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carol@inkwellcoaching.com

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March 23, 2023

The Truth About Green Bell Peppers

Green bell peppers are not a favorite of mine. In fact, when I order veggie skillets, I usually request that they be omitted. I find them to be bitter

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Food, Health
March 16, 2023

Care for an Exercise Snack?

The terminology “exercise snack” is rather intriguing. I wanted one before I knew what it was. Would it be coated with dark chocolate? Is it low i

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Health
March 9, 2023

Decrease Your Stress and Enjoy a Muffin

Let’s start with the muffin. Last week I wrote about the health benefits of eating wild blueberries. Saturday morning, I decided that I had to have

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Food, Health
March 4, 2023

Plant-Based Wild Blueberry Muffins

Plant-Based Wild Blueberry Muffins These muffins are dairy-free, gluten-free and egg-free. The texture is different than mainstay blueberry muffins. I

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Breakfast, Recipes
March 2, 2023

Tiny Berry Packs a Powerful Punch

If you’ve not yet discovered Wyman’s Wild Blueberries, now is your time. These tiny little berries are one of the healthiest (perhaps even #1) and

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Food, Health, Personal Development
February 23, 2023

Debate on the Dirty Dozen

“Should I spend my money on organic fruits and vegetables?” “Is organic produce superior nutritionally?” “Does it really matter?” I hear t

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Food, Health
February 16, 2023

Choosing a Tasty Pineapple

In the past week, a discussion came up about pineapple. How do you choose a tasty one? Well, for those inquiring minds, here you go.  How to choose a

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Blog, Family, Health, Personal Development
February 8, 2023

Happy Birth Month

You’re probably thinking that I just celebrated my birth month. And I did. One year ago. Already. How quickly the years go by.  I recently read No

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Family, Friendship, Health, Personal Development
February 2, 2023

Colorful Cauliflower and Fresher Berries

Interesting what shows up in conversation when a bunch of friends gather. Most recently, this is what happened. “So, have you ever wondered how caul

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Food, Health
January 25, 2023

5 Ways to Stop Playing the Comparison Game

We all do it. As human beings, it’s part of our nature. We compare for points of reference. But we don’t have to play the game anymore. If you fin

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Health, Personal Development

Good Times at the Farmhouse

March 4, 2013
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Family

 A couple weeks ago I paid a visit to my Aunt Susie.  She is ninety-four years young, the only remaining child of ten.  We did what ladies like to do, and went out for lunch.  The chicken and noodles we had were not nearly as good as she and her sisters once made, but the comfort food brought back some good memories.  A nice surprise, her son Bruce stopped by while we were enjoying our time together.  He gave me a gift of a drawing he had done of the farmhouse that our parents grew up in. 

Since there had been no pictures to draw the house from, he drew it the way Aunt Susie described.  The farmhouse was a two-story frame with a porch that nearly wrapped around the entire house.  A porch swing was hanging in front of the kitchen window.  A warm light shone from the family room, as that was the center of activity and warmest in winter. 

I listened intently as Aunt Susie described the interior, which room was which, and all the happy stories that came to mind along the way.  She also told me of the difficulties that came about when her father was killed.  She helped raise the youngest siblings as her mother and the older ones went off to work.   

What really amazed me was that in spite of the hardships they endured, she enjoyed growing up when she did with her family and all of its imperfections.  Her memories were happy and I delighted in listening to them come alive through her stories.  Now, if only I could recreate the chicken and noodles that were once made in the farmhouse kitchen…

“The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems, but the people who have learned to live with those things that are less than perfect.”  James Dobson

When You are Swallowed by Fog…

February 21, 2013
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Hope, Loss, Spiritual

And you cannot see.  Anything.  Dense, thick, dark fog surrounds you and yes, you feel like you have been swallowed.  Now what?  Fear, anxiety, anger, impatience.  The list goes on. 

The fog may come as illness, depression, addiction, death, abandonment.  We all have been swallowed at one time or another, and sometimes again and again, in different ways.  We wonder, how long will it last?  Will I ever be able to see clearly again?  And if and when I do, when will the fog return?  It is a vicious cycle of despair…unless.

Unless, you find a light!  It may be dim at first, but it brightens.  The light may be a friend who listens in the midst of your fog, an answer to prayer, a stranger who smiles, a song that uplifts, a word of encouragement and praise.  There is plenty of light to clear the fog.

We share so much.  We all experience fog sometime.  We all are light…if we choose to be so.  When we are swallowed by fog, we must have a foundation of trust to know that light will come.  When we are the light, we must choose to shine as brightly as possible, knowing that it is our time to help others through their fog.  And so the cycle repeats.  That is a constant of life.  Thank you to all who have been my light!  My deep gratitude enables me to be light today.  Shine with me, friends! 

“Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”  Matthew 5:16 NAB

 

When the Gifts We Receive are not the Gifts We Desire

February 11, 2013
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Spiritual

 

Have you heard the song that goes, “You can’t always get what you want, but you get what you need?”  If not, you have missed out on a classic by The Rolling Stones.  Those specific lyrics apply to so much in life.  Does it not seem that we always want more or different or better?  Yet, by whose standards? 

We are each given a specific set of talents or gifts.  Those gifts are not something we had a special request for, we were just born with them.  For example, there are those who can sing with seemingly no effort…and stay on key to boot!  Others have engineered ways for us to reach the moon and beyond.  Neither of those gifts have I been blessed with, at least if I have, they have not yet been revealed! 

So, what is the point?  I have been blessed with other gifts, gifts that I keep discovering as time passes.  Some were revealed to me at an early age, like my ability to create delicious concoctions in the kitchen.  Others are a work in progress.  The point is, I find my joy in using the gifts that have been given me.  I find great challenge in cultivating gifts that are not innately mine. 

As I celebrate another year of life, I realize that the best use of the time I have left here on earth is to polish those gifts I have been given.  I am to use those gifts to bring light to the darkness that envelops others.  I am called to help others shine in the light of their gifts.  The challenge is for you to do the same.  After all, we can still sing along…  

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  1 Peter 4:10 NIV 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Got Goals?

January 3, 2013
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Hope, Personal Development

We spoke today of goals for 2013.  Since the discussion occurred in the midst of a networking group of professionals, we chose primarily our business goals.  Thinking about setting my life in a forward motion based on some pre-set ideas and “goals” feels a bit intimidating…at least today.

The discussion was interesting, as some had clear, written, measurable thoughts on the subject.  Others had abstract, but good, ideas on some basic fundamentals of business.  A few had written goals for each area of life, but only shared the applicable ones with the group.  I found myself somewhere in the middle of the pack.  My thoughts have not yet connected with the calendar.  I feel as though I am already behind in the game of 2013.

I am not alone.  As we listened and read of the fiscal cliff in recent days, we realize that procrastination is a common thread that binds us together.  Lesson observed and learned.  “Do it now” is a mantra that would serve me well.

And so I proceed on day 3 of this year that lies ahead.  There is much to be learned, as I continually have more questions than answers.  Oh, to be in my twenties again, when I knew everything!  Today, I will enjoy cooking dinner for my family.  I will laugh my way through zumba.  I shall be grateful for one more day to try to figure out the path that lies before me.

Blessings to you~

“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

 

 

 

 

 

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