The "Bucket List" Me

I have to say, I have more shoes now than I have ever had.  I have great tennis shoes, boots, snow boots, flip-flops, "Toms," and even some "Yellow Box" shoes.  I have tennis shoes to try to stay healthy by walking everyday.  I have boots to help me be taller once in awhile.  I have snow boots because I love to go home to Colorado as much as possible.  I have flip-flops, well because they are the closest thing to being barefoot, which is what I ALWAYS prefer.  I have a pair of "Toms" and some "Yellow Box" shoes because I wanted to move past one pair of black shoes and one pair of brown shoes and indulge a little bit!

For the most part, I am a very simple person.  I really could care less about fashion, but I try to look nice every once in awhile.  I am almost always practical and if you came to my house, no matter how prestigious you are, I would prefer to take off my shoes, fold my legs up under me, and listen to whatever is on your heart for hours and hours.  Shoes can be so unnecessary!

There is another side to me, however.  I took this picture of a dear friend and when I was looking at it tonight it reminded me of "The Bucket List Me."  This is the lady that believes the sky is the limit.  This is the lady that is willing to do whatever God asks her to do, wherever and whenever.  This is the lady that dreams.  This is the lady that is a little off her rocker!

Here is my "bucket list," shoes or no shoes:

• Write and publish a book
• Give special needs training in Colorado
• Give special needs training in another country that is out of my comfort zone
• Make a difference in the world and never know it
• Go to Alaska and Switzerland
• Teach more people how to read
• Lead children with special needs to Christ
• See my whole family love God 
• And my husband has instructions to put a big piece of cheesecake in my mouth and take me skydiving if I find out my time is running short :)

And that my friend, is the "Bucket List Me."

Steffani

Dear Steffani,

Of course you are on my list to talk about!  You have a lot of shoes to pick from, girl.  I always thought I would write about your black shoes with the bling on them.  You like those shoes and so do I.  We have had a lot of adventures together with those shoes!  We have gone to California and shopped, ate in all kinds of restaurants, raced for parking spots and had a lot of laughs.  They have gone to Starbucks numerous times and at all times of the day and night.  They are part of our history.

I will never forget your yellow shoes.  Every time you where them you say you love them and a little while later you say, "Oh yeah, these are the shoes that hurt my feet."  They remind me that as an employer you are always willing and ready to walk through the hard stuff.  You never ask anything of an employee that you are not willing to do yourself.  In fact, you usually do the hard stuff for us.  I have so much respect for you as an employer and leader, Steffani.  You always go before us and set the example.

I have seen you give so sacrificially of your time, your talents, your love and even your possessions.  You have given people the coat off your back, the purse off your arm, and the shoes off your feet.  You never think of anything as yours, only God's.

The shoes I love the most, however, are your tennis shoes.  They have been there for me during the hardest challenges of my life.  You have walked the road with me whenever I needed you.  You have
walked beside me as a mentor, as an accountability partner, as an employer, as a sister, and a friend.

I love you and consider you to be one of the great blessings in my life.

Deana

Behind every pair of shoes...

Behind every pair of shoes there is a story.  When I was a little girl, my father and I used to play a game whenever we would go shopping with my mother.  We would run off to the shoe department at the closest department store and let the games begin...

Dad would pick out a pair of shoes and ask me who they reminded me of.  If I guessed the friend or relative he was thinking of, I would get a point.  Then it would be his turn to guess who I was thinking of.  We would try to choose the most outrageous shoes we could find and every selection seemed to trigger an old family story and we would get lost in reminiscing.  We had a great time and never seemed to tire of playing it.

This little game gave me the idea for the book, "Living Shoes."  Since those early years of childhood I have looked at shoes differently.  There is a story behind every one of them.  In my blog I will share a picture of some shoes and the story behind them.  You will be inspired and touched by the stories I will share with you.  This blog will lead to the eventual release of my book, "Living Shoes."

I hope you will enjoy reading the stories of people I have found interesting throughout my journey.

Blessings-

Deana