Even the Yucky Stuff is Temporary

Visiting Louisiana last spring, I fell in love all over again with the swamp. The fresh breeze off the water, the sun dappling through the cypress branches. The silence. For two days I made a pilgrimage to the dock and just soaked it in. Then, on the third day, everything changed. In the space of twenty-four hours it was suddenly …

Everything Has A Season

It has been a crazy year. Two weeks from now I will once again be presenting at GEW (Global Entrepreneurship Week. If you haven’t been, check it out: http://tiny.cc/GEWKC. It’s free and it’s AMAZING! GO!!). Last year as GEW concluded, I was so excited at the amazing week we’d all had and then an ailment I had been fighting for …

Pepper Spray and Fireflies and Getting Unstuck

So, I found the pepper spray yesterday.   We are cleaning out boxes in preparation for another round of our son’s Eagles Scout Rummage Sale (Caps intended.  It’s a pretty big deal.) and in the process I found the pepper spray I ordered. Four years ago. Now before you judge me, I bought it just before we moved.  It got …

Instinct, Gut, and Flowing in the Fast Lane!

Today as I drove home on I-29, I drove through what I call “The Convergence”.  It is the place where traffic from five different highways comes together East of Kansas City’s downtown.  Hundreds of vehicles intermingle there, squeezing together before once again being shot out in all directions.  As I approached, I could see that the middle lane (the one …

The Freedom of Being Locked In

I just did something today I don’t think I’ve ever done.  I scheduled an appointment a year out.  “Really?!?  How is that even possible?” That’s the old me, in case you are wondering.  She’s thinking I’m nuts to commit to something a year away when I don’t even know for sure when we’re leaving for this year’s summer vacation.  (It’s …

The Challenge of Receiving

There is a phrase you hear a lot that goes: “Believing is Receiving.” Basically, the idea is that if you believe enough you will receive what you need and long for. All my life I have put the emphasis on the believing.  Believe enough.  Believe more.  Believe. Believe. Believe. Today I realized that I have spent so much time on …

One small step toward changing everything!

Things are crazy around here! Birthdays and graduations and concerts and Barbecues and…Whew!  Spring is almost as bad as Christmas for our family!  And this year we have added to the insanity by having our house painted. Not that it didn’t need to be done.  No, it desperately needed to be done, but I was hoping to save up for …

Nine Steps to Doing the Impossible

(Warning: This is a long post.  About double the normal length if you have something else you need to be doing. I tried to cut it down, really I did, but every step was pretty crucial!) Nine Steps to Doing the Impossible I am not one for large, physically challenging projects.  And yet, somehow, I get myself involved in them …

May the “Best answer” win!

Yesterday I shared about my family’s four-and-a-half ton weekend project. Tackling a project like that is never easy. But it is fascinating to me how, even when a job is fairly straight forward, our fears can short-circuit things.   Here’s how we talked about that project in the days that preceded it: My husband: “We should go get those pavers …

Want to Get More Done? Flip The List!

Sometimes I feel as if my life is just one long list of fails.   Intellectually, I know this isn’t true.  I mean, I’ve seen “It’s A Wonderful Life”.  I know that I have done good in the world.  But some days it’s so hard to FEEL that it’s true. Especially when I can’t even seem to get a handle …