“Routine, usual, to be expected in the normal order of events, of common quality”—all of these appear as descriptors in the dictionary for the word Ordinary. Not necessarily an appealing adjective, and certainly not the word most of us desire to hear being used in a description about us--“Oh, Julie, yeah, she’s this Ordinary professor …
Author: Julie Powell, Ed.D.
With over 30 years in higher education, I have a passion for seeing people, not only succeed at life, but to flourish in their God-given space personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Sign Here
Serving as a proctor this week for a day of assessments on our campus, one of my duties in this capacity was to request that students “Please Sign Here” on a roster sheet in order to document their attendance. Uttering this phrase often as each student entered the classroom, I found myself in a routine …
Good Posture
If I were to pose the question to you right now, on a scale of 1-5, how would you rate your posture? What would your answer be? Like me, would you immediately contract your abdominal muscles, pull back your shoulder blades, and lift your torso to straighten the spine? Or just remain slouched in the …
Red Flag
While preparing a presentation for a special college course geared towards equipping college students to flourish in the transition from the college campus to the professional world, I found myself researching topics related to the concept of a Red Flag. Although I was ill-equipped to handle the plethora of relationship advice offered online, I was …
Bench Warmers
Whether or not you are familiar with the world of sports, I think most people have a general idea of the meaning behind the phrase Bench Warmers; however, if it needs explaining, the dictionary defines it as “a reserve player on an athletic team.” Many decades of my life have included warming the bench of …
Cheers, Jumps, and Fist-Bumps
One of the endearing aspects of living a life connected to the world of sports is the reliability of Cheers, Jumps, and Fist-Bumps. It does not matter if you are standing on the sidelines of the All Star soccer field at the church, in The Fred viewing an attacker spike over the net, or watching …
Where’s the Beef?
Leave it to the imagination of advertising geniuses to taint an important spiritual message from a morning devotional by distracting me with the tagline “Where’s the Beef?” from a 1984 Wendy’s commercial. If you weren’t of age (or born) to see the original airings, welcome to the wonderful world of the internet, where everything is …
Tuesday People
At this particular milepost while navigating this path to a flourishing life, I remain unsettled on the most fitting name for the core group of people that are essential elements to our personal, professional, and spiritual journeys. In one of the first blog posts, Who’s In Your Posse?, I offer an explanation for my fondness …
You’re Invited!
Being the introvert that I am, there are times when I slit an envelope from the mailbox with my little opener, read the words “You’re Invited!” and cringe. Most of the time, however, a wave of gratitude washes over me that someone cares enough to include me, that a friend might actually cherish my attendance …
Simple Tuesday
Do you know what day of the week it is for me as I sit here with shafts of winter sunlight creating a ladder pattern across the hardwood floor? It’s a Simple Tuesday. An ordinary January day the week before the hubbub of the spring semester. Seven simple days before a fresh group of students …
Flourishing @ Life 