Daily Blogs

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs

Movie Review: The Age of Adaline

Imagine having the wisdom of age while standing at the cusp of youth.

It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? We’ve been told–especially us girls–that you can’t have both.

Enjoy youth and beauty while you can because it’s fleeting.

Here’s a short synopsis of The Age of Adaline:

Adaline Bowman experienced a weird scientific phenomena that stopped her aging process.

She was forever 29.

Of course, she couldn’t explain what happened, so Adaline spent the next 60 years hiding in plain sight.

No one really knew her and she preferred it that way.

On New Year’s Eve, Adaline meets a charming young man named Ellis. Everything changed for her on that day.

And that’s all I’m going to say.

age of adalineThere are some twists in the plot that I want you to discover on your own.

Now, I want us to talk about the meaning of life–in 150 words or less.

Let’s give it a shot.

Adaline spent her whole life running.

Running from her past.

Running from love.

She didn’t know how to live when she would never age, never die.

The line that stuck with me most was:

“All these years you lived, but never had a life.”

Wham!

How many of us are living, but have no life?

We’re so busy running that we forget to enjoy the present, to dream about the future.

Meanwhile, time is slipping through the hour glass.

Age and wisdom are normally synonymous, right?

Not when you refuse to move forward.

Not when you refuse to be known.

Time is slipping through the hour glass….and you’re stuck.

The Age of Adaline is really about getting unstuck.

I find the premise of the movie fascinating and it’s one of the best movies I’ve watched in a while.

I encourage you to watch the movie. Let me know what you see, what you learn.

 

Leave a comment Posted on Business Sense, Daily Blogs

Navigating the freelancing universe

freelance 2I want to talk to you about freelancing and small business management.

I’ve had several freelance gigs over the last few years. And freelancing is not as easy as people think.

Being a business owner of any kind means that all decisions fall to you.

From client acquisition to invoicing to taxes, a small business owner has to juggle the sometimes stressful administrative side with the fun loving “this is my dream” side of things.

Thankfully, administrative work comes naturally to me, but many small businesses fail because their owners struggle with the bookkeeping and the mountains of paperwork it requires for tax purposes.

Not everyone has an aunt who’s an accountant either.

Freshbooks to the rescue!

They are offering a free 30 day trial of their cloud accounting software.

Send professional invoices, track your expenses, and get paid faster.

Keeping track of the numbers just got easier.

I highly recommend Freshbooks to all of my friends who are small business owners.

This company is growing superfast and their tools will save you time, which means you can earn even more money doing what you love.

Check out this infograph that explains the freelance universe in a fun way.

Take advantage of the free trial and let me know what you think.

Leave a comment Posted on Book Nook, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

A Woman’s Wisdom

A proverb a day keeps foolishness at bay. 

The book of Proverbs is full of great advice and wisdom. The wisest guy in the world (Solomon) shared with us the things he learned. 

I think Solomon’s a wonderful example of what to do with God’s gifts–use them to help others. 

Sure, he was human and had a lot of wives. Still, though, it doesn’t discount his contribution. 

I’m excited to read A Woman’s Wisdom: How the proverbs speak to everything by Lydia Brownback. 

  She talks about the role of wisdom and all the things we can learn from Proverbs. 

Check it out if you get the chance. 

I just started it, but it’s been great so far. 

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

A Sunday Challenge

Do hard things. 

I know it’s not fun or easy, but doing hard things builds muscle. 

You know from earlier posts that I’m not a big fan of vulnerability. 

It’s a scary $5 word that means allowing yourself to show others your true thoughts and feelings–not the “No, really I’m fine” when things get tough. 

To use one of my step mom’s favorite quotes, “It’s like wearing your socks in the shower.”

Being vulnerable will not–I repeat–will not always be comfortable. 

I’m not talking about the no boundaries kind of life either because people who embrace vulnerability have well defined boundaries. 

I learned that from Dr. Brene Brown, a leading researcher and author on vulnerability. We talked about her book Rising Strong awhile back. 

So, this week I encourage you to do hard things. 

Be willing to embrace vulnerability. 

Write back and tell me how it goes. I’ll do the same, okay? 

Next Sunday we’ll talk about this subject again. 

Leave a comment Posted on Daily Blogs, Family

Ending well

Bad days happen. 

Today was one of them…

My entire afternoon was wasted. 

It was a situation where I’m partly to blame because I didn’t push hard enough for an answer (an answer that would have saved me three hours). 

I left the store with tears stinging my eyes while also being extremely angry. 

Not fun…

I’m not a super emotional person, so emotional situations wear me out. 

The evening got better, though, when I watched the new Cinderella with the kiddos. 

We had popcorn and everything. 

 

Courage is king of the popcorn bowl

 
Rainy days–and bad days too–rarely stop kids from having fun. Their innocence is such a sweet gift. 

I want my siblings to stay as innocent as possible, to never lose the gift of finding joy in all situations. 

It’s easy for adults to be cynical. 

I hate that…

I want to be more like my little brothers and sisters. 

Their ability to trust and forgive and love and laugh amazes me. 

I never want them to lose that resilience. 

The day was pretty stinky, but it ended well. 

Leave a comment Posted on Daily Blogs, Family

Birthday fun

Today’s post is going to be very, very short. 

I want to wish my little brother, Courage, a happy birthday. 

He’s a little cutie that brings great joy to our family. 

I’m posting this at his party, so I gotta go. 

Happy Birthday, Courage!!!

  

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Thankfully overwhelmed

We all face busy days. 

The first of the month is especially busy for me. I have customers coming in and out of my office all day–on top of a pile of paperwork from the previous month to complete. 

Plus, today I was juggling getting my car to the shop. (There was a lot of moving parts to coordinate.)

On days like today, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. 

I know I was…

Not allowing temporary inconveniences to derail you from the bigger picture can be difficult. 

I encourage you to take a breath and count your blessings. 

You and I have a LOT to be thankful for. 

It’ll help you when the phone rings and a customer walks in and your boss wants you to dictate a letter–right now. 

Even in those moments, remember your blessings. 

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Family

Internet 101: Learn what’s appropriate

I don’t have any kids of my own, but I strongly disagree with shame based parenting.

If your kid does something wrong, I agree there needs to be consequences.

You can discipline your kid, though, without humiliating them.

I read a story about a young girl who allegedly committed suicide after a video was posted online of her father cutting off her long hair. She was being punished for “getting messed up” which I think refers to drinking or doing drugs…not really sure.

Either way, I don’t know how cutting off her hair would help anything.

To be fair to the stories I read, the police are not connecting the suicide with the punishment. It does, however, bring up the conversation of shame based parenting.

Here’s some of the videos floating around YouTube this year:

  • A parent encouraging a child to beat up a sibling
  • Children standing at intersections holding up embarrassing signs
  • Parents berating their children

I know we’ve talked about this before, but not everything has to be posted online!

Videoing someone on his or her death bed is inappropriate.

Live tweeting a funeral is inappropriate.

Videoing discipline is inappropriate.

Once again, not everything has to be posted online!

The fact that someone has to say “This, this, and this should be kept offline” is absurd.

Being vulnerable in today’s world is hard enough without the threat of your most intimate, sometimes heartbreaking moments being posted online for all the world to see.

And how would you feel knowing that the people who are supposed to love you the most–your parents–are trying to humiliate you?

ALWAYS think before you post.

  1. Will this content cause another to suffer?
  2. Why do I want to share this with others?
  3. What if it was me?

More reading:

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/shame-parenting-expert-article-1.2347317

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3111907/Girl-13-commits-suicide-jumping-bridge-video-dad-cutting-hair-punishment-posted-online.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sherrie-campbell-phd/inspire-healthy-self-este_b_6437472.html

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs, Faith Journeys

Want to vs. Need to

Putting off tasks that are not fun will not make them more fun later.

No one likes to pay bills.

To budget.

To exercise.

Some things need to be done–whether you enjoy them or not.

When I first started exercising, I hated it.

I hated when the alarm clock went off.

I hated leaving my warm house on cold winter mornings.

But I still did it.

After a while, once I saw the results, I began to enjoy it more and more.

We need to quit making people feel guilty when they don’t enjoy something at first.

Jesus tells a story in Matthew 21:28-32. Let me paraphrase it for you:

A father asks two sons to go work in the yard. One son says, “Are you kidding me? I won’t do it!” Later on, he feels bad and decides to go. The other son said, “Sure, Dad! I’ll be glad to help!” and then didn’t show up to work. Jesus said the first son was obedient.

Jesus was looking at their hearts and he saw what was really going on. He was telling this story to religious leaders (it was really about them). He was talking about their refusal to accept Him as the Messiah.

We need to realize, though, that this story can be applied to more than just “spiritual” things like missions and evangelism.

The principles in the Bible apply to all areas of our lives–spirit, soul, and body.

Keep this text in mind next time you’re struggling to want to do something.

Maybe you should just do it because it’s the right thing to do.

Your heart and attitude will catch up with your decision.

Remember: Words mean nothing without action behind them.

Leave a comment Posted on Character Corner, Daily Blogs

Put the matches down

Integrity is what you do when no one’s watching. 

My 8th grade English teacher, Ms. Blackmon, taught me that definition. 

She gave us an example too. 

You’re all alone on a stretch of country road late at night. You approach a red light and no one’s around. Do you run it? Or wait for it to turn green? 

Your decision, she said, is the true measure of your integrity. 

This little story has always stuck with me. During times of temptation I catch myself. 

What about my integrity?

We’ve all had friends and family fail–and not the ones we expected either. 

They were so nice!

Their lives seemed so perfect!

What you do, who you are when no one’s looking really matters. 

I think that’s why sincerity is such a hot commodity these days. 

“Just be real,” we say, “Be honest about your struggles.”

I’m all for it too! Goodness knows that I screw up a lot. 

But we need to be careful. 

Asking others to be sincere means we can’t burn them at the stake.

This is true when a friend or relative makes a mistake or even expresses an opinion that differs from your own. 

Self-righteous witch hunts are what drive people to wear masks. 

The root of integrity–and all good character for that matter–starts when no one’s looking. 

Maturity is a process, so don’t hide your struggles. 

And, lastly, don’t be so quick to strike a match.