Inside Sarah's Kitchen: My Famous Buffalo Chicken Dip

Hey Friends!

Today I am going to show you how I make my famous buffalo chicken dip. This is my 'go to' party pot luck dish. It is super easy to make and I get like ten people a month messaging me asking for my recipe. 

1.  Gather your ingredients. 

I use everything in the photo below:

Buffalo sauce, shredded cheese, cream cheese, salt, pepper, onion powder, minced onion or garlic, chicken breasts or tenderloins, and ranch sauce (I used the bacon ranch this time and it was amazing).

2. Prep the chicken.

Wash your chicken thoroughly and then cut it into chunks. I typical use two chicken breasts.

3. Put your chicken in the crock pot

Pour your chicken chunks into the crock pot and put in the salt, pepper, onion powder, and minced onion or garlic in with it. Mix it together well. Also, I don't measure anything, I've been cooking for a long time so I know how to eye ingredients. 

4. Mix the other ingredients in the Crock Pot

Pour in the bottle of buffalo sauce, one stick of cream cheese, the entire bottle of ranch sauce, and I do about two hand fulls of shredded cheese.

Your dish will look like this starting out. Mix it together as best as you can but do not worry, when the ingredients begin to cook you can mix it better later on. Let it cook for an hour.

5. Continue to mix ingredients

After an hour has passed, comeback and mix your ingredients more. You should start seeing the cream cheese melt more into the dish. You may continue to mix it every 30 minutes.

I usually cook my dip in the crock pot for about 2-3 hours and check on it every 30 minutes to stir.

Two hours later....

  And we are finished!

Enjoy this amazing dip with chips, make a sandwich, and serve it over white rice like we do! 

Let me know if you end up making this recipe and share it to my Facebook blog page!

Celebrating Your Life

My grandfather and I at my college graduation party on May 7, 2016

What a week my family and I have been through...

I was woken by my sister in law early Sunday morning notifying me that my grandfather had a massive stroke around midnight and he was rushed to the emergency room. Due to COVID-19 none of us were allowed to go see him.  He had blood clots and blockages in his heart that went up to his brain.  On Monday morning we had a lot of hope that he could make it through. They said everything was not looking like "the end of life" just yet and there was a chance. Then by Monday afternoon we got told that he was brain dead and there was nothing more we could do to save him. He was moved over to hospice on Tuesday  where they tried to keep him as comfortable as possible. Then this morning at 8:20am, his body finally let go and caught up to his brain and he passed. Hospice said he went very peacefully.

I am so exhausted from bawling. My emotions are on a roller coaster. I am trying to deal with this and grieve as best I can but it is so hard when you are under quarantine and cannot be there with your family. 

I want to dedicate my blog post this week to my grandfather. I want to write a letter to him here that I would possibility read to him at his memorial service - whenever that will be sadly! This may be kind of all over the place but bare with me.

To my 'Ubbie':

I am devastated. I have no words to describe what I am feeling right now besides the fact that I am heartbroken.  

Growing up, you were always my father figure. You lived with us and you took care of me just like I was your own daughter even when you did not have to. I remember when you dropped me off at my first day of preschool, I was bawling because I did not want you to leave me to go to work. The same thing happened with my first day of Kindergarten, I was always crying because I never wanted you to leave me. You took me to every father - daughter dace, my girl scout meetings, you took me to my doctor appointments, you would always bring me home my favorite foods from McDonald's, and I remember us always going to Memaw's  and Papal's and Granny's house every holiday. I remember how you would hand me your credit card to make sure I had new clothes for school every August. 

As I got older, I would spend as much time as I could with you. Until now, I always worked holidays and weekends with the field of work I entered into so I know that it was difficult at times but I always did the best I could,  I remember seeing you starting to get older. Your hair became whiter than usual, and you began to become more forgetful due to the dementia taking over and you also survived several strokes, but you never gave up.  You always fought through and overcame everything your health threw at you because you wanted to be here for us. 

You always told me how proud you were of me for graduating college and having a great job and for supporting myself without anyone's help. I knew how much you loved me... you always showed it. 

I will never forget our memories together. I will never forget all of the lessons you taught me and all of the love you gave to me even when you did not have to,. I am selfish and I wish you were not gone, but I know you are in a way better place than we all are right now and I know that you are not suffering anymore. 

I love you so much. You will always live on in my heart. Please watch over us and guide us to where we need to go.

Happy National Telecommunicator Week!

This week is National Public Safety Telecommunicator Week!

We are celebrating all of our 911 dispatchers. They are been instrumental for years and years being that calm voice in the middle of the darkness. They protect their officers, firefighters, medics, and they are the "first" first responders on scene during your emergency. When you call into dispatch whether if it is an emergency or not an emergency, these are the people that are pickig up the phone and helping you by sending repsonders out to help you. They do more than just take phone calls though, they keep their responders safe by providing them information over radio traffic, they research potential threats in the National Crime Information Center database for traffic stops, they provide navigation to their responders, and so much more!

I am a former 911 dispatcher myself and it is true that dispatch will always be a part of you no matter what. When people find out that you have done this type of job they always ask about the craziest calls we take and things that we have heard,however, I can speak for most that most of the time we really don't want to talk about it and try to lock these traumatic experiences away because we do not want our loved ones to experience what we did. 

I can sit here all day and give you my point of view but  I have decided to reach out to one of my best friends who is still currently a dispatcher so we can visit her experience.

Everyone I would like for you to meet Jensy who has been my best friend for the last 18 years.

Taken back in June 2019.

Jensy was introduced to the dispatching world after I was there for a good solid six months. She started in the Academy and absolutely fell in love with it.

I have asked her a seris of questions so that you may learn about what 911 dispatchers do and the importance of their job roles. 

See her interview below:

Jensy dispatches for Williamson County in Franklin, TN. Williamson County Emergency Communications consists of over 12 different agencies all including Police, Fire, and EMS.

How long have you been dispatching? 

Two years in November. 

What is your favorite discipline to dispatch? What disciplines are you trained on?

My favorite is probably fire, but I really love law too. I am trained to work every radio in the center. 

What is the easiest thing about the job?

Getting along with co-workers, I get to work with some great individuals <3

What is the most difficult thing about the job?

Hearing someone on the other line suffer and knowing I can't physically do anything about it; at times you can feel like you're stuck or your hands are tied. 

How important is building a community with fellow dispatchers?

Very important. No one knows what your go through or how your job really is unless they've sat in that chair and had a headset on. 

What is a piece of advice you would give to someone thinking about  joining dispatch?

Look into it, go do a sit in and see a little of our world. You also have to be okay with no knowing every detail and outcome. It's a demanding job that you get little credit for but at the end of the day its very rewarding. 

Why did you become a dispatcher?

I always wanted to do something with emergency management. I wanted a career that I could make an impact on someone's life. This is a career where people will always need you and you can always help someone whether it's their best or worst day. 

What do you love the most about dispatch besides the regular cliches of helping others?

Felling accomplished, knowing at the end of the day I made a positive impact on someone's life. Knowing my responders depend on me, and the rush of not knowing what the day will bring. That's what keeps me coming back each day. 

What are some important things people need to know about 911/ before they call 911?

911 is for life threatening emergencies only! We do have a non emergency line you can call for any other problems or questions.. Please, if you call 911 and know where you are tell us first thing what your address is or where you are.. remember we can't get you the help you need unless we know where you are!! 

 What are some things you wish your responders knew about dispatch?

That we do more then just sit around and wait for the phone to ring. While they may be on one call we are dealing with every call that agency has at that time. Be patient with us, we're more than likely doing about 10 things at once. :) 

What do you do in order to handle the high stress this job brings?

Go outside breath in some fresh air, clear my mind. Also jamming to music to and from work helps.

How does dispatch affect you:

Mentally? Mentally it's draining at times.. your brain is constantly going during any given shift even when you're not busy.

Emotionally? Some calls are very emotional, but you can't show that emotion on the phone because you have to be the calm voice in the midst of chaos.  

Psychically? Psychically its not so bad.  Sitting in uncomfortable chairs all day can do a number on your back.

Spiritually? It has brought me closer to God, he gives me the strength to get up and put this headset on everyday.

What is your favorite memory in dispatch ?

I have too many memories!! Probably the time  I was training and a guy called me about his dog..  it wasn't breathing well and I was totally blindsided on what to tell this guy. I asked my trainer "How do you give CPR to a dog?" I still laugh about that. Or the time I resuscitated a ground hog- that was pretty cool!

Why do you think there is such a high turnover rate?

This is a hard job! You are either made for it or you're not and unfortunately a lot of people aren't "cut out" for the job. I think a lot of people get into thinking it's going to be like what it is on TV and it's nothing like what you see. 

Why do you think you're made for this job?

I'm a problem solver. I like to fix people's problems. I like the fast paced that this can bring at times. I am very level headed and patient. 

What are some characteristics a great dispatcher should have?

Team player, Patience, level headedness, willingness to learn, and be able to cope with changes all the time.

What characteristics do you look for when finding a mentor in dispatch?

Someone who truly loves their job, someone who is willing to help with anything you may need and not make you feel stupid for asking questions - even though we all ask stupid questions,  Someone who will not give up on you even when you feel like giving up on yourself. 

How has dispatch changed your life?

I've met people that I work for and became great friends with them. It's taught me more patience and not to take life for granted.

What is something you wish the public knew about this job?

That we're here to help. We work extremely hard behind the scenes to get the correct responders to you to help you. Please be kind and know every question were asking you is meaningful. We ask questions to update our responders and it sometimes changes our response plans. Please know from the time we confirm your address we have already sent help to you and that the questions don't slow anything down - I promise! 

What is the most important thing you've taken away from training?

That you can't always be 100% perfect. You will make mistakes, but at the end of the day as long as you got the appropriate help to the person in need of it then you've done your job.

What  makes a great CTO? Supervisor? 

Someone who is willing to teach you everything they know about the job. Someone that is willing help mold you into the dispatcher you are going to be.

What is the most successful tool an agency can give to their dispatchers?

Good training and proper equipment to do their jobs. 

What makes a good dispatcher?

Hard work, dedication, patience, a good sense of humor, and teamwork. 

Thank you so much Jensy for participating in this week's post! I am so happy to have you on to share with the world on how important 911 dispatchers are to our communities!

Guys, please thank your 911 dispatchers and let them know how appreciated they are!

Inside Sarah's Kitchen: Homemade Garlic Bread Recipe

Are you guys ready for these bomb recipes I am about to start dropping??

You know we eat good in our house!

Today I will  show you how we make our homemade garlic bread.

First off, we use Cuban bread because Jonathan is Cuban and everything just tastes better when it's Cuban style. You can find Cuban bread at Publix (for my non Florida readers) or if you're lucky and reading this from Miami you can apparently get them on almost every street corner made fresh!

You literally have like 24 hours to eat Cuban bread before it goes hard... that is how good it is!

You can also use Texas Toast or whatever kind of bread you prefer. 

So slice your bread,  duh right?

Then we made the sauce. It's butter, garlic powder, salt, pepper, little onion powder, and parsley on top. 

Mix the sauce up and paint it onto the bread. Focus on getting it heavy on each slice.  You want the sauce to drip onto the other side.

Throw some cheese on top and put it in the oven at 400 degrees for five minutes to let it toast.

There ya have it!!!

It is so yummy! Let me know what you think if you try it! Also, let me know what other recipes you want to see!

My Experience With Being In A Spiritually Abusive Relationship

Warning: This post is not for the easily offended; if you are one of these I suggest you check out my other posts instead. I am digging deep in a tunnel of pain and hurt that has been bottled up for the last few years so I may finally heal from it. My intentions are not to discriminate anyone regardless of their religious and spiritual beliefs.  This is simply MY experience and MY story. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, however, negativity will NOT be tolerated in a space where someone is trying to heal.

Hey Friends!

So this post is a tough one for me to write about. I am not one to express feelings much anyway, but in order to be authentic with you all on this one I have to bring up a lot of pain and hurt that I was once put through.  This might be a little all over the place so bare with me as I try to break it down as much as I can without writing a novel. 

I was in a religiously/spiritually abusive relationship with my ex boyfriend. I will keep all names private  BUT if you personally know me I am sure you can pinpoint who is who.

A little background story on my religious views:

I would identify myself as Catholic when it came to religion. I was a convert from protestant to Catholicism. I studied LOTS of denominations and other religions before I made this decision and I picked the one that I related to and was the most passionate about. I was very involved with my religion all throughout college. I considered myself actually very religious at that moment in time to a certain point. However, I never shoved my views in other people's faces or condemned them for not believing in the same thing I believed in - that to me is a low ball and I am not about that kind of life. I have always had friends of different backgrounds, religious beliefs, cultures and I loved it because I would l always learn so much from them and it made me a better, more understanding person. So different point of views were always welcomed into my spiritual world and most of the time it made me appreciate mine even more.

Then I met my ex.

He knew nothing of Catholicism and what he heard was all of the untrue rumors that have been surrounding the church for centuries. It provided me an opportunity to dig into my faith even deeper to educate him the true teachings of the church and how unique she was. I  was open to his view points as well. He was VERY religious HOWEVER he had no education of theology nor studied scriptures... he would just go off of what his pastor and what his parents said.

This is so off topic but keep in mind he was ten years older than I was - it will help you connect the dots later.

At the beginning we would go to church every Sunday -  both morning and night services. He always had a goal to attend a different church every week for his own personal reasons. He would always give all his money to each church as well and it was not until later on when I found this being a problem. Trust me, it is coming on why this is an issue.

When I got introduced to the family the first thing that was asked was "Are you Christian? What church do you attend?"

Of course I think nothing of it because the people I am always around are so welcoming and I told them I was Catholic.

The look on their faces was terrible. They looked at me like I was a walking demon.

"Why do you want to be a part of a molesting loving community?"

Once again, I have to defend my faith that I have worked so hard all of my life to become a part of. 

Fast forward a little because I am trying not to make this a book:

Tension rise as I learn more about this man. He was in his thirties and could not make one decision without his parents' permission and if he did not ask them for advice beforehand they made a big deal about it. The more friends that came around the same question was asked "Are you Christian? Oh, you wouldn't say or act like that if you were a real Christian. You don't go to church every Sunday? Oh then you are a terrible person." 

Yes, they were like that. Basically if you did ANYTHING and talked about anyone they would not believe you were good unless you were a Christian. If you were of someone of a different religion or culture they stuck their nose up to you and refused to speak to you. They would claim that living off credit cards, charging everything, going out to eat three meals a day, not talking to people who are the same religious views as them, and attending church every Sunday are the only things that made you holy. 

I tried to convince him not to follow suit with that line of thinking and  encouraged him to learn and pave his own path.

 It worked for a while.

When we lived together the entire apartment felt like a church. It was always full of crosses, bible verses, and Jesus photos EVERYWHERE. I was not allowed to have any of my own decorative tastes out in the public areas that did not agree with 'the rules of Christianity'. I was not allowed to say "I hope for so and so" I was always condemned to "you should always keep everything in prayer, be prayerful when you say these things".

AND OH MY, GOD FORBID that I had a lifelong struggle of depression and anxiety. I got so much 'ish' from ALL of them. I got told "If you were Christian enough you would not have those issues. God is punishing you and I can't blame him since you want to follow those Catholics". 

I was required to host a weekly bible study for all of our friends using these stupid books that he knew nothing about except for it was on sale at Life Way and he got it because he only had to pay $0.50 for it.

I could not have a normal conversation with him without him mentioning God or Jesus. 

Then it got to the point when I was working full time after college and I had to pay ALL of the bills in the house because someone had a vision that God said to give all of his money to church instead of paying for his responsibilities. This is what put me into the credit card debt that I just now finished paying off.

He would never pay rent on time. I would always have to fork it out and I got lucky if he gave me his half to replenish what I took out of my own money. Yup, you read that correctly, this thirty something year old man would not pay his half of the bills at our apartment because he said GOD told him not to.

It gets worse.

It continued to be God this and Jesus that for a very long time. I got so tired of having religion just constantly thrown into my face 24/7. I got to the point where I would leave the house for hours just to get away from it. I remember thinking that this is not the God I know and worship. This is not what true Christianity is. The God I follow is loving and caring and would not want me to feel the way I currently do.

One of his great friends came out of the closet about their sexuality and he went nuts. I remember him yelling at him saying God hates gays and that he was going to burn in hell and blah blah. I imminently ripped the phone out of his hands and laid into him big time - that was a huge fight.

Your friend trusted you with something very sacred  and you just judged them and went off on them . That is wrong. Put your personal beliefs aside and be there for your friend!!!

This really opened my eyes because I am personally a HUGE supporter of the  LBGTQ community.

What he did to his friend just broke my heart and really challenged my views on religion as a whole. This is not loving your neighbor as yourself. If being a Christian means being nasty to others just because they love their partner differently than I love mine then I want NO part of it. The God I know is supposed to love us no matter if we're gay or not.  

When we would go out he would put us in dangerous positions just to give someone a bible pamphlet - with this I mean going into the not so good parts of town,  he would pick up people off the corner of the street and drive them where ever they wanted to go not caring if they had a gun on them possibly ready to shoot him or MYSELF!

He put me in a LOT of dangerous situations and got mad at me for complaining about him wanting to spread God's word. This dude has drunk the kool aid and is too far gone to be saved.

I realized that after he basically told me my safety and well being did not matter that it was time to end things with him. I could not take the abuse anymore. I would get screamed at about how awful of a human I was by not only him but his family. They would make fun of me constantly, they told me I was never good enough, and that everything I believed in was wrong.

They (his family) did not even come to my grandfather's funeral because he was murdered! They  said they did not want to be associated with an event like that because of how he died. I just want to point out that I was there with them through both of their grand parents' deaths.  My blood just boiled and tears just filled my eyes after writing this line. 

The icing on the cake happened when I moved to Memphis:

He quit his job to come down there with me. I was about to call this relationship done because I was exhausted. My soul was hurting. I was sick of the bashing. I was sick of always having to put myself into more and more debt to support this bum because he wants to give all his money to these churches. We did not work anymore and I had not been happy in years.

The first week of him being down in Memphis with me was the last. He did not even attempt to look for a job. He ate ALL of my groceries and kept all of my lights on 24/7 running up my electric bill. He sat on the couch the entire time and watched TV all day. He went to a few churches out there and when I came home from work one night he kept saying, "We should not be living together this is just unholy and it is un Goldy. God is going to make me pay for this."

"You don't want to be here anymore? Do you want to go back to Nashville?"

"This is un Godly I cannot be living with someone anymore."

"We have separate bedrooms as we always had." 

"It doesn't matter God does not want us doing this it is not what he wants me to do in his visions to me. God is telling me to leave you so I have to go I cannot be here anymore."

I laughed, went upstairs to pack his stuff and put it outside. I told him to get out and that the abuse ends here."God is telling you to walk out on me? Cool, then go!"

It was a bad fight after that. He cried, I kept laughing. I have been wanting to release the negativity for so long and now is the time. 

After a few hours he was gone back to his parents' house.

He kept most of his stuff up in the second bedroom for almost an entire month. I had to threaten to throw it all away just for him to come get it. The day he came to come and get it he even tried to give me another religious  talk. "God still loves you even though you don't accept me as his prophet." 

"Are you serious? Get out of my life!"

From there on, I went back to try to dig more into my faith and cling to God as much as I could... I went through a season of depression when I was in Memphis and to be honest, God was nowhere to be found for me. NO matter how much I tried to dive more into my faith, I kept getting rejected. I kept having the door slammed in my face. That is when I began to distant myself from religion all together. 

I tried not to but the more I cried out for help the more people told me to "pray about it" so I did, and the more that I did the emptier my soul felt. It never worked for me. Was this being a follower supposed to feel like? Empty? Suicidal? Hopeless?

I finally gave up.

Fast forward from then to now.

I have not attended mass in over two years. I don't talk about religion anymore. When a family member brings it up I become very uncomfortable. I just nod and agree so they can quickly change the subject. 

My current boyfriend is so patient with me and he understands the abuse I went through when it comes to this subject. He considers himself agnostic. He believes in God. He believes there is a God out there who built all of these amazing things and that protects us... he just doesn't know if it is the Jewish God, Allah, the Christian God, or whichever. He has  a huge issue with organized religion as which as I do as well. Organized religion has damaged my faith.. I cannot get behind to support it anymore. It is all just a business scheme to me. I'm not sorry either that I refuse to be a part of it.

 Every single time I went for help they have slammed the door in my face and told me I was not welcomed.

Today, I do not really know what I believe in anymore as far as religion. I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, and I even believe heavily in the Catholic Church still but I do not believe in all of the aspects that are being taught in  Christianity. 

I have became very spiritual since these hard times have been passing. Since I have been in therapy, I have been practicing a lot of mindfulness. I have learned a lot about spirituality and how the human divine comes from within yourself. I've used this to control my depression and anxiety now. Me learning these tools on how to control my thoughts and emotions is so much better than 'praying' about it and expecting it to magically disappear.

I guess if I was asked today that because of everything I have personally been through in reference to religion I would classify myself as spiritual and just a little bit religious. I have attached a diagram below explaining what that means:

I believe in doing good to others. I believe in Karma. I believe that the Universe will reward you for doing good and helping others when you can. Again, I do believe in God and I do believe in Jesus. I also believe in different aspects from other religions as well - the unalome from Buddhism, the mindfulness techniques and yoga practices from Hinduism just to name a few.. The ultimate thing though is I believe in treating others as you want to be treated, The Golden Rule is in every religion and spirituality belief.  I believe in opening my heart and giving the very best of myself when it comes to my work. I refused to be spoon fed this CRAP anymore that you must do so and so  so that you may be forgiven and live life as a good person.

Again, I am not downplaying Christianity or any other religion. I just want to encourage you to find the beauty in everyone's beliefs and respect each other even if they do not believe in the same god as you do. Please do not be like my ex and destroy people's views on religion..

If you have been through a similar situation I hope you tell your story because it is so important to do so in order to heal.

Finding Positivity In The Chaos

"It is not the situation but whether if we react negative or respond positive to the situation that is important."

 - Author unknown

Hello there friends!

 Welcome back to my blog! I want to thank you guys for being as excited as I am as I begin this wonderful blogging journey that I hope ends up turning into something big in the future. 

Now, I am sure you guys know about all of the craziness in the world right now and I am sure you guys are tired of hearing about COVID-19. Many of you are also in quarantine right now and it feels like you're about to rip your eyeballs out of your socket because you are so bored or your kids, spouse, dogs,whatever is running you up the wall!!!. Well, I am here to tell you that I am offering a break from that. I will not be discussing the virus or any aspects to it but rather am offering you an escape from a different perspective on how life is right now. 

Think about how different your life is right now compared to what it usually is. Whether you just got laid off from your job, your kids are home right now because school is closed, you're working from home if your company is allowing you to do so - whatever it may be. Think about all of the chaos happening to you personally right now. I want you to take a deep breath, unclench your jaw (bet you didn't know you were doing that,huh?) sit or lay firmly on the surface you're at, close your eyes and focus ONLY on your breathing. Let your lungs fill up with the oxygen, hold it for just a moment then let it out. I want you to only focus on filling your abdominal with the air, then slowly feel it leaving. I want you to do this for several moments. You will notice that outside thoughts will enter your mind which is fine - let them enter but then let them go and redirect your focus back to your breath.

Congratulations, you just practiced mindfulness!

The point of this exercise is I want you to be in the moment. I want you to be present with yourself and focus on what is taking place right this second as you are reading this post. I want you to be okay in your current situation right now.  You are probably dealing with so many curve balls in your life right now and are probably faced with so many decisions and you may not know which one to make.

Listen, that is okay.

I want you to recognize how strong you are. I want you to not beat yourself up. I want you to stop comparing yourself to others, stop comparing yourself to friends you see on the internet - JUST STOP! Stop comparing, stop wishing things were different. Just be. Be okay. Be okay that you are home right now no matter what is happening out there. Even if you're scared, even if you do not know what your next move will be - just be okay in your current state   I want you to recognize the good in this.

"Sarah, are you saying there is good in all of this craziness right now?!?!"

YES!!! I am a firm believer that there is GOOD IN EVERY BAD SITUATION that happens to us YOU HAVE TO LOOK FOR IT.

I am not dismissing the seriousness on this situation or any other difficult situations because this is serious.

Think for a moment, did you ever in the past wished you had more time to spend with your kids, or time to clean out that cluttered cabinet you just haven't gotten around to because you have been so tired from your daily activities? Have you been wanting to slow down and have a pot of coffee in the mornings or do a morning work out? Now you have 'that time' that you were looking for or made an excuse saying you did not have. You can do these things right now and you can enjoy them! Are your kids driving you up a wall? Remember when you said you wish that you could spend more time with them? Now it's your opportunity to do so. You can spend your entire day with your children, your dogs, your spouse,ect.  

It is so easy to get caught up in how terrible things are that we overlook the good things that come from a bad situation. Listen, we do not get to pick what our blessings look like or how they will come to us. It just does not work that way. Sitting and dwelling about how horrible things are will not make you feel any better. Why waste so much energy by turning it into something negative when you can use it for productivity? If you sit and have a self pity party for yourself then you are not going to want to do get out of bed in the mornings and do anything!

Have you ever thought about what you prayed or wished for? Has it been patience? Productivity? Understanding? Being a more positive person?  NOW you can be all of these things you've hoped to be. Challenge yourself to stay patient through all of these difficult times, look for the positive in  every single day. Try that new recipe out that you've been wanting to try, read that book you have been wanting to read but just haven't gotten around to. Go organize that closet you have been putting off. During this time I hope that you see your value so much more than you ever have before and I hope you actually go and BE the things you have been hoping to be. Is it going to be easy? HECK NO! Anything worth having never comes easy, but you can work on getting there. 

Maybe you are on the opposite side of things and you are still working while having your children at home or trying to scramble to make meals or whatever it could be.. Listen to me, ASK FOR HELP and do not be ashamed or feel like you are being a burden by doing so because we are all going through it. 

You are allowed to struggle but what you are not allowed to do is sit in it. You are not allowed to dwell on it. You are not allowed to throw a 'poor me pity party' because guess what? We are all going through it. Your determination of who you are is how you show up in times of crisis.

For myself, I know my superpower is positvitiy. I am clinging to that positivity during these times and I am using it to shine a light on others who need it. 

I now challenge you to ask yourself what is my superpower and how am I using it to help others during this time?

What It Means To Be A Part Of The Volunteer State

My personal experience with the tornadoes:

On March 3, 2020 Middle Tennessee experience what was considered one of the worst tornadoes ever in history.   An EF-3/EF-4 tornado took landfall in Davidson County,  Wilson County,  and Putman County leaving many homeless and without power for almost an entire week. The updated death statistics sit at 25 with over 150 people injured.

When I personally heard the news the next morning and saw the damage that have been done my jaw  immediately dropped to the floor. Businesses were destroyed, there were families and their pets that were left without a place to call home  I was heartbroken for everyone who had to experience this.  The city that I spend 40+ hours in every week has seen such a horrific devastation in just a matter of minutes.

After viewing more of the damage and letting my mind mediate on each destruction photo i took in, I felt a heavy burden on my heart that kept picking  at me over and over.  "I have to help.. i do not know how just yet but my city needs me."  

I took to social media (naturally, right?) to venture out to see what were the possibilities to provide whatever type of service I could give.  I was overwhelmed with opportunities of volunteering labor,time, and the option of donating goods and money. I pulled my debit card out and right away to help with the animals but I just felt like that wasn't enough. 

I got a bright idea a few hours after obsessing over an idea. "A donation drive. There are so many people who would be willing to help but they just don't want to or they can't make the drive; I work in north Nashville so this is brilliant!  I could take up donated goods and take them to the animal shelters and other appropriate donation drop off locations."

I posted my idea on social media and the next morning I had a good friend reached out saying that she could help. We delegated a plan, I made the art content and less than half a day it was posted for all of social media to see. In just TWO HOURS I already had a trunk full of pet food,  baby food and supplies, and cleaning supplies. I packed these items away in my trunk and immediately went to research on drop off locations.  After deciding my first destination I configured that I will wait another day to give our neighbors a chance to drop off more goods.

Two days later on that Friday, my entire trunk and back seat was filled with  supplies.  I organized everything and then made my afternoon journey to the animal shelter. Once I arrived at the front lobby I saw that it was full of bags of food, leashes, beds, kennels- you name it, they had it. I gave my name to the lady at the front desk and she sent someone out to help me unload.  I was blown away, animals play such a huge part in my life. I was in tears seeing people pouring in with more supplies to contribute to the already over flowing stash. 

"I'm just glad I can help," I said to the gentleman thanking me as he was helping me unload my car. 

"So many precious fur babies out here are just now coming up from the rubble, unsure of where their owners are and confused of why what used to be their home is no longer standing. I would save every single one of them if I could. "

That is when my stomach knotted,  I can't save every single one of them and that is what is breaking my heart...

Off to Lebanon I went. As I got off on the exit I took a detour just to see how bad it really was. There were piles of rubble of what used to be homes, signs of businesses stuck on top of what used to be their roof, power lines were still hanging by a thread. It looked like it was straight out of a movie, but it wasn't.... this was real life. The weather was bright and gorgeous,  you'd never thought a tornado came through just a.few short days ago until you saw the destruction.

I found my way to the fire station with the rest of my supplies.  I remember reading on Facebook people were complaining about Wilson County not getting any air time on television and the worries that they were getting swept under the rug. However,  that was not the case.  I arrived at the fire station and had to wait in line to unload my items. Volunteers were everywhere shorting everything by categories and helping others unload their vehicles. I pulled up and the gentlemen noticed my emergency tags right away. He asked me what service and I told him I was an ex 911 operator. He thanked me for my prior service as I thanked him for his and helped me unload.

"This is amazing,  thank you for coming all the way from Murfreesboro. "

"Of course,  we're neighbors we take care of one another, "I responded. 

At that point in time it didn't matter what religion or political party you belonged to, it didn't matter what background you came from or what type of education you had - we were all one coming together helping our neighbors in need.

As I drove off, I watched people board the bus at the police department to help volunteer and clean up the hard impacted areas. Mothers,  fathers, adults my age, and even kids were formed in long lines so eager to volunteer their labor to help their community.

I continued to browse around the small city, the Walmart was completely roofless, fast food joints blown to shreds. I couldn't help but think how grateful i was to know that these people are getting the help they deserve.

I got back home, still high from the adrenaline from helping tornado victims, logged into social media and what did I see? So much negativity.  People bashing the news for what counties they show the most and this and that. It took all I had to stay quiet .

I couldn't help but wonder WHY are you spending so much time complaining on social media? Instead, you could take that energy and put it towards helping these people. If that town is like your second home and means as much to you like you claim it does you wouldn't be posting that, you would be out there doing  what ever it is you can to help!!!!!!!! 

People are so quick to make excuses on why they can't do this or that but sure can make a negative post in like half a second. I'm not sorry for saying this: praying is not enough. You can't just say you'll pray for Nashville and go about your normal day.   There are people dead, homes and businesses destroyed, animals lost and all you got is "praying for you". No, you get out there, do what you can to help and after you do all you can you then pray for them and find more ways to help these people. THAT is how prayer works.. but that is another topic for another day. 

I hope this leaves you inspired.  If you're an outsider of Tennessee I hope this helps paint a picture of what being a true Tennessean is about. We come from all throughout the hills, the valleys, the mountains- everywhere just to help our neighbors. We give so much love until we don't have anymore, then we fill our cups up and give it all over again. We take care of our own, and that is what makes us Nashville Strong.