“I have a dream that one day......"   

-Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963  

dream [ dreem ]  -verb 

1. to have a dream.  (dictionary.com) 

We celebrate Black History Month each year and are reminded of the importance of having a dream. Martin Luther King had a dream to end racism in America.  Dreams compel us to take actionable steps towards a vision and specific goals for our life.  These kinds of dreams are not just for national or global leaders; dreams are for ordinary people like you and me. 

One of the most difficult things for many women over 50, is to be able to dream again.  Here are some of the reasons I hear of why dreaming is difficult:   

• I have been so focused on raising my family, that I have forgotten how to think about anything other than their needs. 
• Between the day-to-day tasks in my job and then coming home to get things done there, I just don’t...

“Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do."   

Thomas Aquinas, written in 1273  

purpose [ pur-puhs ]  noun 

1. the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc. 

1. an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal. 

1. determination; resoluteness. (dictionary.com) 

As we reflect on our life, we ask “why do I exist?”  It’s a question that individuals have asked throughout history and how we answer, will determine our future.  

Purpose is a word that we hear often, but how we understand it and implement it into our life is one of the most significant work we can do to catapult our life’s journey.  You are correct.  I said work.  There is work involved in order to understand and live into your calling.  ...

I’m an avid reader. Even when I was a young high school student, I would stay up until one and 2 o’clock in the morning reading. That was when I was still young and had no problem getting up at 6:30 to go to school the next day. Things have changed since then; I’m not that young any more. Smile. 
 
Recently I have read two books on habits and how they impact your life. One was The Power of Habit:  Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg and the other one I read is  Atomic Habits:  An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ones.    
 
As a committed Christ follower, I look at the world through spiritual lenses. As I thought about the habits that I put into practice in my own life, I want to be sure to put my spiritual habits on the front burner. 
 
Christians will never develop a deep love for God without spending time in the spiritual disciplines or more...

“A person's name is to him or her the sweetest and most

important sound in any language.”   – Dale Carnegie 

Names can either be empowering or can cause great damage.  Remember the rhyme we heard as children?  “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words will _______?”  You can fill in the blank by yourself. In reality, words, names can wound the spirit and crush a person’s whole being. As such, spiritual healing needs to take place in order to put aside those harsh bruises to the human soul.   
 
1.  Know your name. As we read the scriptures, we see that throughout the Bible, the people were very intentionally named and the meaning of their name became an important part of their identity.  Individuals were challenged to live up to their name.  We also read about names that were changed in order to bring about a new calling or purpose...

Where I live in the southeast United States, the weather has begun to get cool as October ends and November begins. Along with the change in temperature, comes a focus on home maintenance. One of those things is to be sure to have the furnace checked out and filters changed in preparation for the cold of winter. 
 
As I was thinking about taking care of my home, I wondered if I really take care of myself as well as I do my house. In light of what all has happened in 2020, it seems like taking care of our spiritual, emotional, and physical health has sometimes been neglected in light of all of the chaos that’s happening in our world. Our health may have taken a back seat.   
 
I know that most want to get back to ‘normal.’ But we all know in reality is that it will become a new normal and not what would be experienced in the past. Hopefully we have had an opportunity to stop and think about the gifts that Covid has given to us.  ...

I live in the southeast part of the United States. For those who may not know, this is the heart of the SEC football conference. In the fall, the number one topic of conversation (at least before Covid), was football. People in this part of the country eat, breathe, and dream about football. Many people have countdown apps to keep track of how many days until the first kick off for the season.   
 
How many of us approach our day -every day- like it was the first day of football season? Game day. What would that look like for us?  For me, it looks like I have put in place several things to prepare for the next day. 
 
If we take the Hebrew idea of a day, we really begin the night before. That means we begin preparation as we think about the upcoming day the prior evening. 

 
Although I am far from perfect in my approach, here are some of the goals I have as I plan the next day. 
 
1. My goal is to keep the main thing the main...