Too Darn Happy

Take this leap and change your life!

May 20, 2013 By Kim 1 Comment

You whip your car into a parking place, rushing again to get to work on time. As you come to a hard stop, your purse tumbles off the seat, its contents disappearing underneath the empty fast-food bags and other clutter on the floor.

A strangled sigh of frustration escapes your lips, and tears prick at your eyes.

If only you could work at something you loved.

If only you had time to help your children have a relaxed and joyful start to their day.

If only you had the flexibility to make time for the important, rather than always scrambling to take care of the urgent.

You’ve considered stepping out to work for yourself before, but it seems so out of reach, an impossible dream, really. And it would just take so much effort.

Besides, what if you fail? What if you are just not good enough?

You take a deep breath as you climb out of the car and slam the door, doing your best to become composed before you walk into the office to spend another day at a job that brings no satisfaction.

There is a way to get where you want to be. . . [Continue reading...]

Richly colored silver linings

May 13, 2013 By Kim 8 Comments

Did you know sunny days are not your best friend for taking pictures?

It is the cloudy and sometimes even rainy days that bring out the most amazingly saturated hues in the landscape.

As a photographer I especially love this weather, as it makes my photos just POP with lush greens, brilliant blues, and deep reds.

A similar concept holds true about tough times revealing a fresh perspective, sometimes even an aha moment where, just around the corner from a stretch of a rocky road, you stumble upon a richly colored silver lining.

Such was the case for my husband and I when I experienced a health scare a few years ago.

Today I am delighted to be sharing my story at Messy Marriage, where my friend Beth offers comforting helpings of encouragement.

The Blessing of a Health Scare

My husband and I were blissful spenders. While we didn’t take on lots of debt, we also didn’t have an emergency fund.

The sad reality is that for years we were completely unaware of how close we regularly walked up to our financial edge. We actually thought we were wise and thrifty.

What finally opened our eyes was . . .

To read the rest, click on over to Messy Marriage!

Sharing at NOBH, Happy Wives Club, Soli Deo Gloria

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Pay it forward by pouring it on

May 7, 2013 By Kim 20 Comments

Did you ever play with binoculars as a kid? I did, and as I would sweep the rural landscape, I was always amazed at how big and close things became. However, turning the binocs around and looking through the opposite end was a real eye-opener as well. My focus became very small, and details [...]

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Fear, failure, and (almost) falling overboard:
7 Life lessons from a sailing mishap

April 29, 2013 By Kim 30 Comments

Before I was married, one of the many young men I dated was a radio disk jockey. Just a word to the wise, moms: If your daughter wants to date a dj, just say NO. I was a dj, too, so I got to know many of them. Let’s just leave it that they are [...]

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Bear-ly fearless

April 22, 2013 By Kim 38 Comments

Fear. We talk about it quite a bit, don’t we, my friends? We can be afraid of so much, and yet when we face it head on, we find it is often just smoke and mirrors, an itty-bitty Chihuahua whose bark is artificially amplified from behind the curtain. Today I am sharing a story I wrote [...]

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A cure for cabin fever

April 17, 2013 By Kim 11 Comments

What season is it in your part of the world? Here in the Northeast U.S., we are coming to the end of winter, thankfully! Similar to a BMW, we can go from slightly above zero to sixty not in a minute, but definitely over the course of a day. The morning can dawn below freezing, [...]