Stories of Faith, Hope, and Love
I think fall is my second-favorite season of the year, but maybe not for the reason you’d think. Now, Princess would argue that it’s not officially fall yet, but once school is back in session and football games are on the television, it’s close enough for me. For you, fall might mean pumpkin spice flavors are back. Crisp weather mornings are on the horizon. Leaves will start to change colors. Apple cider and bonfires and cozy
Is it already two weeks into the new year? Yikes. Time really does fly the older I get. But one thing doesn’t change and that’s my love for new chapters and blank slates and fresh beginnings. (Even if my left eye is still flashing at times with a curtain of floaters to keep things from getting boring.) As I said last time: “I’m more than ready to turn the page to 2026 and start the next chapter
This week marks the beginning of a new year with so many possibilities ahead. Coffee dates with friends. Bible studies with a small group. Trails to hike. Books to read. Stories to create. Meals to fix. Love to share. But things don’t always go according to plan! Case in point: 2023. I started off last year full of HOPE that we would get through the myriad of details to finalize my mother-in-law’s estate. ?Then we
Lots of stuff happened last year… One son got engaged, moved back home for a few months, then got married and moved out. The other son had stress fractures destroy his junior track season and then interrupt his senior cross country season to the point he’s seriously considering trying to pole vault this spring instead. The (extended) family truly enjoyed a vacation again, this time right on the lake and mere minutes from Silver Dollar
Our special needs Princess sure loves her calendars. So, she was the first to remind me that it’s officially Summer now. Of course, having hit 100 degrees several days already this June, I’m very aware of the hot weather. And yet, in a strange twist of COVID adaptations, the high school Spring Track season is just now headed into their state competition. ?Hence the seasonal confusion inside our household. ?However, over the past few weeks I’ve also found
Time surely flies when you’re busy writing and editing and taking care of the family. Wasn’t it just January? Ha. Actually, with the calendar about the turn again, it’s time for a first quarter goal check to see how close I came to hitting the target. But before I could start evaluating my progress, I needed to remember what those goals even were! So I jumped back to my “It’s a New Year with New
Are you a New Year’s goal setter? Or do you prefer not to set yourself up for failure like the gazillion others whose resolutions will only last another week if they’re lucky? Ha! Actually, I’ve learned a lot about goal setting from my failure to fulfill those long lists of wishes. Mostly because I tend to bite off more than I can chew. And I aim too high without thinking through all the steps involved
It’s that time of year again when I pause to reflect back on my journey over the previous twelve months…and ask myself “how did I do?” What progress did I make toward my goals? What worked well? What could I have done differently? And what changes do I need to make as I turn the corner into 2019? My word for 2018 was LOVE. To love God, my family, my friends, my neighbor, and my
Want to know what it looks like to be living the dream? I spent last night in this room … at the top of a tower in a castle. That’s right. A castle. I’m at the Glen Eyrie castle for a few days. Writing in the early mornings, then teaching and mentoring a group of middle school writers for the rest of the day. I am literally living, breathing, talking, and dreaming about stories all
One of my favorite things to talk about is goal setting, partially because I wouldn’t be where I am today in my writing career without them. I used to ponder vague dreams and wishes like “someday I’d like to…” or “wouldn’t it be cool if…” but those visions stayed on the perpetual horizon until I learned how to create SMART goals. Specific. Measurable. Achievable. Relevant. Time-bound. True goals have teeth in them and are attached