With her remarkable creativity and love for children, my friend Ashlee recently organized a Vacation Bible School (VBS) centered around a vibrant superhero theme designed to inspire kids to Be Brave. As we belted out lyrics and flailed along with hand motions to chase away fear—“Fear, fear, get out of here!”—the children’s voices rang through …
Category: Habits
Overflowing with Gratitude
When you read the word Overflowing, what imagery comes to mind? Using the image search option on an internet browser, it seems the most common idea of Overflowing is related to water and coffee. Evidently, I’m with the majority, as my thoughts tend towards the kitchen--boiling pasta on the stove and pouring milk over a …
Hope Ahead
In previous posts there has been an attempt to share with you the Five Habits of a Flourishing Life, and the Hope is for future opportunities to share practical suggestions for how to cultivate these habits. However, no matter how many books are read, studies perused, or conversations shared, it currently seems that human flourishing, …
R&D
What brand of toilet paper do you use? Do you invest in Quilted Northern or Charmin? Will any old brand suffice? To be honest, I truly do not care about your brand choices in TP. That’s private information for yourself and for the data mining companies to determine which coupons to place in your mailbox; …
Cloud of Fear
Have you ever experienced a season in your life when you were being smothered by a Cloud of Fear but couldn’t necessarily give name to the experience? You perhaps had an awareness that something was askew, just a bit out of balance, but you wouldn’t choose the word fear as a descriptor. But as the …
Fast, Slow, and Finley Time
Evidently, there are other people with Burning Curiosity, because this week the university posted an explanation on social media as to why the homecoming football game had a starting time of 2:01 p.m. “Coach Ron Finley kickstarted football here at CU in 1987 after football sat in a holding pattern for 30 years. He coached …
Under the Influence
We are all currently Under the Influence of something…whatever that something may be. It may not be in the traditional sense of alcohol or drugs; however, your day-to-day habits and routines are being shaped by something. Consider reflecting on that concept for a moment, asking yourself what is influencing my thoughts, right now? My ego …
Outdoor Nutrition
Admittedly, I do not like the taste of coffee, even when the mug is more than half filled with milk, the bitterness overwhelms the tongue. Thanks to friends like Sidney, Sharon, and Ashlee, I’ve ventured a few times to Taste and See the appeal that warm beverages have, but unless they are with me to …
Aging Gratefully
On a July afternoon in Southern Germany in 2022, as a few in our travel group waited for a bus departure after visiting Neuschwanstein Castle, we were given the opportunity to witness a lady embracing the idea of Aging Gratefully. On her third adventure to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau (which only occurs every …
Aging Ugly
“Smooth skin means nothing if your heart is rough.” This statement by Heather Creekmore in Aging Gratefully brings to light the fact that we often have a choice on whether we are Aging Gratefully or Aging Ugly. Creekmore describes an encounter with a woman whose face is etched into her memory. “Yes, it was wrinkled. …