My mother-in-law and father-in-law passed away last year within 3 weeks of each other. We inherited their house, along with everything in it. Cleaning out 80+ years’ worth of someone else’s things is daunting, especially when the people who lived there are people you love. Everywhere you look, you see something they loved enough to…
If you know me, you know I’m a thinker. I love thinking. I do it all the time. I especially love thinking about puzzles and solving problems. This makes me good at my job but sometimes slows me down because I want to think about things from every angle, trying to go beyond the solution…
This week I had the honor of hearing Lisa Godwin, North Carolina’s 2017 Teacher of the Year, speak at the annual NC Department of Public Instruction conference. In a world that defines success in terms of money and prestige, Lisa chose to return to the classroom after serving as an Assistant Principal for over four…
I haven’t blogged in a while. Things have been stressful lately. My youngest daughter graduated from High School and my oldest daughter moved in with her boyfriend. I got a promotion and changed jobs at the worst possible time of year for an accountant, fiscal year end. My new job is farther away from…
When I became a parent for the first time, I fell in love so deeply that it hurt. My life changed in an instant. I had never felt this way about another person in my life. It was a love so pure, so intense, so complete, it eclipsed my world and took me over. I would never…
On this Earth Day, enjoy God’s presence in God’s creation. Put your phone away, turn off your music, and really tune in to the world. Witness it with all your senses. It was a beautiful day in Wilmington! Take a walk on the riverfront with me. Look up and drink in the seemingly infinite depth…
This week I read a Facebook post from a young friend who recently suffered a broken heart. She lamented for “someone to love me as much as I love them.” I think she’s setting her sights too low. I too longed for this kind of love as a young person. My family had been broken by addiction…
Grandma Gay was a unique person. She wasn’t good at everything she tried, but she wasn’t afraid to try anything. She was a life-long learner, taking classes at community colleges as long as she was able. Each morning, she picked a word out of the dictionary and used it in a sentence three times that day. She gave…
I returned to college when I was 42. My plan was to get my MBA to prepare for another job in Human Resources, my career for the previous 20 years. I planned to do it quickly over two years, taking courses I knew I could ace without a ton of effort based on knowledge I…
Comparing ourselves to others is a dangerous activity. It severely diminishes God’s plan for our lives. He created us with a perfect plan in mind for our lives, and each one of us is perfectly equipped to carry out this plan. If we are paying attention, we find that God provides us with everything we need along…