Life is a mixture of making plans and embracing surprises, isn’t it? Sometimes we succeed in navigating the roadmap clutched in our hands. Other times, we follow a detour or willingly toss the map aside and jaunt off on an unknown adventure. At the end of the day, we discover ourselves on a road we never thought we’d travel, oftentimes a long …
In Others’ Words: Be a Team
All teams are made up of individuals. Sport teams. Business teams. Ministry teams. But if the team’s focus is on all the separate people who make up the team instead of the overall goal of the team, the group will stall out. You can’t get anywhere if you’re divided by the wants of a variety of different people. Individuals are chosen for …
In Others’ Words: True Success
There are many definitions of success, but this one by Dr. Kelly Flanagan tops my list: “… success is what happens when you make your true self your lived self.” We can accomplish so many things — academically, professionally, personally — but unless we are being true to ourselves, all our victories ring hollow. We can allow someone to place …
In Others’ Words: Unexpected Celebrations
Our perspective affects our outlook on life. And author Robert Brault’s mindset makes me smile. We all know the traditional, here-they-come-again celebrations. Birthdays. Independence Day. Thanksgiving. Yom Kippur. Christmas. Weddings — and the subsequent anniversaries. Graduations. But what other special occasions can we celebrate besides the ones already prewritten on most calendars? The photo above is recreated at every Deep …
In Others’ Words: The “How” of Criticism
We all face criticism at some point in our lives. As an author, I invite criticism into my life — sometimes known by the kinder, gentler term of “feedback.” Every novel I write goes through several rounds of edits where my editors tell me what’s working and what’s not working. My Preferred Readers — a small, select group of women …
In Others’ Words: Heart Sutures
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser is anything but a stranger to this blog. He’s often the one to get the conversation going in the comments. I count him a treasured friend — this, despite the fact that we’ve yet to meet face to face. That’s the wonderful thing about friendships: they are not limited by geographical boundaries. His poetic and profound words “Life …
In Others’ Words: Hearing the Silence
Sometimes it isn’t so much what we say as it is what we don’t say. I used to to think the more I said, the better chance I had of winning an argument … of influencing people and making friends … and yes, well, making my point. Talk, talk, talk meant effect, effect, effect, right? Wrong. The power of persuasion …
In Others’ Words: Don’t Overlook Enthusiasm
My husband and I have become the de facto sports photographers for our youngest daughter’s volleyball teams. CJ plays volleyball year-round, which means I have thousands of volleyball photos of her and all of her teammates. On average, if her club plays three matches and a cross-over match during a tournament, I come home with a minimum of two …
In Others’ Words: Keep Holding On
] At one time, I believed courage meant the complete absence of fear. Of course, that kind of thinking disqualified me from ever being brave. Now I know that courage and fear often — if not always — go hand in hand. Being afraid doesn’t disqualify me or you from also being courageous. We can face a personal Goliath and …
In Others’ Words: Live and Learn
So often we think about all the things children need to learn — the things we need to teach children. We teach children to: do basic life functions: sleep through the night, feed themselves, dress themselves talk (Use your nice words!) read interact with other children (Play nice, right?) But children teach adults a lot too, don’t you think? …