Purpose

Have you ever been introduced to an idea that radically changed your life? Did this idea not only explain your past frustrations but offer direction for a better future? Recently I have. In essence, the idea says that how we see ourselves profoundly affects how we lead our lives. Let me explain… My journey began when I read a book entitled Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, a professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Based on science, interviews with high achievers from multiple fields, and her own personal history, Duckworth explores what creates outstanding achievement. Duckworth found that what she calls “grit” predicts success more reliably than talent or IQ, and that anyone, at any age, […]

When I first started dating my husband, it was a cold, blustery February and there was a fresh dusting of snow on the ground. I remember we got on the topic of moving to warmer weather. After all, I was not made for cold days! Every winter since, he has listened to me complain about the cold, coats, cold rain, and generally anything about my absolute hatred for the winter season. (Except for skiing—I have no problem visiting winter weather in small vacation settings!) I told him about those few years I lived in Florida and how I missed the one-month winters. As time moved on, we began dreaming of drinking our morning coffee along the water with a tropical breeze and

As we start the New Year, I am reminded of years past and what I have longed for, accomplished, and have yet to fulfill. I just love the newness of a Monday or the first of the month or a January full of unrealized potential and loads of plans and goals. With each January we are given a new chance and more time and, as I get older, I am realizing that time is more valuable than money. I have a small list of resolutions this year: less sugar, less screen time, more quality in our week, more love for my husband and my kids, and leaning on my Jesus. Giving myself grace, walking daily, returning to yoga, writing on Sundays, and

All dressed up and no place to go. This is the dilemma of toddlers across the world. They exist in a perpetual state of readiness to go somewhere, anywhere, and not be invited to go along. I am the youngest of four children, six years behind my three siblings who are all 18 months apart. The door was always shut in my face as everyone raced out to ride their bikes, play with their friends, and do all the things I was too little and too unwanted to do. It was my eternal and infinite holding pattern. Driven to Succeed My mantra as a toddler (and sometimes still) was “When I get older, I’m gonna ____________.” When I was in elementary school,

Life can be mundane. When we are young, we anticipate the exciting, eventful, purpose-filled existence that we are told is our future. We launch into our 20s with such optimism about our life, yet it doesn’t take long for that optimism to wane. We start real life lacking the joy in the everyday. Beginning our careers, building a promising relationship, getting married, and starting a family look like exciting benchmarks to a fulfilling future. And they are. But they are also the start of real life. The Frustrations of Real Life Real life includes challenging coworkers, repetitive work that you find cumbersome, promotions you think should be yours but aren’t. Relationships that fizzle or a husband who leaves his dirty laundry on

On Mother’s Day of the year my husband died, my daughter presented me with a book by Ann Voskamp—One Thousand Gifts. Voskamp’s writing challenged me to draft a gratitude list with the goal of reaching 1,000 things I was thankful for. But how do you do that? How can you be grateful when all that is precious is slipping away—in our case, our home, all we had worked for against retirement, my live-in mom with Alzheimer’s, and my husband’s terminal cancer diagnosis?  What I learned during that season—after entirely too much whining and self-pity—was this: Even as our home and the people I prized most were no longer mine, there was an abundance of gifts to be grateful for. Even During Dark