Kerosene for Refugees

“In Sinjar, we have pool,” he shared as we walked up the rugged road to the mission’s main house at dusk. “My friends, me would jump off the top of the house to the pool. Very beautiful. I miss it.” My companion on this walk was a 9-year-old boy I’ll call Aiden I’d...

Behind Closed Doors {Domestic Abuse Series}

The statistics are terrifying. Currently, one in three women are victims of domestic violence and one in five have been or will be severely physically abused in their lifetime. That sentence alone makes my knees buckle and my head spin as I think of the women and...

Fashion Made Easier: Tips From a Wardrobe Consultant

As a wardrobe consultant for A La Mode Wardrobe Consulting, I spend most of my days in client’s closets, shopping at the mall, or giving presentations on fit and style for corporations. I get asked many questions; some are common and some are unique. I always...

Wooden Mary and the Eighty-Eight Gifts

Every year I say I’m going to get my Christmas shopping done before December. This year, for the first time, I actually bought a few gifts before Thanksgiving. But here it is almost Christmas, and I still sit at my computer, searching Amazon for the perfect gift for a...

Christmas Books Worth Reading

Every December I like to read a book or two relating to Christmas. I’ve read my share of corny and predictable Christmas stories but I’m not writing about those. However, there are a few that I think you’ll find worth your time. Christmas Jars – by Jason F. Wright I...

10 Strategies for Eliminating Christmas Stress

While speaking at a Christmas event, I asked the women who among them LOVED Christmas. A few of them raised their hand. Then I asked which of them felt like Christmas really isn’t the most wonderful time of the year. More than half of the hands went up! I’m not even...