As we prepare our hearts and minds for Easter weekend.. Watch this powerful and moving short video of the ultimate sacrifice of a Father and a Son. God gave up his most beloved Son, but that Son also chose to give up His own life to save ours… The sacrifice was required of one most dear for the salvation of all…

Most (The Bridge): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHbUgoXz3dk

2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

What does to be a new creation mean?:

1. We now have a godly perspective. “From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-17). We view others through God’s eyes.
2. It means we will no longer be held accountable for our past sins or for the sins of others that were committed against us. We are not defined by our past mistakes, our struggles, or our trauma… our story is ultimately God’s story and as a new creation, He offers us the following gifts of mercy and grace…
   – He gives us hope and healing in place of hardships and heartache.
   – He gives us purpose in place of pain.
   – He gives us completeness and wholeness in place of brokenness.
   – He gives us a testimony and transformation in place of trauma.
   – He gives us strength in place of struggles.
   – He gives us new life in place of our past.

Revelation 21:5 “And he who was seated on the throne said, Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” God keeps His promises. In His timing, He will make all things right, all things new.

Praying this Easter that you are filled with His peace that surpasses all understanding. That He heals any areas of your life that need healed and you experience completeness and wholeness. That He continues to refine you and transform you for the purpose he created you for. That He grants you all the desires of your heart!

Easter Blessings,                                                                                                                       Witlee

This is the much anticipated Part two of the Valentine’s post. Click on the link to read Part one, Galentine’s Day Heart to Heart. For all the Gals and Guys out there, I hope these posts will be encouraging and inspiring to all of you currently in the season of singleness or whom Valentine’s Day may have been hard for. I know that Holiday’s like that can be a difficult reminder of one’s single status and can cause one to have feelings of loneliness. I understand, especially with 2018 being a year of heartache for me. I spent this Valentine’s Day single, but I was not lonely! In fact I was filled with joy! Which I will share with you in another upcoming post…so stay tuned for that!

For now, I want to introduce you to these three men of God who have encouraged me with their faith and love for their wives, families, and especially their daughters. Between the three of them, they are raising more than half a dozen Girls of Grace/Women of Faith. Which is amazing! Check out below the interview, bios, and their pictures with their beautiful Proverbs 31 wives.

Ronnie Olstad is Vice President for 98 Food Co., Husband to Jessica, and Father to three (Swayzie, Lewiston, and baby on the way). Ronnie, along with his family founded the Love for Lewiston Foundation in their son’s honour, to raise awareness in Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). Their family was previously featured in another post, “Life After Loss“. To learn more about the incredible work the Foundation is doing,  please click on their Foundation’s link here:  loveforlewiston.ca .

Nathan Kinzinger is a well-respected entrepreneur and member of the Chicago business community. Nathan also serves his community through his involvement in leading fundraising initiatives for organizations as well as serving on the board of Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons (PAACS).  Nathan is the happy husband to Gina and together they’re raising four powerful kids and two crazy dogs!  You can connect with Nathan via Instagram or his Website.

 

Seborn Yancy is Husband to Meghan Joy, Father to six, an Educator, and  RE/MAX Realtor in Minnesota. He loves hard, plays hard, and works hard. His family and faith being his top priority. He is involved in numerous endeavors with his wife, including their YouTube channel, Living the Yancy Life. The Yancy family has been featured in two previous posts, “Hearts Full At CHRISTmas” and “How To Balance It All“. You can connect with Seborn via Facebook and Instagram.

What are character qualities men and women of faith should be looking for in a future mate?

Ronnie: Very, Very critical to have the same faith and beliefs. Life is going to throw devastation your way, and if you don’t have a strong foundation and the same perspective on how to handle challenges, it just makes it that much harder. They need to have a sense of loyalty and have loyalty as a part of their core values. You have to be on the same team. You don’t have to agree on everything, but you have to be loyal and have each others back. Argue and debate in private, but always be in each others corners. Look for a girl who values loyalty.

Before you marry someone, ensure they want to be apart of something bigger than themselves. Marriage and relationships is about sacrifice. If everyone involved in the relationship is being selfless, the love and giving comes back around. The wife has a responsibility to give her all to the husband and also to her kids. If she’s not okay with this, stay away. However, the man is just as responsible to reciprocate. If both of you understand this, this is how you will make it to your 50^thwedding anniversary with a relationship that is so rich, nothing can break it apart. You will change the world if it isn’t just about you. Find a girl that doesn’t just make it about her.

Sense of humour. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Laughing makes good times better and hard times easier. Also what’s the point of marrying someone that wont be around that long? Find a girl that eats right, exercises, works on her mental health, and spiritual health. Very important they don’t drink excessively, smoke, are obese, etc… otherwise you will not enjoy all the things life has to offer together. Pick a girl that inspires you. Personally I like farm girls, with blonde hair, and a nice tan ; )

Nathan: God made us in His image – and so in dating and marriage this can get tricky. A man can look like God to a woman and vice versa. But what my wife and I found to be fundamental to our ability to love each other – is to expect only God to be God. Over our 12 years of dating and married life, Queen G (that’s what I call her) has trained herself to go to God for her love, for her joy and for her peace. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t soak up my love of her, my friendship, and my affection for it. It just means she does not require me to walk perfectly in her presence for her to have a good day.

Seborn: Purpose before Type.. After only dating Meghan for 4 months, I knew she was the one because she fit my purpose in life. I wanted to be a good father, husband, friend, brother, man of God, etc. Meghan was a woman of God, joyful, encouraging, caring, patient, kind, etc.  She was a better person than I was and she stretched me and helped me become a better person. While a person’s type may be important when looking for a significant other, the most important aspect to finding the person you will do forever with, is finding someone that will best fit your purpose in life.

What are some misconceptions that women believe about men? What advice would you give your daughters about relationships? 

Ronnie:   Obviously all the points above. Ensure you find someone that puts God first and you second, kids third, and everything else fourth…Find someone you can have fun with, without doing anything. Ensure he understands you are not responsible for his happiness and vice versa. Know his opinion on kids and how you will grow your family together. If you are unable to have kids, are you both willing and open to adopt? Ensure he is okay with saving 10% and tithing 10%. The man’s responsibility is to manage the families finances. He needs to be okay with this. Doesn’t need to be an expert, but has to be willing to learn. Choose a man with a heart you love.

Nathan: For me, the freedom to love her and be an imperfect husband – has nourished me as a man and given me the freedom and confidence to love her well. That’s a big reason why she’s my Queen!”

Seborn: I’ve mostly heard that men don’t express their feelings. While there are guys that struggle with this area, it’s not the norm and shouldn’t be seen as such. I would stress to my daughters that communication is so important in a relationship. Having someone that is emotionally available to you is so important to sustaining a healthy and thriving relationship. Men have emotions and men can communicate their feelings as good as any woman, if they are willing.

For Valentine’s Day, I’m posting a two-part post made up of female perspectives on finding love and what to look for in a future husband. While part two will consist of a few men  giving their perspective of what men of character and faith are looking for in a potential mate, as well as debunking some myths women believe about men and advice they’d give their own daughters. The men’s post will post on Monday, Feb 18, so stay tuned.

Now let me introduce you to these three amazing women who have inspired me. They are women of faith whom are not only beautiful on the outside but even more beautiful on the inside.

Jessica Janzen Olstad  is the founder of the Love for Lewiston Olstad Foundation, based out of Calgary, AB. The Foundation was established after Jessica suffered the loss of her infant son, Lewiston to Spinal Muscle Atrophy  – Type 1 (SMA). Jessica, with her husband, Ronnie, and their daughter, Swayzie have created their Foundation to carry on Lewiston’s legacy by raising awareness and working towards finding  a cure to fight SMA. Jessica was previously featured in another post, “Life After Loss“. To learn more about the incredible work the Foundation is doing,  please click on their Foundation’s link here:  loveforlewiston.ca .

Olivia Louise Stear is a wife, mother, and Catholic missionary. Currently living in Southern California with her husband and four children.  Her and her family’s mission is to share life with the ones they love and invite them on a journey toward heaven. Life is full of twists and turns. If you want to see more of what life looks like making disciples in a Catholic Parish with a missionary mom, you can connect with her at oliviastear.com.

Meghan Joy Yancy lives in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota with her husband and their 6 kids. Meghan Joy homeschools their children while running a few businesses from home and keeping up with her Blog. They love family dinners, lazy Sundays after church, and random dance parties. She is passionate  about healthy living, essential oils, family, homeschooling, and her faith. She has been featured in two previous posts, “Hearts Full At CHRISTmas” and “How To Balance It All“. You can connect with Meghan Joy via her social media accounts either through her Website, Instagram, and Blog.

How did you know your husband was the right one?

Jessica: My heart just knew. There was a nudge from God saying this is your guy. I just knew I couldn’t give up on him. I had never met anyone like him – who had as big a heart as he did, loved Jesus like he did, and truly cared for me. There was a peace that I had with him that I had never had with any other relationship.

Olivia Louise:  In one of my earliest conversations with my husband, God said to my heart, this is your husband.  It was so strange but over the course of the next 6 months the biggest indicator that this was true was the initiative my husband took to court me.

Meghan Joy: I didn’t. I mean, at the time I thought I did. I was 21 years old and it just felt right with him. (But… feelings.) And then, the first 3 years of our marriage were HARD and I honestly just wanted to give up. But he didn’t. And God is greater. And here we are, 10 years in with 6 kids and now I know he is the right one. And I also know that we wake up every day and chose eachother. Choose to love one another and put eachother first.

What are some character qualities your husband has that other women should look for in the right guy, a potential mate?

Jessica: He is driven, kind, and focuses on growth and one of his key values is family. Look to see where they spend their time, their money – what is important to them. It truly tells a lot about a person.

Olivia Louise: He was marriage minded and didn’t waste time.  He was from a loving family and prayed daily.

Meghan Joy: He is a provider at heart. He yearns to work hard, constantly better himself and provide for his family. He spends time with God and leaves his Bible all over the house because he wants the kids to see as an example of time spent with God. He is willing to be goofy with me. He loves making me laugh. He is a really hard worker. Isn’t afraid to get a little sweaty and dirty. He is super honest with me and that may have been harder to swallow at first but through the years, I have come to really appreciate his honesty. I know that if I come to him, I will get the real deal.

During the waiting period of singleness for women, what’s the most important thing you’d like women to remember or focus on?

Jessica: I was single for over 5 and half years with only a handful of dates. It was down right depressing at times and totally took a hit on my confidence. I questioned what was wrong with me. Nothing was wrong with me God was just preparing me to be the best I could for the most important relationship. Use that time wisely and trust that the right partner will come along. Enjoy your singleness and freedom – marriage is a game changer in the best way possible but appreciate what you have now. Focus on your personal growth, be open to dates and that meeting your spouse might not look the way you dreamt it and also be open to heart ache – it is how you find the one. My 5 year single streak was worth every moment. I could not ask for a better partner.

Olivia Louise: In the waiting I focused on inviting Jesus into my longing heart.  Any desire I had for marriage was always directed at Jesus and he fulfilled my heart.  I surrounded myself with friends, work and service so I kept a very full schedule.  I focused on God’s calling for me instead of who I was going to date.  I actually stopped dating and it gave me time to rest and heal from the hook up culture.  After six years of prayer and rest I met my husband.

Meghan Joy: Surrender. I think so often we try to control our situations into what we want it to look like and God might have a completely different path for us. And also in that surrender, putting yourself out there for new possibilities and adventures. Being open to that different path, and what it may look like. When I first met my husband, I wasn’t very interested in him. After a few “dates,” I was like, “nah…. I’m good.” But he continued to pursue me and in round 2, I fell in love and am now happily married to quite the incredible man. I could have checked him off and missed out on this beautiful journey with him. You never know what God has in store.

(Here is the LINK   to my recent interview with Rehumanize Intl.)

If you have read my Bio, you know I’m a pioneer for the rights of women, children and even men when it comes to violence and injustice within our world and justice system, though not always so just!

What I often don’t speak on a lot or go into depth regarding is the fact that six years ago I had to flee in the middle of the night after I had been assaulted by my ex, a cop on June 5, 2013 and was thus subsequently targeted, retaliated against, threatened, and deemed an enemy of the police by the police all because I turned him in for domestic violence and abusing his power as a law enforcement agent.

The last six years of living in hiding have been difficult, isolating, terrifying – with lots of sleepless nights. My rights have been violated over and over again, and extra safety measures have needed to be taken to not only keep myself safe, but also my loved ones. It’s not the way to live, in fact I haven’t really been able to live and the things most people take for granted, I’ve not been able to experience because of living in hiding for my safety from a corrupt dangerous cop who continues to be protected by our government.

Can you even imagine what it’s like to go up against one of the biggest giants in our world, our government and know they see you as an enemy because you spoke up when one of their own assaulted you? Being told I was now an enemy of the police is a threat I expereinced and a reality I face every day.

In fact several weeks ago, a member of the DOJ sent a message to me through   a local official, that came after I tried to take steps to come out of hiding for my safety and to seek justice, which I have tirelessly been seeking for the last five years,but in vain. The DOJ official stated that if I try to seek justice or come out of hiding, my ex is going to come after me and come out swinging and what’s worse is my ex has the support of the DOJ. Once again my rights are violated! So my choices are either to remain silent and continue to live in hiding. Or fight to regain my rights, freedoms, my life back, and he will do me harm and possibly others. Yet those aren’t choices at all!

Do you know what it’s like to look fear dead in the eye?  Your life is on the line, but you keep moving forward, keep fighting for your rights, you get knocked down and find the strength to still be standing, but you do it because you don’t have any other choice.  I’m not going to lie, of all the things I’ve endured – this is probably the scariest! But this is my reality day in and day out. I am standing on the battlefield alone, facing the biggest giant of the free world -our entire governmental system and its agencies and officials.

If my ex comes after me, I can’t call the police because he is the police and “The Blue Code of Silence” will go into effect! I have no one to turn to, to keep me safe, all I have is my story, my voice, and my truth! Thats is my only weapon of self defense that I have and I’m using it.

Why am I speaking out? In hopes that one day I can fully break free from these chains that keep me held captive, so I don’t have to always look over my shoulder, so I can finally get a good nights rest without being haunted of nightmares that he’s found me, to spread awareness on this issue that often is ignored, to educate others who have become desensitized to this injustice, to let other victims & survivors know they are not alone, and to prove to myself that regardless of what we go through our hardships are not in vain and can make a difference!

Which is what I’m trying to do to facilitate worldly and judicial change by choosing to “Live Each Day With Purpose” and “Making a difference one day, one life at a time”. At the end of the day, my life is on the line and I am going to fight like hell to overcome this. To not just survive it, but overcome by thriving in the most direst  of circumstances. I want to be a example, a role model to so many out there who may be considering giving up or staying silent,  inspiring them to find the courage to come forward and tell their stories. But I can’t encourage or tell anyone to do that, unless I break my silence first!

To find out more about my interview with Rehumanize Intl. Please click on the bold link in parentheses up above. This aspect of my story is real, it’s raw, and it’s my current reality. I hope it promotes awareness regarding this police perpetrated injustice for much needed, life saving change!

Motivational MVP: The Power of Trust! www.wbtv.com WBTV is the CBS TV station in Charlotte, North Carolina, with Charlotte news, Charlotte weather, sports, traffic, North Carolina and South Carolina news, Carolina Panthers, Charlotte Hornets, NASCAR

(Click on the “Motivational MVP: The Power of Trust”, link above. )

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Coach LaMonte on the Morning Break Show on WBTV, for the Motivational MVP segment. We focused on “The Power of Trust” and how trust is the foundation for every relationship!

I shared my personal stories of struggling with trusting others after my trust had been violated and betrayed, in some of the most unthinkable ways. I was able to shed light on how to overcome trust issues, while also expressing it’s a learning process that I’ve even had to work through recently with relationships. This interview was raw and real. I’m sharing from personal experiences and lessons learned in hopes that this message of “The Power of Trust” will help you to work towards having successful relationships going forward.

Guest Post with Meghan Joy Yancy

Meghan Joy lives in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota with her husband and their 6 kids. Meghan Joy homeschools their children while running a few businesses from home and keeping up with her Blog. They love family dinners, lazy Sundays after church, and random dance parties. She is passionate  about healthy living, essential oils, family, homeschooling, and her faith. You can connect with Meghan Joy via her social media accounts either through Instagram and Blog.

As a family of 8, there can be a lot going on and a lot of personalities to interact with. Our 6 kids are all under the age of 9 and over the years we have learned the sweet art of balance. And we don’t always rock at it but we certainly strive to be better each day.

One of the biggest lessons for me to learn and integrate into our life has been saying “no.” The ability to not stretch myself too thin has been integral in finding balance and keeping things from getting overwhelming. And that includes even saying no to things that are good and fun. If I continue to take on too much and cram so many activities and events into our schedule, we will just be driving from place to place instead of truly living life to its full potential. And for me, that precious downtime is important and a priority. I cherish the days we’re home that are filled with playtime and imagination. I don’t want to be so busy “doing” that I forget to just “be.”

Everyone will find their own systems that work for them but I wanted to share a few tips and tricks that have made it easier for our family to find balance in each day. Also knowing that there will be different seasons of life and changes that come. I like to be flexible during those transitions so that we don’t let stress seep in. When we allow ourselves to be moldable, the different seasons of life can be more easily embraced instead of throwing us more out of balance.

In our family, we are entering a very different season of life. We just welcomed our 6th baby into the world on April 28 and have some very big changes occurring in the coming months as well. Things are going to look a little different than they have but our goal remains to stay balanced in all we do. I have firsthand felt the difference it makes in living a life of balance or not. My joy and peace is more abundant when I am making sure to keep all areas of my life a priority. One big difference maker for me has been Oola. It stems from an awesome book called: Oola: Find Balance in an Unbalanced World-The Seven Areas You Need to Balance and Grow to Live the Life of Your Dreams. I’ve been following the OolaGuys for quite some time now, attended an OolaPalooza and have listened to many of their workshops on finding balance. One core concept that stuck with me is the notecard trick. Before bed each night, grab a notecard and write down 7 things you want to accomplish the next day. It may be “reply to emails” or “get bread at Target” or bigger things like “run 1 mile to train for half marathon” or “create website for business” but make sure you commit to them. And hey, if you don’t accomplish it all, just add it to the next days list and purpose to check them all off. This was a fun and simple way for me to stay on task and not let time slip away.

Let’s explore a few of the ways that we find balance in different areas of our particular family life.

* Health – my husband has always said, “Prevention is better than cure.” And it never really made sense to me until I needed to start going to the chiropractor after having my 2nd baby. Things were jacked up with my body and I was willing to pay any amount of money to fix it. If I could have been proactive, I wouldn’t have had to try and backtrack and fix what was messed up. Which has made me a firm believer in fully investing in our health.

* Fitness – we try to have a good compromise of allowing space and time for fitness because it’s an important aspect to our health. Both my husband and I run and so we normally tag team going for runs and the other one staying home with the kids during the others run. We try to do this every day, and if it doesn’t happen, we don’t beat ourselves up for it. While my husband goes to a gym, I workout at home. I put on a youtube video and do an exercise routine with all the kids. It becomes a fun family affair. We also try to do family walks every evening in the summers and create a habit of activity as a family.

* Food – although organic food is more expensive, especially with large families, it is worth the investment to fill our bodies with nutritious and beneficial foods that will truly nourish us. Again, it’s all about balance. So, I’m not saying we don’t indulge in a delicious piece of chocolate cake on birthdays. But we also try to make healthier options more often and the “treats” are spread out and done on occasion. We are “grazers” by nature and so we tend to just snack all throughout the day and then sit down to a family meal in the evenings.

* Essential Oils – we live the oily life through and through in our home. Although I do run a business from home with essential oils, we would still be using them in our lives. We have basically replaced every single chemical-filled product in our home with that of essential oils and Young Living products. Every single day, we are bettering our health through these oils and healthy living choices.

* Family- our time as a family is truly cherished and because it is such a high priority for us, we don’t add much else into our schedule that would pull away from that. The open schedule to just spend each evening at home together is precious. When asked to do something or go somewhere or volunteer hours at this event or that activity, I can easily say “no” now. It wasn’t always that way but I have learned to protect what is important to me. I don’t have to have anything else going on, but can be confident that I do not want to add any other errand to our planner. When we have a more clear schedule, we’ve carved out time to make memories as a family.

* Homeschooling- has turned more into unschooling as this schoolyear has progressed. That does not mean that we do not do school. But it means that we allow the space and time for our children to naturally learn and explore. We still use some curriculum and we still teach the foundations and basics but we cut out the unneccesary logged hours to try and keep up with the rigorous schedule that most students have. And that’s just our personal viewpoint. We still value education and learning, but not at the expense of actually living life. Because that is where we truly learn… by living.

* Faith- is the biggest piece of our lives. And it’s not actually a “piece” of our lives, but our entire being. Everything revolves around our faith in Jesus Christ and serving Him in all we do. By teaching and by example, we want our children to realize the importance of spending time with God every day. That cultivating time for growing our relationship with Him is even more important that any other aspect of life. It’s all for Him in all we do. We pray together as a family, have time for devotions, and leave space for discussion, questions, and exploring God’s word together.

There are many other aspects to life and all the roles we each play. One thing I always try to remember is that my husband and I get to create the culture of our home. We don’t have to let the ways of the world or how “everyone else is doing it” to dictate how we run our lives. And when that is remembered, it gets a little easier to say “no” to all the extras and to truly take hold of our lives and live it by design, not by chance or by someone else’s schedule. You have to get to the point where you are going to decide how you want to live life and then start making your decisions to reflect that. And when you do, you will find so much freedom in it. So much adventure in the midst of peace. It’s a beautiful thing when you realize that balance is tangible. That it is within grasp. And that you can live a life of balance too.

Getting to know Mr. Michael Scanlon

  Photo Credit: @dmfphotoworks  & @latoya.shanell

Bio:

Michael’s resume is both multifaceted as well as impressive. He is a world traveler, photographer, speaker, fitness & fashion model, and has worked as a Behavioral Analyst in the field of Autism. Yet that does not even cover his volunteer work nor his Criminology and Psychology degrees from the University of Miami. Along with currently finishing up his MBA in Finance, from Governors State University, he’s also a contributor/writer for Seeking Alpha, an online financial and stock market publication. For the past fourteen years, he’s also played competitive rugby.

You were first introduced to him via his previous interview about Autism Awareness Month. Now through this in depth interview you will get to know Mr. Michael Scanlon on an entirely different level. To connect with him, see more of his pictures, or purchase his workouts or landscape photographs,  you can do so via his Instagram accounts @michaelscanlonfitness  and @Freedomfix.

 Photo Credit: @joembayawaphotography

You’re currently finishing up your MBA. What has been your educational focus and why?   I just finished my MBA with a Finance specialization. More precisely, I have geared my study towards working in the financial markets.

What do you hope to do with your degree?   Even though I can have a great impact as a Behavioral Analyst, it is a stressful job for which you do not make a lot of money. I knew when I returned back to the States from Australia, that I wanted to go back to school to get my MBA. By doing so, I could attain a job where I could make quite a bit more money and have the dispensable income and time to still help in my own way.

What kind of job are you looking for?  A position within a company that’s focus is around the stock market.  Probably something within equity or financial analysis like analyzing stocks, companies, their balance sheets, and their finances.  Where I can determine whether or not those companies’ stocks are properly valued. I currently do that stuff at the moment as I write for Seeking Alpha, as a paid contributor.

How did you get into modeling?  I randomly got asked to do one photo shoot last summer and it was for the LA Tan Ad campaign for the upcoming year. From there I put up a couple pictures online and was noticed and approached by photographer, Joem Bayawa. He suggested that I start an Instagram account and from there I got contacted by a couple of agencies. Since that everything has just taken off, all of a sudden people out of nowhere are asking me to work and I started to build a portfolio. Now I’ve been signed to five agencies and am getting paid shoots for different brands like Coors, Groupon, Met Life, and many others. With these doors opening I’ve been able to pay for my schooling, pay off my credit card, start an investment account, and even have money to do other things with.

 Photo Credit: @erik_ruiz_photography

What drives you?  It’s hard to pinpoint any one thing. I want to have a good mixture of being happy and helping other people. I was originally a Radio TV Broadcasting major my freshman year. Though I enjoyed it, after a year I didn’t feel it was meeting the need or desire to help others. For me helping others is my driving force, so I changed my major so I could help as many people as possible while also having the right balance of doing something that makes me happy. So, everything I do is either to help or be happy myself.

Tell us something about you, that has impacted you in a personal way, that you often don’t talk about.  Something I haven’t shared is, although I’ve never had cancer before, there was a time several years ago when for about three hours I was misdiagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma cancer, which is an extremely rare form. This all came about when I had previously injured my shoulder and still to this day have a separated shoulder. I went to the hospital to get it x-rayed and was told the x-ray revealed that I had a shadow in my upper arm that I needed to get checked out. So, I subsequently went and got an MRI which led to the misdiagnosis. Of course, it rocked my world and devastated my parents. I was sent to the same children’s hospital I now volunteer at to be seen by an oncologist. During all this all I could think about is all the things I wanted to do, wondering what was going to happen, what are things I’ve wished I’d done, and what does all this mean? I remember walking through the hospital hallway as we were sent to get more tests done and my hand was just shaking as I was holding the order for the additional tests. The doctor at the children’s hospital would reveal that it turned out that I didn’t have cancer but instead a very unusual kind of spiderweb type boney structure inside of my arm where the bone is actually supposed to be hollow. After that I went home and just kind of sat in a trance for a while thinking about what was going through my mind when I thought I was sick. The one thing I wished I had done was move abroad, so later that week I bought a visa to move to Australia and less than a year later, I did…In fact, my parents to this day do not know that the cancer scare is one of the reasons I moved away.

Why did you choose Australia for your big move?  I wanted to play rugby somewhere that was better than America because I’m always looking to better myself. I wanted somewhere warm that had good rugby and an overall better job market.  A friend had given me some positive feedback about Brisbane so that, with other factors, led to my move to Brisbane, Australia. When I moved there I didn’t have a job or a place to live, but I figured I’d make it happen and I did.

Let’s talk about your acting! You’ve shared some Instagram stories of current projects. So, what do you have that’s coming up? What do you enjoy about it?  I’ve actually never really considered myself an actor and wasn’t sure I could do it. I think that the part I recently got for the pilot I’m filming was typecast as the set is in a gym and I’m playing a gym rat. I’ve got a part in every episode and depending on where the storyline goes I may become a little more ingrained in some of the other parts of the show. But so far, I think what I’ve really enjoyed about it is when you work a regular job you work with people who are both positive and negative. Yet with this job, you are working with people who are funny, creative, and it’s just a fun atmosphere to be a part of.

  Photo Credit: @lshanelleevents

You had posted on Instagram asking your followers what they daydream about.  So, what do you daydream about?  I have weird daydreams about what I would do if I won the power ball when it was worth 500 million dollars. The answer I would always come to is I’d probably invest half of it. Just to be smart and make sure that I got consistent returns on my money, so I could always have cash flow. I’d take the rest and do what the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation does and give to as many charities as I can, because I think that too many people give themselves too much credit for where they are in life. I think a lot of where you are at in life is just luck and circumstance. I feel I didn’t do anything to garner the fact that I’m able to model, that had a lot to do with my parent’s genetics.  I also didn’t make myself intelligent, yes, I studied, and my parents pushed me to that, but it wasn’t anything that I specifically did. I believe that when a lot of people are in unfortunate situations, it’s not necessarily their fault either and I think we should do everything we can to help them.

On Instagram you had mentioned that you hoped to make it back out to Australia in March. Did you accomplish that?  I did! So, I do a lot of the investing in the stock market and I try to pick up on behavioral trends in the market.  At the end of November 2017, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange announced that they would be offering futures trading on bitcoin, which has never been traded on a major exchange before. It was still considered almost like a black-market kind of thing, a bit sketchy. Though when it was announced that they were going to start trading it I figured that would create a lot of hysterical trading and cause people to start buying it just to buy it. It seemed what the Chicago Exchanges were doing helped to legitimize it. So, I took some of the money I had made from modeling and bought bitcoin and litecoin. About a week later I sold it before the seasoned investors could get in and start shorting the bitcoin features and drive the price down, which has happened since. From that trade, I made enough money to not only fund the entire Australia trip but was also able to put even more than that into my investment account and invest that into the stock market.

Where are your top favorite travel spots?  I love the GlassHouse Mountains in the sunshine coast of Australia; I’ve actually climbed a couple of them. I scuba dived the Great Barrier Reef, which was incredible. I’ve driven all around Ireland and it’s so hard to just pick a single place there. I also really like San Diego. In fact, for the first time in my life I had made a decent amount of money while working in Australia. So, I was able to surprise my dad with a father-son trip to Ireland where we could explore our Irish heritage.

So, tell me about the children’s hospital that you work with? What is your involvement?  I work once a week for a few hours as a child life volunteer. I’m given a list with names of patients that are there that week, a description of their age, and anything else I need to know about them including their needs. The hospital is equipped with video game systems in the rooms for patients there for an extended stay.  Also, there is a closet full of donated toys for the children. There are two rooms where the children can hang out either in the play room or the teen room. One of my jobs is to check on the children and be a support to them as well as to the parents, even giving parents a much needed break.

 Photo Credit: @joembayawaphotography

How do you stay fit, what is your fitness regimen?  I write my own. Depending on whether or not I’m playing rugby will determine my fitness schedule for the week. When I play rugby, I lift four days a week plus four days of rugby training and a game. Tuesday and Thursdays are my club training. Wednesday and Sundays is when I train with CARFU(Chicago Area Rugby Football Union). Though this does not just include Chicago but the entire state. On Saturdays we have rugby games but when I am in the off season I work out six days a week. During those days, I break down the workouts to focus on one individual body part – chest, legs (twice a week), arms & abs, shoulders, and back, per each day.

What about diet?  Diet is interesting, so I am not one to just eat chicken and broccoli, for me that is boring. So, what I do instead is I make what I consider smart replacements. Every morning for breakfast I eat six eggs, but I only eat two actual eggs and supplement with 4 eggs worth of egg whites. When I scramble it you still have the yolk from the actual egg so to me it still tastes like regular scrambled eggs. Each egg has five grams of fat so by eating egg whites instead, you are removing 20 grams of fat. I also use wheat breads instead of white breads. Kraft makes fat free singles and I use 96% lean ground beef instead of regular. All those little things add up.

On your Instagram account you have four workouts for sale, tell me about that? I sell written workouts that target each part of the body on different days. The workouts come from years of experience with playing rugby and having my workouts written for me by doctors of kinesiology, and exercise strength and conditioning coaches. I learned from them about what works well and also through a lot of trial and error. I also have a personal training certificate though I haven’t studied it formally.

Even though you don’t model nude, you do show a lot of skin. Has that been an adjustment? How do you get comfortable with showing what you do show?  It’s hard. I think it depends on the photographer. You have to trust the photographer(s) you work with because they may accidentally see some thing when they are shooting, and you have to trust that they are never going to show anything that you don’t want to be seen. In terms of specifically and intentionally ever showing anything, that’s just not something I want to do. I show a fare bit of skin just because I’m trying to build up my following and I know that’s what people want to see. I know in isolation the pictures may look a little risqué, but it’s nothing more than what you’d probably see at the beach.

                 Photo Credit: Michael Scanlon@FreedomFix

On your Instagram account @FreedomFix  you have taken beautiful pictures that you have for sale. Tell me about your photography.   So, I started taking pictures just because I was traveling to all these new places. When I’d go out sightseeing, whether for leisure or through traveling for work because we had Autism centers all over, I was mostly traveling by myself. So, I wanted to have a way to share all my travels with everyone back home. With photography if you can have a decent eye and take a decent picture, it’s been a great way to document all the places you visit.

What is your advice for growing Instagram followers?   From all the things I’ve read you need to have a theme and keep to it. Know who your followers are and what they want to see. Also try to use as many relative hashtags and tags as you can. I make sure to know all of the pages that might share my pictures, just to increase the different possible groups of followers I can attract. So, when posting a picture if I tag those pages it grabs their attention and they repost the picture(s) that I posted, which gets me more followers.

Tell me about playing rugby? Why rugby and what do you love about it? While in High School our rugby team was the winning state championships every single year. My dad played football when he was HS as well as a year of college football, as quarterback. I had grown up swimming and playing baseball and decided that I wanted to start playing a contact sport. Back then I thought I was too old to start playing football, which now that I’m older I realize that was silly and that I could have easily done it. Not that I would have been a star or any good, but it wasn’t too late to get into it after all. But, I decided I was going to try rugby because most people didn’t start to play rugby before HS or even before college. I was lucky that my HS had a team. So, when the announcement was made to try out I did. For the last fourteen years I’ve been playing rugby in the States and four years in Australia. Rugby is a brotherhood and though we may be crazy on the field, for the most part we are pretty disciplined and respectful. I’ve been able to apply that discipline to other areas of my life.

Now let’s get personal on a whole new level. I wouldn’t be a good journalist if I didn’t touch on your dating life. So, give me all the juicy details. Are you single? What’s your type?  I don’t have a girlfriend, but I’ve been trying to date lately. I’ve even tried out some dating sites. In terms of the type of girl I’m looking for, I like smart girls. I’ve never understood the joke that you see on TV shows and movies about guys that like dumb girls, I don’t understand it! I like smart girls and I like girls to be pretty, I think everybody does. Though not necessarily, model pretty just pretty in their own way. I’m not going to be a model forever and I don’t know if I have much time left at this at all. None of us are going to be looking the same for any long duration in our lives. I think the biggest thing is just finding the right personality match, which is difficult to find. Someone you can just instantly click with. It’s one of those things that you can’t necessarily describe, but you’ll know it when you see it. I really don’t have any other specifics except have a good personality that matches mine, intelligence, witty, a bit sarcastic but in a positive way & in the right environment, and as long as we get along you could be anything, do anything.

 Photo Credit: @dmfphotoworks

 Is it difficult to meet and date girls because of being a model and a public figure or is it easier?  Maybe a little harder but not by much. I don’t think I’m a big enough public figure for it to matter. I think if they get to know me, they realize I’m a nice normal guy. I have had girls tell me they think they’re being catfished by me because they don’t think I’m real and because of that they refuse to meet me, but that’s rare.

What are your future goals in life, love, business, etc.? Pretty basic, I want to get married and have kids. Never really thought about how many kids, probably more than one. I wouldn’t want the one little one to be all lonely but maybe two or three.

So, what’s next for you after graduating this month with your MBA? I have quite a few paid gigs coming up. Currently I’m filming the first season of a TV pilot. Within the next month or two I have some voice over work I’m going to be doing in Las Vegas. I’m in the process of working with a Director out in LA on a potential miniseries/movie project.  Meeting with other agencies, I just signed with an agency out in Indiana and another in Iowa. I’m also going to be looking for jobs, though I’m going to be very selective about where I want to go and what I want to do because I can sustain myself for the time being with everything else I have going on.

What do you want to be the biggest take away for others from this interview? The most important thing to take away is that there are people out there with autism and in hospitals. They need help and we should do something to help them.

Meet Michael Scanlon

Photo credit: @elenacue11ar

Bio:

Michael’s resume is both multifaceted as well as impressive. He is a world traveler, photographer, speaker, fitness & fashion model, and has worked as a Behavioral Analyst in the field of Autism. Yet that does not even cover his volunteer work nor his Criminology and Psychology degrees from the University of Miami. Along with currently finishing up his MBA in Finance, from Governors State University, he’s also a contributor/writer for Seeking Alpha, an online financial and stock market publication. For the past fourteen years, he’s played competitive rugby. He’s sweet as can be and very humble and don’t even get me started on how he’s not too bad to look at as well. Though, we will go more into that in a second interview that will be published on May 7^th – So check back for part 2 to learn more about Mr. Michael Scanlon.

As the month of April finishes up Michael and I wanted to spread awareness on Autism since April is Autism Awareness Month. We have both been touched by Autism in different ways. I had worked with a boy in a child care center years ago, named Aubrey who has forever left a mark on my heart. While Michael has experienced it first hand with his sister and also with working one on one at an Autism center as a Behavioral Analyst, making a difference one day, one life at a time. Here is our interview.

Would you share why Autism Awareness is important to you? Growing up with an older sister with autism, I became interested in it. It wasn’t until years later I would come to understand it and decided to study it as it was intriguing to me. When I started working with the kids I saw how cool the kids are and how big of a difference you could make. That is when it started to become really important to me, especially when I got to know the kids and form personal connections with them and their families. You see how difficult this makes their lives and witness the amount of divorces that result from this because it is so stressful on families. So, you want to do as much as you can to help. As a result, it becomes more personal the more you become invested. Autism involves developmental delays, though that does not necessarily mean that the kids aren’t going to develop or won’t have the chance to develop, it’s just a developmental delay. So, I witnessed how vital early intervention can be for these kids who were developmentally delayed. With intervention they could grow up and have a typical life and without it they could possibly end up in a group home, intellectually impaired.

How is your sister doing with her Autism? What is her progress?        My sister is higher functioning now. She works as a computer programmer and her skills are always improving.

Do you feel your schooling prepared you for working in the Autism field?  Yes, I majored Psychology geared towards intellectual and developmental delays with an emphasis on studying child development and what happens when things go wrong. I even took preconception health and prenatal development to have a better understanding of all the potential risks a child could develop before being born.

What did you implement while working at the Autism Center in Australia that changed the way the programs were structured moving forward?   We had switched to evidence-based practices/model rather than using an eclectic approach. There a was a collection of studies reviewed in 2015 by Dr. Wong and her colleagues and they looked at every study ever conducted. From that they compiled a list of what is evidence based, what seems to be emerging, and what does not have good evidence. We in turn took that list and used it as a guide as to what we would use. If it wasn’t evidence based, we weren’t going to use it as we wanted to stand behind what we were using. In 2015 myself, the senior team, and company psychologist all sat down and planned our curriculum, which was based mostly on the work by B.F. Skinner and Dr. Mark Sundberg. Dr. Sundberg is the leading researcher in verbal behavior.  So, we implemented everything that was evidence based and coincided with the verbal behavior model of applied behavioral analysis.  

What do you want people to know about Autism and those that have it?    I think one of the biggest things is people seem to think that those with autism have a savant genius skill, which is not the case. A lot of them are intellectually impaired. Most of them early on are very developmentally delayed. It takes a lot of work early on to help them towards typical development but with early intervention most kids can be helped and even change their IQ. I used to give talks on the neuroscience of early intervention. The brain from 2-5 years of age is easily malleable. Even if you are not talking by 4 or 5 there is a good chance I can get you speaking. There is so much that can be done for these kids even if they are initially diagnosed as intellectually impaired. They are really cool kids and all very unique. Every kid is different, the main thing is they are good kids, they just need a little help and they can be helped.

What does changing their IQ entail?
How they perceive their environment will determine how they adapt. There are skills and social cues that they will need to learn how to imitate. For instance, in order for them to learn language they have to be able to imitate language. All these things come naturally to a typical developing child. One of the reasons all of this is so important is the reinforcement aspect comes into play. One of the most universal reinforcements I’ve ever come cross is M&M’s. I used to say that M&M’s can change a child’s IQ, because they can perceive something like an M&M as something very important to them. If that’s their favorite snack in the whole world than they will want to figure out how to obtain that. If every single time you teach them a skill, they get an M&M, that is teaching their neuropathways that this is something they will want in the future. To start, you’d want to begin with a physical prompting. For example, when I clap my hands they need to imitate by clapping theirs. You may need to show them by having someone sit behind them and clap their hands for them after they have watched you clap yours. This is hand to hand prompting and you will slowly fade it back showing them this is their response when you say do this and if they show you what you are asking, they will get an M&M. This will help their brain to start to develop those areas that are important for developing that skill because it leads to something that they somewhat perceive as important for survival. It is a weird way of breaking it down but that’s the way it works with early intervention. So, learn what is important to that child and assign them a task they need to learn tied to that reward to make up for the gaps in their learning. In terms of upping their IQ you need to get them into some sort of early intervention where someone can assess them on paper. You will be able to see all the skills that a typical developing child would have at this age and also know the skills that your child has as well as any gaps in development. Tasks will help you in filling in those gaps and reinforcements will help teach the importance of that skill to that child.

Explain the learning process that those with Autism go through or experience?    First you need to identify what their gaps are and once you find out their gaps, you can figure out the skills they do not have and use discrete trial training to try to teach them whatever that skill is over and over again until they have mastered it, using different mastering criteria. They will need to master at least three days of being at least 80% of these responses correctly in order to show that they have mastered that skill and they can move on to a higher order or skill. For some kids to get to the point of 80% that can take months. So really honing it down and doing 10-20 trials a day may be needed in order to help them if they keep confusing their responses because of not initially understanding the cue.  Some kids may master a skill in a week. Others may take a year. It’s just a matter of the way their brains are developing in terms of that specific skill. Some kids may not do well with imitation but may have great listening skills and understand a lot of commands. There are some kids who can understand a lot of commands but can’t speak. And kids who can speak full sentences but don’t understand when you say something to them. The different areas of the brain develop in different ways. The process is just repeated trials until they get it but usually reinforcement is helpful in getting the correct responses.

What have you found to be most effective in the advancement of autism?  The research to me is the most important thing. All money that goes into research is definitely needed. There’s so much research that goes into different aspects of it. Dr. Mark Sundberg’s work into verbal behavior is incredible. He has a good understanding of how all of that works and how B.F. Skinners work should be furthered. Also, there are researchers that are trying to figure out the causes of autism and what can happen. Even how to better understand it, finding ways to implement early intervention and earlier detection in analyzing kids before they even show signs. I think the mixture of both Sundberg and Skinner’s work aids in this research.

Would you ever consider starting a foundation for Autism?
There is so much more awareness in US but in Australia there was only nine Board Certified Behavioral Analysts (BCBA). There are other parts of the world that need more awareness and education on Autism.

Is your work with Autism your life’s legacy?
I always want to continue to help kids with autism as much as I can. Through the curriculum that the team implemented while I was there, I believe these kids are further ahead of where they would have been if changes had not been made. I’d like to emphasize the legacy I leave behind in Australia.

To learn more about the Autism Center Michael worked at, for resources,  or to donate please click on the link here: AEIOU – For Children with Autism.

IG: @Michaelscanlonfitness & @aeioufoundation

Say Bonjour to Meghan Ashley Sokolowski & Brice Sokolowski

Bios:

Meghan Ashley Sokolowski is a Blogger, Fashion Stylist, and World Traveler based in the beautiful South of France. She’s also Brice’s better half. You can connect with her via instagram, facebook and her website.

Brice Sokolowski is  the founder of Catholic Fundraiser Which started from a initiative at trying to help his own Catholic Diocese in London with a fundraising campaign. The campaign went on to raise over $50 million, the largest sum ever raised for the Catholic Church in the United Kingdom. Brice’s mission is to help build Catholic charities, parishes, religious orders, and lay apostolates that change the culture and bring people to Our Blessed Lord. His organization reaches over 30,000 Catholics each month through his website. He is the author of  Alms: The Definitive Guide to the Ins and Outs of Catholic Fundraising and The 10 Commandments of Catholic Fundraising. You can connect with him via Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.

Brice and Meghan met through mutual friends. While Meghan was living in San Fransisco and Brice was living in London. Around Christmas time they were married in New York City. Since their wedding, they’ve been building a life in the South of France amidst historic churches and breathtaking lavender fields. This is their journey to finding love…

What was your courtship like?
Direct. We both walked in with a clear understanding that this would lead either to marriage or being friends.

What was the planning process for your wedding?
Just get it done! We found a checklist and just followed it week by week.

How did you know each other was the one?
Through prayer. Each week the answer to the question, “Do I want to spend the rest of my life with the person?” was yes

Did you ever pray that you would find each other?
Daily.

Questions for Meghan:

Share those final moments as a single women as you’re getting ready for your wedding?
I was just really happy and peaceful! It felt very freeing those moments.

What was the thing you were looking forward to most on your wedding day?
Everyone just massively praying and celebrating together.

Describe that moment when you walked down the aisle toward Brice?
Oh gosh. So many things overriding each other. First, it’s the fact that I’m walking towards my almost husband. Secondly, that I’m seeing SO many amazing people I want to say hi to. And thirdly, when I get super emotional it’s hard for me to stand- so basically just trying to practically make it to the altar.

Describe your wedding dress?
Oooooh! It’s a silk sweetheart, with a cape made out of crystals layered over like a necklace. It was exactly my style- simple and and classic with a unique, fun pop. I then added a long sleeve topper and panels to cover the back. It was fun to make the dress my own. I wish we could all dress like that every day!

Questions for Brice:

How would you sum up the best day of your life?
Prayerful and happiness.

What has been the biggest blessing to come out of marriage?
To have someone beside me who prays for me, listens to me, helps me, and makes me laugh.

What are you looking most forward to as you begin this marital journey, after the wedding?
Building a life with Meghan and allowing the Holy Spirit plenty of space to guide us.

Any words of encouragement for all the single people?
Don’t lower your standards. Follow Church teaching. Pray. And go out and meet people. If you believe God is calling you to marriage, go out and meet people and keep your eyes and ears open.