Point to Ponder: Do you let the holidays control you, or do you control the holidays? Alright, alright, alright…the holidays are here and before your computer combusts from online shopping and your shoulders get stuck to your earlobes, take a moment to breatheeeeeeeeeee…..in through your nose and out through your mouth. I’m kind of exaggerating (but not really), however holiday anxiousness, stress and chaos is prevalent, and preventable! We have a choice, and it’s starts wit

Point to Ponder: Is what you are saying and doing consistent with who you want to be and the impact you want to have? I bet you are curious where this journal is going??? I gotta tell you, I am so pumped about this image and the message behind it. It goes like this: Last week, iGnite San Diego member, Erinn Hanson, sent this picture of Barbie, perfectly planking. Of course, she didn't strip Barbie down and put her in a plank, but one of her daughters did! Here's what I lov

Point to Ponder: Are you "Spring Break Ready"? Last week, while thinking about our 6-Weeks to Spring Break Challenge, I found myself thinking about Spring Break and the real “why” behind us wanting you to make every effort to iGnite 24 times in 6-weeks. In the event you think we’re trying to guilt you into exercising because it’s time to “Get ready for bathing suit season.” No way, Jose! That’s not us. In fact, how annoying and unoriginal is that line? Of course we want you

Point to Ponder: Are you getting "summer ready"? Last week, after we launched our 6-Weeks to Summer Challenge, I found myself thinking about summer and the real “why” behind us wanting you to make every effort to iGnite 25 times in 6-weeks. In the event you think we’re trying to guilt you into exercising because it’s time to “Get ready for bathing suit season.” No way, Jose! That’s not us. In fact, how annoying and unoriginal is that line? While I’m on the topic, if anyone ev

Point to Ponder: What people or things do you take for granted? For Christmas, we gave Malaine, our five year old daughter, her first pet, or I should say her first “practice pet”. Rather than get the puppy she had been asking for, we opted for the easier and other pet she wanted: a Bearded Dragon. I said “No” to a dog and “ Yes” to the bearded dragon because, as expected, I became the primary caretaker of the lizard. Thankfully, she’s a pretty easy pet and I’ve become quite

As we approach the NCAA Sweet 16, it only seems fitting to start the week with our very own sweet 16- a list of 16 inspiring, encouraging, empowering and funny quotes by extraordinary women! 1. “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”– Katharine Hepburn 2. “A woman is like a tea bag – you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.”– Eleanor Roosevelt 3. “I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.”

Point to Ponder: Do your actions, attitude and words epitomize that of the strong, confident, independent, capable, kind, merciful and hard-working woman God created you to be? Friday was International Women’s Day, a day set aside to celebrate and acknowledge all that women have overcome and accomplished. Excitingly in iGnite, everyday is women’s day- whoop whoop!…and we don’t need a special day on the calendar to be reminded of our greatness and the infinite possibilities t

Point to Ponder: What is not serving you and therefore need to quit? In March 2017 I wrote a Sunday Journal called Quit Something. I got the idea from the book Love Does. The author, Bob Goff, shared that every Thursday he quits something. Two years ago I thought this was an excellent weekly exercise because it requires us to regularly stop and evaluate our actions and life, including any pesky habits that aren't serving us. Today and as we approach Lent, I think it’s the per

Point to Ponder: What label (about yourself) do you need to drop? My sister Shonna (the same direct communicating sister I wrote about last week) has never considered herself creative. If asked, she’d say I was the creative one in the family while she wasn’t creative at all, however, over the past year she began baking and decorating gorgeous sugar cookies (pictured above). This was after only taking one decorating class! Now, she's decorating elaborate and delicious cookies

Point to Ponder: Do you let emotion impact or direct your communication? Waayyy back in January (seems like eons ago, doesn’t it) in our Weekly News, we shared a link to our blog featuring 19 ways we believe 2019 can be a happy year. Throughout the course of 2019 we’ll eventually roll out all of our recommendations, but for the sake of today, we’re focusing on #5, which is: to Communicate More. Why? Because communication (in all areas) prevents chaos and disaster. I am confid

Point to Ponder: Are you going through each day living in your past or anticipating your future? Have you ever had one of those moments when you heard something and immediately thought, "Yep, that’s for me!" Actually, my exact words were, “Crap! I know this is for me.” This is what happened a few years ago while listening to an excellent podcast by John O’Leary. John O’Leary interviewed Matt Manzari, a professional athlete who was trimming trees at his church and unfortunate

Point to Ponder: Do you ask for what you need and want in and out of life, and look for surprise and adventure? Or, have you lowered your expectations and just accepted a status quo life? My dear and passionate friend and iGnite leader, Kathleen Parker, recently shared stories of answered prayers. It’s not unlike us to have candid conversations about God and our faith, but it’s not every day we get to share answered prayer stories. On Monday I saw a clip from the Ellen Show w

Point to Ponder: What choices do you need to make in order to truly have a seize the day mindset? I believe the allure of the New Year is having a fresh, hopeful and enthusiastic opportunity to begin again and experience more mountain top moments than the year before. January 1st may in fact be the most optimistic and opportunistic day of the year. On that particular day, everything feels possible but did you know that statistics tell us by Valentine’s Day 92% of our Near Yea

Points to Ponder: 1. What excites you? What scares you? 2. What goals have you set in the past? What were the results? 3. How has working toward a goal resulted in personal growth and/or understanding (regardless of whether or not the goal was met)? 4. How has the support of others helped you in achieving past goals? And how have you felt "unsupported" in the past? 5. What are your goals for 2019? Setting goals can be difficult. And certainly taking the steps (and hurdling th

Point to Ponder: Why should you iGnite this week? Last Wednesday through Friday I was in San Diego. I flew back for our annual Christmas party. You got it! It was a jammie party, that we’ll also have in Austin this Tuesday evening (Austin family, be sure to RSVP). While the trip was short it was full and very sweet. My flight got in too late Friday night to see the kiddos, so when we awoke Saturday morning we laid low and hung out in our pj's until noon, before heading out f

Point to Ponder: What things distract you from living out your priorities? Did you know the average person can’t go 10 minutes without checking their mobile device, and the average person spends 2 hours a day on social media AND for the younger generation who has grown up using a device, they will end up spending over 7 years of their life on social media! That is CRAZY!!! I’m embarrassed because shamefully I fall in that category and I don’t want to be! I’m sure we’d all agr

Point to Ponder: Do you consider your health as the best possible gift to give? "In a crowded, busy holiday season, it’s common for people to feel weighed down by family relationships, financial pressure, regret, or failure. Often, people feel overwhelmed by things God never intended for them to carry. His solution is simple: Let go of the baggage and travel light. December is a natural time to reflect on the past year—where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you’d lik

Point to Ponder: Are you feeling the holiday fluff and puff? Confession: I treated myself to a new pair of Lululemon shorts, just tried them on and they are tight. Yep, my butt and inner thighs have expanded, however rather than take the shorts back or change into something more flattering and comfortable, I’ve decided to keep it real, continue to wear them and do what I know works: hydrate, increase my protein, decrease my carbs and exercise. If you’re reading this and have

Point to Ponder: Do you find it difficult to be grateful? I am a terrible receiver! While I have grown into being able to receive a generous compliment with a "Thank you" and accept help, when it comes to opening gifts and hand-written notes, I struggle. It sometimes takes me months to open and read cards, as I find it to be an extremely sentimental process. The time, thoughtfulness and love that is poured into a gift or card are overwhelming and humbling. When opening or r

Point to Ponder: Do you look for ways to serve and be in gratitude towards others, or do you expect for others to serve you and be in gratitude of you? Yesterday I drove from Tulsa to Austin by myself. It’s a seven hour drive that is by and large an easy one, and while I love having my kids with me, I also love having the time to myself: a time to be with my thoughts, to listen to whatever I want and not be interrupted with restroom requests. This trip was particularly good b