Positive Perspectives

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

When we were kids, counting seemed pretty straightforward. One, two, three, four... we counted marbles, baseball cards, pennies in a jar, hot wheels, and the days until our birthday. Counting was simply a way to keep track of things we cared about. If you wanted to know how much you had, you counted. But somewhere along the road of life, we learn that the most important things -things that count - aren’t things at all. They are people. And while it’s nice to be able to count

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

If you were an egg, what kind would you be? It’s a lighthearted question with a meaningful center. Because beneath the shell of personality, we all carry something that defines us: our character. And in a world that sometimes feels a little scrambled, being a good egg still matters. A good egg is trustworthy. Kind. Reliable. The kind of person who shows up when they say they will, listens when it counts, and lends a hand without keeping score. They don’t need to be flashy, th

Shakespeare wrote, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. ” This is such a fitting place to begin our Any Other Name blog. Shakespeare was right in a literal sense - the rose itself doesn’t change. - however, our experience of it often does. What we name or call things has a curious way of shaping how we see them. (Just try calling that same rose a weed or a cactus long enough, and it might start hanging its petals a little lower in your mind!) Names matter. The wo

Corn, corn, corn. Funny how we can collect an earful if we want to... Maybe the lesson is pretty simple. God gave us two ears and only one mouth for a reason. May we use them well. Amen.

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...

When someone falls overboard, throwing them a lifesaver might be a handy idea. You’ll find these handy floatation devices hung on the deck rail for immediate rescue and emergency use. But what if you’re not on a ship? What if you find yourself up the creek without a lifesaver or a paddle? What then? Handy Stuff includes but not limited to people, places, things, and ideas that are convenient, accessible, useful, positive, valuable, worthwhile, effective, helpful, informative,

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

In the "garden of us" - that is our garden of relationships - we are blessed with friends that pop up occasionally to friends that bloom and grow forever. The real magic is in the mix. Have you thought about the mix in your garden? Here are some possibilities: You’ve got your Sunflowers, who turn toward the light no matter what. These are your cheerleaders, your “we’ve got this” people. Call them on a cloudy day, and somehow the forecast changes. Then there are the Roses. Dee

Remember the saying, “every pot has a lid?” Most folks hear it and think about partnering romantically. But looking at it from a different angle, it’s all about the fit. Not forced fit. Not “close enough” fit, but that satisfying, just-right moment when things come together the way they were meant to. Think about it. Every problem, no matter how oddly shaped, has a solution or resolution out there somewhere. It may not be obvious. It may not be quick. It might even look a l

The Liberty Bell is proudly displayed in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There it stands as a symbol of liberty and freedom for our country. When we first approached it on a trip to Philadelphia a few years ago, we expected to just snap a pix and then check another famous landmark off our travel list. Instead, something unexpected happened. Sheri: I remember standing there looking at that cracked and weathered bell. It stirred up an unexpected deep s

We moved some roses from the garden to the window ledge inside our home… where, as it turns out, you could see roses blooming inside and outside. Same flowers, just blooming on both sides of the glass. So where are we headed, you ask? To the realization that the roses didn’t stop being roses because their surroundings changed. Garden. Vase. Sunshine. Window table. Same bloom. Different setting. We humans tend to believe we can only thrive under exactly the right conditions. T

Sometimes, a “piece of cake” is just that simple: something easy, something sweet, a moment in life we can enjoy without hesitation.

“Hit the nail on the head.” We’ve all heard it, and we all know the feeling when it happens. That moment when something clicks, when the message lands just right…when the truth is so clear it almost echoes. In life, many of us swing the hammer often. We try this idea, that approach, another conversation, another plan. Sometimes we miss. Sometimes we bend the nail - or our thumb. Those are the moments you really remember and are actually part of the process. They teach us how

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

“Food for thought” isn’t just an expression, it’s a reminder that what we feed our minds matters just as much as what we feed our bodies. Life, in many ways, works like a refrigerator: fresh food in, healthy body out; positive thoughts in, happiness out. Sheri: I know lots about healthy, nutritious food! (Tip from experience: never shop when you're hungry.) I’ve been reading labels, squeezing melons, and checking expiration dates since my twenties. I also love to take advanta

Just Released! Book #2 of our Positivity Collection Positive Vision and Vibes... High on Life eBook, paperback, and hardback Written in our warm, laid-back, conversational (and sometimes witty) “Sheri & Bill” style, Positive Vision and Vibes offers encouragement, humor, and a positive perspective you can hang onto even when the world feels sideways. Inside, you’ll find: ✔️ Encouraging original non-published reflections from our Positive Perspective ✔️ Thoughtful photog

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?”

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