Some family members I love from afar and others I am around often and spend time with by choice.  I have learned that I love all family members; but, I love them in very different ways. I have grown to realize that I will always love my family.  There are times I may not respect the decisions that family members make and I know that my family has not always respected the decisions I have made. One of those decisions was marrying my husband.  Although I knew my family loved me, I also knew all but one did not respect…

As we move into the holiday season it is time to start thinking about the basics.  What is the meaning of the season and why do we celebrate? Whatever holiday you are celebrating remember the true meaning of the season.  Remembering why we celebrate helps ground us from all the extras going on around us.  Some of us love the holidays others would rather blink and have it be January.  For those of us who love the season, it is hard to imagine not loving the holidays.  Sometimes our excitement is a bit overwhelming, but spreading love and joy is…

Have you ever been in line behind someone who used the wrong approach to resolve the situation?  Painful, right?  I find myself thinking, “Just be nice.”  We watch people interact every day, noticing the way issues are resolved and forming opinions on what we would do in that situation.  It is fairly easy to evaluate the situation, but much more difficult to do the right thing when a problem arises spontaneously.     All things considered, being nice is usually the least stressful alternative.  It is something that one would think would come easily, but often it takes great patience and prayer…

I find myself wondering why everything feels like it’s an emergency. In this world of social media, everything is instant.  We are accustomed to getting things immediately and grow to expect that with the touch of a finger, we will have answers.  There are many good things about quickly receiving answers, but doing something quickly does not always mean it is done most efficiently.  Expectations are that things will be dropped in a second to accommodate every hiccup in life.  Being flexible is a huge asset in life, but unnecessary chaos in life spells disaster. My children get…