Today is my birthday. I love birthdays. It isn’t about being the center of attention. I just love giving myself a day to do whatever I want, guilt free. A day when I don’t have to be anything for anyone else. When I give myself permission to just be me. It is a day when I feel seen for who I …
My daughter is home for spring break so I had a partner for the gym this week. As we were getting ready to head out, she realized that she left her airpods at school. Like many people, she likes to listen to her own music when she’s at the gym and tune out the noise around her. I …
A year ago this week, I wrote my first blog for Simply J.O.Y. (Jesus Over You). It was a step of faith that was taken in nervous obedience to a calling that had been on my heart for a long time. The enemy worked hard to stop me; burying me in doubt, insecurity, and fear to ensure …
God gives me inspiration from unexpected places and this week’s inspiration came from a dear friend who said, “You need to write a blog about curve balls.” Normally, I wouldn’t be writing a blog with a baseball metaphor because my knowledge about the sport is basic at best. I can’t recognize a fast ball from a curve …
How many people know the real you? The imperfect, true-to-life you? The you who is facing challenges? Struggles? Frustrations? Not the social media version of you where it appears to everyone scrolling (and trolling) that you’ve got it all together. Where you only post pictures of yourself with filters or make-up. Posts that tell the world that it is all good. Your life …
As I write this, it is Valentine’s Day. And men and women everywhere are scrambling to pick up last-minute cards, gifts, flowers, and candy. Dinner reservations have been made. Babysitters lined up. All because the calendar says it’s February 14. I’m a pretty low maintenance person so my husband is lucky. Bring me a sub for dinner so I don’t have …
A week ago, there was a tragic car accident involving five students at my daughter’s university. Three of them passed away at the scene. Two are still hospitalized. They were sophomores; 19 or 20 years old. Five young men who we would say, “had their whole lives ahead of them.” Three of those lives ended on that country road. And the …
How often have you said, “well there’s nothing I can do but pray?” Or “It’s out of my control. All I can do is pray.” Or “I don’t know what else to do but pray.” Or some variation of those sentiments? We say it almost out of resignation. There is nothing else left so I guess I’ll just pray. We …
Words have power. Words can wound and words can heal. Words too often define us. The words we chose to attribute to ourselves, and the labels others have assigned us. I think too frequently, the words we speak to ourselves and the judgements we hold onto weigh us down rather than lift us up. I’ve …
My company’s Annual dinner was Monday. I am responsible for this event from sponsorships to nametags. It’s a big undertaking. And while it takes months to plan, anyone who plans events knows there are always changes at the last minute and things that don’t go according to plan. The keys to a successful event are organization, flexibility, leadership, and …