Moving Forward

Beginning in 2017 to continue my journey of growth, I jumped on the word of the year bandwagon, which for me is a regular or daily practice that I think about each morning.  I start my day with 3 daily gratitude prayers, spiritual study, and try to bring in a morning walk. Through a coaching experience in 2016, I was encouraged to develop a visual or vision board of where I wanted my life to grow each year. This has evolved over the last several years. It really isn't a check off list, but more of a practice or idea that I tried to learn more about and apply to my life. There is so much power in the words we think about and use. Truly a word has so much power. When we name a word with intention, God seems to meet us there. I am learning to be very intentional in my word choice. This year the word was THRIVE, and the lessons I have learned have truly brought peace into my life in a way that is very hard to describe fully in this blog post.  Writing helps me truly apply ref...

Reflecting on the Power of Gratitude for 30 Days to conclude 2024! Day 1:  Grateful for my mom, dad, and grandparents. I know that life had not been easy, that they do the best they can, and know that I was blessed to have a family that instilled a sense of service to others and faith.  Day 2:  Rest, recovery, and opportunity to start the healing process for my body in physical therapy are all things I am grateful for today. I can’t believe Thanksgiving break begins now.  Day 3: Grateful that I have been blessed with collaboration opportunities with Dartmouth, a supporting department, and our eclipse collaborative partners.  Day 4:  Grateful for time with Billy Jack, beautiful sunny weather, and memories made. Day 5 & 6:  Nolan made it to Alpine safely and so did we, time together playing games, preparing and eating great food, and for our home. Day 7:  We had so much fun putting up Christmas decorations yesterday as a family. I am so very gra...

During spring break of 2016,  I decided to go on a solo hiking trip to connect with myself in the Big Bend area. The experience was wonderful as I was able to meet new people, conquer a few fears, and mediate on both personal and professional goals. The experience helped me to begin to connect with my authentic self. At that time, I was in dissertation phase. For those who have not experienced dissertation, it involves a lot of pressure. The experience helped me take a break, which inspired me to persevere with data analysis and writing. I made a pact with myself to take it easy and go on a solo trip each year to  celebrate me. Taking it Easy Can Bring Positive Change Taking it easy is a struggle. Females of my generation were told that we could do anything and everything at the same time. I bought into this lie and forgot that we only have 24 hours in a day. How we choose to give of ourselves can really impact our health. In reality, we cannot be everything to everyo...

This weekend we were challenged to consider the advantages of waiting. Often I find myself criticizing the youth of today and their need for "instant" gratification. However, I am so guilty of the same actions and of not taking time to wait. One of our pastors today was so accurate when he reminded us that we have a lot to learn from the art of waiting. We do live in a culture that lives "on demand", In fact, the great leaders of our world are often called to wait. I think of Nelson Mandela, who continued to choose to learn from his mistakes, sacrificed, and is a prime example to me on the art of waiting. Today we were given the example of Joseph, the great dreamer, forced to wait in prison for 12 years for a crime of which he was innocent, before becoming a leader and fulfilling his purpose in life. We were posed with the following question. What is the opportunity cost to getting what we want, when we want it? I have recently realized that I tend to run...