Calling Out Racial Bias (Kindly)
Choose wisely. Sometimes we have days, even weeks, to anticipate the choices we will make in a difficult conversation. Other times the opportunity is suddenly before us and we tiptoe trepidatiously into unknown waters. The latter was the setting for K ...
VIDEO: A Reading From The Christmas Song
On Christmas Eve, during the worship services at The Ascent Church, I read a piece from The Christmas Song, a musical I wrote for Brentwood-Benson in 2010. I've posted the video below (thanks for my 8-year old son for being my videographer and my husband ...
A Risky Interview with a Seattle Radio Station
When I was a teenager, I took risks. Like perching precariously underneath a train bridge to see what it felt like when a train went over. Not one of my wisest moments. But now that I'm older and so much more mature, I take "calculated" risks. Like agreei ...
I Have a Dream
We have a dream he and I. He with his deep faith his four children his vision for peace. Me with my deep faith my four children my vision for peace. We have a dream he and I that one day one day we people we citizens we souls we souls who occupy our many- ...
Finding Courage for the Scariest Step in Tough Conversations
“Would anyone like to role play a tough conversation?” I ask. By their response, it looks like I’ve asked if anyone would like their hair pulled out one strand at a time. They look down at the table, then sneak wide-eyed looks at each other. I had just ...
Don’t Feed Your Monster
An author friend of mine recently met with a potential publisher. Their first question wasn’t about the quality of her writing. It was, “How many Twitter followers do you have?” She only had 5,000, which just wasn’t enough to get her a book deal. Photo ...
Embarrassing Moments: Have Plant, Will Travel
Like many of us, I have a “mobile office.” That means I might meet a client at a coffee shop to design a killer keynote, in his or her office to rehearse a presentation, or on Skype from home to work on improving communication skills. But when I have a pa ...
5 Steps to Prepare Your Testimony
So, you’ve been asked to share your personal testimony. You know, the story of how you found Jesus. Or how He found you. Maybe you’re going on a missions trip to the other side of the world. Maybe you've been asked to speak to a group of people in your ...
10 Things to Say When Someone is Crying
Tears streamed down the little ballplayer’s face and his shoulders shook as he sat, dejected in the dugout. He had failed to hit the ball again. His dad/coach marched into the dugout. “There will be no crying on the ball field, do you understand me? No ...
What I Learned in Evansville
For the life of me, I can't remember my friend's birthdays. Last Friday morning, just before I left to teach at a women's retreat, I texted a dear friend in town to say, "I want to bring you one of my LOVED shirts so you can wear it and feel loved all da ...