Living in the Gray

We have a special guest for this episode who is literally sharing a mic with me as we explore the last two decades of our marriage! Luke and I talk about this season of our lives, why marriage is work and a couple of tricks we use to keep the conversations fresh. Links from this episode: My Book! Living in the Gray – A Memoir About Navigating Life’s Paradoxes How do you See the World card game Cou...

I'm back! Welcome to the First Episode of Season 2! We are talking about choosing love in difficult moments, why I want to live more like my 12-year-old niece and the wisdom of daily meditation. If you heard yourself in today’s episode, you’re not alone. My book, Living in the Gray gathers ten years of writing about living inside life’s paradoxes — the both/and moments that shape who we become. It...

Last episode of Season 1 and I explore why I find so much peace leaning into God's plan. I discuss the power of rejection, my own worthiness and why life doesn't happen to us but for us. Links from this episode: My Book! Living in the Gray – A Memoir About Navigating Life’s Paradoxes God's Plan (visual) If you heard yourself in today’s episode, you’re not alone. My book, Living in the Gray gathers...

In this episode, I eat a ton of mini Cadbury eggs early in the morning, before drinking my first cup of coffee and I break down why kindness matters, why meditation helps me with the anxiety train, and why grace is important in remembering that we all struggle. Links from this episode: My Book! Living in the Gray – A Memoir About Navigating Life’s Paradoxes Insight Timer If you heard yourself in t...

Failure is part of life and it's time we embrace it. In this episode, I talk about our family dinners, baseball, taking chances, the importance of failing forward and why the only time you can truly fail is when you don't try. Links from this episode: My Book! Living in the Gray – A Memoir About Navigating Life’s Paradoxes Sarah Blakely's story If you heard yourself in today’s episode, you’re not...

What happens when you near the end of life? What questions do you find yourself asking. This is what I'm leaning into today and it comes on the heels of James Van Der Beek's death who died of colorectal cancer in February 2026. In the last video before he died, he shares the question he has been asking himself, "Who am I? What am I?" In the video he said, "I am worthy of God's life simply because...

This isn't the first time I've talked about Ego -- check out Episode 9, too! But I bring it up again because of the week I've had. There are some of you out there who've probably had a similar week -- you're not alone. My kids were sick, work was overwhelming ... you get it. And then I ran into a lot of egos. Remember the ego is the part of the brain that wants to keep us safe. The part that's on...

I love puzzles. I do one 1,000-piece puzzle a year, but I want to do more. I take my time setting up -- turning the pieces over, getting the edge set, and more. Then I go at the puzzle by sections I think I can do first. It takes me months. I do them a little at a time. I like the music on and a cup of tea at my side. It's so relaxing. My business coach shared a quote from Virginia Woolf: "Arrange...

My soul circle group had another great discussion this week that has stuck with me all week, so I'm expanding on it here because I think it will help others, too. We're expecting a storm here, so I headed to grocery store to stock up. It's a habit I picked up in the Northeast. We have a fear of scarcity because things might shut down. So there I was in the supermarket for just a few things -- we d...

My husband I play a kind of game called Authentic Agility. It has a deck of cards that asks questions that prompt answers that let people get to know each other better. The other morning, we drew one out, and the questions was, "How do you want to be remembered?" Wow. That got me thinking pretty hard with not very much coffee on board. But I think the answer is I want to be remembered as vulnerabl...

I'm a curator of information. I'm incredibly curious and I'm thankful that I'm able to hear all this great information and motivation. Sharing it is one of my purposes. That's why this podcast exists. This week, I've heard a lot about wins, and the importance of writing down your wins. I don't think of wins as results so much as processes. You never fail if you try. During a speech in 1910, Teddy...

We spent the day undecorating for Christmas. It's always a little sad, and this year was no different. We love the tree, the lights, the decorations...sometimes just sitting and looking at them. We tend do measure our worthiness by external measures -- job, salary, other forms of so-called prestige. None of that really matters. You're worthy because of who you are. If you're looking to set a goal,...

Happy New Year! In our family, this time between Christmas and New Years can kind of melt away. It's a luxury. There's not so much planning, or getting dressed early, or ... much of anything except relax and enjoying one another. I ask you to be international this year. Just because the calendar changes to 2026, remember it's just another day. If you want to make changes and set goals, great. That...

Today's episode was prompted by the TV show "Pluribus" that we've been watching. It epitomized resistance vs. surrender. I lived a lot of my life in a state of resistance, and I ended up mad about what I couldn't control, and at people who didn't seem to care enough about the same things. It's not a healthy place to be, I've learned. And it's why I've come to accept more surrender in my life. I've...

I love Taylor Swift. You don't have to. But if you look at how she changed the world, it boils down to courage. She had the courage. I have adopted a mantra that has opened a lot of doors for me: "Be afraid but do it anyway. Do it afraid." If I hadn't, you wouldn't be listening to this podcast and the book that it stems from wouldn't exist. We're all afraid of failure -- there's a million What Ifs...

Intentionality is so important this time of year. The pace of the holiday season is breakneck. A friend recently told me, "I'm going for presence over pace this month." And, like any good quote, this one stuck. I think it's a great way to navigate this crazy time of year. With that in mind, I present my 10 life hacks to getting through the season with less madness, frustration and anxiety. Priorit...

Thanksgiving is often travel time for my family. This year, the kids aske to go to New York City, so we did. I spent the trip pouring out gratitude, for everything from the small to the life changing. A quote I recently saw reminded me of this trip. "Gratitude isn’t all about what’s going right. It’s about finding a little bit of light in the moment we’re in." It's from Mary Davis. Gratitude is a...

I'm fresh off a four-day gathering of 150 amazing women sharing a room and supporting one another. The Strong Mom gathering is my favorite event. You never know where you might draw inspiration. I talk about the impact a water tower of all things had on me. Really. Smiling -- it's infectious. Following up on Episode 24, it's another form of communication. It creates more kindness and costs you not...

Today's episode is borne out of an experience my eighth-grade son had at school. He was called out for a mistake that his teacher likely thought was disrespectful, and had to write a paper as punishment. He didn't protest at the time because, as it turns out, the teacher made him feel small, embarrassed and disrespectful. We've all been there. This kind of miscommunication happens in life. A fair...

Counter-culture, as a term, came to the fore in the 1960s to talk about hippies opposed to the Vietnam War. But it's popped up more recently in several discussions. So today, we explore it here. There are several definitions out there for counter-culture, but the one I like best is comparing your inner compass to cultural norms. Those norms, of course, change over time. But today's norm hasn't bee...

Football. I know nothing about it. Nor do I care to. That's not to say I haven't tried. I have. My daughter's in the same boat. The other half of our family is exactly the opposite. They live and breathe LSU football. All I do is worry about the brain health of the players on the field. There's a group of people working to change the narrative about football. And I wonder what would happen if peop...

I saw a recent interview where someone said, "'No.' is a complete sentence." Wow. That got me thinking. I grew up a middle child. A people pleaser who found my worth in pleasing people. I didn't know that at the time of course, but that's how I was wired. I still find joy in being generous with others, but in a much healthier way. I say No to a lot more now, and to a lot more than I say Yes to. Be...

I was 0n the way to some community service with coworkers and a client this spring when we were in a very serious car accident. The client had to be flown to the hospital and, sadly, never recovered. His ashes were strewn at the sprawling prison where he'd spent 50 years before being released just two years before he died. The service there left a range of impressions. It wasn't all what you'd exp...

Today I share about my faith journey. I grew up Catholic. Sort of. It was never a place where I really belonged as a kid. We went sometimes, but not too often. I didn't think God cared much about me because I didn't' do the things He wanted of me. In college, I went with friends to a couple of predominantly Black churches. I loved them. I felt welcomed and that I belonged. My husband grew up Catho...

I'm just back from a trip to the beach with my family. There's something just so special about the beach and the sea. I love the beach -- the emerald water, the powdery white sand, the sunsets, the dolphins. I love it all. It usually melts my stress away. We had a great time, including a time in the morning when we were playing together in the ocean. I was so grateful and so happy. One part of our...