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Others are watching – and listening!

I got taken to task on Saturday – not once, but twice. Actually, that wording is a little too strong. What happened is that I was reminded – in a gentle and encouraging way – that I haven’t been living up to some of my responsibilities and expectations. I was at a Toastmasters Educational & Leadership Institute, which is held twice a year for the training of club officers, presentation of educational sessions, and announcements of the winners of various awards and contests. One of [...]

By |February 17th, 2012|Accountability, Columns, Toastmasters, Values|Comments Off on Others are watching – and listening!

Betty’s Beliefs: A few more guidelines for life

I got an email from my sister-in-law after she read last week’s column about some of the sayings and quotes that I live by and repeat – often. She mentioned one that she’s heard many, many times in the thirty years we’ve known each other. And she added that she enjoyed the column, even without her favorite “Betty Belief.” She knows me very well, and the quote she mentioned was actually the next one on my “Top Five” list. Betty’s Belief #4: This too shall [...]

By |February 3rd, 2012|Coaching, Columns, Quotes and Sayings, Values|Comments Off on Betty’s Beliefs: A few more guidelines for life

Betty’s Beliefs: Sharing a few of her guidelines for life

“What have we learned from this?” My husband used to say that to our kids every so often as they were growing up. They hated hearing it at the time, but since then it’s become somewhat of a family joke. And it’s something we all still say to each other from time to time. It occurred to me recently that there are several other pearls of wisdom and advice that I treasure. I believe in them, I try to live by them, and I regularly [...]

By |January 27th, 2012|Columns, Family, Quotes and Sayings, Respect, Values|Comments Off on Betty’s Beliefs: Sharing a few of her guidelines for life

A hope and a plea for happy holidays

You don’t say Happy Birthday to others when it’s your birthday. You wish them a Happy Birthday when the birthday is theirs. And you don’t tell someone Happy Anniversary on the date of your own wedding anniversary, unless the person you’re saying it to happens to be your spouse. I bring this up with the hope of diffusing what I see as a dangerous and ugly holiday tradition. And we’ve had plenty of those over the years. The most recent one is the alarming Black [...]

By |December 3rd, 2011|Columns, Family, Holidays, Respect, Values|Comments Off on A hope and a plea for happy holidays

Third world thoughts and thanksgiving

I have always thought that everyone in America should be required to spend some time, at some point in their lives, in a third world country. I felt this way long before I ever spent time in a third world country, and I do even more so now. The trip could be for any reason. Mission trips are already common, but trips for business or education – whether to teach or to learn – would also be acceptable. As would vacations, especially if they were [...]

By |November 27th, 2011|Columns, Faith, Family, Health and Well-being, Holidays, Making a Difference, Travel, Values|Comments Off on Third world thoughts and thanksgiving

All you need is love

The theme of one of our recent Toastmasters meetings was “The Secret Ingredient.” The person who was serving as the Toastmaster that day was someone who loves to cook, and whenever she gives a speech or responds to a question on the subject of food, I always find my mouth watering just listening to her. Throughout the meeting, she made references to her grandmother, who always included a secret ingredient in her cooking. No matter what type of food she was preparing, Grandma gave it [...]

By |September 23rd, 2011|Columns, Family, Values, Writing|Comments Off on All you need is love

Up or down, left or right, we can always get there from here

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on July 28, 2011. My husband and I went up north last weekend. Except we had to drive south to get there. We spent the weekend with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, who live in the Chicago area but recently bought a cabin at Fox Lake, which is about a two-hour drive north from their house. From ours, it’s a six-hour drive in the other direction. It was a great weekend, and other than the time we spent riding out the storms....

By |July 29th, 2011|Columns, Family, Respect, Values|Comments Off on Up or down, left or right, we can always get there from here

Where’s King Solomon when you need him?

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on July 14, 2011. I’ve always been fascinated by the story of King Solomon, and by his wisdom – in those Biblical times before DNA testing was available – in determining who was the real mother of a baby that two women were fighting over....

By |July 15th, 2011|Accountability, Columns, Family, Values|Comments Off on Where’s King Solomon when you need him?

Secrets for solving crisis can be found in two places

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on July 7, 2011. It’s no secret to anyone who knows me personally – or to regular readers of my column or other writings – that two of the things I’m most passionate about are Toastmasters and Dream Coaching. And as naïve and idealistic as this may sound, I truly believe that the world would be a much better place if every person in it spent some time taking part in Toastmasters meetings and working with a Dream Coach....

Independence Day – in reel life and real life

The column "Find Your Buried Treasure" appears weekly in the Chanhassen (MN) Villager. This column was published on June 30, 2011. Our family’s 4th of July celebration will be pretty traditional. Our son will come over for a visit. In the morning, we’ll stake out our favorite spot for watching the parade, and later on we’ll enjoy the parade and the other festivities taking place in town. At night, we’ll watch some of the many area fireworks....

By |July 1st, 2011|Accountability, Columns, Family, Holidays, Values|Comments Off on Independence Day – in reel life and real life