Being Rich Waterfall

In my last updated post, I shared an excerpt from the first draft of my book  - and I was actually in labor at home when I posted it! (I'll share more on that in a future post.) Along the same theme of my book, I'm curious to explore with you  authenticity in identity. Like so many others, I made grand plans for 2020 with God and with my husband. Most of the "grand" involved travel. Did they happen? In January, we competed in Hawaii and became the first "6-dance" Champions. In February, repeat in Texas. In March, we planned to go to New Orleans for a larger competition, but then, enter Pandemic. Even though our plans changed and despite worldwide chaos and communal transitions, other [greater] plans happened. We had a baby!!! No one can predict what achievements or failures will take place this year, but every new year, as well as every new day, I set an intention that I try to live by. Leaning into 2021- though it's already the start of its second mont...

A phrase I heard often before taking one of my most monumental steps of blind faith- when I moved from Toledo, Ohio to Pasadena, California with no job, one suitcase, and a plan to stay only 3 weeks- was  Do it afraid.  Another, perhaps more popular saying on the same note is about courage. Courage is not doing things because we're not  afraid, rather, courage is, despite our fears, doing it anyway. Nelson Mandela said it like this: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear." One reason I set myself a goal to write and post weekly blogs was because it seemed far less intimidating (fearful) to me than writing a book! Writing has always been something I do, but not always something I share. Even after getting a degree in "Creative Writing," I had lots of fears to creatively write anything for a public audience! But, as I approached a very defining an...

I considered titling this entry "Expectations Part II" as a follow up from my last post about  Expectations . Whatever your expectations are for the future, here's a little message I've been pondering about my own: I don't know too many people who don't  like their birthday. I just had my 31st, hence, one reason for a delay in writing and posting this week. In my life, birthdays really do keep getting better and better! I was reflecting on how sad I feel when I hear people complain about getting older or connect their number of years to a degrading quality of life. It's true that as we get older, our bodies certainly change and even, possibly, our health may decline; our energy is definitely not the same as a child's, but our capacity and wisdom will grow year by year. If we allow, our compassion expands, our love endures, and our opportunities for loyalty and faithfulness grow and develop as well. Age, in my opinion, or "aging" is such a won...

This past week, at the start of my ninth month of pregnancy, I took my first prenatal class. It was a free, virtual session offered by my provider, where a counselor at a Postpartum Mood Disorder clinic discussed postpartum expectations, including information on different mood disorders like PPD (depression) anxiety, PTSD, etc. While I agree that it is important to be educated about mood disorders, along with their appearance in a woman's postnatal season, I don't agree that these disorders are the norm, or even that they should be mentioned as "to be expected". It's definitely important to know what symptoms and feelings to look for after giving birth, and if they escalate, when to reach out for support and help. Unfortunately, this class was taught with an underlying tone to expect these mood disorders, and it was possibly one of the most depressing lectures I ever attended!  When talking about what to expect when leaving the hospital with a newborn, the instru...

While boiling water the other day, my husband made a joke saying people pay so much money to put steam in their face, but they could just do it at home while cooking! At the same time, my husband loves anything that has to do with SPA - skin care, self mani/pedicures, facials, massage therapy, sweat houses and steam rooms. He loves any little thing that takes care of his physical self and makes him feel good and refreshed. A recently added small appliance in our bathroom is an electric toothbrush. When I use it, it feels like my whole head is vibrating and I feel a bit dizzy/nauseous, but when he uses it, he says it feels like his teeth just went to the Spa! The reality is, "Soul Care" is different for everyone!  As the timeline of our new baby quickly approaches, I'm reminded of how important it is to slow down and take care of my soul! While for me it's not in spa treatment, I'm noticing that my routines and preferences differ now than they have in the past. I u...

October is "Pregnancy Loss Awareness Month", which I didn't know about until this year. I started seeing posts on social media with people's stories, statistics and images to raise awareness. I never realized until recent years how common women experience issues with infertility. I learned that the rate of miscarriages is 1 in 4 pregnancies! It's not 1 in 4 women , but pregnancies . I also learned that 80% of miscarriages happen to women in the first stage of their first pregnancy. When I experienced my first miscarriage towards the end of 2019, my medical release form called it a "medical abortion". Even though this was a "natural", no-one's-at-fault, and not by choice termination of pregnancy, the phrasing of it added to my feeling of heartsickness around the issue of abortion and our personal loss. In writing about and acknowledging pregnancy loss this month, we can't avoid the heart-wrenching reality of intentional miscarriage: the...

One practice I am doing during my 2020 Year of Courage and Overcoming, is studying a word a week. (See my post titled  Gifts .) Words carry so much power and purpose within them. I've found that by studying them, I either engage in a new understanding, find a deeper appreciation, or am empowered in a new way. I could write a list of the words I've studied so far this year, and to you they may just look like random words without much connection. But for me, each week, my word of the week leads me to the next one; and after a week of seeking that word, reading it and learning from it, it grows in depth of meaning. A few weeks ago, I chose to study mountain . If you're wondering where or how do I study these words, it's primarily in the Word of God. But as is His nature, God wants to reveal Himself to us through everything in the world and in our lives, and so I often find my words pop up in articles I read, songs I hear, or in conversation with others throughout that week...