In high school, I was involved in drama — both acting and directing. When I earned a role in a play, I had to learn both my lines and the stage directions — specifically, entrances, exits, and where I stood onstage. My spot on stage was called my mark. Sometimes my mark — as well as other actors’ marks …
Rafflecopter Contest: You Made Me Love You
Don’t ever ask me which of my books is my favorite. I love them all for different reasons. Why do I love You Made Me Love You? Maybe because it’s an eShort novella for all of 99 cents!! Maybe because I get to answer the question “Do opposites attract … or combust?” Maybe because it’s the long-awaited sequel to my …
In Others’ Word: The Reality of Wealth
I’ve heard Oscar Wilde’s quote before. The real question is: How would I answer the question? Have I put my bank balance above an intangible but oh-so-powerful emotion? Have I squandered the feelings of another … or underestimated the value of loving someone? The real question for today is this one: Who are you going to make wealthy today … …
In Others’ Words: Blessing
What a good way to start the week: with a blessing. A prayer for protection. For sustenance. For joy. For love. For dreams fulfilled. So after I uploaded the blessing, I did two things: 1. I prayed for each one for you to be blessed today … and this coming week. 2. And I wondered what kind of blessing you …
In Others’ Words: Waste Not
I have CJ, my youngest daughter, to thank for this post. Her volleyball coach asked each girl to list five things they bring to the team. As we talked about it this morning on the way to school, I told CJ to include resilience on her list of attributes. For a 13-year-old, CJ has an amazing ability to shake things …
In Others’ Words: Inner Grace
The first time I read Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s quote about achieving a state of inner spiritual grace, I thought “Yes. I want that too.” I just didn’t know the journey I would need to take to “function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God” was going to be so arduous. Inner spiritual grace sounded so …
In Others’ Words: Choosing You
The best of friends call us out on things. There was the day my friend Faith saw me caught up in a swirl of expectations — my expectations for myself, as well as all the imaginary and real expectations that other people had for me. I allowed the unspoken should’s and ought’s to overwhelm me and distort me into some …
In Others’ Words: A Bit of Advice
Ah, advice. We love giving others advice — often with a “take it or leave it” qualifier. But when it comes to hearing and accepting advice from someone else? That’s not always so easy, is it? Maybe I’m the only one with the virtual deflector shields of “I know what I’m doing” and “I can figure this out on my …
In Others’ Words: A Choice of Colors
I see words in color. Not every word … names, mostly. And certain other ones. No rhyme or reason to why or why not a word appears in my head in color or basic black. My name? Beth My husband’s name? Rob Home family friendship laughter celebrate sorrow tears And yes, I have my favorite color: …
In Others’ Words: Celebrating More
Got anything to celebrate today? Is it something you’d like to celebrate again … and again … and again? I’m celebrating sending off a novella manuscript — and hoping to celebrate that more in the future. I’m celebrating how my daughters and sons-in-love and daughter-in-love create a heart-expanding vision of family. And I’m anticipating the celebrations that will happen once …