Change

Some things in life are worth the squeeze...take orange juice, for example. Other things just leave us with sticky hands. We’ve all had an opportunity land in front of us and wondered, Is this worth it? Is the project worth the time? Is the trip worth the drive? Is one more committee worth another meeting? Sheri: I don’t think everything worthwhile has to pay us back. Time with an old friend may not make us richer, but it can make us happier. Sometimes the payoff is simply th

Every day we're surrounded by opinions, headlines, conversations, memories, and experiences that swirl together like colorful pieces inside a kaleidoscope. Our eyes gather the light, but our minds decide what it means. Somewhere in the middle of all that, we decide what to believe. People often say, "Seeing is believing." Yet history reminds us that two people can witness the very same event and come away with remarkably different conclusions. Henry David Thoreau observed, "I

If there's one thing life enjoys, it's making circles. Trends return. Ideas resurface. Advice we once ignored suddenly makes perfect sense. And just when we think we've moved on from something, it finds its way back into our lives. Round and round we go. Take fashion. At some point, most of us have cleaned out a closet and proudly donated clothes we were absolutely certain would never be worn by another human being again. Not only are they back, but they’re also trendy. Sudd

A level - such a simple tool with a powerful job...it tells the truth about balance. Place it on a surface, and that little bubble quietly reveals whether things are even, tilted, or just plain off. In life, having a “level” means keeping your personal horizon steady. Your expectations are grounded enough to be realistic, yet far enough ahead to keep you moving forward. When your inner bubble floats centered, you’re neither leaning too far into fantasy nor slumping into dou

Bill: "If frogs had wings, they wouldn’t bump their butts on the rocks.” (American folk Proverb) Now that's a sentence you don't hear every day. Sheri: Hm…not sure that expression has ever “leaped” across my path before. 😊 Bill: Well, it’s an old saying with both a playful grin and a serious point. Sure, if frogs had wings, they could soar over every obstacle. No rocks. No bumps. No bruised frog bottoms. However, frogs don't have wings, and wishing they did doesn't change r

A golf ball on the putting green has a pretty simple assignment: get into the hole. The funny thing is it rarely takes a perfect path to get there. A putt starts out looking straight enough, then the green has other ideas. There's a little slope you didn't notice. A patch of grass that grabs the ball. A bump that sends it wandering a few inches off course. Yet if the ball has enough momentum, it keeps rolling anyway. Life reminds us of that sometimes. Most of us have a pretty

We think God gave us memories like He gave us all fireflies – tiny flickers of light to brighten the darkness. They don’t last forever in front of our eyes, but they shine just enough to remind us of something special tucked away inside...

Your hands are on the wheel, your foot is on the gas, and you have just enough confidence to think, “Road trip!” You’re officially in the driver’s seat - freedom in motion with authority to occasionally adjust the radio. Sheri: Remember one of our first road trips together, Bill? Packed car, big smiles, and after two hours of driving, a bold declaration of “let’s take the shortcut!” Ten minutes later, we passed the same front porch – twice, as a matter of fact. Also, the same

Question: “Hi, how are you doin’ today?” Answer: “Better today!” That simple reply may not sound dramatic, but it carries a quiet victory behind the scenes. Small daily “wins” can slowly add up. All you have to do is pick a few categories where you’d like to improve. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. But how many bites should you take today? What’s the serving size? What’s the daily recommended dose? Don’t worry about the math. Just take a bite. If you take ev

With passengers and crew totaling over 4,000, we were surprised and pleased to find an oasis of calm on board our cruise ship. Like a siren on the ocean, this oasis drew us in, calling “your table’s ready - what are you waiting for?”

Most of us have heard the old expression Carrots and Sticks. Some people respond better to carrots - that incentive or promise of something good just ahead that makes us want to take the next step. The stick, on the other hand, is the push, the reminder that if we don’t act, there may be consequences waiting behind us. One pulls us forward and the other “nudges” us from behind. And truth be told, life seems adept at using both. Sheri: Sometimes it’s useful to set up our own c

Early one spring morning we noticed a tiny yellow flower poking up through a narrow crack in our cobblestone patio. No garden bed. No special soil. Just a sliver of daylight between two stones. Pretty sure nothing was supposed to grow there. That cheerful little flower reminded us of one of life’s most reliable truths: where there’s a will, there’s a way, or at least the beginning of one. Sheri: Willpower sometimes looks just like this small flower pushing through a tiny cr

The mountains rose majestically, white and gray against the wide western sky. Below, a seemingly endless valley of green trees. The landscape was expansive and generous with perspective…you know, the big scheme of things. Sometimes freedom looks like this kind of stillness. Where there is space around your thoughts. Space around your fears. Space inside your choices. Bigger than the deadlines and the constant hum of what comes next. Room to breathe again. Sheri: Standing the

Here’s a simple plan for life: show up, try, stumble, learn, and keep going. Every small effort — the class you take, the recipe you attempt, the friendship you nurture — is a coin you drop into your personal treasure chest. Over time, it fills with more than memories; it becomes a store of experience, wisdom, and stories you can share with the world. That’s what it means to be chronologically gifted. Life’s treasures grow when you learn, volunteer, and travel. Each action de

There are times when nothing obvious is happening. No color. No applause. No proof you can point to and say, See? That’s awesome! Just still water and wide leaves doing their quiet work. If you didn’t know better, you might think the pond was asleep. But surprise, folks, these lilies are fixin’ to bloom. Beneath the surface, everything necessary is already in motion. This is the gift of knowing and trusting. Not the kind that paces the floor or checks the clock every five min

Our photo pretty much gives it away: this is a shameless (but very positive!) promotion for our book, Pictures, Pen, and Positivity. Life is full of small moments, the kind you almost miss if you’re moving too fast. But when you begin to look for them, really look, something shifts. Those moments start to add up. A glance, a laugh, a flicker of light - each can carry more meaning than we often realize. That’s the heartbeat of this book: imperfectly and honestly, we choose to

All living things move and grow - animal, vegetable, and yes, even mineral if you give it enough time and patience. Winter is officially behind us, and “snow” is once again just a distant four-letter word we don’t need to use in polite conversation. Springtime has sprung, stretched, and yawned its way onto the calendar, inviting us all to do what nature does best: renew, repurpose, and refresh. Spring is generous with encouragement, especially if you like words that start wit

Do you know what you’re worth? What would you pay for your talents and services?

Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” We agree—but maybe start by writing it down. Think of it like making a list and checking things off as you go. The first item might be “win the lottery.” (Who says this has to be nonfiction?) It’s your story. Creativity isn’t just allowed, it’s required. Just remember, you’re in the driver’s seat. If you decide on a beach vacation, that might be about four hours east. But if you decide to learn a new

Our patio table was blanketed by fresh morning snow. The colorful umbrella, bungeed tightly closed, crowned a three-inch overnight gift. Four chairs leaned forward, tipped carefully against the table, as if huddled together for warmth. At first glance, it looks like an ending: summer dinners on pause, and conversations packed away. But look a little longer, and it becomes something else entirely. This is what winter positivity looks like. There’s something comforting about ho