Thank you, Chad, and Thank you, Dolly

Well, I had a high school friend ask me about writing. You see he’s a writer; he likes to write a lot of things, but one particular genre is cowboy poetry. If you knew Chad, you would understand. He’s an old soul, and cowboy poetry just seems to make sense for him. Now, it’s not my forte, even if we are both from the “cowboy state” of Wyoming, but it is his!

So, in our brief talks/messages about writing, it made me think about blogging again. I just looked back, and my last blog was March of 2025. 2025! It is now 2026, and we’re over halfway through 2026, so it has been 17 months since I have written a blog. I don’t think I would be writing this blog if it weren’t for Chad, so thank you, my friend.

I also don’t think I would be writing this blog if it weren’t for Dolly Parton. Now, I can’t say I often listened to her music, but even so, I would consider myself a fan. I love me some “9 to 5,” and “Islands in the Stream” is a classic. I have other favorites like “Coat of Many Colors,” and my niece can belt out “Jolene” like a champ! But even more so than her music, since Dolly’s death last week, the way she lived her life and inspired others has really gotten me thinking about my effect on others. 

In all of the things I’m reading about Dolly and in the interviews I’ve seen her in, the first things I think of when I think about her influence in our world, is that she was humble and kind. Now, I know that’s kind of a cliche as there’s a song by another country artist with that title. But really, Dolly was incredibly humble, and she was extraordinarily kind. She was also selfless and generous and hilarious. I could probably watch interviews of her forever and laugh and cry each time I watch one. 

Another thing that amazes me about her is her faith in God. She was so faithful and so upfront about her faith. I love that! She often talked about wanting to glorify God in everything she did, and I want to do that, too! I want to exude joy and faithfulness like she did, and I want to represent Christ well. 

So, last week was my first week back with students since summer break. On the second day of class, I always introduce myself and tell the students more about me than they ever wanted to know! Each year I end my slide show with a picture of my mom and a slide with a sunflower that says, “Be kind!” My mom was kind of like Dolly in that she was incredibly kind to everyone. I always tell my students that you never really know how someone is doing or how their day has been, so they should always be kind to others. 

I even bought and wore two “kindness” t-shirts last week because I want to put that thought out there visibly! One of my shirts says to “sprinkle it everywhere,” and I love that! We should all be meandering through the world, sprinkling kindness left and right! Here I am in my two new shirts!

So, I want to thank my friend, Chad, for inspiring me to write again, and I want to try to be a little more like Dolly, which I think means showing a little more love and kindness in a world where love and kindness aren’t always our first response. 

Thank you, Lord, for putting special people in our lives who can inspire us and challenge us! Lord, help me to be kind and humble and generous and loving and faithful. 

I love you, friends! Thank you for reading!

Julie