Tag: encourager

I have never really written much about my mom outside of her birthday or Mother’s Day (which I’ll share even more tomorrow). Well, my mother, Dorothy Ree Bradford, was also a writer. She was an author and a poet. A few years ago, I tried to encourage her to start blogging but it wasn’t her thing.

During the early 2000s, she published a monthly newsletter called The Encourager. The Encourager was a one pager that included words of encouragement with relevant scriptures as references. Every month she would print out her newsletter and mail it to her friends. I believe she did this for about two years. To this day, her friends still mention her newsletters.

When I began blogging, I never associated what she did with what I had aimed to do– inspire and encourage others. Honestly, I am not really sure why I chose to use the word “Inspiration” in my title, Shaun’s Daily Inspiration, instead of “Encouragement.” I believe I liked the way Inspiration flowed. I will have to look back and see what I was thinking when I created it.

Anyhoo… I am slowly discovering just how much we were alike. Sadly, I never really felt like we were ever on the same page. While packing up her house, I found so many journals. Had no idea she was constantly writing. None of my other siblings keep journals. Only me. Now, I do remember her having diaries when I was a little girl. I am pretty sure that is what inspired me to start writing. I had to stop keeping a diary because she kept reading them. Yeah… I was forever getting in trouble for what I had written.

The excerpt below is from my journal entry written on September 18, 2020 (significant date–will provide more details tomorrow):

“More and more I feel like I’m destined to be an encourager, even though my life isn’t the best. Guess I get that from Momma.”

It’s all beginning to make sense. I am truly her legacy.♥️