A few years ago, I went backpacking in Peru with a dear friend of mine. We didn’t have an agenda, just a month of time and a thirst to see what most tourists don’t. Our travels took us all over the country – to the southern plains of Nazca and the famous Nazca lines,… Read More What the most grueling challenge of my life taught me
On an impromptu date last week, my husband and I popped into a local bookstore. As we browsed the shelves, one book caught my eye: “Lord of the Rings Filming locations.” Since we had been to New Zealand together last year, and even visited the famous Hobbiton, I thought that looking through it together would… Read More Are you judging your reality based on other people’s fantasy?
A dear friend of mine recently moved into the suburbs of Atlanta. Relatively speaking, she only moved a few miles farther away from me, but it more than doubled how long it takes for me to drive to her house – about 45 minutes now. I was heartbroken.
It’s easy to say that long-distance friendships are possible, but when the rubber meets the road it can often seem like a daunting task. Feeling up to the challenge? Here are 8 tips that can help you make the most of it.
I recently went to a community-wide cleanup day. While I was there, I met a lovely Egyptian woman named Fabia*. She was both friendly and a good worker, and we had some great conversations while we were cleaning together side-by-side. As we were finishing up, she mentioned that she was moving halfway across the country… Read More One surprising thing you DON’T need to create good friendships
I once heard someone say that the root problem of every issue we have in the world today is fear. While I’m not sure I’d go quite that far, I do believe that fear is behind much of the global conflict – racial, religious, ethnic and more – that we see occurring between people groups.… Read More 5 questions to help foster friendship and understanding
In honor of the Olympic Games in Rio, I’ve decided to change up my format a bit. I hope you enjoy this article about a new addition to the games that I’m really looking forward to. I’m terribly excited about the Olympic Games in Rio this month. Not because of all the drama that’s surrounded them… Read More Why I’m so excited about this year’s Olympics
After my talk with my friend last week, I’ve been on a hospitality kick. What is it, how does it happen, how can we do it better? In my research, I stumbled across a quote by Arnold H. Glasow, which says “Some folks make you feel at home. Others make you wish you were.”
I recently had a long conversation in the home of a friend of mine. Although she’s American, she has spent many years abroad (including Japan and Turkey). Consequently, she has adopted many of the traditions of hospitality that are so common and well-known in Middle Eastern and Asian cultures.
It’s no secret that materialism is unhealthy. Countless studies have been done on the impact of materialism on our health, happiness and well-being. They’ve all come to largely the same conclusion: the more we want, the less satisfied we are with what we have. So why is it that so many of us still… Read More 8 practical ways to avoid materialism
