being brave | HeartStories

The only way through

On Monday, this photo came flying in like a blast from the past. My friend Courtney was apparently archiving some old photos to digital format and paused long enough to send me on this trip down memory lane. It’s funny how photos remind you of moments you’d likely never think of again, but as soon as I saw it, I remember that night like it was yesterday. . It was Halloween 2007 and we were (OBVIOUSLY) expecting Oaks to arrive any day. Outside of the fact that our little golfer doesn’t look very happy to be there, we were doing pretty good. How crazy is it that I remember that one of my biggest challenges at that time was blow drying my hair? (Oh, how life has changed!) It was exhausting. My arms were already tired from carrying that 15 month old chunky monkey around and by the time I finished, my …

In follow-up to yesterdays post about the magic of connection for people to feel safe, a friend sent me an article with this little nugget of gold regarding being a safe place for your kids:

“Sit your kid down and tell them this, word for word: You can come and talk to me about anything and I promise you that I will not be mad at you. No matter what it is. I will not get mad. ” ~ Heather Armstrong

This is gold, of course.

If we can keep this promise to our kids, our spouses and friends, we will be the Holy Grail of safety to them. They will know they can come to us with anything, any circumstance, any screw up and we’ll be there for them. They’ll know they’re never alone, and that can be the difference between life or death.

But how in the world can you …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Words Love In Action Love in Family Love in Friendship Loving Others Motherhood The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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It might scare you at first, but it will free you

Back in 2013, my friend Carol was turning 70 and for her birthday, she wanted to go skydiving. A few days before the dive, things got complicated. Carol was still scheduled to dive, but she needed a friend to go with her.

You know I put my name in that hat.

Carol picked me up on a beautiful Saturday morning and we headed out to the training center, in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. We talked and laughed on the drive, catching up on life and our thoughts about the dive. We were both excited for the experience, but neither of us fearful.

Until the first divers jumped out of the plane.

Our little plane had a group of formation divers who were practicing that morning. . . and lucky them, they get to jump a lot lower than the rest of us newbies. Eesh. Watching them fling their bodies out …

by Crystal Gornto Love in Friendship Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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You’re meant to leap

On Saturday, I got the privilege of leaping across rocks with these two lovely ladies. It was unexpected, but quite an exhilarating adventure on a beautiful Saturday morning. I went over to my friend Melanie’s house with the sole purpose of finally meeting her sister, Michelle. We’ve been trying to meet for such a long time, so we squeezed it in just before she left town.

The sun was shining, so all the boys left to play basketball at the courts across the creek. We watched them daringly leap across the rocks and make it safely to the other side. After some time passed, we decided we should go check on them. So we walked further down the creek to the safer little bridge in the rocks. When it was time to head home, we looked at the path they took. We debated, laughed about it, and then …

by Crystal Gornto Love Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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She wants you to be brave too. Meet Bethany Tran, Founder & Designer at The Root Collective

This girl. If you know her and don’t love her, you have a heart of stone. She is hysterical and kind. She’s brilliant and creative. She’s one in a million.

Meet Bethany Tran.

Bethany! What a joy it is to tell your beautiful story! Thank you for pulling back the curtain for us.

We’ve talked about how hard it is for many heart-centered female entrepreneurs to step up to be the face of our companies. We want the attention to go the cause and people we seek to serve. When really, people are looking for someone who will say, ” I’m the one who cares enough to do this. It’s not easy, but I’m not giving up.”

What’s that journey been like for you?

Gosh, being the face of my passion hasn’t been easy! I don’t at all see myself as any kind of a hero or visionary. I just saw a need that wasn’t being …

by Crystal Gornto Female Social Entrepreneurs Inspiration Inspirational Women Love In Action Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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The Will to Become

Born the third of four girls in my family, I learned to be a fighter. I’m not sure how much is nature versus nurture. It’s surely a little of both.

I wasn’t ever first in line by default.

If I wanted to be first, I had to make some noise. I wasn’t the prettiest, the most talented, the most well behaved (ha!), or even the worst behaved. I was in the middle. I learned that if you want to make anything happnen, it requires a huge amount of effort. You can’t mention it once, then sit back and watch everything fall into place.

You have to work harder, fight longer, and NEVER give up.

I was reminded of this on a recent trip with my family. Two of my sisters and I got in those crazy, inflatable, floating balls on top of a swimming pool. It wasn’t meant to be a competition, …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Inspirational Words Love Purpose The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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