Tag: special word

• One of My Best Failures

  For those of you who have followed my blog for a long time (I started blogging in April of 2011), you may remember that for several years I chose one word each year to be my special word to think about throughout the whole year. In 2014, I chose the word JOY as my special…

  Marian

  May 9, 2022

  Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  best failure, failure, gift of failure, good failures, gratitude, home-based business, Joan Chittister, joy, monthly word, quitting job, special word, special word of the month, The Monastic Way

• A Word for the New Year

  Almost every day for at least the last ten years, I’ve started my morning in the comfortable sitting area of my downstairs office. I light the seasonal arrangement of candles on the coffee table, and settle into my Lazy Boy recliner. I spend from ten minutes to an hour quietly beginning the day. Before I…

  Marian

  January 13, 2020

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  candles, gratitude, Happy New Word, Happy New Year, hope, joy, kindness, love, mentally sing, peace, quiet time, special word, wisdom

• A Long Talk with My Dog – the best way to begin the New Year.

  Floey jumped down from the couch, stretched her whole body, and sauntered over to me. I was sitting at my desk. She plopped herself down right next to me. But instead of resuming her nap, she looked up at me and asked, “What are you doing, Mom? You look like you’re just staring off into…

  Marian

  January 10, 2019

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  Floey, God’s love, groomer, haircut, inspiration, Listen, Love of God, New Year’s Resolution, patience, peace, reflections, small talk, special word

• Special Words for 2017

  Floey came bounding down the stairs, ran over to my desk, and sat down on the floor right next to me. “Good morning, Floey,” I said. “Good morning, Mom. Is it time yet?” Floey asked. “Yes. I think the time has finally come, Floey. Are you ready to talk about our special words for next…

  Marian

  January 3, 2017

  Goals, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  2017, Abbey, chance to be successful, Doris, economic harm, Floey, friend, hope, hopeful, Jesus Lives, kindness, meow, perfect word, physical harm, presidential election, sarah young, scared, special word, stubborn

• This Year’s Lesson: KINDNESS

  What do an Italian psychotherapist, a Christian college president in California, and a hitchhiker across America have in common? They each wrote a book about kindness. And I read them all this year. As you may recall, “kindness” is my special word for 2016. Upon the suggestion of Debbie Macomber in her book, One Perfect…

  Marian

  December 20, 2016

  Book Recommendations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  Barry Corey, Be ye kind, Biola University, BookBub, Christ in a dream, core virtue, crying baby, Dalai Lama, Debbie Macomber, Ephesians 4:32, Evangelical, firm center with soft edges, forgotten Christian virtue, fundamentally disagree wtih, hitchhiked penniless, hitchhiker, Italian, Kindle, kindness, kindness of strangers, Leo Tolstoy, Love Kindness, Mike McIntyre, newspaper columnist, One Perfect Word, Penniless across America, Piero Ferrucci, poor shoemaker, psychologist, psychotherapist, receivable, special word, storyteller, The Kindness of Strangers, The Power of Kindness, virtue

• When Floey Scolded Me…

  I was sitting at my desk, clicking away on my computer. Floey came trotting up to me and sat down. “Hey, what are you doing, Mom?” she asked. “Oh, hi, Floey. I just bought two new kindle books on Amazon.” “You what???? You just organized 2,000 books on your bookcases throughout the house, and you…

  Marian

  August 2, 2016

  Book Recommendations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Barry Corey, book about kindness, book on kindness, built-in bookcase, Dalai Lama, Debbie Macomber, Evangelical, Evangelical authors, Floey, gratitude, Italian psychotherapist, joy, Kindle, kindle books, kindness, kindness theme, Love Kindness, Max Lucado, meow, my secret, Philip Yancey, Piero Ferrucci, psychotherapist, Religious Right, scolding, special word, The Power of Kindness

• Talking with Floey about Forecasts

  Floey jumped off the love seat in my home office, trotted over to my desk where I was sitting, and sat down next to me. “Mom, it’s been a week, and you still haven’t told me about the third thing you were thinking about during your getaway at your Christmas Mountain timeshare last week. Can…

  Marian

  June 7, 2016

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  25th, 25th of month, Acme Boot Company, actual results, Buckingham Corporation, buget, Christmas Mountain, coca cola, Coca-Cola Bottling Company, coke, Cutty Sark Scotch, Floey, forecast, Fruit of the Loom, long-range plan, Mouton Cadet wines, New Year’s resolutions, Northwest Industries, personal plan, planning, Sears Tower, special word, Union Underwear, Willis Tower

• Talking with Floey about Peace and Patience

  Floey came running up to me as I opened the door into our condo from the garage. She was so excited I had to drop my suitcase to give her a big hug. “Oh, Floey. I’m so glad to see you. I missed you so much!” “I missed you, too, Mom? Where did you go…

  Marian

  May 31, 2016

  Assisted Living, Book Recommendations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  120 cps, 30 cps, Bernardin, blog, blogging, Cardinal Bernardin, characters per second, Christmas Mountain, computer terminal, conversation with Floey, cps, Finance Department, Floey, Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, Northwest Industries, patience, patience is a virtue, peace, relax, relaxing, special word, The Gift of Peace

• Meow?

  

  Floey came running up to my desk and stood beside me. “I’m ready, Mom. Let’s get started. I can hardly wait to start blogging about my special word for 2016.” Floey was wagging her tail so hard and fast I was afraid she might knock the landline phone off my desk. “Okay, Floey. We can…

  Marian

  January 5, 2016

  Book Recommendations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  2016 word, Debbie Macomber, Floey, gratitude, joy, kindness, meow, Mim, One Perfect Word, patience, play, special word, wait, waiting

• Gratitude and Surprises

  

  “Gratitude” has been an interesting word to think about for a whole year. Last December when I chose “Gratitude” to be my special word to ponder for 2015 (instead of making any New Year’s Resolutions), I had no idea how much my perspective on everyday life would be altered by thinking about being grateful every…

  Marian

  November 30, 2015

  God’s Love, Jail Ministry, Life’s Challenges, Reflections, Reunions

  best new thing, grateful, gratitude, gratitude jar, Hy-Vee, Jeff Vanden Heuvel, Jesus Calling, Pastor Jeff, pray without ceasing, praying together, sarah young, special word, thankful, thankfulness, timeshare, Wisconsin Dells