The Cup
It’s April 27, 2001, 7:30pm. In an old theater, a hope-filled boyfriend kneels on a stage floor and offers his girlfriend a ring and life together. She smiles, "Yes!" Happy tears. He pours juice into the cup, bought especially for this occasion. He brea ...
Reverse Psychology for the Redhead
Communicating with our children at any age can be downright tricky. My redheaded 9-year old regularly throws me for a loop and leaves me dizzy. Recently he scraped his leg pretty badly from falling off of a skateboard (I learned that he had been wearing ...
“Say What?” The 5 Levels of Listening
“Amazing, simply amazing. Melt-in-your mouth. Your mama was a keeper.” Beth watched her dad’s mouth move, describing the delectable German chocolate cakes her mom used to bake, but all she could think was, “He’s a diabetic! He should not be talking about ...
Share from Your Heart
Dear Holly, How are you? I have enclosed an article for you. It says that couples who live together before they get married have a 50 percent higher divorce rate than couples who don’t. I thought you might want to know that before you move in with Sam ...
A Statement of Value
"Can we talk for a minute?" I pull my friend into another room where we can talk privately. And then I breathe deep. I am about to enter into a courageous conversation. Ironically, during the 8 hours prior, I had taught a few hundred C3 conference par ...
Here’s to Courageous Conversations
Heather stood at the door to her sister’s apartment, feeling like her heart would beat right out of her chest. This was the moment she had prayed about, cried about, lost sleep over. But it had to be done. She took a deep breath…and knocked. “God, plea ...
How to Start a Difficult Conversation
As you have probably gathered by now, I love writing stories. But I also love communication- especially studying how to communicate in more healthy ways and then teaching others. In fact, the title of my blog is really about communication- how our nonve ...
Peri’s 50th Birthday Bash
“Cargo pants, hiking boots, and a sweater with flair. I want to look like a hip outdoorswoman for my birthday party.” Peri had a vision, and I was determined to help make it happen. I ran the 4 doors down to my house and brought back a bag of sweaters. ...
Deeper- A Music Review
I pointed my finger indignantly at the black woman on the stage next to me, “I am not prejudiced!” She tilted her head back and laughed, “Honey, we are all prejudiced!" And that was how I first met Naima- in a play on a stage. I would tell you she’s Af ...
Peri’s Audacious Goal for 2014
Her blue eyes are full of courage, full of hope. My friend and neighbor, Peri, sits in the hospital bed that has been set up in her bedroom, writing out her goals for 2014 on a tablet. She lists things like finishing her scrapbooks and celebrating her 5 ...