Mama Always ~ L.A. Brown, Author

It was a beautiful morning, it really was. The sky, a brilliant blue, I had one dog, Izzy, snuggled up against my back, snoring. Another dog on the floor, blissfully sleeping, and a puppy, who really isn't a puppy anymore, pawing at my blankets, snuffling at my neck, encouraging me to get up because he had to pee. Typical morning. As is my routine, I began my morning thanking God for His protection through the night, His new mercies, and the Lord's Prayer...then I continued with my intercession for the day. Because I do not say 'amen' at the end of the Lord's Prayer, for me, it means that my prayers are ongoing throughout the day. I came to find out last week, that I am not the only one to do that...a man who is a wonderful music minister does so as well. As I continued my morning routine, let the dogs out, fed the cats and fish, and made my coffee, I continued in intercession, praying for a dear friend who is fighting to get well. She was in a horrific car accid...

It has definitely been a banner year for me, well, me, Chris and Andrea. We came off of 2011 with the loss of our beloved Aussie, Draco in November to foster a soldier's dog in January. Angel was not allowed to go home to Korea (where she was born) with her family who was being relocated there because she lacked a blood titer. We fostered her for two and a half months, getting her the necessary titer and shots; getting the proper sized kennel and finally getting the necessary passage and escort to get home. We could not have done it without the help of many friends and their friends and of course, United Airlines who waived the normal fees to get her home to her soldier and family. My many thanks to Sandra, Janet, Christopher, the Air Race family, James Bear Branch Animal Hospital and Home Again for getting her back to her family. I am sure that there were so many, many more who were in the background that helped with this endeavor, God knows who you are and I'm sure that He ...

In January, it will be thirty years since my life changed. No, there was no traffic accident that marred me for life; no personal disaster such as a crippling disease; no death of a parent or loved one that so impacted me; no crime committed against me. No, a baby was born. Not your ordinary baby, but one who had gained my love and attention during the forty weeks while she was formed. During that forty weeks, I was able, through the miracle of technology, to hear her heartbeat and see her suck her thumb. My husband and I witnessed a miracle that we never thought would happen. On January 15, 1983, at 11:45 p.m., Andrea Michelle Lane was born. What we thought was a miracle quickly turned into the biggest challenge of my life and forever altered any dreams that I had for her. She was diagnosed with Down Syndrome, and sixteen hours later, the genetic markers were identified and we were hit with the confirmation. The pediatrician who was on duty came in and calmly and clinically proclaimed...

Just like a number of other things, fibromyalgia is unique in everybody. Just because one person suffers in one way, doesn't mean that this is a cookie cutter disease, syndrome or whatever you want to call it. Personally, mine, while pretty much controlled by a very good pharmaceutical developed specifically for fibromyalgia, still has quite a few times when it rears its ugly head. I also have carpal tunnel syndrome in both arms, arthritis in both hips and knees, so when it hits, it seems to hit those areas that are more prone to pain in the first place. Right now, I have limited feeling in my pinkie and ring finger of my left hand, which makes things like typing difficult since I type by touch, trying to find the letters a, s, z, and x are fun. On occasion I have the pleasure of feeling like my skin is being washed off in the shower, although that has only happened a couple of times, and the "fibro fog" and dizziness are more of a problem than I would care to admit. ...

I came across an article that disturbed me greatly today. It was regarding one of our service men who was medically retired because of TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), has a service dog to assist him and was horribly treated by people who are employed to be Customer Service  Representatives . This man, who is the founder of Paws and Stripes, a foundation that pairs service animals with injured military veterans found himself in the middle of a major mess in Washington, Dulles airport. I will refrain from using the airline's name, it is evident in the article ( http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dogheirs.com%2Felleng%2Fposts%2F1558-disabled-vet-asks-for-public-support-says-airline-workers-kicked-his-service-dog&h=-AQGwUU2r ), but the fact that this is more common than one imagines, not just in this instance, but in everyday life is heart wrenching. If you choose to read the article and view the accompanying video, be aware t...