In the process of developing healthy habits which might lead to a flourishing life, the topic of willpower often arises, but it seems to be most frequently associated with exercise and eating choices. We have the knowledge that wise decisions in this area of our life will have compounding interest on our health, but because …
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.
Friendship Conversations
In researching the characteristics typical of people who are considered to be flourishing at life, it should be no surprise how often someone’s ability to thrive is connected to the individuals with whom they have created Relational Equity, or as Shawn Anchor terms it in his book, The Happiness Advantage, social capital. As I continue …
Welcome to the Table
Daylight shines brightly from the reflected February snow over the black dining table in my home, highlighting the fact that it hasn’t been dusted in a while; however, there is a valid reason the dust bunnies are flourishing on my table, since no one has pulled up a chair in at least a month. This …
Gift of Winter by Beth Madison
Many times, God uses a time of mourning, even periods of Silent Grief, to activate joy which sprouts and blooms along with tears of weeping to bring the harvest of dancing, as seen in Psalm 30:11. As well as I know these truths in my head, my heart still yearns to refuse these realities since …
Waiting Room
My hope is that you never have to experience the lack of control that comes with sitting in a Waiting Room; however, few people will ever be exempt from this experience, whether it arrives as a painless encounter such as awaiting a tire rotation at a local service station or the agonizing hours that slowly …
Be Still
Blaming the issue on sensitive hearing, I have been known to physically remove the batteries from the back of clocks in friends’ homes when the irritating ticking prevented me from falling asleep. For this reason, the story shared by Leslie Koh describing a young boy’s discovery of a lost watch when others failed to locate …
I Surrender
by John Byl, CSKLS Colleague and Friend (May 3, 2021) I surrender: To an Unknown Future, and an Uneasy Present & Surgical Oncologist Report The CT scan showed that I have two masses on my liver and a lesion on a vertebrae. The Surgical Oncologist is especially concerned with a lesion on the vertebrae …
Drowning in Doubt
Recently, when debating a wise answer to a professional invitation, a seasoned-at-life family member posed the question to me, “Will it be a burden or a joy?” My initial response was, “Both!” However, as I ponder both the opportunity and the question, a part of me feels as if I am Drowning in Doubt. These …
Teach Me
In one of my earliest posts entitled Just Be Curious, I divulged how grateful I am for people willing to risk admitting they lack some knowledge of a topic and are willing to ask thoughtful questions. More often than not, I strongly encourage a practice known as Appreciative Inquiry (AI), especially when engaging in building …
Off-Balance
Looking up the word Off-Balance in the Cambridge University dictionary, one will find the following definition: “confused or uncertain about what to do next.” Instead of choosing flourish for What’s Your Word to represent the year 2020 (and even into the beginning of 2021), I think the word Off-Balance might be a more accurate descriptor …
Flourishing @ Life 