Ever felt words hit hard as a fist? Ever felt them thrill you? Nelson Mandela, who opposed the South African apartheid regime and was imprisoned for almost three decades, knew the power of words. He has said, “It is never my custom to use words lightly. If twenty-seven years in prison have done anything to us, it was to use     read more

A friend called today to thank me for an article I wrote in 2005. She found it tucked inside her father’s Bible after she and her sister placed him in a memory care unit. She encouraged me to reprint it—so here it is—with love for you, and especially for dear Margret. Falling Leaves Are Pictures of New Life Once again     read more

I can hardly believe it. Just when I thought hurricane Florence was gone for good—news reports now say it’s reforming and threatening to bring further misery and devastation to the Carolinas.   And isn’t that how the emotional storms of life can be too? They keep circling around. It’s been said, and I’ve found it to be true, that you’re     read more

Do you ever find yourself engaged in an inner monologue when performing mindless tasks? I do, especially when I’m folding laundry, watering the garden, or doing the dishes. Unfortunately, the impressions that slide into my awareness are not always especially helpful or nourishing.   That’s the bad news.  The good news is I have the power to control my thoughts—and so do you.    We can choose to stop, ask ourselves, What was I thinking? and reverse the negative bias of our idle thoughts. We can replace stinkin’-thinkin’ with positive, bounce-back thoughts. We can think about something good, something     read more

  It can be easy to get stuck in a rut and simply run on auto-pilot, can’t it?   When times are rough there certainly is comfort to be found in the familiar.  But there’s also a special kind of bounce-back energy to be found in trying something new.    Here are Five Simple, Fun and Easy New Things to Try:   1.) When you go for your usual walk, start out going opposite of the     read more