We’re a soccer family. We’re also a Montessori family. Grace and courtesy are key tenets of the curriculum at our boys’ Colorado school. All kids are introduced to the concepts when they’re 3 and 4 years old and they continuously revisit them all the way through their last year of high school. It’s one of the […]
A Season for Looking Inward
I’ve got this memory from last Christmas, the evening of the 25th, kids asleep, commotion stopped, and me sitting with this feeling of complete exhaustion. Not the welcomed type of tired that you sometimes get after too much of a good time. The weary kind that ushers in overwhelm. Looking for an outlet for my […]
100% Off
It’s almost here! The biggest shopping weekend of the year (Black Friday through Cyber Monday). In the mall, crowds will be pushing and pulling to buy stuff they didn’t even know they wanted until they saw the “huge sale prices.” And even if we don’t go crazy at Target or in the high street, we […]
Four Lessons Learned from a Season of Pruning
I was not born with a green thumb. I struggle to keep cut flowers alive, even when they come with plant food. I tend to forget about our plants and shrubbery on the back patio until they are so overgrown that I can’t stand it anymore. Then I take out the gardening shears and get […]
My Holiday Reminder
The process of buying Christmas gifts for our children produces a slight amount of inner turmoil. I want them to have the joy and excitement of Christmas morning. A big pile of presents to dive into. I want to assure their happiness when something their sweet little soul was hoping Santa would bring them ends […]
Through the Lenses of Gratitude
Given the very real benefits of practicing gratitude, why do we so often struggle to develop this habit? A survey done by Janice Kaplan, author of The Gratitude Diaries, found that while “more than 90% of people think gratitude makes you happier and gives you a more fulfilled life… less than half regularly express gratitude.” […]
How I Stopped Escaping And Started Living
I was getting through the day. I was making ends meet. I worked, paid the bills, went to bed – and woke up to do it all over again. I was going through the motions. I was getting by. Was I missing out on meaningful life experiences – partly because I was never truly ‘present’? […]
The Habits That Changed My Life
Sometimes it’s good to focus on what we’re doing right, rather than continually trying to self-improve. Of course, I struggle with bad habits, as we all do. But like brushing and flossing, washing my hands, and saying “please,” I have plenty of positive habits that make my daily life better. These are the habits I’m […]
Why I Stopped Drinking (It’s Not What You Think)
It wasn’t very long ago that I would brace myself for each afternoon rush. It began with a hard stop to my workday, after which I’d barrel down the turnpike toward home. I would pick up my children from school, running errands along the way. Then the day’s gear was transferred back inside. I’d let […]
Living in Alignment
I’ve got this theory I think many of us can relate to. Goes like this. We start out in the world at ease with who we are, confident in our God-given abilities, and free to be ourselves. But as we journey through life, something happens. We’re fed messages (directly and indirectly) from the media, our […]