I feel like the past few months have been an ongoing spiritual tutoring session, during the "birthing" phase of creating my online resort. One thing I've noticed is that inspiration (thankfully) doesn't just dump on you like a big tsunami. It pours in slowly, as capacity to handle it expands and as ...
When I was in 4th grade, I joined Girl Scouts. I didn't know much about the mission or what joining would entail... I just reeeeeally wanted to sell the cookies.
My involvement lasted about as long as the "cookie season," and that was enough for me. In that short time, however, I did learn that there...
It's been quite the week of spam and awfulness on my phone.
New, very sneaky tactics are trying to use tragedy and emotion to prompt link clicks. Some of these messages seem so legitimate, and then a beat to think and step back allows wisdom to whisper, "False."
At closer glance, I can see that payin...
We attended "back to school" night for our high schoolers last week, and something we heard in the girls' choir class stood out to me.
"You'll see your students' grades kind of go like this," their teacher said, making an up-and-down motion with her hand. "This is by design."
Sensing the rising intri...
The toddler who is learning to walk doesn't ask for help.
The loving parent simply reaches down and offers a finger to hold.
Tiny feet, chubby thighs, wobbly knees all work together as they learn to fight gravity --
all while the loving parent smiles, delighting in their progress
because they know th...
My triceps are killing me.
I started a new strength training program, and the first 30 days are all about learning "proper form," each day just 5 minutes, with your lightest dumbbells, focused on a single muscle group.
Yesterday, I learned that, of the probably thousands of tricep kickbacks I've done ...
It's an exciting time at our house -- our youngest is about to lose one of her top front teeth! She's been showing everyone how wiggly it's getting (leaning really hard into her teenage siblings' cringes, which is hilarious to watch), and it's at the point now where I think if she sneezes too hard i...
In any important journey, there comes a point where you have to decide between 2 lovers:
Growth or Comfort.
Growth is far less attractive, but can take you to unlimited heights.
Comfort makes big promises (gradual climb, thornless paths, plenty of snacks), but can't guarantee them.
Neither comes witho...
I was given a fantastic gift this weekend: a new outlook on Sundays. I'll preface by saying that I've historically enjoyed them -- mainly as a change of pace from the regular rhythm.
But yesterday morning, I had the random thought that I wanted to start really focusing on personal development on Sun...
Each of us is born with remarkable natural gifts that serve as superpowers in our lives and help us make a unique contribution. Additional gifts can (and should) be developed, but these gifts are hardwired in us. Science and philosophy call them lots of different things -- aptitudes, innate abilitie...
It's "back to school" day here in Virginia, and last night we bid farewell to the amazing summer break we enjoyed. This was probably my favorite summer we've had so far (more to come in a future post about the details), and it would be bittersweet to say goodbye if I didn't feel like we could build ...
I went to a workshop at a women's conference years ago, on the topic of the power of prayer. During the discussion portion of the presentation, an audience member shared a story of a "lightbulb moment" she had experienced. The simple gem she shared has proven useful to me hundreds (possibly thousand...
