Giving is a Way of Living...

Young, old, black, white, brown or yellow...we are ALL in this TOGETHER!  

This holiday season, pick 1, 2, or all of the things on the list below...THEN, going forward, no matter what time of year it is, make giving a way of living. =)

Let's make a difference....
~Donate Food
~Volunteer time at a food bank or shelter
~Donate blankets, scarves, gloves, jackets, hats to the homeless
~Shop local

~Visit a senior
~"Adopt" a family
~Grocery shop for someone
~Donate money to charity
~Take a senior to lunch
~Help someone decorate their house who isn't able
~Buy from friends: Crafts, products, books, art, etc.
~Donate toys
~Take someone to see the holiday lights
~Spend time with family and friends
~Read to children; at a library, a shelter or a school
~Shovel snow for a neighbor
~Volunteer to clean the beach
~Recycle trees, boxes, paper, etc.
~When the season is over...pause, reflect, rewind and repeat. =)

Happy Holidays, 

Amy Wise ♥

2013 USA Best Book Awards!

I'm thrilled and honored to have my inspirational quote book, Believe in Yourself ~ Inspire Others ~ Spread Joy, chosen as an Award-Winning Finalist in the Self Help: Motivational category of the 2013 USA Best Book Awards by USA Book News. 

Every word in my book came straight from my heart and helped me get through a very difficult time. To know those very words are now helping others is an incredible blessing and EXACTLY why I wrote the book!

I am grateful for the honor and thankful to all those who have supported my "paper baby." I hope it continues to help and inspire many more people.

As most of you know, my mission, my passion; is to help people find their joy, follow their heart and live their dreams!!! My dreams come true over and over each time I hear my book has touched someone else! It is a beautiful feeling and one I treasure every, single, time.

  View book here:

http://www.amazon.com/Believe-Yourself-Inspire-Others-note/dp/1468175165/ref=zg_bsnr_4744_22

Wishing everyone JOY and DREAMS COME TRUE!

Freedom for All Radio Interview...

Last week I was the guest on Freedom for All Radio with hosts Jim and Jennifer Ellis. I talked about the "justice" system, family, interracial marriage, following dreams, finding joy, the journey to my book Believe in Yourself ~ Inspire Others ~ Spread Joy, my new non-profit; R.I.S.E. to Empower Inc. and more!

If you missed the show you can listen here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/freedomforall/2013/10/18/guest-amy-wise

Thank you for taking the time to stop by and thank you for listening!

To My Biological Mom...

A note to my bio mom, whom I've never met. I'm not sure why, but for the first time in 48 years, I felt compelled...

~I don't have a longing but I am curious. Do you feel the same?
~I've always wondered if we act alike. Do you feel the same?
~I look in the mirror and imagine seeing you. Do you feel the same?
~I relate to my heritage because it's my blood. Do you feel the same?
~I love my own daughter to my soul. Do you feel the same?
~I have a wonderful life and am truly grateful. Do you feel the same?
~I don't miss you but I think of you. Do you feel the same?

~I know in my heart if we met, we would be the same!

One final question...
Do you ever wish you knew my name?

The Luckiest Girl in the World......

She came home, all wrapped in pink, to a house that was filled with love.

Her childhood had many faces and many places, and friends from all around.

She kept old friends and made new friends, and was always ready for more.

There were times when change wasn't so easy for her, and she gave you lots of grief.

You never stopped loving her, you never stopped believing in her

and even when you wanted to, you never gave up on her.

She finally grew out of it, and became more mature, and thankfully lessons were learned.

She went off to college, and traveled the world, because you gave her wings to fly.

She loved and she lost, you stood by her side, while she picked up the pieces of her life.

She became her own woman, she loved again, this time it was for keeps.

There were smiles all around as she started a family, a new little girl of her own.

Her family grew up, right before her eyes, and then she continued to grow.

She went on, to follow her dreams of making it on her own.

Then her dream was destroyed, and once again, you were there to help her through the storm.

The storm is still raging, but she is not, for a new dream has now been born.

She is stronger than ever, no matter the hurdles, because she knows she's never alone.

Who was that baby wrapped in a blanket so many years ago?

That baby was me, and all I can say is I'm the luckiest girl in the world.

I write these words deep down from my soul, to my beautiful parents, who gave me so much.

You made me feel special because I was chosen, and you told me I came from your heart.

I thank you for loving me, I thank you for choosing me, I thank you from my core.

I will love you forever, and always be thankful, that I was the one you chose.

~Amy

(Originally written and posted in 2010)

20 Years of Marriage!

Our Wedding Day ~ August 21,1993

I do! And then some!

I now pronounce you....

I had to make our cake topper 

because interracial toppers didn't exist 20 years ago

Filled with joy!

Awwww ~ Daddy and daughter so long ago!

Jamie and I NEVER imagined 21 years ago, on that fateful day on the freeway, that today, we would be celebrating 20 years of marriage! The odds were not only stacked against us, they were piled high! However, through it ALL, we grew more in love, created a beautiful life and raised a loving family. 

Even though in our eyes we are just a couple, to society we are an interracial couple. We deal with so much more than couples that are of the same race. Sometimes it's mind boggling. We could have easily walked away all those years ago and decided that it wasn't worth the extra struggle to move forward in a relationship, but instead, we did the exact opposite and became stronger in spite of the obstacles. Each brick that was thrown at us made our foundation even stronger and our love even deeper. It's a choice to make it work and a choice we are blessed to have made. 

We not only have the obvious race difference but we are from VERY different worlds. I was raised in upper/middle class, white bread suburbia and Jamie was raised in the hood. Night and day lives, that came together because of 2 hearts and one love. We embraced each other's worlds and we raised our beautiful daughter to appreciate both and feel comfortable in both. Today we live in the middle of the 2 and it works perfectly. Who knew that Jamie would be attending book signings and going to see things like the artsy fartsy mosaic stairs in San Fran and I would be attending ghetto fabulous lowrider shows and car shows! It makes me laugh just thinking about it! Partnership and compromise at its finest!  

Through laughter, tears, love, loss, happiness, sadness, anger, relief, ups and downs...I am grateful for every moment of every single day during these last 20 years of marriage. 

Happy anniversary to my best friend and my soul-mate. Thank you for our CRAZY, AMAZING, LIFE! I Love you Jamie Wise! Here's to 20 more!

Our Fam ~ August 2013

 Us 2013

2012

2013

20 years later! More in love than ever!!

We Are So Very Sorry Trayvon...

At this moment I don't know what to think. I am speechless. I am heartbroken. I am shocked. I am a white woman, married to a black man, and sadly, he isn't shocked at all by the not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman case. That breaks my heart as well. Injustice is something my husband has become used to as a black man in America. When will this change? Why are we still looking at young black men in hoodies as criminals and young white men in hoodies as keeping warm? Why?

We ALL know if George Zimmerman had run into a young white man in a hoodie on that infamous Florida night, he might have glanced at him, but he would have nodded and moved on. We all know this. We do.

George Zimmerman was told by the 911 operator to wait for the police. He didn't. Trayvon Martin was carrying a bag of Skittles. George Zimmerman was carrying a gun. George Zimmerman took the law into his own hands and Trayvon Martin never had the law on his side. We can say he did. We can say a jury saw more evidence than we did. But what we can't say is, justice was done. It wasn't.

The loopholes in the law that allowed George Zimmerman, as an armed security guard, to decide not to wait for police officers and to take the life of an innocent young man, didn't allow justice to be done, the laws allowed a young man to die for no reason. The insane laws in Florida allowed another man to get away with murder. Period.

I'm ashamed of our system. I'm ashamed of our courts. I'm ashamed that attorney's are standing up and celebrating a win. A young man with an entire future ahead of him, who committed no crime, is dead! A win?!? Shameful.

Until the fear based on stereotypes and racism is erased, we will never be able to move forward. Until change is made, until Trayvon can rest in peace, until his parents can go to sleep at night knowing the right thing was done...we can't stop speaking for Trayvon. We won't. I know I speak for many when I say...we are so very sorry Trayvon.

Justice was not done. Injustice was.

Marriage is LOVE...

I am a BIG believer in equal rights for all. I haven't written anything about the gay marriage debate on my blog because this blog is all about interracial marriage. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I have to write about gay marriage, because this blog is about LOVE!

So here's the thing...in light of the fact that the heterosexual divorce rate is 50%+ -- maybe, instead of working so hard to stop gay marriages, we should work a little harder on our marriages so we stay married. Yes?

I respect everyone's right to believe what they believe. However, I don't respect those beliefs when they turn from believing to hating. Gay people don't go around bullying or bashing heterosexuals because they are straight, yet there are straight people who justify bullying gays because they don't believe in their lifestyle. I'd say we have work to do in our houses before we start judging other houses. 

Then there is religion and gay marriage. For the love of God, please don't bring God into this. God loves everyone and I can guarantee he doesn't approve of judging or hating. That is not Christian behavior, that is bad behavior. 

If someone doesn't believe in gay marriage, cool. Don't be in one. If someone doesn't believe in interracial marriage. Cool. Don't be in that either. Just don't take away someone else's right to love because of differing beliefs. Wish them well, walk away, and move on.

Not long ago an AMAZING couple went all the way to the Supreme Court to fight for their marriage. They paved the way for interracial marriage to become legal. The Loving's (yes, that is really their last name) never gave up and because of them my husband and I are allowed to live in love today. To see the gay marriage debate at the Supreme Court truly gives me chills. I get it. To my core. Another fight for love.

Let's stop making this sooooo difficult! In the end it's about being able to love whom our heart falls in love with.

Marriage is LOVE. ALL marriage. And yes, it IS that simple!

No Words Needed...

Anti-Defamation League -- 100 years!

Click on link below:

Take just one minute to watch this, then -- imagine.

Valentine's Day "is" Every Day...

Valentine's Day is such an interesting holiday. So much goes into this day of love. My husband and I look at it a little differently. You see, we feel that Valentine's Day should be every day. I'm not talking about chocolates, roses, cards and fancy dinners. I'm talking about love, respect, laughter, support - LIFE! 

Valentine's Day to us is one more day to; say I love you, smile at each other, share our day with each other, respect each other, support each other, laugh together, chill together, and just be together. 

When love truly comes from the heart there is no proving it - you just know it. For the love to last, it HAS to be about the everyday!     

Mind you, there is nothing wrong with doing something special on Valentine's Day. In fact, it's fun! Do what makes you happy as a couple, not what you think you should do because it's Valentine's Day. We will be celebrating by picking up dinner from one of our favorite restaurants and having our "carpet picnic" by the fire. No crowds, just us. =) 

So today I say, "Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life, my best friend, my heart. I love you - today and EVERY DAY!"