My hope is to get to the end of this life without regrets. That may not be completely possible, but I want to live in a way that makes it a bit more attainable. I’ve failed at this often, and I’ll slip up again, but it sure doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try. Imagine if you were told that you had only one […]
When I teach classes on organization, I start with a dozen goals. Next, we discuss the reasons we get to a place where we’re overwhelmed with “stuff”. If we don’t know why we’re in a situation, it’s tough to change our behavior, and we’re likely to end up back where we started. Once people have an “aha” moment in class it’s […]
According to Universe Today, “the modern form of humans evolved about 200,000 years ago”. Homo sapiens have been walking this planet for a very long time, and our “turn around the dance floor” is a minuscule blip on the wheel of life. We forget that we’re simply passing through (or passing back to the spirit side if your […]
You might remember the “Joy & Grace” rock. It was a gift from my husband, Larry. He gave it to me because I’ve often said that my goal is to “walk through life with joy and grace”. Joy seems pretty easy to understand, but what is grace? I’m sure that, depending on who you ask, you’d […]
I don’t have a lot of “things” that belonged to my Dad. I have the cuff links he wore when he married my Mom. I have the note he gave me, as a young mother, that says, “Dear Kay, Real love is given freely—without any hidden costs or fine print. Please accept this gift of love. […]
Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting my friend Ginny. We met almost nine years ago at the faith community I’m part of. I sensed almost immediately how special Ginny is. It’s not only that she’s very spiritual or that she’s generous, kind and thoughtful—it’s her way of walking through life, which really drew […]
Living Intentionally is a journey made of choices. Each of us will define that journey differently (because we’re different). If you could fill a bowl with words that describe the life you want to live, what would they be? When I do this exercise these are some of the adjectives that I want to put before […]
Sometimes we walk through life with “good intentions”. We may even sit down and create a list of changes we want to make. This checklist might include different paths we want to walk (“do more to help those with less”), or a different way of living into our lives (“spend some time in prayer”). It would […]
Saturday Morning, January 23, 2016: I’m sitting in my “reading, thinking, praying” space in the library. From this vantage point I can see the snow-covered, front lawn right outside the windows. On the other side I can see through the french doors that open out onto the deck. The snow is at least 14″ high already. […]
Years ago, I had the privilege of attending a wedding where the bride and groom, as well as many of the attendees, were deaf. While the hearing folks were quiet during the service, others moved around making sounds unheard to them. They also clapped loudly when anything significant was signed—that was their “Amen”. It was a rich experience—one […]
Born on January 9th, 1958, my birth date in “short numerical notation” is 1/9/58. My date of birth and year of birth the same! That’s incredibly rare, and because of that, I expected that when I turned 58, the day would be incredibly meaningful because of the numerology behind it: 1/9/58…1958…turning 58. But, the day I looked […]
My daughter, Erin, took me on a cruise with her last month. One morning, as we were sitting in the dining room for breakfast, we overheard a conversation. A gentleman walked up to a table where two young men, who were probably in their twenties, were sitting. He looked upset and asked why they didn’t […]
A lot of us spend a considerable amount of time trying to create “perfect”. The problem is that we are NOT perfect beings. If our expectations are so high that we can’t accept anything except perfection from ourselves or those around us, we need to figure out how to see things from a different perspective. […]
Last week I was talking to someone about LIFE. Yeah, I know, that’s an awfully big topic, but we weren’t tackling the “big picture”, just little clips of it. After that conversation, I decided that I wanted to write about the “Shut Up and Deal Dance”. Then, as I sat down at my desktop this […]
We’re accustomed to assigning labels to things based on how WE feel, or what we think is “in good taste”. We might say, “that vegetable is too bitter”, “that color is just awful”, “that outfit is so tacky”, “that hairstyle is really unattractive”, and so on and so on. We judge, based on our personal […]
When I was young, there was a game called “Red Light, Green Light”. One child was the “traffic light”, and stood facing away from the other players. The rest of the kids lined up about 6 feet away from the “light”. In the game, the child who’s “it” yells “green light!” and everyone runs toward […]
My granddaughter, Lauren, read me a story this morning, about the devastating tornado of 2011 that struck Joplin, Missouri. “The Evil Swirling Darkness” is a narrative of a family that lived through that twister. One of the three children was on the way home with his Aunt, Uncle and cousin when it hit. The truck they […]
On Thursday I fell. I wasn’t being careful and I slipped on a wet floor. My feet flew out in front of me and bam- there I was flat on my back. My head hit the floor pretty hard, and bounced up and then back down to add insult to injury. I lay there for […]
This post has been on my mind for a long time. It’s been on my heart for even longer. My sincere prayer and hope is for Peace Full Home to be uplifting and hopeful in a world that has its fair share of challenges. I want this blog to be a harbinger of calm and […]
The pear tree that I planted over a decade ago is heavy with fruit right now. I didn’t make the time to “thin it out” as I should have and, when I looked out the window this morning, I noticed the tree loaded down, its branches straining under the weight of hundreds of pears. A […]
After another night of bad dreams, I woke up tired and disoriented, trying to shake off the dark, pulling myself together, and literally curling into a fetal position. I don’t understand the crazy that goes on in my mind. Sleep should be regenerating, not a fear-filled marathon. I’m amazed to hear friends say, “I lie […]
Last week I was pruning the hollies on one side of the yard. We planted them in the fall of 2013 as evergreen, privacy trees between our property and one that is owned by a utility company. There’s always been a “much less-than-attractive” building on the acre next to ours, but a few years ago a BIG […]
Last fall my daughter, Erin, and I were in Italy on vacation. Neither of us speaks Italian and it was an ambitious trip to say the least. Sure, we had the perfunctory Italian/English dictionary, but in our (sometimes North American) arrogance, we assumed that a lot of folks would speak OUR language. Hmmm…that’s a problem, […]
We’re in the midst of a major renovation project at the house. We hired out a few of the trades to do the major plumbing and electricity fit-outs as well as the taping and mudding of the sheetrock after we hung it. (As a side note, getting drywall to look great is a true art!) For […]
Monday, June 15, 2015 7:15 am I’m sitting in a waiting room, in a hospital, while my daughter Erin goes into surgery for the second procedure in a month. The first time it was diagnostic as the surgeon looked for signs of cancer by taking biopsies. This time we’re praying for a “we got it all”. […]
peace full home®—intentional living 