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Be a tea bag, not a pressure cooker

This picture by Vanessa Corral is laughable for many reasons, not the least of which, is that we’re not even a coffee-drinking family.  I honestly don’t even remember the reasoning behind taking this shot except maybe to be funny?  There are a couple of others in this series that are cute, of all of us standing around laughing, casually holding our (empty) mugs.  But this one is my favorite.

Because, what in the world are we even doing??

There’s nothing in this photo that even resembles the truth about who we are.  We’re all dressed somewhat nicely, gathered around the kitchen island, just chilling out with our coffee mugs.  If we’re just hanging out in the kitchen we’re usually in jammies or very casual clothes.  One of us (not naming any names) is usually climbing on the island.  Someone is probably cleaning up a spill or vacuuming the relentless dog hair. Someone …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Words Love In Action Loving Others Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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The magic you’re looking for

When we left the dock, the skies were blue and the sun was bright.  It was going to be a beautiful day for scuba diving the North Wall in Grand Cayman, which is known for it’s rougher waters but giant fish (sharks).  We had high hopes of seeing some of Cayman’s beautiful tiger or nurse shark.  The bumpy ride out and the rocking boat on entry, are usually worth it, as soon as you roll off into the water.  But this particular day, an intense storm swale blew up almost as soon as we dropped anchor.

It was rough. 

The boat was rocking so hard, it made it difficult to hold ourselves still long enough to gear up.  For a girl who doesn’t live with much fear, it was scary rough out there.  I’ve been diving in the rain and stormy conditions before, but this one really took the cake.  The divemasters …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Words Love In Action Loving Others Roadblocks in Life Leave a comment chat
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Never go back

In my mind, calligraphy has always been an art that wasn’t “for me”.   I’ve never been very fond of my own handwriting and certainly never considered hand-lettering to be something that I’d one day enjoy doing, just for fun.  But so many women really love it.  It’s all the rage to learn to label your pantry baskets, create cute little inspirational signs, and even your hand-letter your own holiday cards.  But I value efficiency so highly.

I couldn’t even imagine setting down to hand-letter address my Christmas cards. 

Last night I was talking with my friend Holly about our upcoming girls night out which is, of course, a modern calligraphy hand-lettering class.  I laughed as I explained, that I really feel like I’m learning to letter, and I like it!  It’s especially funny because I thought I was just doing this one because other people love it so much.  I adore Molly, …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Words Love In Action Loving Yourself Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Tonight, and every night

When I was growing up, I wasn’t allowed to dress up for Halloween or go trick-or-treating.  To my family, Halloween was a celebration of death and darkness and we wanted no part of that.  Instead, we celebrated “fall” by going to all the Fall Festivals.  On Halloween, we would wait in anticipation for dad to come because he would take us to the candy store and buy us big bags of candy.  Then, we’d turn off the front porch light and gather in the back of the house in the dark, to watch a movie and eat popcorn.  It was a blast.  We absolutely loved it! (at least I did)

But on my very first Halloween with Noah, I was excited to dress him up.  

He was a darling little chubby bubby golfer.  I dressed my kids up every year, until recently as they’ve gotten older.  Lately, it’s been a little touch-and-go, …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Words Love in Family Loving Others Priorities The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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You’re not the only one

Have you ever met someone and known instantly that they’re “your people”?

My friend and renowned friendship expert, Shasta Nelson would tell you that friendship is not born that way.  It’s planted, nurtured, and practiced.  And she’s absolutely right!

AND with this work I do, I’ve found that I can learn pretty quickly who my people are.

We don’t always become BFF’s, because we don’t always get a chance to “workout” in the gym of everyday life that brings us the opportunity for what Shasta explains as Frientimacy, in her Ted Talk: “Frientimacy: The 3 requirements of healthy friendships”. But through planning the HeartStories Girls Night Outs, I get the incredible privilege of experiencing that kind of “born” connection every month. As I plan the content and search out the women who will share their stories for the night, I’m looking for people who purposefully exhibit the characteristics of Shasta’s three requirements:

Positivity, Consistency, …

by Crystal Gornto Community Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Our Story The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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The only way through

Have you ever received a timely message that stopped you in your tracks? I got a text yesterday from my friend Libba that was like a punch in the gut and a warm hug, all at once.   It was an image that I’d apparently shared years earlier.  Which made me laugh.  It was a reminder that if we’ve been reading, praying, earnestly seeking to grow, oftentimes the wisdom we need is already inside us.   We may just need a reminder.

Or we may simply need to be still long enough to hear the whisper.  

The text was an image with this quote:

“I believe that we are who we choose to be. 

Nobody is going to come and save you.  

You’ve got to save yourself. 

Nobody is going to give you anything. 

You’ve got to go out and fight for it.

Nobody knows what you want except you, and nobody will be as sorry as you if you …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Inspirational Words Love In Action Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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