Have you ever done everything you know to do and still found yourself mentally carrying what happens next? I have. I can think about something, pray about it, make a decision, take the action, and then somehow my mind still wants to stay on duty. 😄 What if this happens? What if they say that? Should I do something else? Maybe I should think about it one more time… And before I know it, I am no longer just doing my part. I am trying to carry the outcome too. There is a differ

Have you ever found yourself carrying something simply because you care deeply about how it turns out? I have. And sometimes I have had to remind myself that caring about an outcome does not mean I can control it. There are things I can influence. Things I can prepare for. Choices I can make. Actions I can take. Then there are things that, no matter how much I think about them, are simply beyond me. So today: I am grateful that I know where to place what I cannot control. B

What happens when something catches your attention that you really don’t want to lose? September is Brain Aneurysm Awareness Month, so perhaps it is fitting that I find myself thinking a little more deeply about my brain, what I ask of it, and the many ways I have learned to support it. Last week, I shared a simple thought: 'Before you capture the moment, experience it.' PAUSE. NOTICE. TAKE IT IN. I thought I had finished there. Apparently, I hadn’t! I found myself returning

Have you ever been enjoying a moment and thought: “Wait, let me get my phone!” I have! Something makes us laugh. The food arrives looking amazing. Someone does something we want to remember. The view is beautiful. The children are doing something we know we will want to look back on. And almost instinctively… out comes the phone. There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking the photo. I love having photos to look back on. But this weekend, I want to try something slightly di

Have you ever caught yourself thinking: I’ll enjoy myself once I’ve got all of this done.” I have! Once I finish this. Once that deadline has passed. Once everyone has what they need. Once I catch up. Once things settle down a little. Then… Then I’ll relax. Then I’ll do something I actually want to do. Then I’ll enjoy myself. But have you noticed something? There is nearly always something else to do! You finish one thing and another appears. You clear one list and somehow st

Have you ever stopped to think about how quickly something you once hoped and prayed for can become something you barely notice? Last week, I wrote about the joy of looking forward to something. My gratitude thought was: I am grateful that I can enjoy something twice, because sometimes I experience joy while looking forward to it and again when it actually happens. I loved that thought because it reminded me that joy doesn’t always have to wait for the moment itself. We can e

Brain Health Weekend Insight 17 Isn’t it amazing how something that hasn’t even happened yet can already make you smile? Maybe it is someone you are going to see. Somewhere you are going. A meal you have planned. Time with your family. Or simply a little time you have set aside for yourself. It hasn’t happened yet. But you think about it and smile. “I’m looking forward to that.” There is something about having something good ahead of us that can change how today feels. Last w

Have you ever noticed how quickly your thinking can run ahead when you do not know what comes next? One question leads to another. A possibility starts feeling like a probability. And before you know it, you are trying to work out tomorrow with information you only have today. I know that feeling. And last week, as I found myself navigating some uncertainty of my own, it reminded me of something for which I am deeply grateful. Today, I’m grateful that I know God, and not just

Brain Health Weekend Insight 16 Have you reached the weekend carrying something you genuinely intended to do but never found the time or space to begin? This week, we explored the journey from pausing to following through. Before you proceed, pause. Before you say yes, choose. After you say yes, give that commitment somewhere to live. Then give it proof that you have begun. Because a commitment becomes real when it moves from something you intend to do to something you have s

Have you ever said yes and then wondered where it would fit? Into your schedule that is... You meant it when you said yes. Perhaps it was a new responsibility, a promise to someone you care about or an opportunity you did not want to miss. And if you are like me, saying yes may reflect how you see yourself and who you believe yourself to be. The dependable one. The person who helps. The one who can be counted on. The one who can be relied upon. The person who finds a way, eve

There is something powerful about a pause. Not because everything suddenly becomes clear. Not because the demands disappear. And certainly not because life waits patiently while we work everything out. The power of the pause is that, for a moment, it gives us something we often do not realise we have lost. Choice! Last weekend, I shared The Power to Pause! The reminder was simple: pausing is not necessarily a sign that we have stopped progressing. Sometimes, giving ourselves

Sunday mornings can carry an interesting tension! Part of us is still in the weekend. Another part may already be thinking about tomorrow...Monday. What needs doing. Who needs a response. What we did not finish last week. What is waiting for us in this new week ahead. Before all of that gathers momentum, perhaps there is something your brain needs first: A pause. Not to avoid what is coming. But to prepare yourself for it. Before the Week Begins We often associate being

We are often taught to recognise progress by what can be seen. The task completed. The goal reached. The result achieved. The announcement made. But some of the most meaningful progress happens before there is anything visible to show for it. It happens when you remain committed after the initial excitement has faded. When you resist a distraction that would normally pull you away. When you honour a boundary, return to something difficult or make the same intentional choice a

Have you ever noticed how quickly your attention is claimed by things you never intended to give it to? How about: An unexpected email. A notification. Someone else’s urgency. A conversation that lingers in your mind long after it has ended. Without realising it, we can spend our day reacting instead of choosing! Yet one of the greatest gifts we have is the ability to decide where we place our attention. Not everything deserves it. Not every interruption deserves a respon

What if the rest of this year wasn’t shaped by doing more… …but by choosing better? Imagine how different your life could feel if you stopped measuring your days by how busy they were and started measuring them by how intentionally you lived them. What if success wasn’t about fitting more into your calendar… What if it was about making more room for what truly matters? As we begin this new month, I don’t want to encourage you to chase more. I want to encourage you to choose d

I Choose to Create the Supporting Conditions “This isn’t about trying harder. It’s about being kinder to your brain.” There was a time when every forgotten appointment, missed detail, or moment of mental fog left me asking the same question: “What’s wrong with me?” "Why me?" Maybe you’ve asked yourself something similar. Perhaps you’ve forgotten something important, started something you never finished, walked into a room and forgotten why, or ended another day wondering why

There are seasons in life when smiling feels easy. And there are seasons when it doesn’t. If I’m honest, life isn’t perfect for me right now. There are uncertainties. There are prayers I’m still waiting to see answered. There are days when the future feels heavy and the questions seem louder than the answers. Yet… I choose to smile anyway. Not because I ignore reality. Not because everything has fallen into place. But because I’ve realised something that has quietly changed h

Can I ask you a question? Where has your attention been today? Not your time... Your attention? Have you ever stopped to think about why we say “pay attention”? Not give attention. Not have attention. Pay attention. We use the language of payment because, whether we realise it or not, our attention has value. Every moment you spend paying attention to one thing means you’re unable to pay attention to something else. Your attention is one of the most valuable investments you m

Have you ever looked back and realised that nothing around you had changed… but something in you had? Most of us spend our lives waiting for something to change. A new opportunity. A different diagnosis. A repaired relationship. A financial breakthrough. A clearer answer. We tell ourselves, “When that changes, everything will be different.” Sometimes it is. But often, life changes in a quieter way. Not because our circumstances suddenly improve. But because, somewhere along t

Have you ever reached the end of the day and wondered if you’re making any progress at all? You’ve been trying. Showing up. Making decisions. Doing your best to keep everything together. Yet it can still feel as though you’re standing still. If you’ve ever felt that way, you’re not alone. Sometimes the strongest part of us is being built long before we realise or recognise it. It’s easy to believe that strength belongs to people who never struggle. The people who seem confide