This past week, I led a breakout session at the Speak Up Conference, titled “Self-Promotion: Greedy or Godly”. And what a perplexing, complicated topic it is–especially for bloggers, writers, and speakers. Even as I wrote the first sentence of this...
The first time I was asked to speak, it was with my mom. We were to present to the young moms group at our church on the joys of motherhood. Mom was a bit uncomfortable with the idea; I was elated. She decided that for her part, she would interview a bunch of other...
“Your destination is on the right,” my GPS announced from its perch on the dashboard. “It is?” I asked out loud. I was on a country road in the middle of nowhere. And I was supposed to be at a church. Speaking. In 10 minutes. I was already...
A few years ago, I spoke at a moms group on the topic of ‘beauty’. While I planned to speak mostly about inner beauty, I didn’t want to seem completely disqualified to present the topic! So, in front of my mirror that morning, I tried to muster all the beauty I...
This weekend, after I spoke to a group of ladies on my ‘Control Girl’ topic, a very sweet young mom came up to me and said, “I don’t think I’m very controlling, but sometimes my husband calls me the ‘white...
Our first house was in a neighborhood that had no stop signs. Weird, I know. It was a grid of intersecting side streets, and our little house–situated on a corner lot–looked out upon one of the many intersections.There was an unwritten rule in the...
There’s a story Jesus told about two brothers–one who disgraced his Father by running off with an early inheritance, and the other, who stayed behind dutifully slaving away, but was just as distant from his Father’s heart. The story is about both...
During our first year of marriage, I asked this question dozens of times. My new husband would hurt my feelings or make me angry, and I would fling myself on the bed, wailing and punching pillows. But it never made me feel better. I’d emerge feeling horrible and...
When I was in high school, I loved piano. My choir director asked me to accompany the choir on a a couple of our songs. I said sure, I’d be happy to, though I had never accompanied before.I practiced the songs, which were easy enough, at home, but I guess I...
This is the question I asked last time, and I loved all of the delightful responses. First, about non-sweaty work-out instructors: One woman said, “Seeing a skinny, toned person working out is believable because you DO get skinny and toned if you work out…” But...