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Eat Cake.Be Brave.

Eat Cake. Be Brave. by Melissa Radke
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book y'all. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will make want to hug your mama. Melissa is no holds barred with her pain and her joy. With a personality as big as Texas, she shares her life with you in these pages. There are times you will laugh out loud, shake your head and think did she just say that? At other times, you will cry at her pain or feel angry at the actions of people you don’t even know.

Melissa has the ability to make you feel like you are in your living room sitting with a friend as she shares her life with you. You will go away feeling encouraged and cared for. You will feel invested in this woman and her family and will want to know what happens next for them.

Does Melissa use some words or phrases that make me squirm a little? Yes, but I am a later middle aged southern lady so that’s not surprising. If you are a little old southern lady too get over it and read this book. If you aren’t, you won’t notice or will laugh at uptight little old ladies. I’ll say it again. Read this book.

I received an advanced reading copy of this book for review but would have gladly paid for a copy. It is worth every penny.
#eatcakebebrave #ecbb #melissaradke

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This weekend we were without power for about 15 or 16 hours. Today I will empty our fridge of a large portion of it's contents, including several things we bought Friday because we got paid. I want to make a choice to grateful about this little event. Perspective is so precious. Does it stink? Yes. But God is good. The storm was rough but we were fine. Most of our frozen stuff is fine. We aren't worried about having hungry children or being hungry ourselves. We have the means to replace the food. We didn't have property damage or flooding. Our power came back on before dark the next night and the temps were moderate. We were blessed. So many people are struggling because of the same storm.

I hope that if this were harder I would still chose to be grateful and be able to say God is good. That's part of our calling isn't it. to be content and have joy, even when it's hard? I struggle with that. When things go my way, it's great, but the rest of the time, I can be a real malcontent. I need to watch out for that. Life can be hard and painful. People will disappoint you and you will disappoint people. Storms, both literally figuratively will come. Life will happen. Perspective, attitude, living in the eternal and not the moment, those are choices we can make. If you see me being short sighted, negative, making the wrong choice, call me on it. Going higher is easier when we pull each other up.

Say a prayer today for the less fortunate, all you have to do is look around you to find them. I hope you don't stop there. If you can do something for them, be His hands, reach out and do what you can for them. It's easier to be positive when we focus on others and the One who made us. Today I'm going to crank up K-Love while I throw out things that could make my body sick and try to get rid of some negativity that could make my soul sick too. If you have a few things you need to throw out, feel free to join me! Hugs people.

Oh sweet ones, there are many of you, some still young and many grown, who have crossed my path as children or young adults and live in my heart. I gave birth to two of you and “inherited” the rest of you. You are living in troubled times. This is not the first time in history this has happened. Sadly if the world continues to turn, it will not be the last.

I grieve for the state of things and the hateful ways we treat each other but I live in hope. I see in you people who want to make things better for the ones around you.  Often I see you fighting for others and not yourself. You are of all persuasions, ethnicities, faiths and opinions. I have tremendous love and hope for you all.   I urge you to avoid senseless arguments, in person and on social media.  It is easy in the moment too resort to fiery speeches and shouting matches with those with whom we disagree. This is not a criticism of you. The passion of youth is a gift. I fear many of us lose the passion overtime but don’t mature in our behavior. That is on us not you.  It is important to present your beliefs with thoughtful intelligence. Do not give in to anger. Anger robs you of so much including the ability to be heard by others.  Let them walk away with food for thought and not simply angry soundbites.

Accept the fact that most of you won’t change the world. That’s okay, neither will the rest of us. Truthfully, most of the time you won’t even change the mind of the person you are talking to. That’s okay too.  What you can change is yourselves. Your behavior is your choice. It’s a choice each of us has to make and live with.

My advice to you, even though you didn’t ask for it is this. Work on a personal level for the changes you think are needed. Treat people the same, all people, even the ones you disagree with. When you return insult and abuse to those who behave in that manner, you just bought into their behavior and have become them, regardless of how noble your intentions are. Take responsibility for what you can. Vote. Contact your representatives. If you didn’t vote and are unhappy now with the outcome, accept that some of the responsibility falls on you.  If you weren’t old enough, then stay informed and vote your conscience when you are.  If you are concerned about climate change, make choices in you daily life to lessen your personal impact on the environment. Practical suggestions are easy to find. Don’t want a pipeline, reduce the amount you depend on crude oil products. You might not be able to protect someone’s sacred grounds but you can absolutely show respect for others and their heritage and customs. Worried about your local environment or social issues then volunteer with the homeless, collect food to feed the hungry, work in a soup kitchen, engage in cleanup and care of cemeteries, historical areas etc. in your area, plant neighborhood gardens, you get the idea. Absolutely take it personally by choosing to make changes on a personal level. This is how real change begins, when each one of us starts with ourselves and our actions.  It’s not our job to force others to be better, to think like us, or act like us. It is our job to be better ourselves and show the way. 

Extreme Nationalism feels an awfully lot like hate wrapped up and tied with a big flag bow on top.