December 2011 Blog Posts (120)

Michael and Claudia Good
rise365.com

Wednesday was my last day working for a wonderful company for the past 23 years. Today I am officially a Free Agent!

It is all Dan Miller's Fault!

Dan helped me to see my real giftedness. He helped me to dream bigger, act bolder and expect better.

Working a full time corporate gig and building my business since 2009 has been…

Wednesday was my last day working for a wonderful company for the past 23 years. Today I am officially a Free Agent!

It is all Dan Miller's Fault!

Dan helped me to see my real giftedness. He helped me to dream bigger, act bolder and expect better.

Working a full time corporate gig and building my business since 2009 has been…

Wow, we made it this far this year, the last week of 2011. I haven't been involved here like I had planned so that tells me I have to refocus and plan a whole lot better. Does that sound like you too? At least we are in it together.

I think I will start setting up a specific time to set myself down to add a post a week, at a minimum. If that means I have to set up a daily reminder that goes "ding", then so be it. Not sure what I will say each time, but the world is full of thoughts…

Here are some thoughts on my last day at work and on writing a new chapter.

Michael and Claudia
rise365.com

Photo Credit: Nicole Pierce Photography

I am a dreamer by nature. I have never really lived in the now. I am constantly looking a little further down the road; imaging a glorious future.

When 2007 was drawing to a close I found myself unable to to dream of a glorious future. Earlier that year we purchased our dream home. Only two months after moving into this home the economy took its first dip.…

Anne-Sophie from Switzerland joins us back on the show and brings with her three questions she’s been intellectually wrestling with. (Jump to the show.)

If you listened to part 1 of our interview, you’ll remember that Anne-Sophie was courageous enough to share with us her battles with anorexia.

Now,…

I am excited. I'm going where many women (and men) have never gone before. I'm going to Operation Buckle-Down land.

I've been toddling through my life like many people have, but I want to see a different BIG PICTURE. I am changing lenses and deliberately becoming more focused. My picture was just random snap shots before. Oh, I had a…

I will occasionally use our blog about our special needs son to share some of the behaviors that we CHARGE Syndrome parents face on a day-to-day basis with our kids. Some of the other readers of this blog who deal with other syndromes and disorders will concur that the obsessive compulsive behaviors can be the most challenging. Like many situations, they are challenging and frustrating first, then we are able to find humor in them later. If we didn't somehow find the humor, it would drive us…

I'm excited to report on the success of week one book writing. This is of course the honeymoon period of it all and I am hopeful that I can keep the energy and the creativity flowing. This has been quite a concern of mine bubbling just below my consciousness, primarily because I often feel stuck in my blog writing and am so afraid that block will surface in writing a book as well. In fact, as I prepared to start the endeavor, I could feel myself stalling, creating more chores to complete…

Our Lord, Our God

Is the Living Bread

Giving Life Eternal

As our Lord has…

Did you ever meet someone that is always comparing their life to either times past or times to come? They often say, "Life is too hard now, it will be easier when..." (fill in the blank).

Boy have I been guilty of this one in the past. Even as recently as today I found myself struggling when baby Jude wasn't taking any substantial naps. I was frustrated because I couldn't…

I am not making any "resolutions" this year.

I've already lost weight from May 2010 until now.. (41 pounds...yeah me!!)

I am saving my money and working my Debt-Snowball (yeah me!!)…

I’ve found it very interesting how my thoughts and feelings have changed over the course of the past few weeks while I wrap up my final days at my job.

I found myself caring less about what others think and actually saying what I’m really thinking. For example, if my boss or a colleague asks what I think about something, I actually say what I think.

I…

I paid attention in English class. I really did. I took a vocbulary and grammar class in college too. I know what "past tense" sounds like. So why, when I recently heard...Bernice is "writing" a book did that make my skin crawl? I've been "writing" for a long time. I'm about to fess'up and admit that I am picking up the book The Power of Focus (again) and publicly admit I am going to finish it...this time. I'm giving…

after talking with a friend thats going to bible school,we had discussed issues in the church regarding much of the dysfunction thats going on...and he expressed the same thing ive heard others say..there is no perfect church,were going to sin,were only human,theres always going to be problems. and he expressed a desire to see life like what hes read in the book of Acts,where the believers were were on fire for God.

i had explained why i wasnt in church,and he told me i should pray…

I am constantly reminded of life’s frailty and am always fighting to feel more deeply each day and treasure the dailiness of life.

Here are two things I do to remind myself to savor every day:

-I constantly remind myself to focus on the things I am thankful for rather than worrying or focusing on what went wrong with my day

-Before going to bed I think about the day…

Get in shape;

Start attending church;

Declutter your home;

Find a mate;

Pursue meaningful work;

Start a business;

Change the…

Man, oh, man. I have just realized something that's pretty remarkable. I was in the way....of my own success. We can get pretty stuck in our ways, and very narrow minded. Would we be the first to admit such things? Well....probably not. I remember hearing a woman say a phrase years ago...."When you dress up....you go up." I've decided to spruce things up a bit, and feel better for it. I HATE to shop so I have to move…

My son forewarned me. He told me he was going to get my gift the day after Christmas. I laughed and of course, he knows me and my temperment. We LOVE saving money in this household. He is the King of the bargan shoppers. We still laugh about the time he went shopping with his double-off and buy-one-get-one-free coupons. He bought about fix or six items and paid a grand total of about eight CENTS. …