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What’s on your burn pile?

I while ago I blogged about what my “memorial bench” would say if I cut through my crap and just followed my bliss. I had been hiking with my husband and saw several memorial benches, which inspired a long talk about how we would be remembered upon our deaths. The blog came back to me yesterday as my priest gave a sermon about holding on to the parts of our past that no longer serve us. This got me thinking, what would be on my rubbish heap? What garbage would I prune away an

Eff Sh*t Up Friday – Pave another road

Do you engage in moments of radical compassion towards your body and soul? Do you give yourself the space of grace? Do you engage with people in your lives differently in 2018 than you did 1 year, 5 years, 10 years ago? Do you find yourself stepping out, taking risks, being vulnerable? OR Are you stuck in the overwhelm? Are you tired of the buzzy, crazy chatter? Are you sitting deep in the knowledge that you are a person of calling & purpose but you just don’t know what

Monday Mayhem – Mutilating the Patriarchy

Hello loves, I woke up this morning and wanted to write you a letter about advocacy. What is advocacy all about anyway? Why should we even do it? What does it matter? And where in the crap do we find daily motivation to keep going in 2018? Merriam-Webster defines mayhem as, “willful, permanent, crippling mutilation”. I for one super love the idea of permanently mutilating the patriarchy. It sounds so delicious. It is the perfect reason to engage in advocacy. Advocacy is abou

Eff Sh*t Up Friday – I desire a world…

I desire a world where women have choice. I desire a world where women are safe to tell people in power their desires. I desire a world where women are able to be a voice for those who don’t have one. I desire a world where women can be free to do whatever they want with no judgment. I desire a world where women can write and express their truth on their own terms. I desire a world where women set politeness aside to talk politics and religion ALL THE TIME. I desire a world w

Monday Mayhem on a Tuesday – Putting the “B” back in LGBTQ

Sexuality is not a choice. It is the way we are born. I am a bisexual woman who is married to a man who at one point identified as a lesbian and now mostly identifies as queer. Boy that was a mouthful. Yep…I put the “B” back in LGBT and I can’t believe that I am still having this conversation in 2018. Being LGBTQ is not a mental illness. Being LGBTQ is not a choice. We are beloved creatures who make up the great fabric of humanity. We are meant to BE – LOVED. When we talk

Monday Mayhem: Out of the mouths of babes

I have been getting some profound messages a lot lately: It is not the first step you take, but the next step you take that gets you where you are going. The brick walls aren’t meant to make you give up, they are meant to make you realize how bad you want something. Whatever it takes, that is what we will do. Listen to your children. Advocacy is not always a simple or easy process. In the regular course of taking action, advocating for human dignity can mean that sometimes we

Eff Sh*t Up Friday – Gun Reform: A Conversation with my Teenager

My 16 year old daughter Katelynn and I just did a FB live together about her #MarchForOurLives walkout this week. It was amazing to hear her thoughts about gun reform because we had never discussed it before. She has some great wisdom that she wants to share with all of you: Me: Do you think that kids that seem to be hurting could use a hug and someone to acknowledge their pain? How do you decide who just needs a hug and a “how’re you?” And who needs to be reported for their

Monday Mayhem – If all else fails mom says the water in the back of the toilet is clean

Last week I was giving a lecture about “toxic debt” and during the Q&A discussion a member of the audience wondered why we weren’t talking about the idea of “living within your means”. Let me tell you, my inside voice was like, “For reals? After all the data I just presented this is where we are going?” But I didn’t…I finessed a genius answer, deftly moved on to another question, and then marinated long and hard in the notion that our systems are still set up on the fictional

When I get bit in the butt by my own imperfect activist

It is Friday, I just did my FB live. It was awesome. I said some stuff. Threw out a few big things. Finished it up and was like wow…you sorta lost it there towards the end. WAIT WHAT? Bird Girl…STOP. You say what you are gonna say…sometimes you flow and it isn’t perfect. You are THE imperfect activist. You are living proof of your truth. Here is my truth: I love love love talking to people. I especially love inspiring people. I am a human having opinions about politics and po

Marginalized No More Activism Program is Launching in September

Like many of you who use social media, my friend Briana and I connected on Facebook during the 2016 election season when a mutual friend formed a “secret” Facebook group as a safe space for us to talk about our experiences. Although we have never met in person, Briana and I formed a deep bond based on our mutual love of advocacy, politics, and women’s empowerment. Photo by society6.com on Pinterest Marginalized No More is not just another training program. This is our way of

The Last Class

Today is the last class that I am teaching at the California State University, San Bernadino School of Social Work. I dedicate this blog to my 28 amazing students who have been personally and professionally affected by the outcome of the 2016 election. They are fierce and they are woke and they are engaging in activism like I have never seen in a group of social workers. This is what I have learned from the CSUSB MSW Class of 2018: I have learned that I don’t know everything

Today I Pray We Won’t Go Back

Today is the anniversary of Roe. Where I pray for the future of my daughters and their right to choose when they have children and to have access to trained medical doctors if they need abortion to save their lives. Today is the day that I implore you to remember that the laws of this country must not permeate the membranes of my skin and that my body and the body of my daughters is not expendable. Today I invite you to engage in graceful revolution by telling your own stori