Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “Encouragement”
Do you wear your heart on your sleeve like I do? Do you find yourself an emotional wreck after a Hallmark commercial? Do babies, puppies, and acts of kindness leave you misty-eyed? Wonderful! I’m so glad I’m not alone. For those of us who feel things deeply, there’s the tendency to let our hearts overrule our heads. We’re sensitive. We’re …
Why is it that as adults we tend to lose the miracle mindset of our youth? Remember the feeling? Remember that CAN DO attitude we had as rambunctious, invincible five-year-olds? Most of us at that age were convinced that we could do anything. Be anything. Have anything our little, precocious, pea-picking hearts desired. I’m not talking about a sense of …
I talked with someone a few days ago about limitations and moving forward. This person had endured a lot of loss, hardship, and disappointment. Doors of opportunity seemed closed. She wasn’t sure if she was motivated to move beyond the barriers of her past, but by her own admission, she was ready for something to change. She needed to move past the …
For many, the Christmas season is a difficult one. The hurting have perfected their smiles and cued the proper phrases. Facades are in place and sorrows safely tucked away. Memories are tamped down, snuffed out, and extinguished until it’s deemed appropriate to resurrect the past. (After all, Christmas is a happy time and it wouldn’t be fair to rain on someone else’s holiday.) …
Who doesn’t love a big, ol’ dose of encouragement when the doldrums strike? Let’s be honest. We all do! Since writing is a solitary career, I’ll use that as an example. Writers face unique challenges that others who work outside the home may not. Our vocation is a rather unconventional calling. We rarely keep regular hours. Our computers are our co-workers. …
I’ve said it before: writing is a hard gig. If you write (and you are serious about it), I’m not telling you something you don’t already know. As we mature, we understand that the creative process is not for the fainthearted. We get that our journey isn’t the rose petaled path we initially envisioned. In fact, our pilgrimage to publication is often marked …
Last week I shared some of my favorite ACFW 2012 memories with you. For those who were unable to attend, Michael Hyatt was the keynote speaker at this year’s conference and so the atmosphere was super-charged with excitement. All year I’d looked forward to hearing Mike Hyatt speak. Like many, I’d read his bestselling book, Platform: How to Get Noticed in a Noisy World, and I …
We’re born into this world defined by someone else’s perception. From the moment we make our grand entrance, labels are thrust upon us based on who we are born to, and not who we actually are (a child of God). As we age, things shift a bit. Additional factors are thrown into the success/failure pot. We become known as Sally Sue, the …
While growing up, one of the phrases I seemed to remember the most was “Don’t burn your bridges.” Uttered in stern admonition with an almost Sunday morning reverence, those words seemed to roll off people’s tongues easier than any other piece of advice. I discovered the general meaning associated with those words early in life, and I took them to heart, …
Facades are so exhausting. Wouldn’t you agree? Trying to be someone/something we’re not ranks right up there with getting a root canal. It’s time-consuming, costly, and often, rather uncomfortable. Why, then, do we do it? Are we afraid that if people see the “real us” they’ll not like what they see? Are we afraid of being perceived as ignorant? Are we afraid? …
