I believe we need a proper introduction, since this is my first time contributing to the blog. HI! I'm Burke. Actually, I'm Burke Casey Jolly. I tell you my whole name because it makes up part of who I am and some folks that I represent. Burke is my father's (Edgar) mother's last name. Casey is my mother's (Brenda) mother's last name. JOLLY is just the good ole family name that we are blessed to carry. But here's some quick things that you probably need to know about me before we proceed.
1. I am crazy in love with Lee Ann (works out that we are married).
2. I really like people.
3. I really like love stories.
4. I really like rocking chairs.
5. I'm a weeper, and quite frankly, an absurd one in movies. Ahem...The Greatest Showman.
6. I went to school for way too long. 4 different colleges in Arkansas. Over 8 years.
7. We have two dogs, Priya and Phoebe Buffay.
8. I really like bikes, which allows me the benefit of wearing lots of spandex.
9. I used to have 3 ear piercings and bleach blonde hair in high school.
10. My 2 favorite movies are "The Notebook" and "National Treasure". Both are equally amazing, and yes I do believe Nick Cage can play any character....as long as he's playing Nick Cage. Which is always.
11. I really like cooking my own steaks.
12. It took 2 years of marriage to trust Lee Ann to make me brownies. Brownie snob.
13. I will always prefer sandals over any other shoe.
14. I still wear clothes that I wore in high school (mostly flannels and overalls....high school mascot was a Hillbilly...seriously).
15. I would like to live on a ranch again one day.
16. Yes, LA and I's favorite place to go is Disney world...and we like it that way.
Okay, so now that you know me a little better, lets move on.
I often get lost in my own thoughts, which often circle around building and fostering relationships. It's what I know. It's what I love. It's what I feel most comfortable with.
I find myself wondering about you and your stories. The things that make up your life and who you are. The instances and circumstances that have shaped you. These circumstances can range from the most beautiful to the most tragic. My heart cheers and breaks all at the same time.
One of the things that I have learned and try to practice on the daily is seeing people not for an action (good or bad) but through what Lee Ann and I call our love goggles. It’s amazing how much more kind, gracious, joyful, patient, and outgoing I can be when I choose to live life through a lens of love. There's definitely times when it isn't easy, but it changes everything for the better. Because I want to be seen with grace and treated with love, I desperately want for you and the rest of our community to be seen in the same way.
I believe that living this way can begin to break down so many walls we build. So many walls that I build.
So here’s to seeing with love googles and the hope that you will, too.
-Burke
And also, I would love to know 16 things about you. But if that's too many, how about just one?
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