Things of substance.

I'm the daughter of a military man. He always had these little phrases like "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome" or "Honor, Courage, Commitment"(Navy core values). I used to think it was so silly but as I've gotten older I've realized that those phrases are at the core of my being. In our family there were certain things that were important and ingrained in us. I don't know that they were necessarily on purpose, but they are certainly things that became a lot of who I am today.

1. You loved Jesus, and knew that He is a loving and graceful God who calls us to deeper righteousness.
2. You did things right the first time, cause you know... "do it right or do it twice."
3. You obeyed "immediately, completely, and cheerfully"
4. You "improvised, adapted, and overcame" whatever was thrown at you.
5. You understood that you were to be honorable, courageous, and committed.

I'm not going to into depth about all of these right now but I do want to touch on the one that means the most to me now as an adult. Improvise, Adapt, Overcome. I think of this so often in my daily life and it means way more to me then just solving some random problem with improvisation. I've learned in the past couple weeks to adapt to the fact that life sucks sometimes. But most importantly, I remember that I am an overcomer.

I can and will overcome this sucky phase of life. I just will, because that's who I am and the way I was raised. The best thing I can say is that being raised with these tenants has given me the most incredible work ethic that sometimes bites me in the bum. Anyway. I'm having the initials "I. A. O." tattood on my inner wrist. I'm looking forward to having a piece of my family on my body, especially since it has such intense meaning for me.