The Infamous Cereal Caper

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Greetings from Kathy Collard Miller from the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. For two-and-a-half years, my mother-in-law, Audrey, lived with Larry and I. God used that time to purify our motives and develop greater selflessness. Audrey suffered from Lewy-Body Dementia, which caused her to be paranoid and have delusions and hallucinations. It was a difficult time where we learned to slow down our reactions and work through what was really motivating us. I, Kathy, remember one morning Audrey was eating her bran cereal. Every morning I had to soak the cereal in milk for at least thirty minutes to make it…

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For a Happier New Year: Replace Your Resolutions with Attainable Goals

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here. I never make New Year’s resolutions. I’m too hard on myself when I break them–which I always do. Then I end up feeling guilty, and that’s a waste of time. So to make each New Year a happy one, I set attainable goals instead. I post them on my bedroom wall, where I review them every few weeks to remind myself of what I’m shooting for. I have six month goals, one year goals, five- year goals, even lifetime goals. But I have noticed something about them over the years. They change.

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An Opportunity Is Not Necessarily God’s Open Door

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert where it actually can get cold! As I visited with my friend who complained about everything going on in her life and all she felt compelled to do, I could sense she expected me to volunteer to help. My heart went out to her but I’d really been seeking God’s will rather than responding to every need of others. It took every fiber of my trust in God to not offer to take some of the load from her, but in my heart, I knew God wasn’t calling me to this…

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The Call That Changed Me

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Hi everyone, it’s Judith Couchman, recovering from a snowstorm in Colorado! If ever I felt stupid initiating a phone call, this was it. As I listened to my cell phone ringing into cyberspace, each pulse mocked me with a repeated warning: You can’t do this. You can’t do this. You can’t do this. I readily agreed with each ring’s caution: it mimicked the fear pounding in my chest. But before I could hang up, Erica answered.

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The more setbacks, the more hope for our readers…

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Hola from Janet Perez Eckles…Igniting Your Passion to Overcome Life gets rough; family falls apart. Our health betrays us. Facing all this, how can we possibly inspire, educate and change the hearts of those who read our writing? They expect to read great things. But we sit at the computer, our mind blank. And restlessness makes our creativity fade. The strength we had suddenly turns to weakness. The apostle Paul knew this feeling. And what God said to him, He is saying to us too: “My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly…

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What to Do When You’re in Over Your Head

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Georgia Shaffer from Pennsylvania “I am physically weary and emotionally exhausted,” my coaching client said with a heavy sigh.  ‘I’m not motivated to write or do anything.” She was in over her head at home and with her writing deadline. I knew how she felt . . . been there recently myself. Overwhelmed with too much to do and little energy to do anything. So I’ve decided to share four things that help me in those, “in over my head” moments. 1.  Do nothing for a while It seems counter intuitive.  After all, you have all these things to do,…

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Four obstacles we must remove to reach success

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Hola from Janet Perez Eckles…Igniting Your Passion to Overcome This past Friday, I figured out what to do to reach success. “Okay, guys,” I announced to my 7- and 5- year old grandkids, “here is the game. Take this straw and blow on the cotton ball gently enough so it will stay between the two lines marked with masking tape on the floor.” They both grabbed their straws, took turns, giggled and did their best.

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Five Tips to Rescue Your Brilliant Idea

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Georgia Shaffer from Pennsylvania Did you ever have a brilliant idea that later seemed to turn bad? Three years ago I had a great idea for a book. Once I decided to take action and make it a reality, however, I felt at times like it was the worst idea I ever had. We have all had similar moments. Since my bright idea became a published book (Coaching the Coach: Life Coaching Stories for Transforming Lives), I’ll share five things to remember when a brilliant thought flashes through your mind, and what to do afterwards as you try to bring…

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Chocolate-Inspired Humility

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Hello there from Kathy Collard Miller in the desert of Southern California near Palm Springs. But don’t worry, it’s a dry heat. Talking with a women’s ministry director at a conference, I hoped she would invite me to speak at her women’s retreat. As we sat in the lounge of the convention center, I enjoyed one of the freshly baked chocolate chip cookies set before us. When she asked my opinion on some important ministry issues, I spoke with forceful and confident tones. I was thrilled to see her staring at my mouth, obviously waiting for every word I said….

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Was I too daring with my attire at the ICRS this year?

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Hola from Janet Perez Eckles…Igniting Your Passion to Overcome Like most of you, I ponder, reflect, evaluate and pray and pray some more before heading to any writer’s conference or event. I did the same before this past AWSA and ICRS events in Orlando. This year the decision was easier. I figured that since they were being held in my hometown, hotel expenses would be eliminated. And I could even host some dear friends in our home.

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