of the blogging world.  When we started we didn't even know what it meant to be a blogger.  You may feel the same way so let's start with a quick definition of blogging .  Plain and simple, it's sharing your ideas with the reader.  In more formal terms, Wikipedia defines it as a personal journal published on the World Wide Web.  Bloggers use their blogs to share their thoughts, opinions, and life lessons through journal entries called "posts". Roslyn and I have learned so much over the past year.  We thought it would be cool to share our top 5 blogging lessons. You Can Do It If we can do it, YOU can do it.  If you've been intimidated by blogging in the past, take comfort...

It's our BIG day!  Double Portion Inspiration  is a year old and we are ecstatic.  We wanted to say thanks for your love and support.  We are amazed at all God has done through us.  No matter where we go, we are encouraged by our faithful readers stories of inspiration and joy.  We are honored that you take time to read the blog at work, home, in the airport or on the baseball field. What began as a simple way to share our writing style with potential editors and publishing companies, grew into an opportunity for us to share our triumphs, trials, and lessons from our journey through life.  At the beginning, we weren't even sure what it meant to be a blogger, but with a surrendered heart, we followed God and He activated our greatness! Here are just a few of our accomplishments this year: Renee, Dr. Cindy Trimm, Roslyn (L-R)  Florida Christian Writer's Conference  Attended first writer's conference Completed first...

Double Portion Inspiration is celebrating BIG this week.  Any ideas what we're celebrating?  Leave us a comment below with your guess.  Before we can celebrate, it's time for our Monday Morning Inspiration.  Being the mother of a toddler is awesome.  Even though there are times when my three year old can try every fiber of my being, the interaction between toddler and parent is fun!  Toddlers are exciting because they are finally learning to talk in a manner in which you can understand.  For so long they've used their own language and normally parents serve as translators for the grandparents or anyone else that will listen.  As they mature and their vocabulary grows, they can't wait to use every word they've heard you say. Be careful though, toddlers love to repeat what you say .  Not only will they repeat it, they will say it loud and normally at the worst time ever.  Like the other day, Jordan knew he...