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Category: personal growth

Why would God…?

My oldest just moved the day after Christmas. With my own Navy moves under my belt, I knew that sometimes moving across an ocean is a lot easier than moving houses 20 minutes down the street. When you move across an ocean, you know you need help. When you move locally, it’s easy to think you can get by with some help from family. When I showed up at Maggie’s front door, I had to…

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Come to your Senses

One of the easiest things I know to do to celebrate anything is to consider how to engage as many of my senses as I can. It’s why I ask my children what they want for their birthday dinner. Often it is a meal that in taste and aroma recall something happy and familiar to them. I may not get the gift right but the meal is always a win. This Christmas season I hope…

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Wrap it up with a bow

Tis the season for packages tied up with ribbon and string. There is something charming to a beautiful gift finished with the flourish of an artfully tied bow. When I made my first attempt at turning a length of ribbon into a bow I just remember feeling my hands and brain couldn’t cooperate to make anything with ease. It was a fumble of slow going mistakes. The results were less than satisfying. Many times I…

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How does counting help?

What does it take to get to happy? To content? To enough? Sitting on Sunday reviewing the Thanksgiving break I had this uneasy sense that I had wasted the four day weekend. I had made big plans for the work I’d get done. The books I would read. The family projects accomplished by the willing volunteers at home. You see I wake up with thoughts flooding my mind of action items. I only recently discovered…

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Give Thanks!

Enjoy this short video that I recorded a little while ago (pre-COVID). Whether you are a member of the Institute, a teacher, a parent, or an adult who cares about growth, thanks is a major habit we seek to develop in all our leaders no matter their age! Enjoy the turkey talk. I’d love to share more with you about developing a thanks habit not only during Thanksgiving but year-round. Sign up here to receive…

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Looking into the cloud

Growing up in the United States, November always feels like a big surprise. The attention around All Hallow’s Eve, known more broadly as Halloween, seems to divert from the very next day. As the lesser-known holiday, November 1st, All Saints Day, often slips quietly by. This year I was struck with the idea of an exercise to celebrate the day. I spent 30 minutes writing down the names of as many personal to me and…

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