I spend a lot of hours watching volleyball players on the court — most often through my camera lens. It’s a long, heavy lens that I invested in just for shooting indoor sports. But I digress. Funny thing about photographing a volleyball team: I focus on the individual players more than I do the team. Where is the setter …
In Others’ Words: Words of Regret
A few weeks ago, I blew it with a family member. I got upset about something and then I let my anger fuel my words. And yes, I regret what I said to that person. But even more, I regret how I spoke to that person. All this year, I’ve said over and over again that I don’t want to …
In Others’ Words: Fail Forward
I like it when successful people talk about their failures. Take, for example, when another writer shares how many times their manuscript was rejected before they landed a contract. (The Help by Kathryn Stockett was rejected 60 times.) Or when a pro athlete shares his struggles. (6’7″ NBA pro Paul Pierce was cut from the varsity team in high school …
In Others’ Words: Life Happens
There are certain things I wish I’d learned sooner in life. This is one of them: “What happens is not as important as how you react to what happens.” Circumstances, both bad and good, come and go. But how I respond in a given situation? That can have a lasting effect on me and on others that lingers for years …
In Others’ Words: Focusing on Your Goal
When you look ahead, what do you see? Do you see your goal? Where you’re headed, what you want to accomplish, the finish line … You may not be able to say, “The end is near” but can you close your eyes and see whatever it is you’re working for in your mind? Or, when you look ahead, do you …
In Others’ Words: Cheap Medicine
In 2007, I was hit with a serious illness that took me down for four months. To be frank, it was a year before I looked in the mirror and recognized myself again. And I still live with the repercussions of that life-threatening illness. During my recovery time, friends loaned my husband a DVD and said, “We thought Beth might …
In Others’ Words: Look and Find
How good are you at looking at yourself and liking yourself? Me? For years, I struggled with looking at myself and liking what I saw. I couldn’t see anything positive because it was blocked by a whole lot of negative self-talk. How we see ourselves is often affected by what we’ve heard others say about us. Finding positives about ourselves? …
In Others’ Words: Measure Up
I weigh myself every morning. And yes, it matters to me if the scale goes up or down. Right now, the number on the scale matters even more than it does at other times because I’m focused on losing weight. Not a lot of weight — just the 10 pounds that keep sticking around and annoying me. But here’s the …
In Others’ Words: Filling Voids
Some truths are more harsh than others. Some people avoid the word “sin.” They consider it outdated. Old-fashioned. We don’t sin anymore. We make mistakes. Get tripped up. Commit an error. But I prefer to call a sin a sin because it reminds me that my wrong action has wounded my soul — and possibly someone else’s soul, too. I …
In Others’ Words: Live Out Loud
Whatever an artist creates, it is an echo of their life. When a reader turns the pages of one of my novels, if she listens closely, she’ll hear whispers of my life escaping from between the lines. Yes, I’ve plotted fictional characters facing obstacles that I placed in a specific order leading to “the end” of my design. But often, …