Words Have Power!

"Words are potent weapons for all causes, good or bad".

Been a while, but felt the need to write again.

So .. I was excited to hear the Vanity Fair Magazine was going to be doing a piece on Erin Andrews. Entertainment Tonight covered the photo shoot which I watched last night .. STUNNING girl and beautiful photos were shown. I was once again so excited for the girl who had gone through hell last summer looking happy and once again being an inspiration to so many! She may never really know .. but I pray she does. She is changing lives by being a living example of grace and amazing courage.

Yes .. an inspiration .. a HUGE inspiration to so many. Her courage to step out of her comfort zone and walk into the glaring spotlight of the dance floor was incredibly inspiring after the HORROR she had experienced because of no fault of her own! She found a new 'family' amongst the cast, and a 'savior and blessing' in her very special partner, a special man with a heart as big as the sky. And they carried each other to the finals of DTWS and so far beyond. Their purpose was much bigger than the mirror-ball trophy as so eloquently expressed by Maks on the final night. And in the end, the girl found her smile again and was ready to jump back into her life and continue her journey. Her faith had conquered her fear .. and she won!

So .. after watching the ET coverage I was looking forward to picking up the Vanity Fair magazine and reading the article. And then it started appearing online. An online friend of mine posted it and expressed her shock at the contents. I went to read it and by the end I was shaking. Was this real? Who could have asked such questions and expressed these thoughts? And a magazine such as Vanity Fair was choosing to print such a thing .. PARTICULARLY about Erin Andrews.

The interviewer (whose name I CHOOSE not to express) was condescending, rude, foul, and disgusting. Erin handled him with class and grace, not surprisingly, but the question is WHY DID SHE HAVE TO?? She later expressed that she thought that she was being punked, but unfortunately that was not the case. Vanity Fair was actually choosing to print this interviewer's attack. An attack on a woman who had already gone through enough and was beginning to come out back into the light. And while changed forever, she was LIVING again with a strength and grace and power granted to her by the surviving the experience.

During the end of the Q/A, the interviewer had made some ugly comments about Erin's partner on DWTS, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Erin immediately responded and had her man's back. It was becoming more and more unbelievable.

Then .. it came to be known that this same interviewer had called Maksim an 'ignorant immigrant' in the recent past. The shaking began again! If the word has the potency to revive and make us free, it has also the power to blind, imprison, and destroy.

Let's just 'educate' this interviewer shall we .. Aleksandr and Larisa Chmerkovskiy brought their family to the United States to provide a better life and opportunities for their two young sons, Maksim and Valentin. The challenges they faced included financial and language barriers, but the new AMERICAN family prospered and are making a difference. Both young men are very grateful to their parents for everything they have accomplished and to this country for the opportunities afforded to them and they are AMERICAN citizens! Maksim has been such an inspiration to me that I start dance lessons next month .. now that is making a difference in a big way to a chick with two left feet!! lol

Words have power! They can influence people to think the way you think .. whether bad or good. Vanity Fair Magazine continues to give this interviewer the opportunity to 'influence' and perpetuate such disgusting thoughts .. it is just wrong. If he is allowed to continue use his words as weapons for bad, where does that lead us? Are events such as this supposed to be encouraging to others to continue to perpetuate and celebrate such ugliness?

And then as the clock reached 2:00am, the most powerful words quietly appeared .. the expression of gratitude and love expressed between two very strong, grace-filled, loving people who will always have 'each other's backs'. There are no more powerful words than "thank you" and "I love you". And while the ugliness of the words appearing on the pages of Vanity Fair will be lining newstands and online this week, the more important and powerful words will live within the hearts and minds of Erin and Maksim and those of us who support and love them the most .. and in the end those are the words that really have meaning and truth.

"How forcible are right words!" Job 6:25