encouragement for every season of life
“If one more thing falls in our lap, I don’t think I can take it.” I said those words in spring of 2020, partly to God and partly to my husband. And like a siren call made to steer the sea ship toward destruction, guess what fell into our laps soon after I uttered the words? Another difficult change I…
Read More
Well, it about killed me to finish this thing, but I suppose all of us trying to finish something during a pandemic can say that. Pandemic aside, I had a lot of changes going on at the time of writing–mountainous changes that filled me with anxiety. Mountainous changes that made many of my previous changes suddenly seem less consequential….
Read More
Hello, friends! Recently, I’ve been working with a business coach, Retha Nichole, to help me better up my game for the benefit of my readers. One thing she’s uncovered and helped me name is my strong, STRONG tendency to get stuck in a rut because 1) I can still be slow to embrace change (If you’ve been here for awhile,…
Read More
Colorado never gets the memo about spring till around Mother’s Day — if it doesn’t snow on Mother’s Day itself, which it has done before. I’m not bitter about it AT ALL. Just the same, it’s not unusual for me to see a small creature scampering in the woods or along a path during April’s “spring-winter.” You can bet the…
Read More
Last week, we thought we were gonna have to put our dog down. She couldn’t walk, eat, drink, or use the bathroom regularly. And let me tell you, this dog is beloved. B-E-L-O-V-E-D. Our chocolate lab, Georgie, has solid territory in our hearts, and really, I surprise myself at how smitten I am with her. Until recent years, I was…
Read More
That was not the case here. Nor had it been the case for a while. More and more frequently, I noticed my older child “stirring the pot” to the point that his sibling’s feelings genuinely got hurt, and I worried about what would be next. I care deeply about the relationships between the people under my roof; I’m not willing…
Read More
I unwrap my brand spankin’ new 2021 calendar, the old timey kind made of card stock that you hang up somewhere like it’s the 1900s. I love new calendars, and I love fresh starts. But this year, I’m disheartened to find several of the same old disturbing problems following me into 2021. Certainly, I find this to be true in my…
Read More
After reading Myquillyn Smith’s philosophy about how lamp light can “sprinkle some cozy” and improve the mood of a room, especially in the winter, I put on my shoes, grab the car keys and my purse, and skedaddle myself off to the Home Goods store. With the sky-climbing Rockies just to the west of us, it gets dark mighty early this time of…
Read More
This past Thanksgiving, I placed my china plates on our dinner table, just as I’ve done since 1995. They come out from their hiding place in the hutch every holiday we’re home, and often for impromptu tea parties in-between. As I sat a plate at each chair, I remembered how its pattern is a classic compromise between my husband and…
Read More
At one time or another in your life, and maybe that time is right now, you’ll feel flattened and despondent from what is being asked of you. In a season when I felt the same, I shared what I was going through with my friend, Alli. The crux of my agony and angst was this: I was plumb terrified to…
Read More
When I saw the little snowflake icon on my phone for Tuesday and Wednesday, I just about ran screaming up Pike’s Peak. I know that sounds dramatic. And yeah, the longtime locals ’round here will say, “That’s just Colorado!” And they’d be right. Still, I was heartsick that a freeze this early could end our fall season before it even…
Read More
Howdy, friend! One year ago this month, you may have been one of the dear folks who helped me send this book into the world. And since you liked the book enough to share it with your own friends and family, I thought you might be interested in knowing that right now you can get the e-book version of it…
Read More
