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girlfriends

Time to try something new!

When you visit the same vacation spot every year, one of the very best perks is the friends you make over time.  This is Vincent, who has become a dear friend of our family, especially the boys.  They talk about him all year and look forward to seeing him during our summer visits.  Vincent lives in Hungary and the boys LOVE asking him questions about his life there.  A hilarious tradition they have is asking him questions about food.  They try food from Hungary that they’ve never tried before and he tries American foods he’s never tried before.

This trip was no exception. 

There were many laughs at ridiculous questions.  Thankfully Vincent doesn’t get insulted when they ask if he’s ever had an apple or milk, or some other basic food type.  But one thing we discovered he’d never tried is a root beer float!  It’s a family favorite around our house …

by Crystal Gornto Community Inspirational Words Love In Action Love in Friendship The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Sometimes you need a tow

A weekend of scuba instruction taught me something I didn’t expect.  If you watched my social stories over the weekend, you saw that I *might* have been a little overexcited that my boys are finally getting certified to scuba dive.  Yes, they are still young, but they’ve been participating with us each year in very shallow scuba after many “bubble” courses and they beg to dive with us each year.

This was finally the year we decided to put in the work for them to become officially certified.  

There are many reasons for this.  Of course, the first and most important is their safety.  Another incredible life lesson involved in learning to scuba is the skill of learning to stay calm in difficult situations.  It’s learning to stop, think, and take action quickly.  It teaches you to have fun, always stay with a buddy, and appreciate the vast underwater world.

One of my …

by Crystal Gornto Inspiration Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Others Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Let’s get out of here!

A couple of summers ago, we gathered for a family reunion.  We coordinated all the schedules to meet in Colorado for a week.  It was, of course, a bit chaotic trying to wrangle kids of all ages for activities and adventures, but that experience is one of the fondest memories of my adult life.  We explored.  We got sweaty.  We played cards.  We pulled pranks.  We prayed and sang.  We stayed up talking into the night.

We laughed and laughed and laughed.  

There’s something so special about gathering with your people somewhere outside of your normal life and routine.  When everyone is out of reach of their desk and their grocery list, there’s a sense of calm that makes space for connectedness.   Date nights, girls nights and small groups are wonderful.  They fan the flames of connectedness, no doubt.  But when there’s no cutoff time, no babysitter waiting, and no morning alarm …

by Crystal Gornto Inspirational Women Love In Action Loving Others Loving Yourself The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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It’s the going first

 

Earlier this week, I saw a post on Jen Hatmaker’s Facebook page that stopped me to stare for a minute.  She was with five other women on a boat, bundled up in sweaters, smiling with so much peace.  I have to admit, for a moment, I felt myself long for that.  I loved the image, because I love Jen, and love seeing women support one another, then I moved on.

Yesterday, those same women went live together, addressing the very thing I felt.  

They explained that every January they get together for a little “friend’s retreat” of sorts. Each year when they post photos, they receive comments from women all over the web.  Women who, like me, see their pics and long for deeper, more consistent community with other women.  So they decided to hop on a quick live broadcast to talk about what it really looks like.  They shared the story of …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Yourself Roadblocks in Life The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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Like it or not, “together” is what you need

Often the holidays usher in what seems a never-ending line-up of parties and get-togethers.  We meet up for school, work, church, charities, neighborhoods, friends and of course, family.  There’s a whole lot more “togetherness” going on this time of year, whether you’re a fan of it or not.  For some it feels like endurance is the key to get you through this time of year.  For others, it fills your cup to be surrounded constantly by the masses.

Either way, there’s something good I’ve noticed this year about all of the gatherings . . . 

All of the togetherness reminds us of our networks.  Even more than addressing our holiday cards, seeing the smiling faces of the ones we don’t get to see as often as we’d like, is a beautiful reminder of all the people in our tribe.  Of course, the annual Christmas party probably isn’t the place to divulge all …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Inspirational Women Love In Action Love in Friendship Loving Others Loving Yourself The Journey Through Life Leave a comment chat
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One different little choice

A while back I was invited to my first-ever ornament exchange Christmas lunch with this group of gorgeous ladies.   They thought it was funny that I’d never been to one and that I had no clue what I was supposed to do.  But the story goes, that I’ve always kept very strict boundaries around my work days and kept any socializing strictly for the evening.  I have, of course, known that it restricts me from deeper relationships with some friends and apparently, some really fun get-togethers.  But that’s been part of the price I’ve been willing to pay.  This year, in an effort to say yes to more things that bring me life, I RSVP’d to this little shindig, knowing that it was the week of GNO.  (the shortest & fastest week of my month) But somehow I missed the big picture that I would be out-of-town 10 of the …

by Crystal Gornto Girl's Night Out Love in Friendship Loving Yourself Priorities Leave a comment chat
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