My choices today support my goals for tomorrow.

Each day is a reminder that I am one step closer to my goals. Keeping that in mind helps me to stay on track with the choices I make. I am responsible and mature enough to make strategic life decisions.

The focus that goal achievement requires rarely daunts me. When I think of my future success, I get excited about the prospect of getting there. I commit to what is important.

It is easy to avoid over indulgence when I know I have financial goals. I remind myself that taking care of the important things now is paramount. I am saving indulgence until I am able to celebrate achieving my objectives.

The relationships I form today determine the kind of future support structure I have at my disposal. I am careful with my choice of friends. I want them around for a long time.

When I am at a crossroads, I avoid making a choice based on my emotion of the moment. I realize how easy it is to be reactive when choosing by feelings. Instead, my...

How does the dictionary define the word, MOTHER?

• a female who has given birth to offspring
• a female substituting in the function of a mother
• motherly qualities, such as maternal affection
• a female or thing that creates, nurtures, protects, etc
• a title given to members of female religious orders

In serving thousands of families in the past twenty years, the thought and emotions evoked of Mother's Day can vary based on your particular life experiences and encounters.

It can bring joyful childhood memories and warm thoughts of raising your own children. It can be filled with gut-wrenching sorrow over the loss of natural children, infertility or broken relationships with adult children. It can also be a time to reflect on the countless lives you have impacted as a "spiritual/ mentor" mom to others.

Regardless of the "mother" scenario, we can be encouraged to know God thought highly enough of YOU to bring you to plant earth through the womb of a woman!  

 "Before I made...

This past weekend I spent a few days at the ocean to get quiet with God, read, reflect and ponder about current life questions.  After 3 days, I realized I had to “come off the mountaintop” and back to the valley of life.

I reluctantly packed my bags, yet am excited about the new opportunities for the upcoming month. The weather forecast stated sunny skies, yet cautioning the listener to beware of road debris from an overnight coastal wind storm. Based on that information, I decided to return home using the interstate highways versus the tree-lined scenic route.

I put on my baseball cap, grabbed my sunglasses, placed my two dogs in the car, loaded the luggage, then said a prayer before pulling out of the parking lot.

Within 20 minutes I was on the sunny interstate cruising at 60 miles per hour with the GPS quoting an ETA of four hours. Thirty miles into the trip in my rearview mirror I notice a car bobbing and weaving in the distance at an accelerated...