Life by the Slice

In my world of professional coaching, one of the core skills vital to the process is to be fully present with the client(s).  To do that, I must be mindful of my surroundings, quiet the chatter in my brain, and practice intentional listening. That blocks distractions that might prevent me from being present in the…

Stand On Your Story: Living4ward In Spite of Life

“They didn’t teach me how to deal with this in seminary.”  That was the statement made by a missionary friend when her supervisor asked her to confront a homeless woman outside their center talking to herself and removing all her clothes.  She managed to connect with the woman, wrap a blanket around her and walk…

Three R’s for The New Year

We have closed the chapter on one year of our life story and are ready to begin a new one. Wow! The possibilities that are ahead; the adventures; the surprises; the “I didn’t see that one coming” and the blessings.  As a Christian, I know intellectually that God is in control.  Sometimes as a human,…

New Year, Fresh Start

The beginning of a new year generally results in “new year resolutions.” Really?  Again?  How will this year’s resolutions be different from previous years?   As each New Year begins, it provides a natural time for our brain to think of a fresh start. This may be reinforced each time we write or type the New…

New Year, New…Endings?

With the Holiday Season here, this is a great time to think about a fresh start. Sometimes people make resolutions or new objectives, thinking about what they want to do. One common approach is to capitalize on the upcoming new year and simply design something or restart something.   There’s little thought, however, given to…

Never Suffer From Holiday Stress Again

Here we are at the end of the year. Recently, I put 15.09 gallons in a 16-gallon gas tank. The dashboard gauge had been warning me for days that my fuel was low, but I continued to go one more day.   What prompted me to finally stop was when the needle was well beyond…

“No” Is a Complete Sentence

What about this word, “no?” It’s a simple word. Only two letters. Yet, saying “No” out loud is harder for most people than saying, “I’ll be glad to.” That, by the way, is 11 letters. Or you’ll say, “When you need me to,” which is 17 letters. Most of us said “no” quite well when…

Stand On Your Story – Feedback

After the Stand On Your Story retreat/workshop on Sept. 12, one participant wrote: "Just finished a great retreat/workshop with Jane Bishop where we learned how to leverage who we are with reinforced confidence to live forward." In their own words... Most Useable Success Strategy "New story." "Validation that I am on the right track because I…

The Power of Play

I recently led a women’s retreat that focused on Living4ward.  It was refreshing to hear laughter and giggles while the participants were blowing bubbles.  Some their comments were: “I had forgotten how to play;” “This is forcing me to play again;” “I can’t remember the last time I played!” and “This is fun!”   Play…

Soul Care (Part 1)

"The soul has often been deemed integral or essential to consciousness and personality, and may be synonymous with spirit, mind or self."  And yet, many in today's culture have little time to nurture their soul.  The noise of each person's life has somehow become a necessity and often drowns out the heart cry of the…