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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

Crown Point, IN

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August 7, 2025

August Anxiety. Sunscreen vs. School Bells

This time of year, I feel a mixture of emotions. On the one hand, summer is in full swing. The flowers are thriving, temperatures still soar, and ther

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Family, Health, Personal Development
July 30, 2025

Recharging After Your Vacation

Have you ever returned home from a vacation and thought to yourself, “Gee, I could use a vacation.”? I know I have. It seems wrong. We have such a

admink
Food, Health
July 20, 2025

Traveler’s Guide to Food and Fitness

Summer vacations. I’ve always been a big fan of vacations any time of year. They are SO FUN, and people are usually very nice to you when you’re a

admink
Food, Fun, Health
July 16, 2025

The Peach vs. Nectarine Debate

I love them both. Lately I’ve been wondering about their slight differences, which sent me down the rabbit hole of looking into their unique charact

admink
Food, Health
July 9, 2025

The Dog Days of Summer

How often I’ve heard this phrase, yet never knew that Dog Days were official. Turns out, the Dog Days of Summer run from July 3 to August 11. This t

admink
Food, Fun, Health
July 3, 2025

Can Bananas Ruin Your Berry Smoothie?

This past week I received an email with this question: “I recently read an article about bananas reducing the nutrition of the berries in a smoothie

admink
Food, Health
June 26, 2025

Hot Weather, Cool Tips

Lots of ideas swirling around in my head today—to which Mr. Non-Compliant would say, “Uh Oh!” Since I couldn’t decide on one topic, thought I&

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Food, Health
June 19, 2025

Savor the Solstice and Welcome Summer

On June 20 at 10:42 p.m. EST, the sun will reach its highest point in the sky, ushering in the official start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Th

admink
Food, Fun, Personal Development
June 18, 2025

Summer Solstice Fruit Salad with Mint & Citrus Honey Drizzle

This bright and refreshing fruit salad is perfect for summer gatherings, picnics, or a simple treat to celebrate the season. With a citrus-honey drizz

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Recipes, Salads
June 12, 2025

Flossing Beyond the Gums

We all know we should floss—but it turns out this simple daily habit might do more than just protect your smile. More and more research suggests tha

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Health

Lost in the Garden

June 18, 2012
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Hope, In the Garden, Spiritual

Why is it the weeds always grow better than the vegetables or the flowers?  I find myself in my small vegetable garden these days, searching for the tomato and pepper plants which are lost among the weeds.  After digging around for what seems like days, I am finally able to identify the good from the bad.  Of course, I manage to uproot a healthy tomato plant in the process.  I am in hopes that my replanting efforts are fruitful, so to speak.

My life feels the same way.  Lost in the duties of each day is my calling, my purpose for existence.  The BIG picture reason for why I am still here.  Every once in awhile, I think I have it all figured out and realize God has a different idea.  So what do I do?  Wait.  Work the tasks at hand each day to see where it all leads, trust, pray.  And wait.  I believe I have plenty of patience at this point in my life and do not need any more lessons in that department.  Still, I wait.

Do any of us ever figure it out, really?   As my son would say, that is a rhetorical question.  And no, I don’t think we ever do.  It just feels good to ask.  So, since it is the growing season here in Indiana, my garden grows.  My weeds grow faster.  Since God implemented the growth of the plants and has that all together, I guess I can rest in the fact that He will grow me at the proper rate as well.  My job is to accept that fact peacefully, and …wait.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11  NIV

 

Smiles on Pansies

April 25, 2012
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In the Garden

This is perfect pansy weather.  Cool.  Recently, I planted some of these unique annuals.  Now is their time.  As soon as mid-June hits, July for certain, these delicacies are finished.  Their color availability makes them perfect companions to the early tulips and daffodils.  And, many of them have faces…smiling faces!

Take a look next time you see a patch of them.  They look back at you, unlike any other flower that I can recall right now.  My older son used to think they had a sinister look about them, but I prefer to think they are happy and welcoming to those visiting the garden. 

My mom taught me to appreciate the pansy.  She always spoke about them in endearing terms when I was young.  We had them in early spring and I was sad when they became miserable and died.  No amount of pruning will bring them back in the heat of July and August.  At least not by my hand.

So until the threat of frost is over, these are the annuals I enjoy.  As the tulips are fading and the peonies are preparing for their glory, my pansies smile at me daily.

Even if you have not been gifted with a green thumb, plant a few so they can smile back at you, at least for today.

“My garden is a slow work, pursued with love, and I don’t deny that I am proud of it.”     Claude Monet

 

One of Life’s Difficult Questions…

March 15, 2012
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Family, Spiritual

 

My son, the one who is eighteen, approached me with this question.  “Do you ever feel like you won’t have enough time in your life to do everything you want to do?”  My answer.  “Yes.”

He began to tell me how he has thought of so many things he would enjoy doing in life, then wonders how it will all work out.  I know exactly how he feels.  It is almost as if by the time we think we start to have things figured out, we are in the “second half of life” and hoping for at least a few more years to get it right.  God willing.

The twist is that we need all those “first half of life” experiences, every single one of them, to show us the way.  Some folks may not get to the “second half” stuff, for whatever reason.  Others may arrive a bit sooner.  Our age does not define this.  When we manage to work through the pain of falling, which is the doorway to the “second half of life” we cannot help but be changed.  We then begin to focus on what is most important in life, with no time to waste.  What a blessing! 

How do we live out the second half?  Some ideas:  we are more compassionate, more accepting; our core beliefs are woven into our being and are unshakable; the adventures of each day are just that-an adventure; we live out of our comfort zone more often than not; we are guided more by Spirit than by rules; loss and pain are part of the journey, yet our joy cannot be tampered with.  Just to name a few.   

My young son has a lot of living to do.  I look upon him with compassionate understanding, grateful to be where I am.

“There is a deeper voice of God, which you must learn to hear and obey in the second half of life.”             Richard Rohr

May We Never Be Indifferent

February 9, 2012
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Hope, Love, Spiritual

 

Today is my birthday.  I am blessed beyond measure and am Living Large.  Friends have been posting birthday wishes on my facebook wall throughout the day.  Many have called or texted me.  I received a few cards in my mailbox and a dear friend treated me to lunch and her company.  Yes, my family remembered as well.  Life is sweet.

So what is there to be indifferent about?  Lots of happenings in our world today are not in line with what would fulfill a great birthday wish, that is, as long as all the candles were blown out.  Harmony on the planet.  Wow!  That is tough to even wrap my head around.  Not meant to be, or it would be.

I recently read a book entitled The Other Face of God by Mary Jo Leddy.  The book club I belong to chose this book.  We finished discussion on the book last night and we all thought it was a great read.  The reason we enjoyed The Other Face of God so much, is because it made us think and question and discuss and be honest with ourselves about the imperfectness in our world.  And what do we do with that?  How do we make a difference?

We first have to realize that we all make judgments on all sorts of events and people and circumstances.  Not good.  We base our judgments on what we know to be true in our foundation.  What we think may not be right or wrong; it is simply how we think.  Trouble comes about when we have to be right at the expense of being a good disciple.  Serving in love, even when it is difficult, is a tall order.  The other side of that is the thinking that nothing I do will make a difference anyway, so why bother?  We can all take small steps to make a difference in someone’s day, to make it a little brighter.  Pay it forward as the saying goes, and expect nothing in return except that warm fuzzy feeling inside that makes us smile.

Do we love each other enough?  How do we even measure such a thing?  Something to ponder, on my birthday.  I have people in my life who love me.  That is awesome!  Guess I had better get busy and make a difference, after I enjoy a piece of birthday cake. 

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good people do nothing.”  Edmund  Burke

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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