Blog
Posted: January 9, 2011
At times we all feel grumpy, resentful, jealous or shameful. There are days when the “grittiness” in our lives can bring us to our knees with feeling overwhelmed with too many obligations, and we wonder if we will ever figure out this complicated, demanding life. Someone needs to point us to a blueprint for choosing rejoicing over regret, freedom over resentment, radiance over shame and finding intimacy in our relationships. We are all on a relentless quest to know we are loved, to have value and to feel pleasure. Most of our choices are made to fulfill those cravings. We will do almost anything to overcome our obstacles just to feel better. We tell ourselves: If I had a better upbringing, I would have achieved greater opportunities and success. If I had more money, life would be easier and I would feel more content. If I put my children into…
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Posted: December 11, 2010
On of our favorite activities is whitewater rafting on the Flathead River, Montana, in June when the water level is high from the snow run off. After slipping on our wet suits and unsightly water shoes, we all grin at each other as we sit and wait for the guides to finish giving us our instructions. “Beware”, they say, “of a sucking, swirling mass of water that churns like a rotary beater. Especially be aware of the eddy called Could be Trouble.” As we start out, I make sure my feet are tucked tightly under the ropes as we all begin to paddle furiously to guide the raft through the boiling water and away from the swirling eddies. Then I see it and my heart starts to palpitate. Black, angry water that is swirling, boiling and the roar is deafening. I know we have encountered the most dangerous of…
Posted in: Beauty from the Inside Out, Beauty through Boldness, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Fear, Overcoming Struggles
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Posted: December 3, 2010
The Christmas Season has many women struggling with a love/hate relationship. The first Christmas carols playing in the shopping mall get their hearts pounding, they break out in a sweat and their minds unravel like an out of control scotch-tape dispenser. The next minute they see a new purse or pair of earrings and they find themselves humming to “Deck the halls…” It’s strange and yet I know. Christmas is filled with tension. Will we have enough money to make it through the season? How will our marriage survive the holidays? There is no way we can fit all these activities into 23 days-absolutely not. I hate wrapping. All these expectations are killing me. I have nothing new to wear. Do we have the family gift exchange-give individual presents and to whom? It’s all too much I can’t handle it. I know that you and I do not want…
Posted in: Beauty from the Inside Out, Encouragement, Expectations, Freedom from Busyness, Friendship, Hope, Overcoming Struggles, Uncategorized
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Posted: November 19, 2010
Heartbreak seems to come in clusters. When one door is slammed shut, I courageously get over it, get on with life because I know there is something better up ahead. The eternal optimist and believer of good things-that’s me. But when I continually encounter lost dreams, divorce and sickness in the family, an ailing mother, shut down plans and the occasional vertigo; the energy and zest starts to evaporate. I need something powerful to hang on to. This last Labour Day weekend (2010), as I was walking through the vineyards with my son, we encountered the most gorgeous, unusual hidden treasure. Tucked away in one of the rows of grapes was a banquet table; complete with fine china, wine glasses, fresh fruit, gorgeous colored napkins and table runners and beautiful orange shawls thrown over the backs of the chairs. I blinked twice to grasp the enormity of this picturesque…
Posted in: Beauty from the Inside Out, Encouragement, Expectations, Finding Truth, Hope, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Struggles
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Posted: November 6, 2010
I am excited and getting ready for two of our daughters coming home this weekend. Their purpose is to be by my side during my husband’s surgery. But, in spite of all our questions and the “unknowns” of what the Doctors will find on Monday, I am focusing on what I know at this moment; our FAVORITE THINGS. Right now I am in the kitchen baking the famous blueberry lemon muffins that I have been making for the last twenty-five years, cranberry biscotti and butternut squash soup. The kitchen is filled with aromas of nutme, roasting butternut squash and walnuts. The fireplace is throwing off its glorious colors and autumn hued candles are flickering and sharing their pumpkin and apple fragrances. Gentle, inspiring worship music is playing softly in the background and my husband is sitting at the kitchen counter sampling the baking as it comes out of the oven. All I…
Posted in: Beauty Unleashed, Encouragement, Expectations, Friendship, Hope, Overcoming Struggles
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Posted: October 30, 2010
“Did it feel like you were being squeezed?” These were the sassy, profound words of my eighty-five year old mother after I shared some intimate details of my unusual, overwhelming struggle. I stopped, gulped and smiled. Yes, that’s exactly how I felt, I thought, and I wonder what makes me feel that way? I pondered over this the next few days looking for discernment and insight into my squeezing. I recognized it in two areas of my life. When I feel overwhelmed with too many demands and don’t have the time to find defining answers and God’s truth. When my life is cluttered with too much “stuff.” Both of these points clutter up my life, my brain, my thoughts and my search for God’s truth and discernment for clarify. I recall Thanksgiving weekend when I needed my favorite potato peeler, but couldn’t find it anywhere….
Posted in: Beauty Unleashed, Encouragement, Finding Truth, Freedom from Busyness, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Struggles
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Posted: October 23, 2010
I was in Paris three years ago when I saw my first pair of skinny jeans. I stopped, blinked twice and thought, “Whoa…how did you squeeze into those?” Of course most Parisian people don’t have an ounce of fat on them, and I must say they looked pretty good. Europe is usually about three years ahead of Canada in fashions but hang on; the skinny jeans have arrived to your home town. The crunch and squeeze is on. The scales are out morning and evening and there’s a lot of squeezing and comparing going on. I had an opportunity to sit in the shopping mall a few days ago while I was waiting for my husband to come out of Chapters. I keenly surveyed the fashion kingdom and let me say up front, some of us should NOT be wearing skinny jeans. Just because it’s the latest and greatest style…
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Posted: October 15, 2010
We live in a daily tension filled reality. Do we believe we have been created for something magnificent and that God has a glorious purpose for our lives, or the reality of seeing our pitiful, fatigued selves in the mirror and feeling the pain of our unsatisfying and sometimes painful circumstances? When we fully believe that we have been called to a specific task, purpose or calling-that we have used our best five strengths and boldly unleashed the gifts God has given us and then all doors are slammed shut. Someone must have been lying. Instead of answered prayers, reconciliation, plans moving forward and open doors, the future says: NO VACANCY, DO NOT DISTURB, CLOSED FOR THE SEASON, OUT OF BUSINESS, NO TRESPASSING. Right now I am dodging the bullets of doubt and hanging on by my fingernails to the reality of my abundant life and God inspired purpose. It’s…
Posted in: Expectations, False Belief Systems, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Stuggles, Uncategorized
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Posted: October 5, 2010
I am delighted to interview my good friend Grace Fox who has written a book about a topic that we all crave; freedom. So what’s stopping us? The old enemy of Fear! Once I started reading Grace’s book I could not put it down because it talked to me about areas of my life I was not even aware of. But here’s the best part; Grace doesn’t leave us stranded, she gives practical insights into how to overcome fear. This interview is but a nibble of the contents of the book; I know you will want more. “Courage comes when we act upon the truth of God’s promise to be with us.” Grace Fox is an international author and speaker described as “deep, daring, and devoted.” She’s written hundreds of articles for magazines including Focus on the Family, Insights and Power for Living, and she’s authored four books including Moving From Fear to Freedom: A…
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Posted: September 28, 2010
Nothing creates more discussion, joy, heartache and confusion than; relationships. In spite of the fact that we are saturated with information, surveys, studies, workshops on relationships in friendship and marriage, we are extremely cautious and even more isolated. In my next book, called SAND TO PEARLS: Making Bold Choices to Enrich your Life, (Release date-January 2011) I devote two chapters on the topic of friendship. This subject always causes the greatest conversation, heartache and mystery when I speak to women across Canada. In each of us there are basic needs, and when they are met, we can have vibrant, lasting relationships. Here are my top nine needs, and I am sure most of them will be yours as well: I NEED YOU TO: 1. Listen to me. I mean pay attention, look me in the eyes, nod now and then (not drifting off to sleep kind of nodding) but “wide awake” attentiveness…
Posted in: Beauty from the Inside Out, Beauty Unleashed, Encouragement, Expectations, Friendship, Making Wise Choices
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