Inspire

July 17, 2023 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

It’s Time to Get Creative, Mom.

As a writer, I know all about creativity. I know how essential it is to be creative. I know how fun it can be. I also know what it’s like to be at a loss for creativity. Even as a mom, creativity is important. Combine the needed creativity for being both a mom and a writer . . . well, it’s tough to come by.

When there are people and paperwork and piles to manage…
When I look around my house and see the walls that need to be painted and the cupboards that should be organized…
When my inbox is cluttered with notes I need to answer about work stuff and volunteer stuff…
When output is more than input…
…my creativity well often runs dry.

What can you do when you need an extra “spark” of inspiration?

Here are a few things I do.

Call a funny friend.

Sit outside. Breathe in fresh air.

Listen to birds sing. Watch busy ants.

Open a book of poetry or rent an audio book of poetry from the library. Absorb the symbolism and fresh word combinations.

Open a cookbook to a random page, then go shopping for the needed ingredients. (And then cook it!)

Go to YouTube.com and watch old dance numbers like this one.

Visit Etsy and take their taste test. This is one of my favorites. I love the fresh colors, textures, and ideas.

Play with Visuwords. Follow word trails and see where they lead you.

Have a visual feast on iStock Photo. (It’s also a great place for gathering inspiration for novel settings and characters or blog ideas.)

Pray and thank God for His creativity. Thank Him for your favorite places, people, tastes, and the beauty of nature.

Read your favorite Bible verses in a translation or paragraph you normally don’t read. Here is my favorite Bible verse in The Message (Zephaniah 3:17): “Don’t be afraid. Dear Zion, don’t despair. Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he’ll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs.”

Write a greeting card verse and e-mail it to a special person. Or better yet, browse creative sites (like MarthaStewart.com) for card ideas and make your own.

Sometimes what we need is simply a break in our day from the mundane tasks of life.

These tips are perfect for breaking up a routine. Who knows? You might end up inspired to finish writing that blog or to tackle that inbox.

Prayer

God, thank you for being the source of all creativity. Allow today to be inspired with fresh ideas and new creativity.

Looking for More Ways to Get Creative?

Check out my book Balanced: Finding Center as a Work-at-Home Mom!

More Resources

A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas by Warren Berger

Creativity by Matthew Fox

Creative Block: Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas. Advice & Projects from 50 Successful Artists by Danielle Krysa

Creativity Workout: 62 Exercises to Unlock Your Most Creative Ideas by Edward De Bono

August 3, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 1 Comment

Women Who Inspire 2013

I was honored to be named as one of Hope for Women’s Women Who Inspire this year! Be sure to stop by their website and browse through the slides of other women who inspire (many of whom I’d have on my own list if I had to choose!). You can see my slide here.

Are you new here? You might want to subscribe to my email updates, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+, or Instagram.

July 8, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 13 Comments

Podcast: Living Inspired: Good Morning Girls and Tracey Mitchell

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

This week on Living Inspired I’m excited to be chatting with the Good Morning Girls, Angela Perritt and Courtney Joseph as well as Tracey Mitchell renowned speaker and author of new book Downside Up: Transform Rejection into Your Golden Opportunity (Thomas Nelson, 2013). Good Morning Girls’ goal is to inspire, encourage and equip women all over the world to get into God’s Word. A harsh reality of life is that it’s not always enjoyable. Everyone has experienced rejection in the form of harsh words, unreciprocated love, loss, or betrayal. Most people perceive rejection as a negative occurrence when, in reality, rejection can be one of the most powerful tools in life. “In my travels around the world, I have experienced the extraordinary pleasure of meeting men and women from almost every walk of life,” notes author and speaker Tracey Mitchell. “What continues to amaze me is not the cultural differences that divide us but rather the common thread of heartache uniting us. Pain does not discriminate, and it impacts the young, old, rich, poor, successful, attractive, and educated alike.” For 30 years Mitchell allowed rejection to consume her emotions until she had the “aha” moment when she realized that while rejection couldn’t be avoided, it could be worked to her advantage.

Sign up below for your chance to win a copy of Tracey’s book Downside Up. Check back here on Friday, July 12th to see who won!

**Due to shipping cost, giveaway open to US only**

More about Angela, Courtney, and The Good Morning Girls: Angela is the wife to her high school sweetheart and mom to her 3 adorable little girls. Some of Angela’s favorite things in life are dancing with her daughters, laughing with her husband and loving her Lord with the amazing life He has given her. You can find Angela at GoodMorningGirls.org where she blogs with her good friend Courtney. Together they encourage women to be in God’s Word on a daily basis through tech accountability groups. Angela’s goal in life is to inspire her children and others to love God greatly with their lives one day at a time. Courtney blogs at WomenLivingWell.org on the topics of faith, marriage, parenting, and homemaking. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 14 years. She homeschools her son and daughter and is a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute. In November 2009, she was featured on the Rachael Ray show on the topic of marriage. Her passion to see women live well inspired her in 2010 to start a second blog called GoodMorningGirls.org. There women gather together to dig into their Bibles daily through tech accountability groups. She tweets as WomenLivingWell and can be followed on Facebook at Women Living Well. Good Morning Girls exists to inspire, encourage and equip women all over the world to get into God’s Word. Simple as that! Our prayer is that GMG will:… INSPIRE women to make God’s Word a priority in their daily lives.

… ENCOURAGE women in their daily walks with God through online accountability.

… EQUIP women to grow in their faith, so that they can effectively reach those in their own spheres of influence for Christ.

We believe God’s Word is powerful, effective and relevant in daily living. Because of that, we have a passion to make disciples… women who put God’s Word into action in their lives!

Learn more at http://www.goodmorninggirls.org

More about Tracey: As one of the nation’s leading conference speakers, Tracey Mitchell travels 40+ weeks a year sharing biblical principles and wisdom with diverse audiences throughout America. Tracey’s real life experiences – though painful and challenging have enabled her to identify with the hurting, lonely, and rejected. Whether speaking to men, women, corporate CEOs, or the homeless, Tracey’s love and passion for rewriting the lives of the brokenhearted make her messages relevant and empowering. Follow her on Twitter at @traceymitchell1.

More about Downside Up: A harsh reality of life is that it’s not always enjoyable. Everyone has experienced rejection. Whether in the form of hash words, unreciprocated love, loss or betrayal. Most people perceive rejection as a negative occurrence, when, in reality, rejection can be one of the most powerful tools in life.

Downside Up contains step-by-step guides, resources, and inter-active pages necessary to restore lost identity and transform dreams into reality. Downside Up offers wisdom, guidance, and personal application while also outlining and establishing key biblical principles that promote emotional and mental wellness. Readers will:

Understand the importance of developing a positive and God-designed self-portrait
Identify their life’s purpose and maximize their potential for success
Discover the value of godly mentors and other positive relationships
Overcome negative thoughts, fear, and lack of self-confidence

Rejection is not about experiencing loss. It is an asset for fulfilling your dreams.

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July 8, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 8 Comments

Conversation Starters for Dinner Parties

On a recent trip to California I was blessed to go out to dinner with my friend and co-author Ken Blanchard, his wife Margie, Phyllis Hendry (the CEO of Lead Like Jesus Ministries), and two other couples. One of the thing I love about Ken is that he’s intentional about everything, even dinner conversation.

I’ve been to many dinners, and I find that I usually spend time talking to the person next to me, and I don’t really getting to know the rest of the people. Yet, this dinner was different. As soon as our drinks were ordered Ken asked Margie to get out the discussion cards.

The rules were that we’d go around the table and everyone would pull a card and answer it. There were questions like:

What two political subjects are you most passionate about? and What is your greatest weakness?

I was amazed how deeply and passionately the questions were answered. I clearly remember one of the men—a very successful CEO—sharing about his struggle with turning over control to God. I was touched.

We answered a few rounds of questions as dinner was being served, and then just when I thought things were winding down, Ken asked one last, great question that everyone had to answer:

What are you most excited at this point in your life?

It was fun to hear what everyone was excited about. One woman was excited because some international students she’d been mentoring had recently graduated. Another woman (in her seventies) was excited about the French lessons and art classes she was taking.

I walked away from that dinner party feeling refreshed and inspired. I felt as if I’d made new friends, and I saw my own life in a new way. I realized I could be more intentional about connecting with others, and I’d be given great gifts of understanding others’ hearts.

Next time you invite friends over, consider being more intentional about sharing insightful conversation, rather than just making small talk <click to tweet>. People love to open up and share what really excites them. They are often happy to share what how God is working in their lives. It’s up to us to let them know we do want to hear it, we do care. And when you taken time to listen, you never know how you’ll be changed.

Discussion Starters for Dinner Parties <click to tweet>

Do you have a life calling?
What’s your best organizational tip?
How do you decide what your priorities are?
What is something unexpected that has happened to you in the last year?
What are you most excited about today?

Going Deeper
I also found these cards that I recently ordered. I can’t wait to use them!

Finally, what is your favorite dinnertime discussion question?

July 1, 2013 by Tricia Goyer 17 Comments

This Week on Living Inspired: Charlene Quint Kalebic and Babbie Mason

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

This week on Living Inspired I’m thrilled to be chatting with Charlene Quint Kalebic author of Angels of Ebermannstadt (Deep River Books, 2012). This week we will also have a special encore show from Babbie Mason.

Sign up below for your chance to win one in ten copies of Angels of Ebermannstadt. Winners will be announced Monday, July 8th!

More about Charlene: Charlene is a wife, mother, and practicing attorney, residing in Lake Forest, IL. She holds a B.A. summa cum laude, accounting and business administration, from Augustana College and a J.D. magna cum laude from Loyola University of Chicago. She serves on the Board of Regents and as an adjunct professor at Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois.

More about Angels of Ebermamstadt: When she turned forty, Charlene Kalebic realized that her life was half-lived and that the sun was setting on the lives of her parents, both in their 80’s. Before time ran out, she had a strong desire to understand her father’s formative years while serving in World War II as a GI. Like most men of his generation, he rarely spoke of the war; he simply referred to it as “The Big One.” Her father had enlisted at the age of 17, and Charlene knew there must be something from that chapter of his life that made him the person he was today. The 60th anniversary of D-Day (June 6, 1944), provided the perfect opportunity to know more about those unknown years. Hoping to discover what had formed his amazing character, she asked her father to go to Europe for the anniversary and act as her tour guide. It took only a nanosecond for him to agree. Charlene found herself on a journey of discovery into her father’s past, retracing his footsteps from London through Normandy to Berlin during WWII. It was there that Charlene relived her father’s faith in action—kindnesses shown, promises kept, and lifelong friendships made in the lands he was charged with liberating. To her surprise and delight, Charlene learned some of life’s greatest lessons from one of the world’s greatest teachers in the twilight of his life. And she came to realize that the best sermon is one without words. What had left a lasting impression on the life of her father, would forever change her own. “As the sun finally set on his life, I came to appreciate my father’s greatest gift: he did not tell us how to live or even how to die, but rather, he lived and he died as it should be done—and he let us watch him do it.” -Charlene Quint Kalebic

“Angels of Ebermannstadt is a lovely tribute to the Greatest Generation, but more specifically to the endearing wartime acts of kindness by average American soldiers…”

– John W. Bitoff Rear Admiral, USN (Ret), member, board of directors, Friends of the National World War II Memorial

“Charlene captures the indomitable spirit of courage, faith, duty, and commitment. Her dad’s story highlights that the experiences of WWII not only created heroes but produced Americans with impeccable character. I highly recommend this book; It will be difficult to put it down.”

– William O. Washington, PhD, senior vice president for student affairs, dean of students (college), chair of student leadership, Trinity International University

Purchase your copy here

More about Babbie: Babbie Mason is a Dove Award-winning, Grammy-nominated, American gospel singer and songwriter; a tireless women’s conference speaker; a worship leader through her Embrace: A Worship Celebration for Women concerts; adjunct professor of songwriting at Lee University; television talk-show host of Babbie’s House; and a published author. Born and raised in Jackson, Michigan as the daughter of a pastor, she tenured for two decades as a church pianist and choir director, also working as a public school teacher before founding her own ministry in 1984. Her chart-topping singles include “With All My Heart,” “Each One Reach One,” “A World of Difference,” “God Has Another Plan,” “The Only Hope,” “For the Cause of Christ,” “This Heart of Mine,” and “Love Is the More Excellent Way.” She has led worship for national and international events hosted by Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, Anne Graham Lotz, Women of Faith, and others. In her first Bible study, Embraced by God, Babbie offers solid biblical teaching, warm and personal encouragement, and inspiring original music. Babbie and her husband, Charles, live on a farm in West Georgia.

More about Embraced by God: Many women not only struggle to understand who they are, they struggle to believe Whose they are. As daughters of the King we are not just precious but deeply loved.Babbie Mason shares her personal journey to understanding how very much God loved her, not as a singer or teacher but as His child. Here she equips readers to accept that love, and grow their confidence because of it.The book features three sections:
• Understanding God’s embrace
• A Twenty-One Day Journey to Receive God’s Embrace
• Stepping Out in Faith Knowing You Are Embraced by God.

Babbie’s warm, creative and friendly approach will engage readers and encourage them on this blessed journey.

Purchase your copy here

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June 24, 2013 by Tricia Goyer Leave a Comment

This Week on Living Inspired: Lisa Leonard | Guy and Amber Lia

To listen to the interview: go here and click on the player in the upper right corner of the screen. Thursday at 3:00 pm Central.

This week on Living Inspired I’ll be chatting with mom, wife, and business owner Lisa Leonard and Guy and Amber Lia from Storehouse Media Group. Making jewelry since high school, Lisa Leonard, decided to get serious after her first son was born. She wanted to start a small business that would enable her to quit her job and stay home with her boys. Thus Lisa Leonard Designs was born. Guy and Amber Lia started Storehouse Media Group as a Los Angeles based production company dedicated to developing, producing and marketing Family & Faith Friendly Entertainment across multiple platforms.

Sign up below for your chance to win a $100 gift card to Lisa Leonard Designs! Winner will be announced on Friday, June 28th.

More about Lisa Leonard: My desire is to create simple, lovely pieces that can be worn with jeans or your little black dress. I want each piece to be meaningful. Our custom jewelry is hand-stamped with your kids’ names or a special phrase or verse. I love to touch my necklace throughout the day and reflect on my husband and my sweet boys.Each piece we create is a work of art—hand cut, hammered, polished, drilled and assembled with care. I am inspired by other artists—painters, scrapbookers, clothing designers and poets. I also love to soak up nature—the sky, the sea, the green hills. I let all these ideas and images swirl around in my mind and then I create. When an idea hits me I sketch it out and play until the perfect design comes together.

Lisa Leonard Designs exists because moms, grandmas and friends have shared our designs with each other while waiting in line at the grocery store or sipping coffee with a friend. Most of our customers find us through word of mouth. We know that you’ll find the perfect piece.

Come visit my blog to hear more of our story and please share your story with us!

Shop Lisa Leonard Designs

More about Guy and Amber Lia: Guy Lia is the Co-founder and Executive Producer for Storehouse Media Group. After more than 17 years working in production and creative development on major productions in both Film and Television, he is now fulfilling his lifelong dream by starting this dynamic Family and Faith-Friendly entertainment company with his beautiful wife of 7 years, Amber Lia. Their desire is to use this powerful medium to reach people with quality entertainment and encourage them to live life with purpose. The father of 3 sons, Guy is proud of his future Rugby Team in training!

Visit the Storehouse Media Group website

Visit Amber’s blog

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