About

"Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Ephesians 3:20 "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." - Helen Keller CARPE DIEM!!! =) Life is an adventure, and I've been blessed beyond measure. On my Face Book page, you'll find the random ponderings of a red head, family lover, pianist, book worm, political science nut, pro-life activist, violinist, world traveler, outdoor fanatic, people person...who has a smile permanently stuck on her face and plans to keep it that way. Dabbled in politics from the White House to a congressional campaign, and eventually settled in working for a small defense contracting firm. My life 8-5 is filled with a diverse array of challenging projects, and the mentorship of the most wonderful boss alive. My best friends include my two parents, three brothers, and two sisters, with whom I still share a roof and love it that way. I'm a dedicated girly girl who loves to read and play the piano, as well as an outdoor nut who enjoys working out and hiking whenever I get the opportunity. I'm serious about my faith, and can't say enough for the God who loved me, gave Himself for me, and gives me richly all things to enjoy.

Education

• University of Alabama in Huntsville
• Charter Oak State College
• Homeschooled all the way

Favorite saying

• ""One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple." Psalms 27:4 "It is not for God’s glory that His service should be, or should appear to be, a toilsome slavery, wearing out the life and the joy of those engaged in it. On the contrary, the Lord’s people should always, with tell-tale faces, be unconsciously proclaiming that His service is a service of freedom, that the joy of the Lord is their strength, that He leads His own by right paths, and that He glorifies His own great Name in them, and through them continually." Hudson Taylor Discipline: Remembering what you want most vs. what you want now [don't know who to credit with this quote, but seeking to apply this quote has changed my life!] West Wing Chief of Staff Leo McGarry: "I know it was a screw-up, but I loved how he stormed into it, full throttle, like there's now a Sam Seaborn sized hole in the wall." So many Mary Kate Gygax-sized holes in so many walls by now... "This is not a dress rehearsal. This is your REAL life, and you only get one shot." - my own personal soapbox that I share with any young person who will stand still long enough "The Heart that never can forget the Love that never can fail must seek the wandering sheep until the lost one has been found: “My father worketh hitherto, and I work.” And will she, who so recently was at His side, will she leave Him to seek alone the wandering and the lost?" ~ Hudson Taylor "Be what you want, because you'll get what you are." ~ Don't know where to originally credit this one, but thank Ricky Duffell who first brought it to my attention "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." Theodore Roosevelt, 1910 "I know I chatter on far too much... but if you only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me some credit." Anne of Green Gables "Ruby Gillis says when she grows up, she wants to have a line of beaus on a string and make them crazy for her. I'd rather have one, in his rightful mind." Anne Shirley Frodo: I can't do this, Sam. Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. A new day will come. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something. - Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers "This too shall pass." - the most oft-quoted line in the Gygax household! "To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder to do a special thing unique to him and fitted to his talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds him unprepared or unqualified for the work which would be his finest hour." - Sir Winston Churchill Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened. Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. ...you were meant to have [the ring]. And that is an encouraging thought. - Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring "Running teaches you that there's a difference between working hard and feeling bad. Consumer culture tries to teach us otherwise. If everything you knew about life came from TV, your goal would be to live the easiest, most comfortable and unchallenging life you possibly could...But it's just not true. Challenging and testing your mind and body...can feel as wonderful as anything else....Enjoyment of hard work is an acquired taste....but once you've acquired it, you're blessed with more ways to feel good, and life is better. Harder AND better." (Dean Karnazes) Applies to running, but also to almost everything else! "The brave who focus on all things good and all things beautiful and all things true, even in the small, who give thanks for it and discover joy even in the here and now, they are the change agents who bring fullest Light to all the world." ~ Ann Voskamp"