I inwardly cringed when I submitted a difficult assignment recently. My reviewers had seemed harsh lately, glossing over the things I’d done right and hitting hard on what I did wrong while requiring me to start my project all over multiple times with flippancy. I was discouraged and dreaded the next review. But this reviewer…
Workin’ Hard
We had a wonderful family birthday celebration for our three August birthdays. The weather was perfect so we sat on our patio and ate and talked and laughed and ate. The grandchildren got along with each other and the puppy. Our kids gave us very thoughtful gifts. So what could possibly be wrong? The trash…
With a Thankful Heart
I experienced a lesson in gratitude recently. I was so tempted to be negative. I wanted to justify myself and complain. But I stopped this trash talk in my head and changed it to an attitude of gratitude. In the last couple of weeks I failed the same digital painting lesson 2 times. Not…
The Race
Have you ever been called names, labelled something less than who you are, disparaged, dishonored, ridiculed, told what you need to do to be accepted, or advised to do or believe something you know is wrong? Every time disrespectful and wrong headed ideas are thrown at you you have a choice. You can let the…
Happier
A few days ago we attended a talk by an American who has lived with his family in a third-world country for the past 13 years. He remarked that if they had allowed it, the corruption, theft, and poverty there would have torn them down. But they had an anecdote. I thought about all the…
You Hold Me
Husband and I felt like we were just coming out into the light after a dark year of watching our daughter’s heart-wrenching battle with cancer. She’s doing well now in spite of the after-effects of treatment. But just at the time when our daughter was doing better, we got the news that our close friend…