Shelves stacked with boxes
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3 Steps to Opening Boxes and Wholeheartedly Embracing the Contents

We define people by boxes. Our house is a box; car is a box; job title is a box; salary is a box; skin color is a box; gender is a box; and on and on and on.... The obvious answer then is: Think Outside the Box. Except that’s unoriginal...and…
1 Corinthians 13:4-5
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Why self-love matters in the end...and how to strengthen it

There was a time when I lingered between life and death. Fully aware of both sides. Fully aware of my in-betweenness. One side holds all the complex and painful emotions of humanity. On the other exists only love, pure and simple. It’s virtually…
mannequin legs hanging from a beam
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You don’t mind that we’ve relocated your legs, do you?

I'm on a Southwest Airlines flight that has just landed in Sacramento, arriving ten minutes late from Denver. I have a two-and-a-half-hour layover before my last leg home to Seattle. In usual fashion, I'm the last person departing the aircraft…
soldier playing with working dog
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Courage Training 101

I’m listening to the audio version of Brené Brown’s book, Dare to Lead. At one minute and fifty-three seconds into the book I hear this.... “I looked at these brave soldiers and said, ‘Vulnerability is the emotion that we experience…
statue of a young Aristotle
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Are you already failing at your New Year's intentions?

We're only halfway through January and already I'm failing. Do you make New Year's resolutions or goals? Less than a third of the people I talk with say that they do. Some tell me they set goals; others have a general notion of what they want…
Photo of my 3 kids in front of a Christmas tree when they were little
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A Perfectly Imperfect Christmas

Our favorite ornament on the tree was received by my husband 16 years ago. A round red globe holds a small framed photo of our children. When you press a button, 3 little voices ring out in an offbeat chorus, "I love my Daddy! I love my Daddy!…

15: Staying Balanced and Remembering the Need for Rest

What makes you happy? Undoubtedly, there would be numerous and varied answers to this question. Aristotle said, “One swallow does not make a summer, neither does one fine day; similarly, one day or brief time of happiness does not make…
squawking chicken
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Have You Heard the News?

Last week I heard a disturbing piece of news. A deaf couple was mocked by employees at a Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-through window for their inability to hear. At least that is what their daughter tearfully alleged in a Facebook video that…

14: Everything You Need You Already Have

“Everything you need, you already have. You are complete right now. You are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your…

13: Finding Your Voice

Do you have a fear of public speaking? It’s a common fear for many people, even though many others--like me--use a speaking platform constantly in their chosen professions. So why does speaking in front of an audience prompt such immobilizing…