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It’s the children who will rescue us – from ourselves

I’m going to get the “Full Disclosure” business out of the way right up front.  Since my husband and I grew up in the Chicago area and still have family ties there, it’s Chicago sports teams that we cheer for. Also, I’m not a super-sports-fan to begin with. I enjoy watching the games with family and friends, but it’s the social aspect, not the sport itself, that I’m most interested in. All of this is to explain that even though I – like so many [...]

By |January 22nd, 2016|Accountability, Columns, Respect, Values|Comments Off on It’s the children who will rescue us – from ourselves

The gifts we receive are the gifts we’re called to give

There’s a saying that goes, “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift to God.” Another one, closely related, says, “God doesn’t call the equipped. He equips the called.” Both of these sayings were on my mind last weekend while I was attending a “Called & Gifted” Workshop that was held Friday and Saturday at my church. If the name sounds vaguely familiar to you, it may be because I attended – and wrote about – a Called [...]

By |January 15th, 2016|Buried Treasure, Coaching, Columns, Faith, Gifts and Talents, Quotes and Sayings, Values|Comments Off on The gifts we receive are the gifts we’re called to give

A Plan for Success Comes from New Year’s Revelation

As always, I spent some time thinking about what my New Year’s Resolution/s would be this year. Part of this process was reviewing my resolutions from the last few years – which is easy for me to do since I devote a column every year to the subject. It’s become a stroll down Memory Lane for me, as well as a good analytical tool. I can see which resolutions became habits and routines that I still follow today, as well as ones that I’m still [...]

By |December 31st, 2015|Accountability, Achieving Dreams and Goals, Columns, Faith, Health and Well-being, Holidays, Organizing, Success, Values|Comments Off on A Plan for Success Comes from New Year’s Revelation

“Home for the holidays” can be anywhere in the world

I was at a holiday outing last week with a number of people I usually see just once or twice a year, and some that I was just meeting for the first time. So some of the conversations were the getting-acquainted kind, while others were more of the catching-up variety. Yet almost all of them included some discussion of holiday plans. Since few of the people at the event have lived here in Minnesota their entire lives – which is pretty much the norm in [...]

By |December 24th, 2015|Columns, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off on “Home for the holidays” can be anywhere in the world

The answer to a prayer makes a perfect holiday story

A friend of mine posted the details of a recent experience she had, and the story was so heartwarming and uplifting – not to mention perfect during the holiday season – I knew I had to share it with others. I told her I wanted to write about it, and she graciously gave me her permission. The story ended with someone’s prayer being answered. And it started a few miles away from a home improvement store. That’s where my friend first drove past an elderly, [...]

By |December 18th, 2015|Columns, Faith, Holidays, Making a Difference, Values, Writing|Comments Off on The answer to a prayer makes a perfect holiday story

Seeing your life in categories can make you more grateful

If you were asked to list some of the different areas of your life, what categories would you use to describe them? They could be as basic as “personal” and “professional.”  Or you might include family, friends, and faith. Leisure activities, hobbies, or travel. Or health and well-being – physically, financially, mentally, or spiritually. There’s really no end to the number or names of categories you can choose to catalog the events and activities of your life. This exercise is something I often do with [...]

By |November 26th, 2015|Coaching, Columns, Family, Organizing, Values|Comments Off on Seeing your life in categories can make you more grateful

Focus on the best, instead of the worst

It was a conversation that made me want to crawl under a table and hide, and never come out again. It took place at a meeting I attended last weekend, when everyone was still in shock over the attacks that took place in Paris last Friday. Before the meeting started, several of us were discussing the attacks, each of us contributing additional information and details we had read in the paper or heard on the news. From there our discussion broadened into the subject of [...]

By |November 20th, 2015|Columns, Faith, Values|Comments Off on Focus on the best, instead of the worst

Two steps will get things done – as long as you follow through

A book I am currently reading has a number of inspirational and relevant quotes in the margins. One that I just read, and had never heard before, is an Irish proverb that says, “Pray for potatoes with a hoe in your hand.” A few days after I read this quote, I was at Sunday Mass, where one of the readings – from the Book of James – was about the relationship between faith and works. Specifically, the message is that if you say you have [...]

By |September 18th, 2015|Achieving Dreams and Goals, Coaching, Columns, Faith, Quotes and Sayings, Success, Values|Comments Off on Two steps will get things done – as long as you follow through

Don’t just tolerate – celebrate!

Before last Sunday, I had never been to Lake Elmo. I also had never been to a Lutheran church service. Later in the day, back at home in my own church, I was chatting briefly with one of the deacons about the religious, racial, and cultural differences many of us can find not only in our communities, but among our friends and even within our own extended families. “Our differences shouldn’t just be tolerated,” he said. “They should be celebrated.” His words were music to [...]

By |August 21st, 2015|Columns, Faith, Music/Singing, Respect, Uganda, Values|2 Comments

Powering down leads to powering up

I just returned from the retreat I mentioned a few weeks ago. If you read that column, you know there was a “silent retreat” portion of the weekend that had me a little apprehensive. Not that I didn’t want to honor the silence, or didn’t think I could. I was just afraid I’d forget and start talking to someone – or myself – or that without realizing it, I’d start humming a song that popped into my head for some reason. I’m happy to report [...]

By |July 31st, 2015|Columns, Faith, Values|Comments Off on Powering down leads to powering up