I’ve always been intrigued by this quote by Anne Frank. Astounded, really. A young girl whose life was destroyed by the Nazi Holocaust states that despite everything — despite losing her home, despite having to hide from people who want to kill her and her family, despite the fear of being caught and taken to a concentration camp (which …
In Others’ Words: What to Do After Going Halfway
For a long time, I thought 50-50 relationships were the way to go. I do my part to meet the other person halfway and the other person does their part. Equal investments into a relationship should make it work, right? Not necessarily. And then I believed the 100% “go all in” attitude about relationships. It’s not 50-50. It’s 100% plus …
In Others’ Words: Whatcha’ Gonna Be?
Be silly. Be honest. Be kind. Which one of those “Be’s” jumped out at you today? There are so many things we want to be — smart, pretty, successful, well-liked, athletic — that sometimes we get lost along the way to being. We have so many “be’s” to choose from, we lose track of the important ones. Or someone tells …
In Others’ Words: The Power of Kind Words
These days, my thoughts turn more and more to the need for kindness. Kind actions. Kind words. It is all too easy these days to judge another person harshly — to judge an entire group of people harshly. (And no, this is not a political post. Not going there.) I blogged a month ago about how I don’t want …
In Others’ Words: The Everything of Family
There’s nothing quite like family rallying together in a crisis. Yesterday, my family rallied round my almost 99-year-old mother-in-law after she fell in her bathroom and ended up being taken to the emergency room via ambulance — she said the trip wasn’t bad — and then spent the day getting x-rayed and scanned. But they also rallied around one another …
In Others’ Words: The Problem of a Fast-Paced Life
I had a lunch date with my husband yesterday. While we were talking, he mentioned the year anniversary of someone coming to work at his office. I stopped him and said, “Has it really been a year? That time went by fast.” Life moving fast? That happens a lot. I start counting down to something special, something weeks or even …
In Others’ Words: Adjusting our Emotional Tides
For me, it seems I always come back to gratitude. There are certainly a lot of other emotions that demand my attention — wanting dominance in my life. And yes, I started to list them off and then deleted the list because why name all the emotional ups and downs I experience any given day? Disappointment can be one of the …
In Others’ Words: The Anger Remedy
The other night I decided to enter into a controversial debate . . . a conversation on Facebook, something I just don’t do. I wrote out my comment, editing it here and there, and then read it out loud to my husband Rob and my sixteen-year-old daughter, CJ. Here’s how the conversation went afterward: CJ: Can I say something? …
In Others’ Words: Present, Past, Future Living
I got away to Breckenridge, CO this past weekend, enjoying some down time with my husband and youngest daughter — including the best gluten-free French onion soup I’ve ever tasted. On the way home, we listened to a talk by Andy Stanley on the topic of how to have a drama-free life. No drama? I’m all in. He had …
In Others’ Words: The Beauty of a Broken Heart
When I was younger, I thought there was only one way my heart could be broken. I blame my limited thinking on all the Harlequin romances I read as a teenager — and back then, Harlequins were quite innocent. Years later, I know a person’s heart can be broken for many different reasons: the end of a relationship — think of …