Bread & Breakfast

Isn't it amazing how quickly the string with no knot at the end can loose all it's beads? I'm referring to the proverbial string that we are beading every day by doing household chores.  It has no knot because this kind of work doesn't stay done for long! I imagine we...

I love this quote, but I'll tell you, to think like this for the first time in the middle of a heavy challenge is almost overwhelming. I would add to Mr. Peale's thoughts that it takes practice during times of relative ease to be able to have this kind of mental...

Oh, the irony of opposites! I had a single friend tell me the other day how she had been to a meeting and she was sure the men in the room were speaking a different language. How true that is! All of us are getting a lot of experience learning to communicate with...

What do you like to do for a break? And, more importantly than that, do you know when you need one? Here are a few thoughts on that topic: First of all, who knows first when we are tired and ornery?  Not us!  It's usually information that settles on us as we see a...

Have you ever found yourself going through the motions of prayer, only to feel that your flat and repetitive words have not been truly felt or sent? I was reminded that I need to make a list as I go throughout the morning of the things for which I am thankful, and of...

  "One morning while washing dishes I heard quarreling raging down the hallway from the living room. Steven, our four-year-old had snatched a toy away from Timmy, who was bawling for its return.  I felt unreasonable anger sweep over me, but knew I couldn't sort...

Someone asked me the other day what my favorite color is.  And I didn't know! I used to say periwinkle.  I do love that subtle, dreamy color!  But as I thought about it, now, I'm in love with a color I cannot really name.  It's deep and rich and pink and peach and...

I remember those days of overwhelm. Of not much sleep. Of foggy mornings. Of tears of joy coming to my eyes when I really looked at my children. At their innocence. Of fluffy bedheads. Of trips to the library; the stacks of picture books I think I enjoyed as much as...

Years ago, I went to a week long educational event, where you could choose from an array of classes on everything from parenting to the Middle East, and attend as many as you could squeeze in from 8:00-7:00.  I loved it! And I went for several years each summer,...

I offer you a reminder of this cool, deep water. I hope you can take a moment, close your eyes, quiet your mind and drink it in. "Be still, and know that I am God." Love and blessings to you wherever you are on your journey today. Love, Jacque

What if.... What if life is a long time and you will not miss out on a thing when it comes right down to it? What if what you are doing right now is so important and so unique to you that it truly trumps any other major pursuits at the moment? What if there will come...

I had the sweetest neighbor when I was a young married new mom,  She was one of those people who exudes happiness and contentment, even though she and her spouse had never had much in the way of possessions or opportunity, but they made everything they touched sing!...

I've been thinking a lot about yesterday's post and the idea that it may not be enough to speak our declarations each day.  According to Mr. Peale, we have to take them to another level, like 10 notches up if we want to gain the self-mastery, confidence, health and...

I was severely challenged today, mind and body, and several things were sent from heaven. A compassionate friend, who stopped to say hi and I've been thinking of you, how can I help? What a soothing balm a friend can be!  And at the right time and with the right...

Hey there my friend, I surely hope you are doing well! I've been working on decision-making in the form of time-blocking.  That's the Lioness term for time-management because it sounds more like me making decisions about my time vs. trying to adhere to a pre-made...

If I am happy for the Sunshine, and new leaves and Blue sky and bright flowers; Or Happy that I feel healthy Today, or in love with my Man, or exuberant about my Children; Will my happiness make someone else Sad?  Is it alright to feel my Joy even while others are...

What is your favorite flower? Think for a moment until you decide.  Then for a few moments, close your eyes and imagine watching that flower unfold, from a bud to becoming it's most open, reaching, beautiful self! Isn't it glorious?  It just knows what to do and it's...

You know that moment when you really want to do something that you know isn't good for you, and you feel yourself slipping into that semi-conscious state of not caring and then of not being fully awake in the moment you begin to indulge? Like when sugar is calling......

Do you know someone who "wreaks" of self-care? If not, can you imagine what that would look like? Some words come to mind: Moisturized; Rested; Fed; Nourished; Sparkling; Calm; Self-respecting; Combed; Clean; Dressed; Trimmed; Mended; Tended; Smiling. I saw a little...

One of the goals I accomplished last year, was to read a meditation every day from a book called, The Language of Letting Go, by Melody Beattie. It was a great help to me and I highly recommend it. This week, my mom reminded me of one of the most profound pages: "Rest...

A new book from Lioness, just for the young Lioness in your life! This is mostly a picture book, with instructions on how to write and use declarations as a wellness tool. Wouldn't you love to have known how to write declarations for yourself when you were 16? What...

Do you ever recognize ingratitude, or brattiness in yourself?  Ha!  I do! It's usually when I'm feeling slighted, like something (and maybe even a very big something) has gone wrong and I realize that I can't call back the time and fix everything for myself or for...

It seems to me that one of the most, if not the most, discouraging "fiery dart" is the thought and then consequent feeling that you are experiencing life alone.  That you are isolated for one of a million reasons and that leaves you wondering if anyone has ever felt...

To those of you who have attended the Lioness at the Door 7 Steps to Family Wellness, seven-month seminar, may I ask a favor of you? Would you think for a bit about the most important take away you had from your experience in seminar and share it in a comment here?...

"A famous trapeze artist was instructing his students how to perform on the high trapeze bar.  Finally, having given full explanations and instruction in this skill, he told them to demonstrate their ability. One student, looking up at the insecure perch upon which he...

If you were giving life-affirming counsel to your children who were about to launch out on their own, in five words or less, what exactly would you want to tell them? How would you let them know of your confidence in their ability to grow and learn?  How would you...

If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. "If it would help you, and if it were possible, I would go down with you into hell; but you cannot bring hell into me, I cannot love a lie. I cannot love the thing which is not. I am in...

I heard recently that there is a new push, to help parents, particularly mothers, to stop wondering what is wrong with them when they get burned out and can't run as fast as they think they should, when often, they simply aren't getting the rest they need and have...

I was watching a documentary on owls...yeah, I was a captive audience, not generally my speed.  But I observed something that I think is worth noting as it applies to us as parents: For some reason, (that I didn't catch) two baby owls were being raised by two people....

There is a commercial on tv that is upsetting to me. It's advertising a youth correction facility (I think) and after about 30 long seconds of watching and hearing two parents in a screaming match with a teenage girl, the advertisers ask, "Are you losing your teen?"...

I think I've done a lot of waiting.  Thinking that there will be some exciting "thing" coming up.  Some event.  Some opportunity.  It strikes me again today that there is no need to wait. Every day with my people is the event.  And if I'm awake and aware, I can drink...

My friend Linda sent me a funny email that said, "Won't all of those health nuts feel silly when they are lying in the hospital dying of nothing?" What is the goal of taking care of ourselves, when in the end we will all die one way or another? (Ha ha, no this isn't...

How goes the war? You know, the one that is being waged for your attention, for your sanity, for your confidence, for your focus, for your life? So who's winning today?  Are the whisperings you're hearing those of encouragement and strength?  Are you listening to the...

Ok sisters, I have a little "what I learned the hard way" piece of advice. I wholeheartedly believe that we must be in charge of our own health.  It's a philosophy that is relatively new, as compared with my parent's generation, who unquestioningly trusted and...

Some years ago, I cut an obituary out of the newspaper because it was so moving to me!  I saved it because I wanted to it have it on hand to be able to be inspired again and again by this woman's life and by the fact that her children got her and appreciated what she...

Have you ever noticed that when you are motivated to do something in order to prove a point (to yourself or even more futilely, to someone else) that things usually don't go very well? I have! Seems as though proving just isn't a great motive. Think of it: when you...

In our self-nurturing behavior, we find our drawing power.  That is, we draw others to us when we are rested, washed, combed, peaceful, honored, happy and content.  Do you have desire to teach your children, and to be a positive influence to your spouse? Then, do what...

At long last, the 2017 Lioness planner is here!  In color! (Here's a sneak peek!) The box came today and I'm so excited to share them with you! My prayer is that this will be a dynamic tool that will help you to be a deliberate, decision-making, pulled together, goal...

There's a tiny heart beating within the womb of the woman who used to be a child, even an infant, with a tiny heart beating within me. I am without words...the sun is shining from my eyes.

Why is it that sometimes I just want to close the pages of my own story for Awhile and step in to the pages of someone else's? Their stories; all the Jane's, Scout's and Jem's, Meg's, Tom's, Mr. Blakesley's or Darcey's aren't better or worse than mine. I guess it's...

Eve chose growing Pains - I am Her daughter. (And the apple didn't fall far from the tree.)

He cares less about what you look like to him,  and more about how you look at him. He wants to please you.  He wants to make you proud.  He wants to feel adored.  He wants his efforts to be appreciated. He wants you to close some of your mental boxes, ha ha, that one...

Sometimes we are just clueless. Sometimes we want what we want (no thinking about it) and so we fail to open our vision to the long-term consequences of our decisions.  And then sometimes we just can't see that far ahead. Do you ever have situations when you can't see...

Last year was a significant time for our family.  It was a milestone honoring our decision to become a family!  The time when I was chosen to be the mother of his children, and of when I chose the man who would become their father (and I really held him up to that...

Do you ever get discouraged when you come out of a difficult time and see that once again, when you were at the cross-roads of going down a negative train of thought or of maintaining your faith and personal power and keeping your thoughts positive, you ended up...

If you could talk to your younger self, say, yourself ten years ago, what would you say? I imagine that I would say something Iike; Guess what?  Everything is going to be ok!  Yes, you're going to make it through the mission, through the heart break, through the...

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't have the need to think about using inter-dependent skills vs. auto pilot co-dependency habits in my relationships.  Can you relate to that at all? And I'm trying to get faster at recognizing when I am spending my time trying...

I give thanks for you and for the life you are living! For your goodness. For your beauty, talent and love. Be well! There are brighter days ahead! Love always, Jacque

Today I was reminded of the powerful, organizing, spiritual and creative force of music. I was privileged to hear a private piano concert and it moved me to tears to be wrapped in the beauty and power of classical music, enhanced by the friendship which inspired such...

We are the same.  And we are vastly different!  We have so much in common, and yet our individual experiences can be as different as night and day. Like a grove of aspens, we all come from the same source, but our individuality is the thing that helps us to accomplish...

I had a teacher during my health coach training that was so upbeat and full of life, that she often ended her sentences with, "say hallelujah!" I couldn't help but smile and feel uplifted and brightened when I listened to her. Part of her charm was the sense you got...

  "Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." C. S. Lewis If you are feeling defeated, I hope this quote will fire you up to keep trying, keep going, keep exercising faith in yourself and in your future. Remember...

{First: I have heard several reviews from yesterday's intense post.  One was "love it!" and some were something like, "oh dear!"  If you have a response to share, please do!  Drop me a note and I will be interested to hear what you have to say. For clarification, the...

Time for another rant.  You've been warned!  xo How many times a day do you hear that the world has gone crazy?  That our prisons are full and the government is corrupt and X number of countries are bankrupt and that men are untrustworthy and that the air is unsafe to...

Do you ever find that you are avoiding the same little task, over and over? One that isn't particularly difficult or demanding, just happens to be something you don't like to do?  And for some reason that one little pause in the process of getting something larger...

Have you heard the phrase, "they were at an impressionable age"? While I realize that children, in their innocence and inexperience and state of phenomenal growth are very impressionable, I don't think we ever outgrow that completely.  In fact, I believe that we were...

You are one in a million!  You are brave.  You are kind.  You are growing.  You are learning. You are inspiring. You are dedicated. You are fun!  You are optimistic. You are grateful. You are faithful. You are gracious. You are humble. You are sweet. You are curious....

I remember a scene from the Dick Van Dyke show, when Laura bleached her hair blonde one afternoon, and then she was scurrying to get it dyed back to brown before Rob came home.  Did you see that one?  At the end of the show, a probably seven-year-old Richie declares...

A few thoughts for you about that ecosystem that lives inside every human being, the bacterial world that works with us to digest our food and to keep a healthy reign on the bugs and bacteria that can make us sick. I heard someone ask the question recently, "What do...

I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to refer to this post later.  Because, even though it is what I believe, I have to be reminded of it again and again. So, as a note to myself, and to you, if you'd like to listen in, I'll say that I believe that a key to maintaining...

"No one told me that grief felt so like fear." C. S. Lewis I am reminded again of the similarity myself.  And it has me thinking about how that roller coaster of emotions effects relationships. Even in regular, ordinary days, not times of intense grief, like at the...

"You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

Last year we came to help our brother with some yard work.  He'd had a surgery some months earlier and was still suffering with nerve pain.  He had been so discouraged with a slow recovery, and so we hoped to offer some moral support by helping him get his raised...

  Meet Apollo. This little guy was something else. Nothing like our lovable chocolate lab who let's you know what he wants or needs by walking by you, not looking at you really, just kind of sending out dog- telepathy and waiting, occasionally giving you a few...

Who do you love? Who do you regularly forgive? Who do you respect and trust and obey? Is there someone you want to remember or to imitate?  Who do you encourage? When we love and forgive and imitate, we honor. Scripturally speaking, we are commanded to honor God, our...

I'm so excited!  My sweet friend and designer Shantel has been busy at work getting our new Lioness Home-Management System ready for print.  It will be finished, most likely, in the next week! Yay! We've done our best to incorporate all of the Lioness concepts for...

I saw a bumper sticker once that said, "The problem with life is that it is so daily."  I don't know why exactly, but that tickled me and still does when I think of it. Kind of like the way the movie, Groundhog Day tickles me. We want our days to add up to something....

In memory of our brother.  The pain is over!  Godspeed!   https://youtu.be/-DagFQF8ZAA

Our bodies keep us living life a day at a time.  And it's a good thing because otherwise we would skip over eating and sleeping and bathing and dressing and flossing and brushing (and I might add enjoying food and sleep and gardening and cooking...) and run with...

It's a tricky thing, achieving some sort of balance.  Some days trickier than others, huh? Finding the balance between work and play.  Between taking charge and going with the flow.  Between supporting family members with our presence and supporting them by giving...

It really is amazing that we all live on the same planet, and in some cases have almost everything in common, like parentage and upbringing, and yet our individual, personal, emotional (or subjective) experiences are unique! And looking at things from that vantage...

I checked on our beehives last week.  One hive is energetically moving and several others look like they didn't survive the winter.  It is sad to see. They are amazing little creatures, so directed and so intent on doing what they are designed to do.  Each one works...

Marriage can be amazing.  It is a blessing.  It makes so many things possible!  It is safe place where we can get to know ourselves and each other.  Where we can take risks, grow with each forgiving and stretch when asking to be forgiven. It requires the greatest...

Isn't it amazing how easy it is to get into a scuffle with a family member in all the hustle and bustle of life?  And, as the parent, isn't it amazing how easy it is to start a conversation with "You...!"  As in, "You are a .....," or "It's your fault...," or " If you...

Have you ever sat behind someone who is stroking the hair of a loved one beside them, like a mother, stroking the long hair of her daughter?  Have you ever noticed what happens as you observe? When I register it, I realize that I feel my shoulders lower and my face...

A client asked a great question the other day; "Do you think that if you've been trying to lose weight for a long, long time and you've been on a 'don't eat this, and never eat that' roller coaster, can you really escape the crazy-making by just beginning to eat...

Here's a little idea for taking a dip in your own mineral spa! Right before bedtime, add 2-3 pounds of Epsom salts in a tub of warm water, not hot or cold.  After you're in, run warmer water until the bath is comfortably warm. Soak for at least 20 minutes and drink a...

For many years we learned from a gifted teacher about correct principles in family governance.  In fact, he is currently working to get his life's work digitized in order to make it available to anyone interested in having it.  When that happens, I will be the first...

To follow-up on my recent post encouraging you to increase your ability to prepare a wider variety of whole grains, I offer this information.  I hope it will be helpful to you! First, we are so consumed with wheat in our country, people often wonder what other grains...

I can imagine his head cocking to one side, Listening, waiting, then tilting to the other. Then hop. . . wings spread, flap, extend, force under the current of winter air, and gone! Was a little bird on the back step in a fleeting moment? Did he stop and listen to our...

I hope this winter day found you counting blessings. A few months ago, I heard someone say that it must be offensive to God when we look in the mirror and remember our mistakes and faults.  The encouragement then was, make things right if needs be and then move on!...

When someone is speaking to you, and you are listening to understand, not to fix, there are responses you can give that will let them know that you are doing your best to hear what they are telling you. Without judgement, you can say things like; Oh. I see. That must...