LIVE. LAUGH. LOVE.

The first hint of what would become my life's avocation and gift to this world came the night I wrote a note to my Mom and Dad. I was a young teenager and it was the first time I had ever written something that wasn't a school assignment. That night I just felt a stirring in my heart to let Mom and Dad know how much I loved them, how much they meant to me, and how grateful I was to them for all they had given me. Being too shy to say these things face to face, though, I wrote them down in a note for my parents to find after I went to bed.

Later that night I heard a gentle knocking at my door. Sleepily, I walked over to it and opened it up. There were Mom and Dad with a look of such love on their faces. With trembling arms they hugged me awake and thanked me for my note. Seeing the happiness I had given them made my own heart jump for joy. I was amazed that my simple words could have touched them so. It was the first time I could ever remember seeing my Dad cry.

That beautiful memory has stayed alive in my soul ever since. It was with me when I wrote my first story and sent it to the local county paper. It was with me when I began to share my stories online with thousands of people all over this world. It was with me when I published my first book. It is with me now as I write these worlds. It reminds me that my writing is a gift from God and sharing it with others is my gift to God.

Don't be shy about sharing your many gifts from God with this world. It doesn't matter what they are. They can be talents, skills, brains, or brawn. They can be smiles, hugs, laughter and joy. They can be acts of kindness and a spirit of compassion. They can be your work or your avocation. They can even be a simple note written with love. All that matters is that you share them. All that matters is that you use them to make this world a little more like Heaven.