Posts by GrowthSkills

I’m sure you have known someone that is deeply religious, but with deeply entrenched problems in their personal, professional, or relational lives.  It can be hard to understand why someone with a sincere faith is struggling with major behavioral or personal issues.  Especially when that “someone” is us!  We may even be questioning our own…

The Art of Vulnerability The importance of vulnerability has been written about extensively by John and Henry over the years. Recently, Brene Brown has ignited our imagination for vulnerability through her books and Ted Talks. These thought leaders have helped us to see that we desperately need vulnerability. But doing vulnerability well is challenging. We…

The holiday season is often depicted as a time of joy, togetherness, and celebration. However, for many individuals, it can be a period of profound sorrow, particularly in the face of significant family losses. The absence of loved ones can weigh heavily during holiday rituals and routines because we miss being able to create new…

As life is showing signs of normalcy again, we have an urgent and unique opportunity:  to intentionally redesign our work life balance.  Balance might be a fallacy, or a fantasy, because it seems we’re always falling off the teeter totter.  Weave seems like a better metaphor, because work seems to weave itself in and out…

Do not forget to entertain strangers for by doing some people have entertained angels without knowing. Hebrews 13:2-3  As a bible reader we have been introduced to angels throughout scripture. The following encounters convince me that angels are indeed real. An Angel of the Lord blocking Balaam from cursing God’s people. (Numbers 22: 22-28) In…

If your pandemic life is anything like mine, in the past year you’ve become less scheduled and more isolated in your home.  I lost an ease in navigating life and with it, an interior silence from years of meditation practice, I hadn’t realized was so fragile.  I’ve spent much of the year trying to find…

It’s not the story anyone expected.  An aging sports star yearns for a few more years of glory.  His team for 20 years thinks he’s past his prime.  But rather than a slow and painful decline, he leads a brand new team to the Super Bowl.  Doesn’t matter if you love him or hate him,…

Life is a journey.   This past Fall, our family made this truth a literal reality.  On August 19, 2020, my wife, 3 kids, niece and I climbed into a travel trailer towing SUV and embarked on a 4-month road trip across America and back.   Having never experienced anything like this, we truly did…

As a young girl, I remember the thrill of anticipating Christmas. Immediately after Thanksgiving, Christmas was on everyone’s mind. Holiday lights began appearing on all the houses in my neighborhood, twinkling happily everywhere.  My older brother Bill and I spent much of our time trying to find the gifts we knew my mother had hidden…

Giving Space by Michele Fleming, Ph.D. Does this sound familiar?  You are having a conversation with a friend who holds thoughts and beliefs that are vastly different from yours.  Next thing you know, you start to get triggered – a slow rising of the need to be right.  To deliver a brilliant rebuttal.  Or to…

So here we are still living in this new upside-down world of Covid19 and quarantine. It feels like I woke up in some weird alternate universe. Nothing is the same. For some of us, including me, the quarantine has been extended far beyond what I thought it would and has had a significant impact on…

Romans 7:15. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Life is complex, often the same experience will hold both good and bad.   For example, I am grateful for our country’s awakening to injustice in our police force and I’m outraged by the death of George Floyd.   Maturity is engaging in all of…