Tag: Hope

Adventure, God, Poetry, Writing

Carrying Swords

Mark Wayne

Sometimes life just is.

Sometimes there are no answers.

Sometimes all we can do is…

  • Believe
  • Be faithful
  • Stand strong
  • Cherish the time
  • Choose to trust
  • Have mercy
  • Love

For in the end it is often not the weapon we chose to carry that defeats our enemy. Within our heart and soul a true warrior carries the Sword of the Spirit that forever is able to vanquish our enemies, in the name of Yeshua!

Yahuah is a warrior; Yahuah is His name.

Exodus 15:3
Grief, Stories, Writing

Podcast Interview is Live – 1/12/2021!

Mark Wayne

Exciting news! A couple months ago I was interviewed by Ronit Plank about my book “Cowboys Aren’t Supposed to Cry” and living through grief as a young man, and today is the air date!

I share my walk through cancer with my first wife, her death and aftermath of grief and the writing of my memoir > Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry. Listen to my story at And Then Everything Changed or any streaming platform. Know that you are not alone in whatever kind of grief you may have or be experiencing.

I pray God’s blessings over each of you. Be a warrior poet and

Live Your Dreams!

Grief, Life, Stories

No Turning Back Now – Podcast Interview

Mark Wayne

Airing this Tuesday, January 12 on the And Then Everything Changed podcast. I was blessed to be a guest and interviewed by host Ronit Plank, her intro on IG is below.

⚡️Next week @mwschutter joins me to talk about nursing his first wife through cancer, becoming a young widower, and what he’s learned about the man he was all those years ago and who he is now.

You can listen in on all the podcast platforms – ITunes, Apple, Spotify and so many others.

This spring you can read more of my journey in my upcoming memoir ‘Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry‘.

Life, Stories

The DAY AFTER, and What Do You Do With That?

Mark Wayne

Every major life event, every holiday, every milestone, every anniversary, every accomplishment or disappointment is followed by the day after, and what do you do with that?

“So, this was it I thought, no trumpets, no angels singing hallelujah, no bright light, no  nothing,… she was just gone.”

One line, no explanation, no context from my upcoming memoir ‘Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry’

As this post goes live today, December 26, is the day after Christmas 2020 🎄and a week from now will the day after New Years Day 2021 🎉. Is it just me or do you experience pangs of melancholy during this supposed festive time of good will and frivolity?

So what can we do?

  • Pause – rest in the moments and let the world move on.
  • Anchor – revisit the memories and breathe in the feelings that come.
  • Believe – in hope for tomorrow until our journey through this life is done.

There are reasons to live
There are reasons to die
But the end’s not the end
While you’re still alive

~The lyrics above are from the song ‘There Was a Life’ from the album Night Castle by Trans Siberian Orchestra. Tomorrow is coming, so with faith and hope go…

Grief, Stories, Writing

“What do you do with that?” – Memoir Update

Mark Wayne

“What do you do when the waves of finality wash over you and cover you in a different reality? Can one single moment define your entire life? A life is made up of a series of events, some happy, some sad, some magic, and some tragic. The tragic moments, the events filled with trauma, pain, and loss irrevocably change us forever. There is no going back from these events. We are undeniably not the same as we were before, so the question remains,— what do you do with that?” ©Mark Wayne

The above is an excerpt from my upcoming memoir ‘Cowboys Are Not Supposed to Cry’ due out next spring, exact date still to be determined. Here is a short list of updates of what has been happening:

  • The first round of edits has been done on the manuscript, waiting on the second round from the editing team at my publisher.
  • Received some permissions and fair use for quoted material in my book, other material has been rewritten to avoid using copyrighted material.
  • I recorded an interview with Ronit Plank for her podcast ‘And Then Everything Changed’ the date for interview to go live is January 12, 2021.
“What do you do with that?”

Grief and loss changes us, how could it not and what do you do with that? #WickedQuestions #BlogPost #Memoir #UpcomingBook

Adventure, Life, Writing

Do You Really Think You Are In Control?

Mark Wayne
Lyrics from the song ‘There Was a Life’ from the TSO album Night Castle

As we face tightening restrictions due to COVID-19 all over the world, the US and the state in which I live, the lyric above got me to thinking about how much we really have no control over. We spend so much time and energy trying to control things in our lives. We schedule and plan out our tightly controlled days and when it does not go according to plan, what then?

So much is happening outside of our control:

  • There are waves crashing on beaches that no sees.
  • There are flowers blooming on high mountain tops of snow.
  • There are packs of wolves running across ridge lines in forests unseen.
  • There are trees bending from the force of the winds and weather.
  • There is birth, life and death happening all around us.

What is happening around you for which you have no control? #WickedQuestions

For the sake of our own sanity and mental health, we must learn to detach from that over which we have no control. To trust in a good outcome, to hope in a better tomorrow, and a better future for those who come behind us.

#JustBelieve #HopeLives