Wintersβ Day In
Spilling the tea since 2006. Wanna cuppa?
Conversations on life, faith, stories, and creativity from author and songwriter (and aspiring mermaid) Talena Winters.
Stories That Matter: Kindness in Crisis (Photo Friday)
Stories matter. But stories like thisβthat show real humans being brave and loving and compassionateβthey are what matter most.
What's in a Brand? How I became an entrepreneur...
"Sometimes you just have to take the leap and build your wings on the way down." - Kobi Yamada
The story of how I got started in business, and the reasons behind my current branding choices.
The Double-Edged Sword of Technology
With all of our knowledge, I wonder if we have lost the basic skills required for survival in the real world? Does technology create simplicity, or destroy it?
Riding the Rails: How to Avoid an Emotional Train Wreck
Are you trapped in the tarry black hole of dwelling on loss? Are you jumping trains trying to hide from it? Or are you figuring out how to keep moving forward with loss as your travelling companion? How to avoid a train wreck on your road to healing and your dreams.
Just Start
Obstacles will always be there, right in front of everything you want to achieve or do, from painting a room to building a multi-national company. At the beginning, when there are the most obstacles between you and your goal, it is tempting to focus on those and decide that the end result just isn't worth the effort.
Pants are optionalβbut theyβre a start
When everything extraneous has been stripped from your life by a loss, and you are left naked and broken, sometimes just getting your pants on in the morning is a big deal. But you look for those moments that you see progress, too. Moving forward, whether in small steps, or giant leaps--in the end, that's the only thing I can really ask of myself.
What I Wish I Could Tell You
Dear Munchkin...
I can't tell you how many things this year I wish you could have done with us, or the things I wanted to show you. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to hold you close or hear your laugh. I can't tell you how broken I feel without you here.
I learned so much from being your mama. And by God's grace, I am learning still,
Endings and Beginnings
As a reader, I always thought that the ending was the goal. And it is. But it never occurred to me that it was the well-written middle that actually got me there as inevitably as a cart on a roller coaster track.
If only life had someone writing me out of my "swampy middles."
The Uncomfortable Truth
Are we in control of our destiny? Or is God? And who is to blame when things go wrong?
The Cost of Talent
I am a strong believer in being the best person you can be. Not in some humanist, "you-aren't-living-unless-you-achieve-your-full-potential" way. But in an "I'm-grateful-for-the-person-I-am" way.
Are you grateful for the talents you have?
Being Variegated: Embracing my Inner "Jill of All Trades"
Over the years, I have often wished I could be one of those people who could just focus on one thing and get really good at it, and was frustrated trying to do that over and over. It's about time I accepted myself just the way I am. Are you like this, too?
Choosing Belief
Even though I don't understand the reason, I still believe. Like Job, I choose to believe despite the uncertainty. And because I choose to believe, my grief is changing me for the good.
What San Francisco Taught Me About Love
So often we think that it is words as sharp and cold as icicles that will sink the deepest. But really, it is love sown through kindness and respect that opens hearts.
Blundering Forward
Moving forward is hard. Yes, the inexorable march of time moves us whether we want to move or not. But how do you "move forward" inside without feeling like you are leaving somethingβor someoneβprecious behind?