Blog
Posted: January 12, 2024
Over Christmas I fed my body a little too much and it grew. You know what I’m saying. Maybe yours did too? Because what we feed grows. When we water and feed our houseplants, they grow rich and beautiful. When we feed our children they grow up to be big beautiful human beings. What we feed grows. So we have to ask ourselves, “What I am feeding?” I have to be honest; there are hard days with big problems that I can’t solve. As a result I feed self-pity. There are times when I look at my circumstances and I feel like I might drown. What do I feed? Self-defeat, I’m not smart enough to solve my problems. Sometimes I feel like somebody is disappointed in me and doesn’t like me. Maybe I’ve done something wrong. What do I feed? I feed unworthiness. I’m not good enough, not likeable. So what do…
Posted in: beauty and joy, beauty in God's creation, desires, disappointments, Eat God's word, empty soul, feeling good, God's creation, God's promises are true, happy heart, Heavenly Father, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Struggles, pity, presence of God, rest, self-defeat, take care of your heart, thankful, transformation, unlovable, What we feed grows
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Posted: December 10, 2023
It was May 2020 and three months had gone by without me receiving any human connection or a hug. The isolation of Covid did that to us. We were saving lives by locking ourselves up in our homes; so they said. Being single, an extrovert and someone who thrives on the companionship and joy of being with other people, I was slowly dying inside. It was the end of May and I agreed to meet my friend Joanne to remove rocks in preparation of a horse compound. We arrived together, got out of our cars, looked both ways (to make sure nobody was watching us hug) and hugged like crazy. It felt so good and right, and tears flowed down my cheeks. Oh the power of a loving hug. When we’re thrown in jail for a crime we’ve committed, the biggest punishment is being put into solitary confinement. Society knows…
Posted in: alone, alone at Christmas, Christmas, companionship, Covid-19, failure to thrive, happiness needs to be shared, hugs, isolation, loneliness epidemic, power of hugs, singleness at Christmas, suffering, we need each other
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Posted: November 9, 2023
It feels like we’ve lost trust the last few years. Trust in our relationships, workplaces and churches. Because I’m a curious person I’ve felt this for some time and it was affirmed to me in the last Global Leadership Summit in October of this year. Craig Groeschel, pastor of Life Church hit it out of the park with his opening keynote session on trust. It gripped my heart as he affirmed what I’ve been feeling for some time. The loss of trust. I think most of who listened to this nodded as well. He said that to rebuild trust we need: transparency + empathy + consistency=trust. Wow that hit me. Over the past few years it seems we’ve split into camps through Covid, politics, the state of the world and our daily interactions. I think one thing missing out of that formula is TIME. We need to make time to…
Posted in: adversity, ask question s, ask questions, authentic, betrayal, Communication, companionship, confront conflict, consistency, Differences, empathy, Expectations, Friendship, honesty, Listening, trust, Understanding each other, unity, vulnerable, walk in my shoes
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Posted: October 7, 2023
When a word keeps showing up I believe God is trying to teach me something. That’s part of the enchantment. Today I was intentional about practicing enchantment. Here’s what is looked like. On my 5 km walk I decided to put away my phone and NOT listen to any sermons or podcasts, I chose to let God enchant me. Let me explain. Today before Canadian Thanksgiving 2023, the day is showing off its glory. It’s 22 degrees Celsius, no clouds in the sky, the trees and foliage are golden yellow and orange and from just the angle the lake is a sparkling diamond. With every step I soak in the extravagant beauty and at times almost overcome with tears. Walking up towards the Mission Hill Winery I encounter 2 beautiful young women who are awkwardly trying to take a selfie. I offer to take their picture, and then have a…
Posted in: ask God, Awe of God', be creative, beauty, beauty and joy, beauty in God's creation, enchantment, glimpse of Heaven, glory of God, God's creation, majesty of God, nature, practice enchantment, presence of God, thanksgiving
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Posted: September 17, 2023
Beware of the deadly 3 “D’s”. It starts with discouragement, catapults into despair and may end up in depression. Some how you’ve ventured into a dark cave and found there was no light to guide you out. Your aching body feels heavy and fatigued. Your mind is ruminating, you can’t focus and you keep chewing over the scene of your mess, failure, loss or disappointment. I know every one of you reading this has experienced at least one of the deadly “D’s”. It’s a horrible place to be in, and we need to help one another getting out of our cave. That’s where you come in. We all need to take part in being God’s hands and feet on earth to lift up those going through one of the 3 “D’s”. If you are the one going through one of the “D”s right now, I pray that someone reading this…
Posted in: adversity, ask for help, ask God, be a blessing, caves, companionship, cover each other's backs, darkness, depression, despair, disappointment, don't give up, Encouragement, failures, faulty thinking, feeling bad, Finding Truth, Friendship, Making Wise Choices, one-another, Overcoming Struggles, power of words, Prayer, rescue, seasons of darkness, self worth, show up, we need each other
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Posted: August 21, 2023
If you knew you only had thirty days to live, what is one thing in your life that you would stop right now?” This provoking question started a lively discussion amongst my group of friends. After much animated banter, one main theme came into focus; stop the life-sucking “shoulds”out of our daily activities. We agreed that many of us cave into guilt-induced obligations. We are afraid that we will disappoint people or they might not like us. The discussion became livelier as we tried to determine the obligations we needed to let go so that we could enjoy the vibrant, fulfilling life that Jesus came to model for us. There is one prevailing statement I hear these days: “I am so tired!”It is a proven statistic that today we sleep 1-1/2 hours less that we did one hundred years ago.[i] More motor vehicle accidents are being reported because both men…
Posted in: anxiety, ask for help, ask God, chaos, Conflict, each day has enough troubles of its own, Encouragement, Expectations, Freedom from Busyness, frustrations, grace, live one day at a time, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Struggles, perfectionism, re-evaluate, Say no, should, trust God for today
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Posted: June 12, 2023
It’s true. As we get older we accumulate more experience and wisdom and see life through different lenses. Clearer insight comes after years of struggling, disappointments, victories, success and failures. We work so hard to get to that place of “we did it”. Everything we’ve worked for so hard has finally come to fruition. That should ultimately satisfy us. But there’s always more isn’t there? I’ll finally be happy when I pay off the mortgage, get my children into a good school, get that promotion at work, have a hefty retirement fund and the granite countertops. As an author and speaker it’s always about the next big speaking engagement, next book contract, next trip and writer’s conference. It’s about making the right connections, social media numbers and book sales. This has been my life for over 20 years and it’s been a super, exciting ride of hard work but also…
Posted in: accomplishments, accumulate experiences, achievements, Best friends, community, do the hard work, Families, homes, joy, our children, Pleasure, Prayer, thankful, we need each other
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Posted: May 14, 2023
The first time it happened I was only four. “Mommy why are we stealing these lilacs?” “Do those pretty flowers belong to us?” I was bewildered as I watched my gentle mother on her tiptoes reaching and snapping the branches from the vintage purple lilac bush. Soon her arms were filled with bunches of purple and the succulent aroma made her smile from ear to ear. I must have been mistaken, my quiet and tender mother would never do anything wrong. Certainly not steal. Captivated by my mother’s joy I clung to her hand and bounced along as we headed back to our compact bungalow nestled in a small village in Germany. World War Two left bomb shelters, broken dreams and poverty throughout Germany. Yes, the rubble was being transformed into its former beauty and culture, but families were still struggling to re-establish their former lifestyle. My young and innocent…
Posted in: Acts of Service, ambiance, be creative, beauty, beauty and joy, beauty in God's creation, Families, gardening, God's creation, home sweet home, homes, lilacs, nature, relationships, stealing
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Posted: April 10, 2023
Beautiful things draw me in like a magnet. Whether it’s a pair of shoes, the sunset over the ocean, a painting, a vase with flowers, pottery or the feel and texture of beautiful cloth. Anything which has colours, unique styles or something that brings ambiance into a room makes me yearn to reach out to it. Editors from my publishing houses have cautioned me about using the word “beautiful” too often. I’ve had to find synonyms to describe the magic and wonder of everything in God’s creation. Describing beauty is often beyond human expressions. I’ve often wondered why beauty impacts me so profoundly and I believe I know the answer. The Bible makes it quite clear in Ecclesiastes 3:11 “…He has set eternity in our hearts.” And in the spiritual realm we are already “…seated in the Heavenly places with Christ” (Ephesians 2:6). Our relationship with Jesus Christ gives us…
Posted in: Ecclesiastes, a time for everything under the Heaven, ambiance, be creative, beauty, disappointments, eternity, glimpse of Heaven, Made for more, passion, purpose, worship
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Posted: March 12, 2023
What does it even mean to be “beyond ordinary?” The last 3 days I’ve been involved in a Global Conference with women around the world from 45 countries with the theme CALLED: BEYOND ORDINARY. I know we would all like to wake up one day, look in the mirror and reflect a woman that is smart, capable, enchanting and beautiful. After hearing many testimonies and keynote speakers, here’s what’ve learned about becoming “Beyond Ordinary.” BECOME UNCOMFORTABLE. Well, that’s not what we want to hear. To become something “more than ordinary” we have to step out of our comfort zone. Often times it’s with fear and trembling as we step into the unknown. Like stepping out of a plane and soaring effortlessly as Miss Wheelchair Canada Vahen King did so courageously. LOVE ME TO DEATH SO THAT HE CAN KISS ME TO LIFE. That’s a radical powerful statement made by Kathy…
Posted in: achievements, be a blessing, be a follower, Beauty through Boldness, beyond ordinary, brokenness, circumstances, Come to Jesus, comfort zones, disappointments, Encouragement, God's creation, God's goodness, God's love, Hope, hurting world, kiss of life, Lord, Overcoming Fear, Overcoming Struggles, pain, praise, seasons of darkness, success, thanksgiving, transformation, trouble, uncomfortable, victory, worship is a weapon
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