L.I.V.E. Life Inspired Views for Everyday

Send us Fan Mail There is an African proverb that says, "if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together."  Have you found yourself in conversation with someone or a group that was so good, so nurturing to your spirit that you didn't want it to end? What is the magic found in those kinds of conversations? I wonder if it's because they bring us together with...

Send us Fan Mail I have a group of friends, Rozi, Sue, Connie, and Jennie, who are amazing quilters. Years ago, I learned how to quilt from Rozi, however, I did not keep up with the art. Though I'm not a quilter, I tell stories. So, together, this group makes the essence of today's podcast. Stories...that made the last quilt. Thanks for listening.

Send us Fan Mail A wonderful quote attributed to Anne Frank says, "No one has ever become poor by giving." In these fearful days, doing something for another is an instant antidote for the fear that can too easily have a grip on our inner peace. Giving comes in many forms...in tangible ways or in caring, listening, or doing, for example. The feeling of fulfilment and joy comes from any f...

Send us Fan Mail Thich Nhat Hanh said, “Everything – including love, hate, and suffering, needs food to continue. If suffering continues, it’s because we keep feeding our suffering.” Ghandi said, "My life is my message." Two powerful quotes by two powerful people who found their power, their influence, their purpose in living meaningful lives promoting joy, love, and goodness.  Today&apo...

Send us Fan Mail I was a sophomore in college when I first began dating my husband. I had just been awarded a college letter jacket for my role as the college's first woman football trainer. I was so proud of that jacket. Soon after receiving it, I went to lunch in the campus center and when I returned to the coat hooks, my jacket was gone. Someone took it. I was devastated, angry, and disapp...

Send us Fan Mail Phrases have always surfaced to represent a series of actions, concepts, or tasks. For example, a new one we hear about now is the concept of "onboarding," which is defined as the process of integrating a new employee into the company or institution.  Lately, I have heard several terms that are new to me and represent a good nudge that brings about change, positive growt...

Send us Fan Mail Many years ago, I went with a group of friends to Minneapolis to attend the live radio production of Prairie Home Companion ,  by the storyteller, Garrison Keillor. I sat next to a young man with a red t-shirt that said, "Kenosha Storytellers," or something like that. We struck up a conversation and I told him I always wanted to be a storyteller. He said, "Just go f...

Send us Fan Mail Margaret J. Wheatley wrote,  Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future, in 2009. In reading it, you would think she wrote it with today in mind. She describes some of the beliefs that motivate her actions. Wheatley says, "People are the solution to the problems that confront us .... I can't think of anything that has given me more hope re...

Send us Fan Mail Many of you may remember the characters in the children's book series of Junie B. Jones or Pippi Longstockings. These two girls were known for their  unconventional, independent, imaginative, and mischievous spirits. Perhaps what was so endearing is their fearlessness in being authentic, who they truly were. It reminds me of the quote I found recently by an unknown author who...

Send us Fan Mail Isn't it fascinating how in a completely dark room, lighting a single match allows you to see where to walk, what to avoid, treasures, and a way out? It shows that one small light is indeed more powerful than a great expanse of darkness. One small crack of light under a door  keeps a large room from being dark.  Perhaps in this dark time, being with a kind, hopeful, or positi...

Send us Fan Mail I love getting to know our servers whenever we go to a restaurant. When my husband, Donnie, our daughter, Maria, and our dear friend Matt go out to eat, I will ask several questions to our server, starting with what their name is if not already given, and then whatever question comes to my mind. Matt will usually chime in by saying, "She'll have your life story before we...

Send us Fan Mail In Norwegian folklore, trolls are notorious for being of large physical size and strength, but very small brains. Since trolls were so huge, the only way Norwegians were able to defeat the troll was to outwit it with their intelligence and problem solving skills.  Sometimes, it does us well to think of fear as a troll. It seems at times to have the ability to defeat us, but within...

Send us Fan Mail Long ago I heard a quote that has stayed with me. It goes, "Life is like a field of newly fallen snow. Where you choose to walk, your footsteps will show."  Have you ever hugged someone who was wearing cologne or perfume and found that the rest of the day, the scent lingered on your clothes? Did you find that as you breathed in the scent throughout the day, you would thi...

Send us Fan Mail One of my favorite shows is CBS Sunday Morning. Yesterday one of the segments depicted current survivors of the Holocaust. They are now in their 80s and 90s. A photographer, Gillian Laub, is taking beautiful photographs of as many of these survivors as she can and then displays their pictures on the sides of buildings in New York City with quotes and inscriptions to not forget wha...

Send us Fan Mail Lighthouses have been on my mind lately. Recently I was introduced to the concept of "Lighthouse Parenting," which describes parents who stand with their children to aid in guidance or direction, but do not always prevent them from making mistakes in order that they can learn from them to grow wise and strong. Today I will talk about Lighthouses again from a different va...

Send us Fan Mail I have a three-legged milking stool that used to belong to my husband, Donnie's dad or grandfather. It's a treasure to me because it reminds me of the stories shared by my parents and father-in-law of those days on the farm, milking the cows by hand. It was a lot of work. Milking cows today is still a lot of work, but in a different way.  We are doing a lot of mental wor...

Send us Fan Mail When was the last time you had a really good talk with someone? I don't know about you, but after one of those good conversations, I feel so fulfilled. There's something about sharing words and thoughts and hearing words and thoughts from others back and forth to produce meaningful interactions that puts a layer of goodness, purpose, and of course meaning to our lives. C...

Send us Fan Mail My mom has dementia. I called her on Saturday night after writing this podcast and asked her if she remembered what happened this week in our government. She told me that she didn't remember. When I reminded her that a new president had taken over, she remembered a bit, but said she couldn't place exactly what it was all about. Then she said, "That is what this memo...

Send us Fan Mail You've probably heard commentators speak to the untruth in the old childhood adage, "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me." I wonder how that saying ever came to be. It was probably meant to give courage to a child to deal with or stand up to name calling or intimidation. But we all know it is not true. Words can hurt. Words can cause li...

Send us Fan Mail The Japanese art, Kintsugi, is the practice of putting broken pieces of pottery back together to create something not only beautiful because gold is used to outline the cracks, but the piece is stronger than before and radiently embracing the flaws and perfections. Kintsugi has often been used as a metaphor for healing, because in the process of repairing, something more beautiful...

Send us Fan Mail In a text from which I taught from once, there was a wonderful line which read, "No one rises to low expectations." This doesn't mean we strive to be perfectionists about all we do or become, but I think it gives us a meaningful challenge to give our learning, living, and our loving the best from ourselves.     I have often said that I live by two philosophies of li...

Send us Fan Mail If you asked me, "What does fun look like in my world?" I would probably say, (in no specific order), 1) entertaining in our home, 2) playing rescue with my 4 y.o. grandson, 3) attending a party 4) laughing until I cry at something someone says or does, 5) and playing games. Those are the things that involve others. I also have fun when I 1) research and write my podcast...

Send us Fan Mail I love the story of Josef Szajna, a designer and famous director of theatre in Poland during World War II. He was imprisoned in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. He survived. But while in the concentration camps, he was confined to a "standing cell," 4 feet by 4 feet, made of cement block with no windows, and a ceiling open to the sky. During the long...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever given away to some one a thing that was of great value to you? Has anyone given you something that was of great value to them? Giving generously and spontaneously is easy for some and hard for others. But when it is done, the reward in one's spirit is  wonderful.  Giving and receiving...like the beating of a heart...blood in and blood out...to give and sustain l...

Send us Fan Mail I love the quote attributed to Saint Basil (A.D. 330-379) when he said, "[Those] who sow courtesy reap friendship, and [those] who plant kindness gather love." It's so true, basically simple and yet so often we struggle.  Today the models of sarcasm, snarkiness, and rudeness can be seen all over the airwaves of television, movies, memes, FaceBook, and more. You can&...