I said to a friend the other day, “I’m at the bottom of my barrel. I must take a break.” I was talking about writing specifically, but really about life these days. For the past 14 months, I have worked tirelessly. At the beginning of 2016, I chose the word “slow” as a reminder for me that this year needed to be different than 2015’s breakneck ...
Do you ever get to the end of your day and realize you did nothing for you? Folded laundry? Check. Wiped runny noses? Check. Prepared three meals? Check. But read that book you’ve been wanting to read? Not so much. With the new year having just begun, it's the perfect opportunity to reset and make yourself a priority. Practicing self-care ...
With just over a week until Christmas, I've been feeling a bit frantic. I haven't wrapped a single gift, my beautiful cards' envelopes are still unlicked and unstamped, and I still want our family to go for a drive and see some lights. This pressure is self-imposed, and I know none of these things are the real reason for Christmas, but they ...
Last Sunday I sent a text message during church. Don’t judge. My pastor Pete told me to. You see, we are in the middle of this series called Now or Never, where we are talking about living a life filled with intention, relationships, love, faith, and joy. Pete has been pushing us to think about what we'd do if we had a week left to live and ...
Lately, I have been really busy. You know that kind of busy where you feel like you can barely keep your head above water? The school year starting. New projects at work. Three kids. Life. I realized that I needed to slow down. I needed to breathe. I needed a change. Most of my work deadlines couldn't be changed. But what could change was ...
Summer is a season of long sunshine-filled days -- memories at the pool and time spent with friends. I don’t know what it is about summer that means more when it comes to friendship, but I love it. Last week we attended one of our favorite summer parties with 100 friends, and I was reminded once again about the value of community. Yet, it isn’t ...
A few weeks ago, I pulled my phone out of my purse and was surprised to see a voice mail from Beth, an old colleague and friend. We had worked together for many years, but as our career paths separated, we lost touch. Whenever she would come to mind, I would think to myself, I need to call Beth. I miss her. But the time never seemed long enough, ...
I had a baby New Year's Eve. Every day this year, I have held that little boy, breathing him in slowly. I have studied his features intently, taking in everything from the hairs on his head to his ten tiny toes. With my first baby, people told me it would go fast, but I didn't really understand how fast. I didn't savor the moments like I ...
I am so excited for us to begin our study of The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You next week. Thank you for joining us. The Fringe Hours is not a book about doing more, it's a book about being more - more creative, more fulfilled, more alive. Today we wanted to offer you a small free gift before we commence this study together. (in)courage ...
It is hard to believe that 2015 marks the sixth year Angie and I have done Bloom. I still remember reading her blog post that said, I'm going to start a book club and promptly calling her up and saying, let's do it together. A few days later, we met at Starbucks to figure out a name and Bloom was born. You might remember this video announcing ...
