I must confess, I am a big Rocky fan!
Not as in rocky road ice cream but Rocky Balboa, the boxer played in the ‘Rocky’ movies by Sylvester Stallone.
The writers of this champion-birthing series crafted Rocky’s journey to make us love him and deeply relate to the personal ups and downs of an undeniable leader in his boxing world.
I was caught up and inspired again by “Creed”, the 7^th movie in the ‘Rocky’ series where Sylvester Stallone (Rocky) finds himself training his former rival and friend, Apollo Creed’s son as a young boxer.

In the movie, Rocky is old and out of shape. He is looked on fondly by many as once a great fighter and leader but not anymore.
What he doesn’t realize, at the time, is that though a leader’s body may age, their heart does not. (more…)

A Well-Crafted Life always ends in loss for those that you love. When your days on this earth are over, your Well-Crafted Life comes alive in the hearts and minds of those that are dealing with the grief of missing you.
Grief in us is often cradled by the legacy that our loved one has left.
Recently, the one that birthed in me the desire to live a well-crafted life went home to be with the Lord.  My Mom!
She crafted her life up until the very end and her last breath.  She was amazing in how she loved and lived in her life.  But in her last days, she was still demonstrating the keys to a Well-Crafted Life.

6 Keys to A Well-Crafted Life

Sacrifice – AWCL (a well-crafted life) will be full of sacrifice, but not the kind that makes everyone uncomfortable but just the opposite.  All of mom’s life, including her last days, was lived as a sacrifice for those she loved and those that loved her.  Her sacrifice was so warm and inviting that it made you want to be around her and share in whatever time she had left. (more…)

At this time of year, pull out your pictures and let them take you on a journey of fun, family, friends, tears and laughter.  Pictures can minister to us in ways that words cannot. I remember... My Shirley Temple doll I got at Christmas. The love of a husband that enjoyed Christmas (still miss ya, Honey). A daughter that was and still is the meaning of JOY year round. A GREAT friend that loves your family as much as they love you! Family that knows how to have fun, give love and laugh! Holding the hand of my Mom never gets old even when we do! A Dad and Grandfather that can be as silly as any child! A make a gift from God's gift to me because He loves me. My two pillars of encouragement. Sister & Daughter I…

People come into our life for a reason. God uses people to bless our lives and to bring change into our lives. We need each other, no matter who we are.  This song, by Hezekiah Walker, speaks to this so well, if you want to take a listen.

It is so important that we stop from time to time and remember how people have impacted our life. Today, I want to share with you five people I am blessed to have met.

5 Leaders That Changed My Life (more…)

Age is such a fluid thing.  Sometimes age is very important, like waiting to be old enough to drive, drink, vote, or to be taken seriously by adults.  But the age itself is not important. It is what the age permits or supports as changes in our lives.  Right?

If we did not have age boundaries, how important would age be?  When I turned thirty-five, my business mentor told me that financial success for a career in that company was that your wage was at least $1000.00 per year of age.  So at thirty-five, I needed to make $35,000.00 to be considered successful. Fortunately, I was successful! (more…)

I love the song Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof. Listen here to a great rendition just to refresh your memory of this moving song.
In the seasons of your life, the sun will change position, just as it does every day.  As you rise each day, the sun appears like it is brand new and never seen before. Each evening it sets like it has truly disappeared. Try as we may, we can not stop the sun from rising or setting, just as we can not stop the seasons of our own life.

The sun represents many things to us: life, growth, heat, sweat, morning and newness, just to name a few.  As you have gone through different seasons of life, have you ever wondered where the sun was for you? (more…)

When did your someday list start?  Mine started with my parents.
I would hear grown up conversations, and my parents would talk about remodeling, traveling, and vacations. A lot of those discussions ended with, “Honey, we will have to go there someday.”

From those conversations, I started my own someday list.  The first time I remember writing an actual list was when I was in fourth grade. It was summer and as I sat on my porch, I wrote:

• Someday I am going to do a mural on a big wall with a group of other artists.
• Someday I am going to write poetry that touches others.
• Someday I am going to get married and be loved a lot.

Well, one of the three came true. I married in 1973 the love of my life. Then without me even understanding how or why, my hope in someday faded.
As years passed I dropped things off the list because I said, “It is never going to happen.”  I had not even tried to do most of them. Life just painted me the picture that someday was never coming my way. (more…)

Take charge of your life!  I told myself that so many times as I was building my professional career because I knew I had the ability to do whatever I needed to do. But I often found myself exhausted from taking charge at work, home, church, in relationships, in by health…on and on and on.  So I would have what I referred to as a “crash weekend”.
“Crash Weekend” recipe; do nothing, plan nothing, don’t get dressed. I would stay in my PJ’s and let the world go by. Then on Sunday evening I would almost in anger; start to put my week together; like picking up pieces of a broken bowl.I would talk to myself, “OK, get it together’, take charge of your (more…)