How to Pursue True Freedom

Happy Friday, RISERS! I hope this week has been good to you. This is Memorial Day weekend, so if you travel to visit family and friends, please be safe. 

Quote of the week: “It’s better to fight for something in life that to die for nothing.” –General George S. Patton

Movie of the week: This week, I want to recommend a great movie to watch in celebration of Memorial Day. The Longest Day is a movie depicting D-Day, the sixth of June. It has an all-star cast, though most of you are probably too young to know these actors. Anyway, this movie always makes me thankful for my freedom. I come from a military family; my father and grandfather served in the Navy and Army. My husband, his brother, father, and grandfather all served. While military life isn’t for everyone, I want to thank not only the servicemen and women in our country, but also their families. They make many sacrifices when their loved ones are not home.

Joke of the week: What dance was popular in 1776? Indepen-dance

Nugget of Wisdom for the week: This week’s wisdom nugget will be short and sweet: just be you. The world needs your kind of you. Be funny, serious, an overachiever, or whatever you tend to be. I am a tad OCD when it comes to getting excited about something, but when I allow myself the freedom to be my true self, that’s when I can shine brightest.

I was apparently a late bloomer when it comes to writing, but now that I’m doing that, I can’t imagine not telling stories. I just received a text from a friend who told me that a woman was bragging on one of my books. She read it in just one night, because she couldn’t put it down. I guess my point is that life gets complicated faster than it needs to sometimes. Be sure you are doing you. As Judy Garland (who played Dorothy in the original The Wizard of Oz) said, “Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.”

Have a great week. Remember, you are most awesome and YOU ROCK!

Marion Rhines is a foster-turned-adoptive parent. She lives in Knoxville, Tenn., with her husband and five children. She has written and published two children’s books as well as two foster-care-themed novels. She has a Facebook blog, Tips from the FLIP Side, and enjoys working with children of all ages.

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