Point to Ponder: How often do you pause and remember your various and different seasons of life, their significant connection with one another and the impact they've had on your life and how they've shaped you into the person you are today? This week, while taking a walk through our neighborhood I was struck by the contrast of what still looks to be winter (the brown/seemingly dead grass in the picture) mixed in with the sweet signs of spring (the tulips on the verge of full

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: How wisely do you choose your words, especially with those you are most comfortable and close with? A couple of weeks ago we installed a pull-up bar in our garage. Actually, that’s inaccurate. Two of our neighbors installed our pull-up bar while Russell and I stood by to watch and give moral support. That’s inaccurate too. We stood by because I wanted Russell to learn. I was sincerely interested in learning too but really my goal was to have Russell absorb th

Point to ponder: What perceived handicap do you have, or in other words, what is something you’ve told yourself you can’t do or are afraid to do? Last Monday, one of our dearest friends passed away. His name was Shane Whitehurst. Shane was only 47 when he passed and while his physical stature wasn’t much, he lived the life of a giant, took no short cuts and I believe entered the pearly gates of Heaven running through the victory line of high-fives, to then meet face to face w

For many of us, our Fathers were and are men of few words, but the older we get the wiser their words become, and the greater impact they have on and in our lives. Today’s Journal is a celebration of our Fathers. It's full of heartfelt and funny quotes and wisdom, provided from our team and other unknown women. Thank you Fathers everywhere & Happy Father’s Day! 1. "Hold your tongue, listen, process and wait before you speak or respond to something that bothers you." - Alli

Point to Ponder: Do you wake up each day excited? Last week a friend and I shared our disdain for Mondays. Although we are both self-proclaimed optimists and we don’t have a legitimate reason to complain or dread, Mondays can be mentally, emotionally and physically difficult. As we talked and tried to make sense of why Mondays are often times so hard, I concluded it's because unlike the flexible, spontaneous and less structured weekends, Monday comes with expectations, rout

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: Do you view time with girlfriends as contributing to your health, happiness, longevity and ability to thrive? Have you ever heard of "kedging"? According to the book, Younger Next Year for Women, kedging is an ancient sailing term. A kedge is a light anchor, and way back when, to avoid a ship from being overcome by pirates, sailors would kedge. The act of kedging is to pull a ship along by hauling on the cable of an anchor carried out from the ship and droppe

Point to Ponder: Do you view time with girlfriends as contributing to your health, happiness, longevity and ability to thrive? Have you ever heard of "kedging"? According to the book, Younger Next Year for Women, kedging is an ancient sailing term. A kedge is a light anchor, and way back when, to avoid a ship from being overcome by pirates, sailors would kedge. The act of kedging is to pull a ship along by hauling on the cable of an anchor carried out from the ship and droppe

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