Relationships & Spirituality
Stories about relationships, emotional and spiritual well-being
Angels Among Us
By Evette Nowicki I was driving alone (with our dog Coco) from Florida to Oklahoma. I knew I would need to stop for gas shortly after my trip started, but I like to stop a lot, stretch my back and take the dog for a walk. About an hour and a half from our house, my...
Just Around The Corner
By Misty Gassaway I have been in high gear, aka fight or flight mode, for the last several years. Many factors play into why I’ve been on this high gear, but reality is my body is finally speaking up. I’m grieving the loss of many things, but lately my grandfather’s...
Crosses in the Sky
By Judy Lacy A Saturday in August 2022, while joining friends for a Peruvian memorial service for my friend’s Dad, via Zoom, we looked out at a beautiful, wide, blue sky with a few scattered clouds. Two of the biggest clouds were in the form of a cross. I told the...
Emotional Vitamins
By Dr. Yvonne Kaye This pandemic has changed just about everything. Where we go, with whom we go, how we spend the time and a multitude of other life altering styles – all changed. It has amazed me how creative so many people became. Baking, mainly bread, painting,...
2022 New Year’s Resolutions
Most people who make new year's resolutions break them within a few weeks. So, what should we do differently this year to be more successful? Bestselling author Daniel Pink suggests seven steps, we should consider: "1. Look back on the previous year. New Year’s...
Adventures Make The Best Christmas Presents
By Verlie McAlister Edwards & Leanne Kinsey Ivey After being pretty much “cooped up” over the last couple of years we decided to not give each other gifts that would require dusting, but create memories and have an adventure. After all, neither of us enjoys...
How Iron Butterflies Handle 2021 Holiday Stress
Is this really “the most wonderful time of the year?” Studies show that 60-70% of people experience some sort of stress during the holidays. With all the changes over the past few years, odds are you know what we are talking about. Don’t let these stressors take away...
The Beauty of Labyrinths: Meet Marcia Raff
Marcia Raff has a lot of friends. Fortunately for us, one of our friends/editors/supporters, Marianne Rochelle introduced us. We had a lovely afternoon together as she shared stories and memories with us both from her gorgeous home in downtown Austin. Marcia uses her...
The Beauty of Labyrinths: Meet Marcia Raff
Marcia Raff has a lot of friends. Fortunately for us, one of our friends/editors/supporters, Marianne Rochelle introduced us. We had a lovely afternoon together as she shared stories and memories with us both from her gorgeous home in downtown Austin. Marcia uses her...
A Survivor’s Wife Remembers 9-11
As told to her friends Verlie McAlister Edwards and Leanne Kinsey Ivey Editor’s note: Twenty years after terrorists flew American Airlines flight 77 into the Pentagon, Mel Birdwell, the wife of Lt. Col. (Ret.) Brian Birdwell, shares her remembrances of the day and the...
Sisters by Choice: Zoomer Sisters
We joined a program promoting healthy eating for weight loss. The rules are: No flour, no sugar, eat only at mealtime, and weighing and measuring your food. It is recommended that you align yourself with other followers for greater success. Members have the ability to...
Secrets of Lykke
The Secrets of Lykke Lykka (pronounced LOOKA) is the Danish word for happiness. Some studies show Denmark as the “happiest country in the world” so how do they define happiness and how do they achieve it? And, finally, what can the rest of us do to achieve Lykke? Meik...
I Am My Father’s Daughter
by Lori Levy Blessings From My Father There is a phrase in Judaism often used when speaking of a deceased loved one, “Zikhronoh livracha,” which translates to, “may his memory be for a blessing.” It is a saying that can bring comfort to those who are grieving and...
Winter Storm Uri – One for the Record Books!
By Verlie McAlister Edwards & Leanne Kinsey Ivey Editor’s Note: These are the combined observations of Verlie Edwards and Leanne Ivey. Thurs, Feb 11 - High 28/Low 23 Leanne: The weather predicted freezing temperatures and snow for the weekend. I dashed out to the...
My Firsthand Experience with the 2021 Polar Vortex
by Joshua Levy We want to provide our children with the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter. So, what happens when one or more of those needs is threatened by a traumatic event such as a weather catastrophe? Beginning on Thursday February 11, 2021 such a...
Broadway During the Pandemic
By Kathy Strain I have been lucky to wear many hats during my lifetime that have fulfilled me and brought me joy. But the hat of serving as a contributing editor for an international website called Broadway World (https://www.broadwayworld.com/author/Kathy-Strain) has...
Sisters by Choice: Sister Chiefs
By Rochelle Dornatt “Sisters are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.” “Not sisters by blood, but sisters by heart.” Life on Capitol Hill was Rochelle Dornatt’s life. She loved (mostly) every minute of the almost three...
Uncle Lutz
by Ruth Anne Wood My friend Lutz (82) strung up and tuned my new violin the day it arrived in mid-December 2020. He started playing violin as a boy in Germany and smuggled it out of his birthplace. He still plays in an orchestra, folk song society and Gilbert &...