It’s hard to believe, but it’s true: We are all made of stardust.

If we all really believed that, why don’t we all shine brighter? Why are we afraid to sparkle?

It is our light, our talents, our gifts that often scare us the most, not our insecurities. God gave those gifts to us to use, not to hide under a bushel.

You are already special just by the nature of your being. You don’t have to prove your worth. You were born worthy. If your light is too much for others, don’t dim it. Don’t diminish you to fit in. Don’t waste your wattage on those who want to cower in the dark, too afraid of life to fully live it.

I have a mug on my desk that reminds me to Glow Up! I also keep a greeting card covered in stars with a quote from Walt Whitman: Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes.

Don’t just look at the stars; remember that you are one. Be human glitter. Shower joy confetti all over your life and never let anyone keep you from shining.

Question to ask myself:

What would my star name be?

Affirmation to repeat:

I am stardust and the Universe loves how I sparkle.

Action to take:

Dance under the stars and make a wish on the brightest one you see.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of STARS poster

28KB ∙ PDF file

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

I possess so many talents and gifts. These are the ones that scare me the most . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

Some days it seems like the whole world is spinning way too fast.

The to-do list is too many pages long. The calendar has no room for you. The pressure to do everything and to do it right is overwhelming. The needs of everyone else are crushing. You feel like it is up to you to steer everything and everyone else’s life in the right direction.

It’s time to hit the brakes before you crash. Just stop. That’s why cars have brakes: to keep them from crashing.

Use your brakes. Give yourself a time-out. Or a time to go inward.

For a few minutes, do nothing but breathe slowly. The world is still turning without you at the wheel. It’s not going to crash if you get out of the driver’s seat.

Right now, tell yourself, I don’t do stress. Not anymore.

Schedule a day off just for you. Even God rested on the seventh day. The more you schedule in rest, the smoother your life will flow.

When you stop, you give yourself the gift of time. You create a buffer, a gentle pillow of space between you and the world.

Question to ask:

What is one thing I can stop doing that will bring me the greatest peace?

Affirmation to repeat:

I am ready and willing to allow more peace to flow in.

Action to take:

List everything you do in one day. Then go over that list and delegate five things and delete six. You are a human being, not a human doing.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of STOP poster

217KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

There are so many ways to say No. I’m going to practice saying No to . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

Some people hate Pinktober, all those pink ribbons, shirts and merchandise created for breast cancer awareness.

Not me. Bring. It. On.

I’m grateful we have an entire month dedicated to breast cancer awareness. Awareness saves lives.

It saved mine.

Every day, more than 1,048 women in the United States are diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer death rates have dropped by 44% in the U.S. since 1985 due to early screening and better treatments. Still, about 42,140 women will die from breast cancer this year.

The pink ribbon campaign arrived in the early 90s. Back then I attended a health fair and saved a shower card reminder to do breast self exams. I saw that card in my shower every day and one day discovered a lump.

That awareness card saved my life, along with four surgeries, four rounds of chemo and six weeks of daily radiation.

I survived breast cancer at 41. I got to turn 70 this year. I never expected to grow old. My three aunts didn’t get to. Mary died at 42, Veronica at 44, Francie at 58.

There were no pink ribbons back in the 70s and 80s when they had cancer. Back then, cancer was whispered about, as if it were contagious. We didn’t talk about breast cancer, even though it was a killer. There were no races for the cure, no walks for the cure, no survivorship conferences.

Every day I celebrate being a survivor. Every day everything on my to-do list is a get to. I don’t have to do the laundry, I get to. I don’t have to go to my grandkids’ soccer games, I get to.

Some people say, I don’t want cancer to define me. That’s fine. Everyone gets to decide.

I love calling myself a survivor. I love wearing my pink camo hat. I love helping the next woman diagnosed.

I feel like a friggin warrior every day when I look in the mirror. Those V scars on my chest where my breasts used to be remind me I won the fight for my life. That picture of me bald in my wallet reminds me of what it took to live these 28 bonus years of life.

I constantly pester women to learn their family medical history, get an annual mammogram and do a breast self exam every month, which is how I found the lump in my breast at age 41. It turned out to be the size of a grape.

Cancer has been a serial killer in my family. It robbed my cousins of their parents. It robbed us all of their presence. The BRCA1 cancer gene I carry was passed onto me by my dad, who died of lung cancer. Cancer also killed his brothers Joe and John.

Last week I got to give the keynote address to survivors at the 14th Annual Breast Cancer Survivorship Conference at the Fawcett Center at The Ohio State University in Columbus.

What an honor and a joy.

I love surrounding myself with survivors. You get to call yourself one the day you are diagnosed. The room was packed with women grateful to be alive to savor everything that the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center offered them that helped turn them into survivors.

I loved everything on the table at Hope’s Boutique, the special bras, the prosthetic breasts, the wigs, the hats, the scarves, all the extras a survivor might need.

Do people make money off of the merchandise? Of course.

Do I wish more major companies that use the pink ribbon would donate more to fight breast cancer? Of course.

Do all those pink ribbons remind the world that women still need to be vigilant about breast cancer?

They sure do.

So display them loudly and proudly.

They just might save the life of someone you love.

Movies are so much better with music.

Music adds drama, humor, and hope. Music creates momentum that carries the plot along and magnifies that moment of triumph at the end.

If you had a soundtrack to the movie that is your life, what music would you pick?

I created a “Joy” playlist on Spotify that includes “Margaritaville,” “Girl on Fire,” “Shut Up and Dance,” “Red Solo Cup,” “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Surfin’ USA,” “Live Like You Were Dying,” “Fame,” “Walking on Sunshine,” “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” “Here for a Good Time,” and “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem.” All songs that make me smile and sing along.

Add a little more music to every day. Sing yourself to sleep. Listen to a childhood song. Crank up some opera in the shower and sing with it.

Learn one tune on the piano, ukulele, or harmonica. I taught myself Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and carry a harmonica in my car so I can play along when it comes on the radio.

Plato was right: “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”

Question to ask myself:

In what part of my day do I need to listen to music most of all?

Affirmation to repeat:

Music is a gift I deserve to give myself.

Action to take:

I will create a new playlist of joy and add more music to my life every day.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Music poster

501KB ∙ PDF file

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Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

If I were truly living my joy, these songs would play on the soundtrack to my life . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

Every woman has seen the list or carries one in her head:

Watch your drink. Park in a well-lit area. Don’t walk home alone. Carry a whistle. Wear shoes you can run in.

Men don’t have a list. They are the reason women carry one.

An anonymous Jane Doe recently filed a lawsuit claiming seven men raped her at a Cornell University fraternity house in 2024. A chat text thread to the entire fraternity allegedly shows guys were texted to join in. It’s believed that 57 members of Chi Pi were on that text thread.

It appears that 57 men did nothing to stop the assault.

Women across the country are outraged and have shared countless posts on social media about what men can do to prevent, stop or help someone who has been sexually assaulted.

Men, here are 57 options. Silence isn’t one of them.

1. Be a man women can trust.

2. Never slip a drug in her drink.

3. If you see something, say something to stop it.

4. If you see a woman at risk, don’t just be a bystander, be a protector.

5. Watch her drink. If you see anyone mess with it, dump it out and tell the woman, the bartender or the bouncer.

6. Offer to help her get home safely.

7. Be someone women can trust when they are most vulnerable.

8. Risk causing a scene to interrupt a sexual assault.

9. Risk social repercussions to prevent a rape.

10. Create a distraction. Spill a drink or bowl of chips “accidentally” on purpose.

11. Give the woman a chance to exit the situation safely.

12. De-escalate the situation. Announce loudly that it’s time to go outside, toss a football or move the party somewhere else.

13. Interrupt the abuse by being bolder than the abuser and yell, “Hey, get away from her! Stop that!”

14. Startle it to stop it. Turn on the lights. Clap your hands loudly.

15. Be blunt. Call it what it is. Loudly. “Stop assaulting her. That’s a crime.”

16. Risk being unpopular. If a guy tells you to “relax…go away…it’s none of your business…stop ruining the mood” protect her anyway.

17. Gather any friends willing to help you intervene. It’s easier to be stronger when you aren’t the only one speaking up.

18. Tell a bartender or bouncer.

19. Find a security guard, police officer or resident adviser.

20. Check in with her. Ask her privately, “Are you OK? Do you need help? Do you need to leave? Do you want me to stay with you? Is there somewhere safe to take you?”

21. Interrupt anyone cheering on the assault. Make yourself big and loud like you’re facing down a bear.

22. Hold your friends, teammates and other men accountable in locker rooms, dorm rooms and frat houses when they’re disrespectful to women.

23. Interrupt the conversation when they make women a punchline, a joke, a sex story passed around for laughs or on cellphones.

24. Stop protecting the bro code. Challenge your buddies to do better and to be better men.

25. Call out predatory behavior by your peers.

26. Educate yourself to understand what consent to sex is and isn’t.

27. If she is passed out, that means no. Stop.

28. If she is impaired by alcohol or drugs, that means no. Stop.

29. If she is asleep, that means no. Stop.

30. If she is unable to say yes, the answer is no. Stop.

31. If she hesitates and isn’t sure, it’s a no. Stop.

32. If you aren’t sure she said yes, it’s a no. Stop.

33. If she said yes at first but then says no, the answer is no. Stop.

34. Never pressure a woman to have sex.

35. Consent means there is no guesswork. If you aren’t sure, it’s a no.

36. Put an end to porn. No watching it. No sharing it. If someone sends you a photo or video of a woman in a sexually compromising position, delete it and do not share it.

37. Use the buddy system to stop a buddy. If he’s wasted and hanging all over a woman, get him away from her.

38. Bring backup. Gather your best buddies and create a crowd to stop it.

39. Intervene every time a bro makes crude comments about women. Three words: Dude, not cool.

40. Have the courage to look inward and get help if you are at all tempted to hurt or disrespect a woman.

41. If a woman is being sexually assaulted, get her away from the abuse, the room, the car, the house, safely.

42. If she needs covered, offer your hoodie, jacket, shirt.

43. If something already happened, stay with her until help arrives.

44. Call for help. If you aren’t sure who to call, 911 is always an option. Tell the dispatcher a sexual assault is happening and give the address.

45. Offer compassion.

46. Give her space to decide what to do next.

47. Gently remind her to save all the clothes she was wearing. To wait to shower, bathe or wash until she’s received medical help.

48. Protect any evidence. Don’t clean up the area or destroy any evidence.

49. Offer a ride to the hospital emergency room.

50. Offer to wait there as they collect evidence.

51. Offer to help her make a formal report.

52. If you believe she was drugged, tell the medical staff.

53. Keep her confidence. Her story is not yours to share. No texting. No photos. No video.

54. Be a trusted witness. Write down everything you saw and heard, save any text threads that might be needed in court. Hand it over to police to help her.

55. Believe her. If a woman confides in you, believe her.

56. Listen without judging, shaming or blaming her.

57. Encourage her to get help and call the National Sexual Assault Hotline for 24/7 help at 800-656-4673 (HOPE).

And if these 57 tips aren’t enough, find more tips athttps://rainn.org/

There’s a line from the musical Annie that I just love: “You’re never fully dressed without a smile.”

Too many of us forget to put one on, but it’s the most beautiful thing we can wear.

Sometimes I feel happy inside, but the joy hasn’t made its way to my face. I pass a mirror and see a woman hunched over, about to cave in on myself. No way, I remind myself. Then I flash a grin at that lady in the mirror to let her and life know I’m still in the game.

A smile communicates joy and love, comfort and calm. It’s the same in every language. A smile is an international message that says, “Bring on the joy!”

Smile bigger and brighter. Make it 100-watt.

Not feeling it? Then look in the mirror and ask, “Self, do you want to be happy? What is the payoff for being miserable?” Misery loves company, but I hear joy throws bigger parties. Leave your pity party and join a real party. It’s been said that you can choose to be happy or choose to be miserable. It takes the same amount of effort.

Start by smiling in the mirror. It’s your ticket to the party called Life.

Question to ask:

What can I smile about right now?

Action to take:

Smile your biggest smile every time you pass a mirror and high-five yourself.

Affirmation to repeat:

I am the face of God to someone every time I smile.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Smile Poster

110KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

The last time I smiled so much my face hurt . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

My friends constantly remind me that acceptance is the answer to everything.

My job is to love what is, just as it is. It’s not easy when life doesn’t go my way. But I’m learning that my way isn’t often what’s best for me or for those I love.

Life doesn’t happen to me; it just happens. I need to stop taking it personally. It’s not raining because I planned an outdoor birthday party. It’s raining because the clouds needed to release all that moisture.

The key to happiness is to live life on life’s terms, not on my terms.

I don’t always get what I want, and that’s often a good thing. Life gives me something bigger and better and deeper and much more interesting than what I would have chosen.

Acceptance isn’t easy. Sometimes it’s hardest to accept and love ourselves as is. That’s the place to start. God doesn’t ask us to create a “new and improved” version of us. We were already made perfect.

Acceptance means we simply say, “Thank You for what is.” No matter what is.

Question to ask:

What would change my life for the better today if I just accepted it and stopped arm wrestling it?

Affirmation to repeat:

I accept and love living life exactly the way life unfolds today.

Action to take:

I will practice saying thank you every day for what is without judging it.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Acceptance poster

167KB ∙ PDF file

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Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

To live a joyful life of radical acceptance, I am willing to give up . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

Dear Jane Doe,

Thank you.

Thank you for speaking up.

Thank you for filing the lawsuit.

Thank you for not backing down.

Thank you for speaking up for every women whose rape was shut in a closet never to see the light of day or a court of law.

Please know that you are not alone. We see you. We hear you. We believe you. We support you. We are you.

Even though we don’t know you, we are you.

Countless of us, women sexually assaulted and left conflicted and confused about what happened to us and our bodies and what to do about it.

You were outnumbered in that fraternity house.

You are no longer outnumbered.

Women hold up half of the world. We are here to hold up your world.

You were outnumbered by those men.

Now they are outnumbered by us.

We believe you.

To you and to all the girls and teenagers and women who have been sexually assaulted:

Be gentle with the girl you were and are, the teenager you were and are, the woman you were and are. At whatever age or ages you were sexually assaulted, love the person you were. Stand by her side even if it feels like you are standing alone.

You are no longer alone.

A French survivor set me free from the shame I carried for decades. At 17, a high school football player raped me. At 21, a college basketball player raped me. It took decades for me to realize that was their shame, not mine. I wasn’t outnumbered. I was outweighed. At first by them, and then by shame.

Gisèle Pelicot set me free of shame. She survived rape and endless assaults by her husband who drugged her then invited 50 men to rape her over a decade. The French woman took a battering ram to the shame women have felt for centuries when she went public and announced to the world:

Shame Must Change Sides.

Shame is now on their side.

We are on yours.

Shame lies.

Shame tells women we are imperfect victims of rape because we drank or did drugs or flirted or agreed to some level of intimacy that changed into being powerless over them.

Shame tells us to pretend it didn’t happen or it wasn’t that bad or that we wanted it to happen.

Shame tells us to stay silent. To tell no one. To minimize it. To edit our stories because we don’t want to hurt him or them.

Shame tells us to laugh it off. To joke about it.

Shame tells us we should have stopped it. That we could have stopped it. That it was somehow our fault. That we let them.

Shame tells us we encouraged it by the way we dressed or moved or drank or flirted.

That shame is all theirs. ALL OF IT.

Shame Must Change Sides.

You are making the shame change sides.

For you and for all of us

Jane Doe, I am so sorry those men hurt you.

I am so grateful you won’t let them hurt anyone else.

By telling your story, you are setting countless women free to tell their stories. To finally be heard. To finally be free.

You are brave. You are bold. You are believed.

We are here for you. Cheering for you. Angry for you. Sad for you. Praying for you.

You were outnumbered then.

You aren’t now.

With love and gratitude,

Your army of believers

Look in the mirror. What do you see?

Fat? Freckles? Flab? Wrinkles? Moles? Scars? Stretch marks? Age spots?

Those aren’t flaws; those are beauty marks. All of them.

Take a deep breath and take them all in. See yourself with new eyes.

What if we saw ourselves the way our Creator saw us? As an original masterpiece. As a being of infinite beauty. An earthly vessel for pure grace. The essence and embodiment of the deepest love in human form.

It’s hard to do that when you start judging your body every morning and go on a scavenger hunt looking for flaws.

As I aged, the brown spots on the back of my hands grew. I tried to cover them up with makeup. I decided to make peace with them. I call my age spots constellations. Those giant brown spots all over the back of my hands are clusters of stars. Look, there’s Orion! And Pegasus!

They say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” so make sure it’s in your eyes when you gaze at yourself because you are a beauty to behold.

Question to ask myself:

What is my most beautiful quality?

Affirmation to repeat:

I am ready and willing to love all of me because I am a masterpiece, an original, one-of-a-kind, priceless work of art.

Action to take:

Get naked and bless your body. Make peace with every sacred inch of it. Pause and thank all those beauty marks you earned from a life well lived.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Beauty Poster

110KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

I forgive myself for neglecting & punishing my body. I will love my body better by . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

It’s official y’all.

September 25, also known as 9-2-5, is Dolly Day and will be forever more.

The Queen of Country died August 25, a year after the love of her life died. She was 80.

The country went into mourning. We lowered flags, watched TV tributes and created playlists to honor our Smoky Mountain songbird, our unlikely angel, our backwoods Barbie.

Sept. 25 is a national celebration, a day to spread kindness, joy and positivity. A day to dust off the cowboys boots, fluff up your blonde wig and paint your nails pink. Here are ten ways to celebrate:

1. Dress like Dolly.

“I look just like the girls next door…if you happen to live next door to an amusement park,” Dolly said.

Get dolled up. Dust off your cowboy boots. Fluff your big wig. Dolly owned enough clothes to fill a department store. Wear your most outlandish outfit, complete with sequins, blonde wig and long nails if you have them.

Don’t worry about what others think. As Dolly laughed, “It costs a lot to look this cheap.”

2. Watch 9 to 5.

Listen to the beginning of that song. That’s no typewriter, those are Dolly’s fingernails tapping out the rhythm. Sip some pink lemonade. Hang up a disco ball and dance around the room in cowboy boots or your highest heels. Prance around in rhinestones and ruffles.

3. Blast her music from 9 to 5 p.m.

Make it Dolly Day all day long. Add these to your playlist: Jolene, Coat of Many Colors, I Will Always Love You, Light of a Clear Blue Morning, Here You Come Again, and of course, 9 to 5.

4. Donate like Dolly.

Give to the Dollywood Foundation. She created it in 1988 to inspire kids in her home county to decrease the dropout rate. Give to her Imagination Library so every child under 5 can get a free book every month.

5. Be kinder than necessary.

Be kind to the person who needs it most. Could be a stranger or family. Dolly showed us we’re all family. She celebrated everyone and said, “I’ve got transgender people. I’ve got gays. I’ve got lesbians. I’ve got drunks. I’ve got drug addicts – all within my own family. I know and love them all, and I do not judge.”

6. Speak up for yourself.

“If you don’t take the reins, it’s going to stay the same. Nothin’s gonna change if you don’t change it,” she told us.

Ask for a raise. Ask for better work conditions. Ask for a title that fits all the work you do. Ask for help. If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

7. Sing every chance you get.

Sing in the shower. Sing in the car. Sing in a microphone. Use your voice for joy. If you sing offkey, sing even louder.

8. Love louder.

Tell the person who needs it most in your life, I will always love you.

Then go love them better. Including you. Love yourself better. When people called Dolly a dumb blonde, the laugh was on them. She told us, “I’m not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I’m not dumb…and I also know that I’m not blonde.”

9. Look for the good.

“I always look for the good in everybody and the God in everybody. I play to that…I just love people,” she said. “I love the difference in people. I love getting to know people. I appreciate getting accepted myself, because I know I’m unusual. And I love the unusual in other people.”

If you look for the good, you’ll find it.

10. Shine.

It’s not one of her most famous songs, but it’s part of the legacy of kindness she left us and a message the world needs most right now:

Shine on

The darkest night can be made light
By one bright word or smile
If we’d put on our neighbor’s shoes
And choose to walk a mile
God gave us all our own free will
To choose the paths we take
No greater deed could e’er be done
Than for another’s sake

Shine on, shine on, for all to see
God’s light inside your soul
Shine on, shine on, let love flow free
Warm others in its glow
Shine on, shine on, shine on
So hide it not or it will fade
Shine on, shine on, shine on
Shine on, shine on, shine on

The greatest gift, the gift of life
The gift of love divine
God gave us all a special gift
He meant for it to shine
He meant for it to shine.

Courage is defined as having mental or moral strength in the face of fear, grief, sadness, or pain.

I like this definition better: Courage is when you’re the only one who knows you’re afraid.

Some days I still feel like such a coward, but I no longer let fear stop me from writing or speaking up or living my most vibrant life.

If you want to have more courage, stretch your courage vocal cords by speaking up for someone else this week.

If you need to, pound your chest like a gorilla and, as Walt Whitman said, sound your “barbaric yawp,” then go conquer the world, or at least your corner of it.

If you struggle with finding the energy or willpower to get out of bed and face another day, just count down like Mel Robbins does using her five-second launch into life: five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . UP!

Just get up, dress up, and show up. And never give up.

Question to ask myself:

What fear am I willing to surrender this week?

Affirmation to repeat:

I have all the courage I need right now to face everything in front of me.

Action to take:

I will give fear an expiration date this week and write it out on a card to help me stop being afraid.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Courage Poster

36.3KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

If I released forever all the fears that keep me stuck, this is how I would soar . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

It’s easy to believe when you have proof, but that isn’t faith.

It’s easy to believe when everything is going the way you want it to, but that isn’t faith.

Faith is believing without proof, without any evidence at all, without any concrete clues that all is as it should be.

Faith also means waiting. I love what a friend recently told me: “God might not be early, but God is never late.” If you trust God, then trust God’s timing, which is almost always way past the point when we want things to change.

And if you can’t trust the God you have, get a bigger, better God, one who loves you to the moon and back, like mine does.

It’s hard to have faith in a God whose job description includes sending hellfire and brimstone. It’s a lot easier to have faith in a God whose very identity is Love.

If you don’t have that kind of God, borrow mine.

Question to ask myself:

What kind of God do I believe in?

Affirmation to repeat:

Today, I choose faith, a faith that makes me fearless.

Action to take:

I will write down three people who can give my faith a boost of rocket fuel and make plans this week to connect with them.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Faith Poster

38.3KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

Here’s what it would it take to turn my life and will over to the care of a Higher Power . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

If you’re like me, you still feel like a kid at night. I rarely want to go to bed, even when I’m tired. I don’t want to miss anything.

Instead, I miss out on precious sleep. I end up staying up long past the point of exhaustion some nights. I’m trying to see tucking myself in early as a gift to myself, to my body, and to my soul.

Sleep is vital to the health of your brain. You wouldn’t leave your phone battery to drain or your computer unplugged and expect it to work. You wouldn’t drive your car on empty, yet I drive the car that is my body on empty way too often.

Sleep is also the place where we aren’t resisting the inner calling that we shush while we’re awake. Angels whisper in our ears all day, but we’re too busy or our mind is too noisy to hear.

At night, it’s our time to listen and be led to higher ground. Tonight, close your eyes and keep your ears open to hear the whispers of angels.

Question to ask myself:

What is keeping me from getting a good night’s sleep every night?

Affirmation to repeat:

I give my body and soul the gift of rest to renew every part of me.

Action to take:

I will give myself an extra 15 minutes of sleep every day this week.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Sleep poster

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

If I were an angel, here’s what would I whisper into my own ears as I fell asleep . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

When we were little and got bored, we would walk through the house holding a small mirror pointed to the ceiling, which to us seemed like a brand-new world.

It felt like we were walking on a different planet, stepping over invisible steps that were really the doorways above us. We just wanted our boring old house to feel exciting and new. We never moved from that address, but every time we walked around with that mirror, our perception of our home shifted and surprised us.

Let life surprise you. There isn’t a day when the world isn’t brand new. The same goes for you. Every day you wake up, greet the world as if you’ve never been in this body on this planet in this home.

When you wake up, see everything with new eyes, hear with new ears, taste with new buds as if you just arrived on Earth. Be a pioneer.

Be in awe of every rock and leaf and bug, just like a child.

It’s time to rediscover the world and see it through the eyes of awe.

Question to ask myself:

What would it take to trust life to surprise me with awe?

Affirmation to repeat:

I experience awe every time I am willing to open my eyes and heart to it.

Action to take:

For one hour, pretend you just arrived on Earth and explore everything as if you’ve never seen, heard, touched, or tasted it.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of AWE poster

244KB ∙ PDF file

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

If I stuffed my eyes with wonder, I would see . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

Don’t postpone joy.

The Bible says that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

It also says that God will turn our mourning into dancing.

God wants us to experience joy. To know a new freedom and a new happiness, to experience a new sense of inner freedom that leads us to more joy.

I used to have a bogeyman God who scared me. His main goal was to make demands of me and punish me now and at the end of my life with hellfire.

Not anymore. Every day, as the psalmist wrote, “I come to the altar of God, the God of my joy.”

I decided to make a promise, a vow to myself, to choose joy. Every day I go looking for it. Joy isn’t just something that happens to you; it’s a stance you take in life.

Decide to live on the joyful side of life.

The poet Mary Oliver taught me that joy is not a crumb. It’s the whole cake—à la mode.

Question to ask myself:

Who are the most joyful people in my life today, and what keeps me from spending more time with them?

Affirmation to repeat:

God wants me to be happy now. Joy is my birthright.

Action to take:

Take a video of yourself or a selfie and smile your most joyous smile.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Choose To Make Today A Joyride (4)

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

If I saw my life as one big joyride with a full tank of freedom, here’s where my life would take me . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

It’s embarrassing to admit, but Barbie challenged me to shine brighter.

Yes, the movie named after America’s favorite doll turned up the wattage of my life.

My two granddaughters played one of the songs from a Barbie movie and, as they sang along, the end of the song stuck with me. The lyrics address those fears we all have about standing out too much, about backing down too often out of fear, about how we will feel if we stand up and stand out and people turn away when they see who we really are.

What if we lose our courage? Our very breath? What if our moment to walk on stage happens and when the curtain is pulled back, we trip? We fall? We fail?

The song asks: “Or tonight, just tonight, what if I shine?”

What would happen if you did shine? The entire world would glow a little brighter.

It doesn’t even take that much effort. The stars never complain that there’s no room to shine or that it’s too dark or too cold or that the moon is hogging the spotlight. They just shine.

Try it. Be your brightest self and surprise everyone, even you.

Question to ask myself:

What would it feel like to truly shine my light?

Affirmation to repeat:

I am stardust. I was made to shine.

Action to take:

Stand in a sunbeam of light. Spend five minutes feeling the warmth of the sun to refill your tank of stardust so you can shine brighter today.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of SHINE poster)

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

This is what keeps me from shining my light on the world . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

A little Amish guy I met 40 years ago used to ask himself at the end of each day, “How grateful am I?”

Mose Yoder taught me to pray for a “grateful, humble heart.”

He also taught me that when you feel gratitude, you won’t feel sad or lonely or envious. You feel whole and satisfied and at peace.

My friend Kathy taught me way back in 1980 to write down three things every day that I was grateful for to build up gratitude muscles.

At the end of each day, I write down the gifts life gives me. Moments of grace, things I didn’t earn and don’t deserve, those unexpected smiles from God that land on your heart.

Take a moment and list the everyday saints in your life: those people who make you feel grateful just knowing they are in this world. It could be famous people or strangers in your life, the cab driver who makes you smile, the security guard who makes you feel safe, or that heavenly host of others who have passed on, whose love still fills your heart with gratitude.

Question to ask myself:

What would it feel like to be grateful for it all?

Affirmation to repeat:

No matter what happens or doesn’t happen today, I am grateful for this great abundant life.

Action to take:

Find three people you are grateful for and thank them in person for the gift of their being in your life.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Download it…

Copy of Copy of Tell a new story and set yourself free - Regina (16).pdf

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

If I scanned my life for what I’m most grateful for, my Top Ten List would include . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

Two note cards inspire me every day.

One is a small card I keep near my computer that defines the word inspire this way:

To affect, guide, or arouse by divine influence.

To fill with enlivening or exalting emotion.

To stimulate to action, motivate; to affect or touch.

Then there’s the Steve Jobs quote in my medicine closet that I read every single morning when I reach for my toothbrush: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today?”

I pause to make sure my answer is Yes! before I start my day.

Both cards remind me not to get caught up in petty gossip or grudges or complaints. I’m here to complete a sacred mission.

So are you.

To be inspired is to be in spirit, to be one with. It comes from the Latin word inspirare, to blow into, to breathe life into.

Today, breathe some life into your life. Be inspired to live a life from your spirit.

Question to ask myself:

What is my heroic mission on Earth today?

Affirmation to repeat:

Today I will make something possible.

Action to take:

Find a vacant lot or field and stand under the stars and scream your holy Yes! to the Universe so loudly that the stars hear you.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of INSPIRE

141KB ∙ PDF file

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

Here’s what it would look like to truly live the holy assignment I’ve been given on Earth…

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina

The news hit hard.

Glen Hansard, the Irish troubadour and voice for the broken and broken hearted died in a motorcycle accident on July 29 in Dublin.

He was 56.

He left behind a wife, a 3-year-old son and five million broken hearts.

Ireland is in mourning, from Dublin to Donegal, from Sligo to Skibbereen and every town in between.

The day the news broke, I wept watching him star and sing in Once, the movie that took 19 days and a lifetime of sorrow to shoot. What a gentle, tender voice, yet so powerful. Those words, “Take this sinking boat and point it home…” felt like a eulogy of sorts.

His career started when he was living in the projects near Dublin in Ballymun, 45 kids to a classroom, struggling in school that had low expectations for kids like him. One teacher saw the light in his soul and fed the flames.

Teacher Frankie Burns told him, "Leave school today, go home, get your guitar... go into town, and start playing music now."

Glen never stopped.

He was 14 when he started as a street busker on Grafton Street in Dublin. He ended up the leading the influential Irish rock band The Frames. He gained world wide fame when he and Markéta Irglová won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for “Falling Slowly” from the low-budget hit movie Once.

Here’s what he said in his acceptance speech:

“Thanks! Go raibh míle, míle, maith agat. This is amazing. What are we doing here? This is mad. We made this film two years ago. We shot it on two Handycams. It took us three weeks to make. We made it for a hundred grand. We never thought we'd ever come into a room like this and be in front of you people. It's been an amazing thing. And thanks for taking this film seriously, all of you. It means a lot to us. Thanks to the Academy. Thanks to all the people who've helped us. They know who they are, we don't need to say them. This is amazing. Make art! Make art! Thanks.”

Make art! Make art! Please do.

His life was a work of art built on a pillar of empathy and love for every talented busker with an open guitar case, like the musicians above that I met in Galway.

Glen organized Christmas Eve busking events. He made you want to be a better person. Not a richer one. Not a famous one. A more loving person. A kinder human.

This tribute by U2 frontman Bono captured his soul and our loss:

“Sometimes I would wonder if Glen Hansard really existed…Seriously, he was such an angelic presence… not otherworldly…in fact, very present this presence…

A smiling rascal if you needed him to be… this most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun… no airs, plenty of graces...

Of course, Glen was the shining star of the Christmas Eve busk… sometimes the only one reminding the rest of us that Christmas began with a refugee born in a manger, which is hardly a step from living on the street.

To be utterly yourself by being more interested in others - a clue for any of us trying out different persons. He really was who you thought he was. He could never walk by a person living rough without checking they were OK…and more than that, he worked very hard so that less people had to live on the streets in the first place.

When the crowds got bigger and for safety’s sake Glen had to agree to move the busk to a stage kindly provided outside The Gaiety Theatre, he would say ‘we’ll give it our best but it’s not really a busk if we’re not on the street!’…because that’s who he was- a performer at eye level in any situation. The stage was a separation he wouldn’t recognize. Of all the grand and gigantic venues he and The Frames played, you sensed the street was his most favoured place to perform. And street people, his favorite audience.

Voice of the streets. A choir of angels in one man. The rest of us blessed to stand there beside our very own and very earthed Angel Gabriel…All of us welcome in his choir, whatever shape or form.

…and I’m telling myself this morning that if he never existed, then he can never cease to exist. For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning in an open guitar case.

May you rest in the peace you gave to so many.” - Bono

Sit down at a piano and bang on the keys. That’s noise. Now hit the notes and pause between them. That’s music.

The music of your life needs more pauses.

My friends in recovery taught me the power of the pause with these words from their book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions: “In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say, ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.’”

Who doesn’t need a bit more calm and stillness? I know I do. I love those simple words from Psalm 46:10 that read “Be still and know that I am God.” I once saw a sign break it down: Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be.

Too often I find myself reacting to life instead of responding to it. My friends remind me often to pause, pray, then proceed.

Many days a little tug on my heart tells me to pause, place my hand on my heart, and remember there is one who has all power, and it isn’t me.

What a relief.

Question to ask myself:

Where do I need to slow down in my day and hit the pause button?

Affirmation to repeat:

Every time I pause, peace enters my life.

Action to take:

I will create moments to pause through the day to check in with myself and get calm. I will set a timer on my phone to pause at least three times today.

Inspirational poster to print:

Here’s the link to download the poster:

Copy Of Pause poster

155KB ∙ PDF file

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Finally, here’s a writing prompt to explore your heart and soul:

Here is my permission slip to silence the noise in my life . . .

Each Word Of the Week has the power to put more WOW into your life. Please share in the comments a bit of what you discovered from the writing prompt.

I hope you enjoy my book 52 Words That Will Change Your Life … One Week at a Time.

All the best,

- Regina