I’ve been on a hiatus from publishing on my blog for over a year now and a LOT has happened since. So much, in fact, that I’m not completely sure where to start telling the story. So I’ll start with the biggest and most profound change I experienced…I turned 40.
40, right?! When I was young this seemed so old. Now that I’m here, it doesn’t feel old at all. In fact, I only just now feel like I’m hitting my stride. Of course, I’m also just now starting to wake up with sore muscles and weird injuries that seemingly occurred in my sleep (why didn’t anyone tell me about this?) as well as a few gray hairs that my kids (who, by the way, are now old enough to talk back, make logical arguments, and cuss in context) are all too happy to point out to me. 40 feels like it snuck up on me.
Taylor’s face is projected on the arena screen for all to see.
I had the good fortune to score tickets months ago for me and my daughter Emily to enjoy an evening with Taylor Swift during her 1989 World Tour in St. Louis on September 30th. My daughter was so excited that she could barely contain herself. And I, of course, enjoyed seeing her smiling face as we parked the car in front of the arena and got ready to share this wonderful experience with 15,000 friends.
I know Taylor’s music from the radio and the albums that my daughter owns, so I felt prepared for a fun night of sing-a-longs. What I wasn’t prepared for, though, but was pleasantly surprised to discover was just how much I was going to learn about the power of femininity that evening.
In a very masculine world that applauds bigger, better, faster, and stronger; competition as the way of life; and being focused on the task to the exclusion of the people around it, there are many things we can learn from the power of femininity when it’s allowed to come forth and lead. So, take a trip with me into the world of femininity and discover the power that its energy creates.
This past Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting my friends’ newborn son. I was reminded of the joy I felt when I held my own children for the first time…the endless possibilities of what this life holds for them. Today, I just wanted to remind you that you were also this size once. You brought lots of joy to the people around you when you arrived on the planet and you were full of possibilities — and you still are.
Our decisions are what turn possibilities into realities. So, maybe you’ve made some decisions that didn’t give you the results you desired. Maybe you want to take some of them back. Or maybe you’re holding back from making the decisions you know will bring you joy and open up the door again to endless possibilities. I don’t know exactly where you find yourself today, but I know this — you were born for a purpose. You are here for a reason. And when you look at this one-day-old baby I want you to remember the joy you can decide to bring and the possibilities for you to fulfill the endless potential that you have available within you every single day.
While watching my son, Jonathan, take his belt test for Tae Kwon Do this past weekend I got to see him learn a lesson that so many of us need to be reminded of as we start our week.
(Watch the video for the full lesson)
Persist Until You Succeed!
Never give up on your dreams.
We do ourselves a grave disservice by only celebrating the women who hold the title of “mother” on Mother’s Day. Since we focus in on only those women who have given birth to us we miss out on the opportunity to identify all the women who function as mothers in our lives. The truth is, for some of us, Mother’s Day is not a pleasant holiday.
Whether it’s dysfunction, abuse, abandonment, or worse — there don’t seem to be any cards on the shelf that quite express how you might feel if your mom’s love was more hindering than nurturing. Not to mention all the women who have tried and failed to become natural mothers, the people that are reminded of their mothers who are no longer with them, and all the single women who have no aspirations to be mothers but still want to experience the honor of a day set aside just for them. This Sunday morning many of these women will hear the message that they should “Honor their mother” because the Good Book told them so. But would it surprise you to know that the language of the Bible sees motherhood a bit differently than we do?
