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What a Sudden Spike in Blog Traffic Taught Me About Consistency
The other day, I had an inexplicable, exponential spike in traffic to this blog. I’m talking about an almost 8x jump in a single day. See stats. This is a more normal week for me: The best I can tell is that my blog was linked to by another media outlet. One with a much…
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How to Prioritize Multiple Passions That All Feel Important
As a Christian entrepreneur and content creator, I’ve wrestled with how to balance business, calling, and creativity. This is my honest look at the struggle — and the small steps I’m taking toward clarity.
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2025 So Far – Reflections and Lessons
Some years feel like running a marathon uphill… in the rain… while carrying a backpack full of bricks. That’s how 2025 has often felt for me so far — but I’ve also found unexpected treasures along the way. I’m not complaining, just stating the facts. Just the facts, ma’am. In thinking on the current state…
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Improve 2025: How to Make the Second Half of the Year Better
Has 2025 flown by too fast? Do you feel like you haven’t gotten enough done? Here’s a simple three-question framework to improve 2025 with the time we have left.
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Roger the Orange Cat: A Delightful Life Cut Short
We figured it was coming, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less. This is the story of how our 4-year-old orange cat, Roger, got out of his contract with it only 25% or so complete.
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Summer 2024 Epiphanies and Adventures
How did my summer go? It was a mix of fabulous, disappointing, and eye-opening. I realized I have always held adventure-fueled summers as part of my identity. So when summers don’t go (enough) that way, I’m deeply disappointed (historically) because I feel I have not been true to myself. Now, as I am well into…
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A Hiker Looks Back at A Humbling Mt. St. Helens Climb
In October 2008, I endured the challenge of climbing Mt. St. Helens, but under less-than-ideal circumstances. When I read this account, originally posted on my first-ever blog, it still brings tears to my eyes. I’ll share the post below in its entirety, then end with some takeaways for those of you who are facing physical…
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No Vacation Budget? Try This Trick Instead! (45-Minute Vacation)
It’s 2024, and life seems more expensive than ever. Are you lacking the budget to take that vacation you wanted this year? I feel you. I’m right there with you. So, I came up with this simple idea. I call it the “45-minute vacation.” I experienced it last week, before realizing its power and giving…
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Crush Excuses: A Story and Challenge
Can you think of an excuse(s) you’re making to prevent you from pursuing something you know you should do? Something that will help with your health or fitness? A move that will advance your career or extend an olive branch to a strained relationship? A problem you need to solve, but you’ve been putting it…
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13th Wedding Anniversary: Perception vs. Reality
October 1, 2023 marked 13 years of marriage to Michael David Sorensen. An amusing story I recall from my 20s is what sets up the context for “13th Wedding Anniversary: Perception vs. Reality.” In this post, I’ll briefly share an amusing story about a flawed perception I gained before marriage, how things have actually turned…
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How to Deal with Stress as a Christian
To stress is to be human. But as Christians, do we deal with it differently than others? Let’s talk about how to deal with stress as a Christian. In the next few paragraphs, I’m going to: Provide a simple yet often overlooked answer Give more context to its power Opine about how we often neglect…
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Loose Lips Sink More Than Ships: The Eternal Consequences of Our Words
How often do you think about the consequences of your words, either for good or bad? If you’re like me, it needs to be more often. “Loose lips sink ships,” we’ve been told. We carelessly let our words fly, without considering how they affect others. That in itself is a weighty subject worth careful examination.…
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Sunshine, Swimming and Summits: Why I Prioritize Outdoor Escapes in the Summer Months
Let’s talk about summer weekend priorities. One of the things I treasure most in this life is warm, sunny weather. One of the other things is being outside in said weather, enjoying my many recreational hobbies: swimming, hiking, cycling, running, kayaking, camping and the like. When you combine those two, that equals the summertime as…
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My Introversion Is In Danger
What would you think if I told you my introversion is in danger? Would you wonder what in the world I meant by that? It is, kind of. And I will. It all started at the beginning of this year. I took on a writing contract unlike any I’d ever done before. With a strong…
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On breaking a certain running dry spell …
We’re all fighting our own battles. One of mine was putting off doing a 5-mile run, to the end of the trail by my house. I’ve done it countless times, but I started slacking this spring. Over the winter, I was putting a lot of gusto into training for the 7-mile trail run I did…
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My Trail Running Story
Here is my trail-running story in all its (non) glory. I’ll recount the most recent event and its lead-up, and end with some rah-rah takeaways for all of us pursuing a goal. March 5, 2023. That day marked a fulfillment of a goal deferred for my budding trail running “career.” It was that, but it…
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Digital vs paper: which is the best way to take notes?
For the last several years, I’ve had this internal debate about digital vs paper: which is the best way to take notes and keep records? For my video-loving friends, you can watch this content instead, here: Digital, of course, means keeping notes on an electronic device such as a phone or computer. Paper is self-explanatory.…
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My Goals as a Story: My 2023 Goal Story
“What the heck is a goal story?” you might be asking. As an example, this post will share my “goal story” with you. If you’d rather watch the video version of this, voila. Otherwise, please keep reading! But first, some context. I was scrolling to the bottom of my Google Drive to find a…
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2022 Year in Review
Do you do an end-of-year review to evaluate how you did against your goals (if you set them)? I do, and I am sharing them with you as a means to be transparent, learn from what transpired, and make an action plan to continue improving in 2023. Without further ado, my 2022 year in review.…
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A Tribute to Introverts on World Introvert Day
As a marketer, I constantly browse sites like National Day Calendar to develop marketing content themes. So imagine my surprise and delight when I, an introvert, learned that January 2nd is “World Introvert Day!” World Introvert Day? What kind of wonderfulness is this? It seemed like the perfect opportunity to write a short tribute to…