Dec 21, 2022

2023 Goal Setting: Looking Back

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What a year! Friends, I am SO grateful to have done my PowerSheets over the last few weeks. I wept, I prayed, I learned, and I feel energized by my goals for the year ahead. Before going through the process, I would have told you 2022 was the hardest year. Period. That’s where the sentence would have ended. I lost my Dad. I had a sleepless season with the business acquisition. Despite my best efforts, I experienced health challenges. There…

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Dec 20, 2022

What I’ve Learned in Losing My Dad

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We’ve often talked about “what matters” together, focusing our lives and actions on what we hope will last. Loss is one of those experiences that shows you clearly—painfully—what actually holds lasting value in our days. I wrote these reflections as my dad was in the hospital, as he transitioned to hospice, and in the moments following his death. I was struck by my own experience and what truly mattered in the end. While everyone’s experience is different—truly—I hope these reflections…

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Dec 2, 2022

Our Favorite Christmas Books: Classic and New

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Updated with new books on November 1, 2023! 🎉 Affiliate links are used in this post. “Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!” – How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss Ahh, Christmas books. Their words have shaped our families, our culture, and our hearts over many generations. Old and new, great holiday books have a way of illuminating the…

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Dec 1, 2022

December Goals + How I’m Prepping for 2023

I heard the bells on Christmas DayTheir old, familiar carols play,And wild and sweetThe words repeatOf peace on earth, goodwill to men!– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Friends, it’s a bittersweet month. I knew it would be. I miss dad of course – he loved Christmas. He loved Handel’s “Messiah.” He loved just being together. December also holds treasured experiences I’ve known for over a quarter of my life with Cultivate. I miss the rhythms I’ve known for 10+ years: helping you…

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Nov 18, 2022

Holiday Gifts + Our Christmas This Year

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Grief is hard, friends! (I know, not your typical way to start a Gift Guide!) Well, it is. I don’t have lovely words to share about it, just what’s true: grief is hard and it hits me out of nowhere when I think I feel perfectly fine. But, as the song say, I get by with a little help from my friends. 🙂 Many friends have sent meaningful gifts in this season, a few of which I shared in my…

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