TUNE IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER Amber Beaver is a wife, mom, owner of Thrifty Blessings Boutique and dear friend of mine. I’ve had the honor of watching her let go of the negative opinions of others over and over and lean into her best self. Her ability to overcome adversity, trust the process and pursue what’s in her heart is incredibly inspiring. Rewriting Your TruthOur brains are wired to tell stories which makes surrounding yourself with the right people key to …
Let It Go
Did you sing that in your best Elsa voice as you read it too? She sings that song with such gusto and conviction doesn’t she? After years of living in restriction and hiding she flips the switch and lets her true self be known. It sounds nice, doesn’t it? Free of other people’s opinions, complete surrender of the pressure to be perfect with space to just be. But most times, when I try to truly let go of something, I’m met with such resistance. The thought of turning over clenched fists …
Speed Boost
TUNE IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER A few weeks ago on a Saturday morning, the kids and I ventured out. Dawson is usually our leader, far ahead of Lainey and I. Lainey’s bike is much bigger than her previous and we’re working through the intimidation factor. She and I were riding tandem and I was cheering her along. That girl has got some serious grit. She clenches her teeth, raises her shoulders and sticks her head forward as she digs in and suddenly pedals quickly. “Vrooooommm, …
The Climb
TUNE IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER There’s this sleepy little town in Michigan, Frankfort, that’s won my heart. The first time I went we were a fresh family of four. Laine was only 4 months old at the time and it was our first real adventure together. I went blindly as Daryn took the reins on the trip and I had little expectations of how things would go. An 8 hour trip in the car with an infant to a place that I’d never heard of…I wasn’t expecting much. This idillic little town I …
Growing Pains
When I was a kid I remember visiting my grandma’s house for various holidays. Family gatherings wouldn’t be complete without the cousins lining up behind the laundry room door and marking our height on the dainty heart patterned wallpaper. I remember straining my neck and squaring my shoulders hoping that as the oldest cousin I would still claim the tallest cousin title. Year after year we would count how much we’ve grown since the last line up and rank the cousins by height. I’m sure the marks …
Special Strength
TUNE IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER Brandon LaRue of Well Built Humans is a man of passion and integrity. He is passionate about health and fitness but his interests have spilled over into many other areas including coaching, mentorship of young athletes and most recently an author. Well Built Humans is Brandon’s outlet for his passions where they can be blended and used to help others reach their full potential. He aims to help others be ‘well …
Restless to Restful
Want to know something ironic? Last December I took some quiet time to intentionally meditate on a word for 2020. I wrote a blog post about it even. It’s not a word I choose for myself, it’s a word that chooses me. It’s a word that God leads me to anchor my year around. The funny thing is the reason the word chooses me often ends up being very, very different than the way the word actually shows up in my life. Without fail every year there’s a twist. This year the word that was chosen for …
Creating a Grace-Filled Motherhood
TUNE IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER Abbey Friedline, wife, mom of 2 and creator of Mom Covid, opens up about her journey of motherhood. Being a mom can be incredibly challenging. How do you make yourself a priority when you're in the trenches, raising babies? How do you keep your marriage alive? How do you make friends as a mom? Let GoBecoming a new mom is a major shift in a women's life. We have to learn to let go of plans, ideals and our own expectations …
Speed Boost
Biking has quickly become a favorite activity of mine. Over the last several months it’s been a major contributor to my sanity. I love the ease and simplicity of grabbing my bike and heading for the trail. Biking has allowed me space outside my house to think clearly and breathe freely. Some days it’s a casual spin while I notice the many different birds chirping and swooping across the trail. Other days I’m ferociously peddling to some heavy metal music to work off my quarantine angst. A …
The Kindness Fairy
TUNE IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER My daughter Lainey and I actually recorded this episode on kindness a couple of weeks ago. We were going to release it later on in the summer but we felt like it was important to have this conversation now. In this conversation we talk about how to show kindness to people in our lives, community and our world that are hurting and how we can step out of own discomfort to help other people feel more comfortable. It’s so …