Imagine saving hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars each year—just by owning less. These 20 stats show how. Most people I know want more time and money. In most cases, I can see why. We’re stretched thin—trying to meet deadlines, pay bills, care for our families, and still find space for rest, joy, purpose, […]
Read MoreNever underestimate the importance of removing stuff you don’t need. Encouragement provides us with motivation. It invites us to dream dreams of significance for our lives. And it begs us to work diligently with optimism and promise. Overcoming the pull of consumerism is a difficult challenge regardless of our stage in life. Therefore, simplicity requires encouragement. […]
Read MoreThere is a small nuance in language that I often find myself chiming in on when I see a need to do so. At first, the adjustment seems and sounds small. But in reality, there is a life-giving truth contained in it. And equally so, a great danger in missing it. I first noticed this […]
Read MoreNote: This is a guest post from Joe Darago, Executive Director of The Hope Effect, and a friend of mine for over 30 years. I come from a big family—five sisters and me—filling every corner of our modest home in Northeast Ohio with laughter, noise, and life. There was never a dull moment. My dad’s […]
Read MoreWe live in a world filled with empty consumeristic promises. To get the girl, buy this cologne. To be the life of the party, get this television. To impress your friends, buy this watch. To turn heads, drive this car. To raise a better family, buy this bigger house. These promises bombard our senses incessantly—even within […]
Read MoreThere’s a quote that’s been floating around the Internet for years now. Every time it’s shared, it’s quickly reposted, re-shared, and liked over and over again. I’ve even posted it myself. The viral quote is simple and goes like this: “6 luxuries in life: 1. time 2. health 3. a quiet mind 4. slow mornings […]
Read MoreOn being an old beginner Sometimes at my job, I feel like a very late bloomer. Every single one of my educators and preceptors has been younger than me, sometimes by decades. Several of them could be my children, because they are, in fact, the ages of my children. (!!) It is an interesting feeling, […]
Read More1. I started the process of applying for a hospital grant Part of the tuition reimbursement program at my hospital is grant-based, and that requires the usual scholarship/grant hoop-jumping. Luckily, I’m good at this after all my previous scholarship applications, as well as my divorce paperwork and name change paperwork. I made a folder on […]
Read MoreTomorrow is Thankful Thursday. But I think before I can make a proper thankful list, I need to have a small complaining session. (Consider yourself warned, and proceed at your own risk.) an ever-useful picture Before we continue, I’ll say I understand that, as current-problems-in-the-world go, the ones I’m about to fuss about are small […]
Read MoreHave you ever noticed that as a whole, our society has its daily habits almost completely backwards? We’re generally so “busy” that we don’t have time to get much exercise. And then we spend countless sedentary hours sitting in our cars each week because we think that car driving saves us time. To fuel our […]
Read More