I grew up in Chicago where winters were punctuated by blustery winds, snow drifts, and icy roads. I remember having to put on all the layers to bundle up before school and the strange sensation of my nose hairs freezing when I stepped outside our front door in the morning. After college, I moved to Central California to chase a career as a ... [Keep Reading...]
Incourage essays
When my roses are preaching about healing from trauma
I’m not very good at keeping plants alive. I forget to water them. I leave them in the sun, and sometimes they become parched. I even have a penchant for killing succulents. That said, I love flowers. Watching them grow and bloom makes my heart swell. In this time of COVID-19 and sheltering at home for months, I’ve been longing to see more ... [Keep Reading...]
The dance of grief and glory through the holidays
I still remember our first Thanksgiving after my husband Ericlee died. My family tried to hold it together. We tried to stay the course with certain traditions, but it was clear everything was off-kilter. He wasn’t there to run the Turkey Trot. He wasn’t wearing his silly apron in the kitchen, helping me chop the butternut squash for the soup. ... [Keep Reading...]
Pivoting Away from Jealousy Toward Abundance
When I was a newly-minted widow, I started to struggle with envy. In those early days of grief, it was excruciatingly hard for me to see all the summer vacation photos with daddies playing with their kids, the wedding anniversary celebrations, and the perfectly-crafted family Christmas pictures. Feelings rose up inside me that I never faced before. ... [Keep Reading...]
Running for His glory: Learning to breathe at higher altitudes
Breathe in deeply. Let the air gently fill your lungs. Pause. Then release. Feel the tension in your shoulders drift away. Inhale again. Then exhale. This is the give and take of breath. This is a deliberate slowing of the cadence of our breath. This is discovering a new, unforced rhythm. Breathe was the theme of the retreat I attended in ... [Keep Reading...]
How pruning clears the path for new growth
I saw the most gorgeous tree the other day at my kids’ school. She stopped me in my tracks with her huge blooms that were fuchsia on the outside and blush pink on the inside. Just a few weeks ago, this very tree was naked, seemingly dead and dry. Now, she sang of new life and was flourishing. We are in the throes of transition from winter to ... [Keep Reading...]
