That little extra push: remembering your why

What’s one thing that motivates you to get out of bed each morning? For me, it’s a call to sprinkle hope, humor & heart through my writing. But whatever our “why,” it can prove hard to keep pressing forward when results remain elusive. For instance, last year I submitted six stories to…[read more]

Leveraging the most of our time: pressing into the wait

Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash.

We’ve all likely heard the directive to “be patient” at least once in our lives. It might even be a situation that required us to “wait on the Lord.” Waiting is hard stuff. But what if we could…[read more]

Creating a roadmap: a new kind of ‘en-vision’ board

Years ago, I attended a vision board workshop, filling my blank page with magazine clippings—images, words and phrases that resonated with me. A few years later, I was invited to another workshop involving more of the same—aspirations…[read more]

Leaving a legacy of love: intangible expressions that promote life

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash.

Where there is love, there is life. ~ Mahatma Gandhi

One of my favorite descriptions of love is found in the Bible: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not…[read more]

Divine interruptions: when to take that leap of faith

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash.

What do a power outage and a leaky roof have in common? In my household, the former (another blog post in itself) put a stop to plans, or movement, my husband and I set in motion this past summer. And the latter instigated movement—thanks to a downpour…[read more]

A youthful spirit: redefining ‘adventure’

Photo by Neil Bates on Unsplash.

Someone recently told me: “You know you’re getting old when… homemade Chex Mix excites you.” Instead of a precursor to old age, however, I prefer to classify it as “childlike appreciation” for…[read more]

When it no longer works: a rule of thumb for trying something new

In 2020, I wrote the first draft of my novel—from which my upcoming Sweetwater series derives—at the end of my work days. In 2021, I shifted #allthings writing…[read more]

Pinterest and charcuterie boards: finding humor in the messy middle

Photo by Jake Oates on Unsplash.

What do Pinterest and charcuterie boards have in common? An end vision. You’ve seen them: the memes that parody Pinterest boards by displaying each perfect [fill-in-the-blank], followed by another person’s hilarious attempt to…[read more]

Everything is permissible but not beneficial: the 100% rule

Photo by Patrick Robert Doyle on Unsplash.

It’s easier to hold your principles 100% of the time than it is to hold them 98% of the time.
~ Clayton Christensen

If you could apply one tip to your life to make it easier in 2022, would you? Motivational speaker and author Benjamin Hardy calls this tip the “100% rule”—making a decision with no other outcome than 100%. For example,…[read more]

One thing at a time: turning resolve into results

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash.

Resolutions: the infamous “R” word. Some years I pile on all the ways I resolve to improve myself. Other years I know that to set the bar too high will result in an #epicfail. Why do we oftentimes gravitate toward an overly optimistic view…[read more]