We rented a pontoon this past weekend. It’s something we do each summer. We enjoy the time on the water; laughing, snacking and just “being”with family and friends. 

We picked it up Friday night and headed out Saturday afternoon. That day, it was just my husband, my dog and I. 

Perfection. 

There is nothing more relaxing to me than the sound of the waves hitting the boat, the breeze and the sun on my face. 

We drove to one of the lakes we love and put the boat in, only to find that it wouldn’t start. After much trial and error, we figured out why and got it going. 

What a Relief!

As we were slowly making our way out into the middle of the lake, the clouds started encircling us. I saw lightning in the distance and the wind picked up. 

The “perfect storm” for me…… I can’t swim and I am not a fan of storms….. And here we are…..in the middle of the water. 

I got nervous 😩. 

I sheepishly started looking for the life jackets and stressing out a bit. I sat down, relaxed, and then remembered one of my favorite bible verses. 

Everything will be fine. 

I thought of how Peter walked on water towards Jesus, but as he became afraid and panicked, he started to sink. Once he put his focus back on Jesus, the winds ceased and the waters became calm. 

All was well.

That sparked something inside of me that I feel I need to share. 

Many years ago, while reading the Bible my Grandma had given to me, I found that verse. And it was so empowering. 

I hadn’t thought of it in awhile, until Saturday. 

We can jump. We can try new things. It’s ok to take a chance. We always have something bigger than us to “catch” us. 

If we “fall out” of the boat, God’s got us. Think of the power that gives each one of us!

Many times in life, we find ourselves in the middle of a storm. Sometimes it feels as though there is no relief in sight. 

But, there is….we just have to go “through” the rain and wind first, to grow and appreciate the sunlight. 

What I have learned, over and over and over again, is this…

The whole time the lightning is striking, the wind is blowing and you are trying to control the situation (by reaching for a life jacket), Jesus is already walking towards you. 

He knows just what to do. 

He’ll lift you out of the water, he’ll dry your eyes and He most certainly will calm the storm.
The other spin on my thoughts this past Saturday revolve around taking chances. 

“Jump” came to mind. 

Just jump.

 One of these times, I’m just going to jump into the water and swim. What’s the worst thing that could happen? What am I so afraid of?

I don’t know. You see, I don’t know how to swim(at all)and even though I LOVE everything about the water, the unknown parts of it paralyze me. So, I decide to stay safe and dry…in the boat. 

Sounds a bit like life sometimes,hey?

  The depth, what’s lurking in it, will I sink…or would I swim?

I believe it’s ok to try. Even if you need to take it slow. 

As with everything in this beautiful life, I have recently learned to just “jump”.

 Just believe. 

I know that whatever I do, whatever I decide, I can jump into the unknown with the knowledge that it will always be ok. God will catch me. 

If you want to excel, you have to get uncomfortable. 

If you want to succeed, you have to do today what others won’t, so you can do tomorrow what others can’t. 

And, if you want to walk on water, you’re gonna have to GET OUT OF THE BOAT!

Best advice ever. 

And yes, I’ll take it. 😉

Go after life and your goals like you can already walk on water, like the storm will be stopped for you to pass, and like you are a champion swimmer. 

Jump. 

We all have a lifeguard, just waiting to rescue us. 

Step 

Out

Of

The 

Boat 🚣 
Much love,

Linda💜

When I was a little girl, I would always try to be “better”. 

“Better”,meaning….stronger, faster, smarter, more resilient….a “new” me at the beginning of each week. I didn’t like the heaviness of home and life around me.  I wanted more light. More love. Less darkness. 

 Until recently, I never really knew WHAT I had been trying to do. 

I was Growing. 

Now, I’m not talking in height or in age, but legitimately Growing….changing, emerging, evolving. Fighting through the “dirt” to be the best me. He was putting me through challenges to build my soul up. Life truly wasn’t holding me down, it was how it was meant to be. I had to look up and believe in the process. Believe in the power of hope. And learn to lean on something bigger than me. 

I remember being young and deciding, on a Sunday night, as I lay awake in bed, that “Tomorrow, I will be kinder, I will try harder, I would be better than today”.  And I remember feeling nervous and somewhat anxious. I wondered what that would take. I didn’t want my circumstances to hold me down. I had always felt a pull and somehow knew, if I followed that guide, I would be ok. 

And God said Grow. 

So, I did.

I rose above each circumstance. I chose to be different than my family and my surroundings. I fought to become who I was meant to be. 

And God said Grow. 

I recently reflected on the person I used to be just a few years ago. I remembered how I would react to different situations, how I treated others, what I GAVE(and held back) to those around me. I realized I have changed significantly. 

Reflection is a beautiful tool. 

As I reflect, I can see how much easier some things have become because of my willingness to surrender to what is.  

I have become more giving, I have learned more in the last few years about myself than ever before, and the best part? I can actually see that I have Changed. I have changed in ways I can’t explain. My outward appearance is evident, but it is because of the evolution within. 

In surrendering to the picture I had created in my mind, I am able to live the life I am meant to. And it has proven to better than any of the scenarios I imagined. 

Many years of sadness, resentment, feelings of blame and abandonment have been “weeded” out of my soul(my garden). Many more good things, empowering people, challenging experiences, and light have entered in. And I can see it now. 

I never fully understood why God had “put me through” the 18 years of hell. I think I am a great person, so why would he make things so hard for me? I used to be aggravated by the fact that he or she had an easy life. So why didn’t I ?

Not so long ago, I asked God “Why?”  Why couldn’t I? Why didn’t He? Why?

Now, I know. 

In every extraordinary, in every horrific, in every breathtaking, in every heartbreaking experience….He was helping me to Grow. 

I wouldn’t be the Mom I am today if I hadn’t been an orphan (in many ways). I wouldn’t be the wife I am if I hadn’t gone through a difficult marriage and divorce. I wouldn’t have the intimate desire to empower the lives of others if I hadn’t lived THROUGH the nights of unimaginable chaos and pain. 

We have to go THROUGH it in order to GROW. 

And what I know is that all along the way, I was never alone. 

He was guiding me. He was walking beside me. And many times, He was carrying me. 

I won’t ever say it was easy. I wouldn’t ever want to replay it or go back in time. But, I get it now. 

Every experience, each day (whether good or bad), is for the GREATER GOOD. 

Not only have I been able to be enlightened, but I have evolved and emerged. I am closer today to being the person I was born to be. 

A light giver. 

A game changer. 

A believer. 

This life is astonishing….if you wake up and look around. And I mean WAKE up and SEE the beauty in each event. In each person you encounter. In each struggle. 

Every hand we touch, every word we mutter. We are impacting another soul. 

So, the next time you are struggling or feeling down about your circumstances, look up. 

Look up and hear these words, friends. 

And God said, GROW 🦋

He won’t leave your side. This, I know. 

“Your time as a caterpillar is over. Your wings are ready”. 

Much love,

Linda 💜

This past Monday was an ordinary day. 

I woke up, drank my delicious cup of coffee, did a workout, and caught up on all of my work from the previous week, when we were on vacation. 

That afternoon, I realized we had not checked the mail for a few days. So, I walked to the mailbox with my pup (who loves “getting the mail”). He always proudly carries one piece back to “Daddy” or his “babies” each time. He truly thinks it’s his job. It’s quite adorable. 

As I opened the box, to pick up the mail, I noticed an envelope with my name on it….my maiden, my name from my first marriage and current last name. Hmmm. Odd. Then I saw who it was from. 

My parents. 

I also noticed the writing on the back that said, “Dad said you can’t buy happiness”…….should I even open this?

Yes. 

I am strong enough. 

May seem like an odd response to many, but I grew up in a very abusive, chaotic family. Alcoholism, emotional/verbal abuse, and lived through days that felt like an eternity. I discontinued the toxic relationship with my parents and siblings almost 8 years ago. So, a letter from them sets off a fight or flight response in my body. 

Danger up ahead. 

I had to remove myself and my children from my family in order to “save” myself. I would get healthy and be strong and then go to visit, only to encounter the old habits and ways and be pushed back down. 

I deserved more than that. 

My children, future grandchildren and husband deserved more than that. 

Sometimes you have to distance yourself to save yourself. 

Someone recently said to me, “You haven’t forgiven your parents…if you truly had, you would go see them and talk to them”. First of all, you are ignorant for ever saying something like that! You have no idea what I lived through. And forgiveness is a personal, intimate item. 

I wasn’t angry with the person, just disappointed by their lack of knowledge and the fact that they had the audacity to assume such a thing. 

I have found that forgiveness is like opening up an already infected wound, pouring salt in it and reliving the experience that gave you that scar with dignity and acceptance. That person truly didn’t have a clue. 

And that is ok. 

I HAVE forgiven my parents years and years ago. I had to release the anger, blame and resentment in order to be healthy. 

I pray for them daily, ask God to somehow let them know they are in my thoughts and sometimes even whisper that I love them and miss them, as a tear falls down my cheek. 

I watched the movie, “The Shack”, and one of the quotes calmed me. “Forgiveness does not create a relationship”. 

That was huge for me. 

Forgiveness is the act of letting go….it doesn’t mean I have to go back. 

So, when I opened this letter the other day, it was ok. 

It started the way I would expect it to. Blaming, shameful, anger ridden. Why hadn’t I called? who did I think I was, they even wanted things they had given to me as a child, back! 

I read it once. And again. And instead of reacting the way I would have years ago, I sat down in my porch and said a prayer for them. 

I realized at that very moment, that I DID do the right thing all those years ago. They would never change, so I had to. I had to remove my soul and my life from theirs.  And, at that moment, my decision to separate was reaffirmed. 

I told one of my friends about the letter and they mentioned “Collateral Beauty”.  How true. 

All the pain, the struggle, the release. I see it now…being so far removed. 

I called my mother in law to read the letter to her. She stopped me in mid sentence, out of surprise, as my voice was so calm. I said, I’m actually ok….They can’t hurt me anymore. 

Years ago, a letter like this would have shaken me to my core and debilitated me for days. The guilt, the blame, the Shame. All because they are so wretchedly unhappy with who they are. People who are hurting, want others to hurt as well. 

This week’s lesson is about Personal Power. 

I wanted to share this very private occurrence to show anyone who needs this, that if you practice self love, discipline, and respect for your own heart and soul, you will gain strength and POWER over the people and “demons” in this life that try to destroy us. 

I wrote the poem below, many years ago….when I let my family go. I thought I’d share it today, as I was reciting it in my head, as I walked away from the mailbox the other day. 

I also looked up at the blue skies, gave all the glory to God and said out loud for all to hear…

I AM STRONG ENOUGH 💪🏻

Their words can’t hurt me anymore💜

Be true to you. Love yourself. Always. 

You never know when you’ll have to “muscle” through a “fight”.
Much love,

Linda🦋

Over the past 8 days, my husband and I have been in 7 states!  We don’t call our trips “vacations”, but we consider them to be adventures. 

We always end up exploring, getting into places that others wouldn’t try to, meeting amazing people and literally having an Extraordinary Adventure. 

This past week has not disappointed us!

We started in Illinois, then Indiana. Then headed to Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia and now Louisville, Kentucky until we end our journey back home. The reason for the trip was to pack up my son in West Virginia and move him home (I am beyond excited to have him near me!!!). So our thought process, as with most things in life, was to ride our motorcycle, explore our beautiful earth and “Enjoy the Ride”.

Not only have we been “thrill seekers”….riding the famous Dragon’s Tail, the Blue Ridge Parkway and leaning and gliding on our cycle (more times than I can recall), I have been awakened. 

One of the days, we stopped to walk along a skinny footbridge so we could inhale the beauty of these huge rocks and water rapidly flowing. It was serene and untouched. Amazing. 

Another day, I experienced these intense curves and turns and was able to feel the energy of hundreds of others riding so freely.  The Dragon. 

But, the icing on the cake for me came out of nowhere. 

I’ve always heard people talk about the magic of the mountains and how they were moved by them. I think that’s awesome and all, but I didn’t get it. However, I had never actually driven through them, been that close…..to God. 

As we rode along the Blue Ridge Parkway, I looked ahead and anticipated more curves, looked down to realize how high above the trees we were and got a little tense 😬. My mind started racing and I stopped seeing and taking in the beauty. I just wanted to know when the ride would be done. 

And then, what felt like out of nowhere, we came upon another overlook. 

Before we stopped, I was ready to jump off. I kind of felt like a kid, full of excitement. I couldn’t wait to walk the trial to see what everyone was taking pictures of. This place was different. Something was stirring inside of me. 

It was AWESOME. Breathtaking. Amazing. Beautiful. Humble. Majestic. God given. Hand molded. 

At that moment, I truly felt His presence all around me, in an enveloping way that I can’t put into words. 

He was there. In front of me. To the side of me. Above me, towering over me, and holding me. 

My fears were lifted. My heart felt like it would explode and this immense calm blew through the trees. I swear you could feel it, like a warm shower. 

I didn’t know what I was experiencing, but I just knew I had to stop and stare. 

This was a moment He made for my husband and I. 

I needed to honor it, for more than a moment. I had nowhere to be. No errands, no clients to meet, no laundry to put away. 

It was time to just BE and feel His glory. 

I get it now. 

The magic of the mountains. The enormity of what we have been given. 

I felt so small and yet so incredibly special, a piece of the puzzle that He created. 

That moment will last a lifetime. I will carry the peace and the sense of gratitude in my heart always. 

And all I could mutter to my husband was “Thank you, Lord. Thank you “, as I wiped the tears away from my cheek. 

His lesson that day? In the midst of my greatest fears(heights and the unknown). 

“Don’t anticipate the curves, Don’t look down. Just sit back and ENJOY the RIDE!”

He created mountains, painted masterpieces for our eyes to see…..I’m pretty sure He can take care of ME❤

“There’s a lesson around every corner”

Much love, 

Linda💜