The following story touched my heart and I believe, captures the true spirit of the holidays.

Paul received an automobile from his brother as a Christmas present.

On Christmas Eve when Paul came out of his office, a street urchin was walking around the shiny new car, admiring it. “Is this your car, Mister?” he asked. Read More »

Nothing frees our heart more than forgiveness.  I have been learning a lot about forgiveness lately, and it has brought me to a whole new understanding and perspective.  Many years ago, I used to think that there were some things that were just plain unforgivable.  People can do some pretty awful things sometimes and in my mind, there were some things that just didn’t seem ‘worthy’ of forgiveness.  But one of the important things I learned along the way is that, as long as there is someone ‘jailed’ their has to be a ‘jailer’.  Forgiveness frees the one jailed, but most importantly, it frees the jailer to a life of greater freedom, fullness and joy. Read More »

Nothing gets our joy on faster than gratitude. That’s because gratitude shifts our perspective, it shifts our focus, and that shifts our feelings and attitude.  When our feelings and attitude shift, that shifts our vibration, which means that not only do we see and experience things from a new perspective, we also begin to attract a whole different set of experiences to us.  Wallace Wattles had some amazing things to say about gratitude in his powerful little book, The Science of Getting Rich. Listen to this… Read More »

I boarded a plane in LA bound for Thailand wearing a pendant inscribed with words inspired by Thoreau – Live the life you have imagined.  I could not help but think back to the once in a blue moon New Year’s eve 2010, when I set aside time to reflect on the decade past and the decade ahead.  I had a hunch that 2010 was going to be a life-changing year for me… and I was right.  That New Years Eve, I set the intention to live a ‘bigger, smaller life’.  I didn’t know exactly what that would look like, I just knew I wanted my life to be filled with more of the things that mattered, and less of the things that didn’t.  Read More »

Today, my parents’ whole world changed.  Today we installed high speed internet and a wireless router at my parents’ home to compliment the iMac I gave them for their anniversary. (some sort of celebratory music is supposed to play at this point) Read More »

I took a quantum leap today – literally and figuratively.  I jumped out of a plane from 10,000 feet! This is something I said I would never do… until this year.  This year, I set as an intention to do those things I have been afraid to do in the past, because I know in doing them, it will empower me to face any fear that may stand in my way.  This week I have been reading a book called “you squared”, which talks about the ‘peculiar’ strategy for making a quantum leap in your life – an ‘explosive jump’ in your personal performance that puts you far beyond the next logical step.  Read More »

This morning, I took a walk down a country road…. that’s sort of all they have up here in Castle Rock, WA.  For 30 minutes I didn’t see another soul, except for the neighbor’s black lab who joined me for my walk.  The surrounding mountains were thick with pines and clouds – a kind of beauty I don’t see much in Southern California.  And the smell… the smell reminded me of summers on my Grandma Sterling’s farm back in Wisconsin – fresh, clean, misty, and green.  For the most part, I don’t think of myself as a Northwest girl – not enough sun, too much rain.  But this morning, I was grateful to be in the Northwest and to enjoy the peacefulness of walking alone, the beauty of the mountains through the mist, and the companionship of a borrowed black lab.

This week I embarked on a road trip.  My destination on day one was beautiful Yosemite Valley. What a spectacular work of Mother Nature.  As I came in the South entrance and traveled the winding road toward the Valley, I noticed and appreciated how beautiful the trees and the views were, but I also knew that there was something even more magnificent ahead.  Then as I traveled through the tunnel before it opened to the Valley, I remembered the first time I drove through that tunnel, with no idea what I was going to see on the other end.  Then in a moment…. Magnificence.  Magnificence that never ceases to take my breath away as the spectacular and majestic Yosemite Valley opened up before me. Read More »

What do you do when you get exactly what you asked for, only to discover it wasn’t what you really wanted?

This is the question I found myself asking last year, after I had spent six months, and $100K to create my dream – a showroom called Laguna Green, a place where people could see how gorgeous green could be. It was exactly what I had imagined – A high-end, exclusively green, kitchen and bath showroom, in the crown jewel of Orange County – Laguna Beach, just one block up from the ocean. Read More »

Be still, and know that I am God.

God is abundant.

God is infinite.

God is peace.

God is on my side. Read More »