Happily Ever After

Sometimes knowing how the story ends helps you deal with the chapters that are uncomfortable, unwanted, and unpredictable.

Today marks two years from the crash.  The crash that left a mark on who we are, how we think, how we behave, who we surround ourselves with and most importantly how we will move forward.

Today, even two years later, I still have to manage my thoughts as I walk through my days. I’m still growing through this season that never ends. I’ve learned so much, and I’ve changed so much. I’ve learned… (more…)

Great recovery Jeri! Those were the judge’s words written on my daughter’s speech evaluation from her FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) competition last week.

Jeri knew she messed up part of her speech, but nothing delighted me more than hearing from the judge that she recovered well! Jeri is already learning that how we recover from a pitfall is often more important than the pitfall itself.

How much of what we do every day in our personal and professional life requires recovering? (more…)

Do you have an event or accomplishment that has marked you? Marks define us. Marks of accomplishments, development, tragedy and adversity. Today’s guest post is written by my daughter, Jeri Sasser. She is a senior in high school and wrote the following essay in response to a question asked as part of her college admission requirements. I gleaned so much from it that I thought you would too.

Question: Describe an event or accomplishment that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community or family.

My transition from childhood to adulthood within my family occurred recently with the sudden loss of my older brother, Hank Sasser. My brother has been the cornerstone of my family and made me who I am today. His name was my very first word; he was my best friend and my safe haven. Hank was always there for me, regardless of the circumstances. When things in my life became difficult, he would cheer me up with an impromptu visit or a bouquet of flowers with a note reassuring me of how much he loved me. My brother is the reason I grew up. (more…)

A couple weeks ago I was interviewed by Working Motherhood, and our interview went live this past week. I have to admit I was nervous as I prepared for this conversation. I was going to open up and discuss being a mother and business woman, a topic that I’ve always loved to talk about and have a lot of experience in. However, I knew the interviewer’s questions would demanded answers that were so different from my past answers!

The simplest question, “Tell us about your children?” broke me out into a cold sweat. (more…)

How do we secure contentment? Is being content a goal? Is it a destination, or is it our journey? Don’t we all want to be content? Is contentment a reaction to good things happening in our lives, and if so, can we be discontent when bad things happen?

As a woman of faith I know that my Heavenly Father desires me to be “content in all circumstances.” Yes, even the bad. Ok, wait. Really? How can we possibly expect to be content during tragedy?

Well, we can. You see, being content doesn’t mean we are satisfied. Being content means we are uncomplainingly accepting on the inside when things on the outside demand otherwise. (more…)

Adversity… the space where God does amazing things in and through us. It’s motivating to me that the word “adversity” starts with “ad.” It makes me realize that when adversity hits us we become an ad, an advertisement, a commercial. What message are we sending when adversity hits us? Are we advertising something others will want to read, want to follow or want to buy into? Or is our message driving others away?

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Is there something you want? Give it away. I’m realizing that we are made up of what we give away. We receive from others what we give to others. Yet, sometimes giving away the very thing we want is so very hard to do! If I don’t have it, how can I give it away? Well, you can.

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This week I had so many valuable moments of learning that I thought I’d just be simple and share them with you. How you interpret them is up to you and for you. I hope you are encouraged.

Be aware of where you are looking. Hope is always in front. We’ll never find it behind us.

Stop looking and chasing so hard for things in life to happen. Sometimes what we chase runs away: peace, success, relationships. Do what you know is right, and let life come toward you.

Be aware of what and who influences you. If you need to be uplifted, then read and participate in uplifting things. (more…)

Recalibrating your life is not quite as easy as our GPS makes it. Throughout life there will be times when we have to recalibrate because something unexpected happens. Maybe it’s a new career, a new home, a new city, a new car, a new relationship, a new baby added to the family, or the loss of a child.

With the recent loss of our son, Hank, my family and I are in the process of keeping it going. We are trying to create our “new normal.” Sounds kinda weird because I’ve never viewed normal as a desired place to strive for. But a new normal is what we seek, and I’ve come to realize it won’t happen until we welcome a new beginning. Here are just a few of the things we can expect to encounter in the process. (more…)

In an effort to “keep it going,” we will resume blogging on leadership this week, and what better topic to start off with than Keep it Going?!

But what does that mean, keep it going? Keep what going? With our loss still fresh in our world, here are my top 10 leader lessons that are helping me keep it going.

  1. Keep moving forward. While situations and challenges harm the path you originally planned to take, it doesn’t mean you stop.
  2. Consider any movement good progress. When faced with challenges, just keep moving. Don’t try to cure it, fix it, or heal it. These things will someday be the result of your steadiness in keeping it going. (more…)