We offer inspirational real-life stories about PEOPLE OF FAITH AND COURAGE; menus and cooking directions meant to fuel your creative inclinations and your healthy body in the form of MUSINGS OF A MIDWESTERN FOODIE; and ADVICE FOR LIFE from the perspective of those who have lived it to maturity.
…the man I adored wasn't big on committing schmaltzy outpourings of prose to paper. That was more my style. But he was ever ready to swoop in and solve everyday problems with his creative, Mensa-qualifying intellect and his tender, considerate heart.
Read MoreInfluencer. It's a fairly recent coinage. Online references paint the picture of someone who wields the power to affect purchasing decisions because of their authority, knowledge, position, or simply because they've You-tubed their way into the hearts of a large number of followers. Those who exploit their public popularity in order to steer public opinion and shape political thought also figure in.
Read MoreIt's time for some happy talk. So dive in for the latest in practical and research-based formulas for reclaiming bright spirits in a world that feeds our fears and insecurities as if it were tossing peanuts to hungry zoo animals.
Read MoreOkay, so I promised you some interesting quotes from the hidden depths of my bloated file cabinet. And yes, I am late in fulfilling that promise.
But if you knew the state of my filing system—not great—and the number of lengthy quotation books on my shelves (actually it's five), you'd understand the delay.
After some sifting, I came up with a few distinct categories. Choose your favorite or explore them all.
Read More"There is tremendous relief in knowing [God's] love is based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me." J.I. Packer
Read MoreThis morning I put on makeup for the first time in days. I have to admit, seeing my mirror reflection without eyebrows was getting a little depressing, so the Maybelline therapy was rehab for my flagging spirits as well as my sagging upper lids. The only fly in this ointment is that I have a lab appointment at a local clinic that I can't afford to postpone any longer. This requires me to leave my safe haven and mingle with humanity.
This is all so weird, so Twilight Zone-ish. Last Friday I was wondering how I should feel about forced restrictions on my activities. Today I am worrying about having to venture out to a public place. [Cue the eerie organ music.] Is the doctor's office—staffed by professionals who know all about sterilizing surfaces and containing contagions—one of the safer public places to be? Or is it one of the more dangerous, considering the walking germ factories that some waiting room patients could unknowingly embody?
Read More“Man, what a voice!” The wide-eyed fourth-grade boy had blurted these words of praise to seventh-grade me after I’d belted out a hymn during a Sunday school assembly. Emboldened, I mustered the courage to start singing around the house. Big mistake.
My mother had been raised by a judgmental single parent and never quite grasped the concept that positive observations build children up while negative observations erode their self-assurance. As a child, she once asked her mother that little-girl question, Am I pretty? Mouth sternly set, eyebrow severely arched, my grandmother responded, Pretty is as pretty does. End of discussion.
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