Blog: Uncategorized
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
Read More
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…
Posted in: Uncategorized
Read More
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
Read More
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…
Posted in: Uncategorized
Read More
Posted: September 19, 2010
If you are a task driven person, with a huge sense of responsibility, the words “May you build a ladder to the stars and stand on every rung” have the potential to evoke negative emotions in you. Yet when I hear Bob Dylan’s famous words of his song called “Forever Young”, it spurs me on with excitement of all the possibilities God has given us in this great country. Bob Dylan released this song in 1974 on his album called “Planet Waves”. These lyrics were written by him during the era of the Vietnam War; a time when the fear of nuclear war loomed heavily in people conversations. People were afraid! Yet in spite of this unsettled time in history Bob Dylan reminded us to reach higher and seek out opportunities to experience life in a way that would remind us of God’s blessings. We are still afraid! I hear…
Posted in: Beauty through Boldness, Encouragement, Making Wise Choices, Overcoming Fear, Uncategorized
Read More
Posted: July 16, 2010
“Walk boldy and beautifully-without fear!” There are coyotes out there dad”, said the three year old boy, “They are going to come into the house and hurt us.” The dad walked to the window, looked for a long time and then said, “OK then I better go and get my gun and get rid of them for you.” The dad came back with a gun and pretended to shoot the coyotes. When he was done, he said to his boy, “There, they are all gone now, you can go out and play. “Thanks dad!” with a huge smile on his face the little boy got his toys and ran outside to romp in the back yard.” When my husband and I heard this story, we were not sure it was true, but we continue to use it to remind us about our own coyotes-imagined fear. We all hear things that…
Posted in: Uncategorized
Read More
Posted: June 18, 2010
“I could never wear someone else’s shoes” a friend of mine said when I suggested she try shopping for shoes at a Consignment Store. “Her face grimaced as she finished her disgusted retort, “that just grosses me out”. Ok each to their own, but unfortunately with our present tumultuous economy, we have to find ways to cut back and I was trying to find a practical way to help. After all, we are not like the Israelites who wandered through the desert for forty years and their shoes never wore out. Our shoes do wear out, and quite quickly in fact. I just finished speaking on the topic of “If the Shoe Fits…” and my thoughts have been on shoes lately. It is evident that for some unknown crazy reason, women love shoes. The whole concept is bizarre if you think about it. Shoes are fitted onto the lowest, most…
Posted in: Uncategorized
Read More
Posted: May 21, 2010
“Why would you try; you might fail and end up looking stupid.” Those words have the potential to be burned into our subconscious like a non-writeable dvd. Each morning when our feet hit the ground, the power button gets turned on and the brain kicks into action, taunting us by whispering ancient, crusted worthless lies. One thing we battle almost every day is a powerful, invisible false belief system that is steering us off course for what God designed for our life. This false belief system is a deeply ingrained habit of seeing the world through a set of lenses that was formed by our perception and interpretation of external events and words. These influences came from our parents, neighbors, siblings, teachers and other people that were part of our day to day activities. They are false because most of them are manmade rules and perceptions and they don’t line…
Posted in: Beauty from the Inside Out, Beauty through Boldness, Overcoming Stuggles, Uncategorized
Read More
Posted: April 9, 2010
I will be in the Vancouver Area on April 15, 16 speaking on BEAUTY UNLEASHED at the Willingdon Church. If you are in that area, 4812 Willingdon Avenue, Burnaby, B.C.; please come in and join us. Tickets are $7.00 and there will be a Fashion Show, great music and I will be speaking on how to “become more beautiful from the inside-out.” What a thrill it would be for me to meet some of old friends, face book and twitter friends there.
Posted in: Uncategorized
Read More
Posted: February 17, 2010
I am so delighted to be on a radio interview February 18th at 3:00 CST, with Tricia Goyer, a best selling author of twenty-four books. To know about Tricia and this interview, go to her site at: http://toginet.com/shows/livinginspired/articles/244 The first five people to leave their name and address in the comment section, will receive an endorsed copy of my book BEAUTY UNLEASHED: Transforming a Woman’s Soul. Tricia’s radio program called LIVING INSPIRED, is to offer inspiration and hope to her listeners. She loves to dig deep into people’s hearts to share stories that matter. I know that you will be truly encouraged with new hope.
Posted in: Uncategorized
Read More