Tag: hope

A Grief Observed

freedom, grief, Life Lessons, memoir, Spiritual Growth

“Losing a beloved is an amputation.” – C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed I once listened to a podcast in which a psychiatrist was talking about why it feels like we lose a part of ourselves when we lose a loved one. He said that, unwittingly, we store information, memories and experiences in the brains of other people we are close to; like an external hard drive. Our own minds have limited capacity to keep all the data we need, so we share mental and emotional data resources with others. We see this phenomenon to be particularly true when someone loses a spouse and has no idea what the bank password is, or what…

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It’s Got to Be Like Planning a Party, Right?

faith, freedom, grief, memoir

Confetti, Hope and 3/16 My mom plopped down across from me in the nursery looking hurried and determined as she readied to leave my house. She and my Dad had stayed with us three of the four weeks since my son was born, but today they were rushing back home. It had been less than 12 hours since the phone call that changed our lives. They were trying to beat the news back to my Grandmother – my Memaw – so she could hear about the death of her only grandson from them instead of Channel 12. They didn’t make it, by the way. The story broke before they could drive the three…

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What to do with the Death of a Dream

Life Lessons, Success & Motivation

Have you ever given up on a dream? Has life ever beaten you up or beaten you down so badly, you felt it was pointless to believe in a better or different future? In my book Now What? A Story of Broken Dreams and the God Who Restores Them, I talk about how after my divorce in 2011, I felt like my life was ruined. Like I had blown my chance at the dream life I pictured in my head, by mistakenly marrying the wrong person, and would just have to settle for whatever second-rate existence I could get from thereon. A divorce is not only the death of a relationship, but the…

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God is in the Restoration Business

faith, grace, Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

He breathes life into lifeless places. It doesn’t matter if it’s a relationship, your health, your emotions, your dreams…. He brings dry bones out of the grave and wraps them in flesh once more. He Restores the years you lost, the love you lost, the friends you lost, the faith you lost, the dreams you lost, the opportunities you lost.   Over and above what we can even think of or imagine. He makes all things new, again. If you let Him. If something in your life needs total restoration, read these promises below and be encouraged. He CAN do it. He HAS done it for others (including me). He WANTS to do it…

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What Business AM I in??!

freedom, Success & Motivation

A few weeks ago, Facebook released a promotional tool for “business pages” housed on their site. It’s a video that starts with, “we are in the business of….” And gives a very brief overview/description of your business.  Like a 15 second mini-commercial. I followed the link to create my own for my writer/speaker page.  Facebook did all the work for me, I just had to fill in the blanks and make my selections and it would spit out a professional marketing tool.  I picked all my favorite pictures and clicked “next”, then the tagline pops up: “We are in the business of…..”  I sat staring at the blinking cursor in the empty text…

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Nothing is Ever Hopeless

faith, Life Lessons, marriage, relationships

I have personally experienced the deep, agonizing pain of hopelessness in a marriage. Riding the merry-go-round of blame and shame and anger and bitterness. Being too exhausted to even try anymore.  Feeling like the only solution is out.  That the ONLY possible way either one of you can be happy is to leave and start over. But please trust me, even when it feels like it is….. I let the hopelessness swallow me whole once.  And it cost me my first marriage. I have caught momentary glimpses of this hopelessness at times in my marriage now, but I refuse to give up.  My mentality is so different now.  I stay hopeful.  (And pray…

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#56

faith, Life Lessons, Spiritual Growth

Skydiving is was on my bucket list. It’s number 56, in fact. I kind of had it penciled in for this Summer, and then my best friend turned 40 and decided that’s what he wanted to do to celebrate. BINGO! Weeks leading up to the event I was pure bottled excitement and eager anticipation. My husband had a scheduling conflict arise so that he was not able to join us, and I remember having a strange little flutter of uneasiness. Am I going to be able to do this without him? Won’t I need him there?  Then I reminded myself, I lived a pretty routine life for 25 years before I met him,…

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Ronnie & Nancy

marriage, second marriage

He was married for nearly a decade; they shared a common interest and career in filmmaking.  Their union produced a daughter by birth and a son by adoption, and the couple also lost a daughter.  She filed for the divorce – neither of them ever publicly commented on its causes or its reasons.  Instead, they remained amicable and cared capably for their two children.  Both continued to work in their chosen professions.  both continued to move in the same circle of friends, acquaintances, and co-workers. Three years after the divorce he found the courage to marry again. He had met Nancy on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend.  After two years…

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