This week, I was surprised and excited to learn I am a finalist in the ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) First Impressions contest. For me, writing fiction is like writing with my non-dominant hand, or perhaps the non-dominant side of my brain is more accurate. I think and write nonfiction, which is my “native tongue,” […]
Life and Legacy
Five years ago this month, after much contemplation, I took a leap of faith and started blogging, with the commitment to faithfully post each week. Thus, Forward Motion: Moving Beyond What Holds You Back was born. Sometimes, producing content is easy. An idea sparks and words flow from my mind through my fingertips to the […]
Responding to a Life Pause
Last week, a dear friend encountered a monumental life pause when she found her husband on the floor, unresponsive. Three days later, she released him to heaven. We all experience times when life takes a sudden twist that slams us into a “road closed” sign and halts forward motion. Although perhaps not as unexpected and […]
4 Keys to Cultivating Kindness
While waiting to check out at the grocery store, I overheard the man in the line beside me talking to the person in front of him. “The world is so much meaner than it used to be,“ he said. Because I didn’t hear what was said prior to his comment, I don’t know the rest […]
Practicing Contentment
Are you wishing your life away, grasping for something different, better, or more prestigious than your current circumstances? Often, we forgo happiness and contentment, right now, by comparing ourselves to others or focusing on what we don’t have. Contentment doesn’t always come easily to us. In the last two difficult years, we’ve had a choice: […]
Maintaining Perspective and Reaching Out
Last week, I learned of several in our community who died from COVID-related complications. This week, I know those who are struggling with multiple health conditions or new diagnoses. I look around me at church and count multiple people who lost a spouse or other family members in the past year. Honestly, as we near […]
Combating Anxiety
In a world filled with strife, unrest, and fear, anxiety nips at our heals and niggles at the back of our thoughts. If we allow it, anxiety can overtake our minds and hearts to the point of rendering us ineffective for other life pursuits. While anxiety may always be waiting in the wings, we can […]
Seasonal Changes
Many people love fall because it heralds cooler weather and the upcoming holidays. Yet others view autumn with dread because it rolls into the cold, bleak, darkness of winter. Life is a succession of changes. Life seasons come and go, just as they do in nature. How we view seasons of personal change has an […]
The Value of Roots
Each year, thousands of people search for their roots through online sites or by other means. Some are looking for birth families; others are curious to know more about the lives and locations of past generations. Roots are important in nature and in our lives. Although we might survive, without a healthy root system, we […]
Relishing Relationships
This week marks 30 years since my father died. When you have a good Daddy, thirty years is a long time to live without him. But intertwined in missing him are the memories of his hugs, with a jiggly squeeze at the end, the sight of his dimples when he told tall tales, his love, […]