To Mothers Who are Fathers, Happy Father’s Day!

To more than 780 thousand single mother families in Australia, to the mothers who are the fathers in their households around the world, Happy Father’s Day! In June 2012, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, there were 780 thousand single mother families. They made up 81% of one parent families. Is your family like one […]

The Fire Within

It’s easy to be upbeat when all seems well in life. A peaceful home, good health, a loving family … that’s what makes me smile! And it’s even better when the weather is cooperating, too. To step out into the sunshine is like a punctuation mark in my day. I love it when I am hitting goals. […]

Deep Waters (Love Casts Out Fear)

I was twelve when my auntie nearly drowned. One minute, we were side by side lying on inflated tubes, bobbing gently above the calm waters, the seashore just a few feet away. The next minute, I saw her fall out, arms flailing, then quickly disappearing beneath the waters. Her tube had drifted farther out. I […]

When Sadness Saves The Day (Reflections On Life And The Movie “Inside Out”)

I saw the movie “Inside Out” and cheered for Sadness when she saved the day. My daughter was very persuasive. I only watch a few movies each year. Animated ones are not usually on top of that list. But here we are, adults, clutching our tickets as we made our way to an empty theatre. […]

n x Failure = Success (Fail Fast, Recover Quickly, Learn Well)

A long, long time ago, I thought I was invincible. A typical teenager! Do you know someone like this? I was eighteen years old and on my third year as a chemical engineering student in a selective university. My grades were always better than most so I was relaxed about passing my exams. After all […]

Delighted by @LinkedInHelp (Why Waiting for LinkedIn To Restore My Account Was Worth It)

June 30 5:30 pm Update: I am a delighted LinkedIn customer again. In just over a day from when I flagged the problem, @LinkedInHelp (Fred / Kat) restored my access and explained why they took the precautionary action that they did. I am thankful for their security process that kicked in when they noticed far too […]

Time to Breathe (Being Quiet and Still)

A few weeks ago, I temporarily parked my blogger’s ‘pen’ to take the time to breathe, to renew and refresh my spirit. Now I’m back! I would like to share with you what happened, why I chose to be quiet and be still. “The procedure went really well.” I heard the doctor say those few […]

All Things New (We Get Sharper With Age)

“How do you stay so positive in the middle of all these #*^&* Joyce?” said Joseph* who sat across from me. It baffles my colleagues when I turn up each morning and greet them with a cheerful “Good morning”, a brilliant smile, and an upbeat attitude. We worked in a very tough environment, with challenging goals, in […]

Like New Year’s Day

It was like New Year’s Day when I brought her home, my gorgeous first-born. When that child, now a woman, came out of surgery with a spirit and a smile unscathed by the scalpel. When ten days later I brought her home, my gorgeous first-born. I could have lit fireworks. It was like New Year’s Day! It […]

Beautiful, Beautiful Philippines (May Peace Be Yours in Abundance)

The slaughter of the Philippines National Police – Special Action Force personnel #fallen44 in #Mamasapano have troubled me deeply. Where is peace? What is the price of freedom from the clutches of terror, greed and corruption, ineptitude and disunity? Where is justice and righteousness? Where is the dream that my country of birth will soar again? Though […]

Making New Memories

“All these pieces Broken and scattered In mercy gathered Mended and whole … Amazing grace!” It was the end of winter, but the house and yard still looked bleak from the street.It was empty, of course. Which made it look more lonely, dejected.The shrubs were overgrown. The garden looked tired. I turned off the key in […]

What Is Simple?

Guest Post by Miriam Harkness It has been three weeks since my first (and hopefully last) major operation. Those twenty-one days have been some of the best and the worst of my entire life. It was remarkable how a situation can completely flip around in just a little over three hours. I am now only […]