Thriving Mosaic - Discover & Embrace Your Unique Identity

Since attending Empowered Podcasting 3 in August, I’ve been asking myself some honest questions about Thriving Mosaic. Who’s listening, whether the work is landing, and what role this podcast is playing in the work I’m building now. Then something happened that reminded me that silence is not proof that nothing is happening. In this episode, I’m talking about unseen impact, parenting, responsibili...

Have you ever heard a song that once felt like it was written just for you, only to realize that the words no longer describe who you are? A couple of weeks ago, I was standing at my kitchen sink, washing dishes and listening to some of my favorite '90s country music. A familiar song came on, and I immediately started singing along. It was Who I Am by Jessica Andrews, the very first song I ever cl...

Last week, I had almost no capacity. I was tired. My body hurt more than usual. My walks were slower. I was dealing with brain fog, taking naps almost every day, and looking around at all of the things I had planned to do that simply were not getting done. And I started questioning my commitment. Was I really committed to my goals if I wasn’t accomplishing them? Was I committed to my work if thing...

August has always felt like a reset for me. Maybe it is because I spent so many years associating August with the beginning of a new school year. Maybe it is because my birthday is in August. Either way, this month has always invited me to look at where I am, where I’m going, what has changed, and what I’ve learned along the way. And this August gave me a lot to reflect on. I started the month by...

Stephanie and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. Thirty years. As we thought about how we wanted to mark this milestone, I had the idea of sitting down together with 30 questions designed to help us reflect on the life we have built, the challenges we have navigated, the ways we have changed, and what we have learned about love and partnership along the way. Neither of us reviewed the...

This episode came from an experience I didn’t expect to become an episode at all. I had planned to record for my usual Monday release, but by Sunday evening, I was exhausted. When Cliff asked what I wanted to talk about, I had absolutely nothing. Even when he asked me questions I would normally have no trouble answering, I simply couldn’t access the answers. It wasn’t that I had nothing to say. I...

One small idea can sometimes create a surprising amount of chaos. A couple of weeks ago, I realized that switching the placement of my MacBook and monitor might make my Zoom setup work better. That simple thought quickly grew into something much bigger. Before long, I had decided to move my entire office out of the sunroom and return it to the front room of our house. That meant clearing rooms, mo...

Yesterday was the Fourth of July, and Cliff and I had absolutely no plans. That was our choice. We could have gone to the lake house with my in-laws, but this year we decided to stay home. Matthew is still in Japan, McKenna is still in her college town, Meagan was resting after a very busy couple of weeks at work, and Jacob was spending time with his mom. So I woke up on the Fourth of July with a...

In this episode, I start with something light and fun: a TikTok trend about the top song from your graduation year supposedly revealing how your life is going. Since I graduated in 1996, that song happened to be “Macarena,” which is definitely not my vibe. But when I asked ChatGPT what that song might say symbolically about my life, the response was surprisingly meaningful, funny, and accurate. It...

In this episode, I’m sharing a simple life update from the past week. Matthew has now been in Japan for a week, and he is absolutely loving it. He loves the peacefulness, the mountains, the food, the affordability, and the kindness of the people he has met so far. I also share the fun surprise that he bought a pair of jeans, which is something I never expected from him. I also talk about McKenna b...

In this episode, I’m sharing from a very tender mom place as Matthew leaves for Japan to study abroad for a month. His trip has brought up memories of when he was two years old and I wondered if he might be delayed in his speech. What I eventually realized was that the words were always there. He just needed the space to use them. That reflection has me thinking about all the ways we may assume so...

In this episode of Thriving Mosaic, I’m sharing some honest reflections from my week as I continue learning how I actually function in this new season of life. I talk about what I discovered through experimenting with block scheduling, why I don’t really love rigid schedules, what worked for me, what didn’t, and how I’m learning to honor my body, my energy, my family, and the rhythms that actually...

In this episode, I’m sharing what this past week has looked like as I continue stepping into a new rhythm for my life and work. I’ve been setting more intentional office hours, cleaning and reclaiming my physical office space, creating reset rhythms for the house, and finding a better balance between home, business, and this next season of life. After years of raising kids, helping build our busin...

This week’s episode is a little bit of everything: travel recovery, grace, family updates, dogs who do not believe in sleeping in, and a very meaningful next step in my own life and work. After our trip to Texas with Jane, I underestimated just how much energy it would take to come home, catch up, get groceries, do laundry, and return to normal life. I had planned to record last week’s episode onl...

This episode centers on McKenna's college graduation weekend in Bowling Green, and I'll be honest, I went into recording it already emotional. I had just watched a reaction video to Taylor Swift's "Ronan" and then written a social media post about the weekend, and cried through both. So I was doing my best to hold it together. The weekend opened with a social work pinning ceremony Friday morning,...

In this episode, I share a very real snapshot of life this week. McKenna’s graduation celebration gave me the perfect excuse to buy the buttercream cake I had been craving, and our simple family dinner turned into a sweet and meaningful moment together. I also talk about how exhaustion, a sleepless night, and some heartbreaking news about a friend losing her adult child left me in a tender and hea...

In this episode, I’m sharing a very ordinary, very real Sunday-night peek into my world: heated blankets, Rocky Road ice cream, meal prep, McKenna’s upcoming graduation, and the moment I remembered I still needed to record this podcast. I made a commitment back in January to show up here every week, and this is one of those episodes where I simply kept my word, even when I didn’t have a perfectly...

This week, I found myself sitting in a space I don’t think you can fully prepare for as a parent. My youngest daughter turned 21, and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around what that actually means. I’ve been intentional about being present through every stage of raising my kids, and yet somehow it still feels like it all happened in an instant. I share a reflection that’s been on my mind since l...

In this episode, I found myself reflecting on a simple phrase I came across that stopped me long enough to really sit with it: “Unspoken expectations are premeditated resentments.” That idea connected deeply with something I’ve believed and taught for years, that unspoken expectations will always lead to failure in our relationships. I share why clear, spoken communication is essential for any rel...

This week’s episode started with a short clip I kept seeing over and over again. It was from an interview between Mel Robbins and Gabor Maté, and one statement in particular stayed with me: No two children grow up in the same household. That idea landed deeply for me, not just as a concept, but as something I’ve lived and witnessed. I grew up in a large, blended family, and even among siblings who...

This week, I sat down to share a simple story that turned into something much deeper. I found myself reflecting on a moment from years ago that changed the way I see people. The realization that I will never know someone else’s full story has shaped how I show up in the world ever since. It influences how I interact with strangers, how I respond in everyday situations, and how I choose to extend g...

This week felt different in the best possible way. I experienced a series of meaningful connections that stood out against the normal rhythm of my days, and it reminded me just how much I value being present with the people in my life. I shared a bit of personal joy to start. My best friend recently became a grandmother, and watching her step into this new season of life has been incredibly specia...

In this episode, I share three small stories from my week that all circle around the theme of becoming more comfortable in my own skin. It starts with a funny moment in the kitchen when my son decided that baking sourdough must be “changing” me simply because I was listening to 90s country music while meal prepping. From there, I talk about finally completing a three-year journey of growing out my...

This week I share a few reflections that have been swirling around in my mind lately. Some of them were sparked by music I’ve been listening to. Others came from things I stumbled across online. And one comes from a realization about the people who shaped my life and continue to live on through me. I begin by talking about a simple change I’ve made recently. I created a small morning meditation pl...

This week’s episode is a reflection on something that quietly shapes every part of our lives. The story we tell ourselves about who we are, what we are capable of, and what is possible for us. I open this episode by sharing what felt like a full and layered week. Family time, small routines, unexpected wins, books I could not put down, and moments where I noticed just how much meaning can live ins...