RESOURCES from 4word
Don’t Be a Statistic
As a teenager, I loved going to church. And why wouldn’t I? I loved singing worship songs, and my friends were there (enough said!). It was easy to show up on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, and I was always first in line to sign up for retreats… Read More
A Woman’s Place in Church
I attend a good church. It’s a place where I feel spiritually fed and uplifted every Sunday, one where I’ve built relationships with other believers and plugged into a great Sunday school class. Its members have supported and loved my family through some devastating health issues this past… Read More
The Millennial Becomes the Master
Becoming a mom has been one of the craziest rollercoasters my life has put me on so far. As I've mentioned before, I'm the oldest of seven kids, so raising children was not a practice with which I was unfamiliar. However, the rules of the game change pretty drastically… Read More
Secular Seduction
I believe we all face a “crisis moment” in our career when we realize just how important it is to live out our faith in the midst of challenging secular environments. While I am blessed to now oversee a team of amazing women who put Jesus first, there… Read More
Are You Working For the Right Commission?
A few years ago, I was halfway up a mountain I had chosen to climb, but part of me knew there was a reason I kept bumping up against a wall. It was one of those seasons when I felt unsettled. I knew I liked part of what… Read More
Was Jesus a Good Leader?
Would you choose Jesus to run your company? I never thought much about that question until I picked up a copy of Laurie Beth Jones’s book, Jesus, CEO, many years ago. Jones challenges readers to take a close look at the way that Jesus organized and inspired those around… Read More
Is a Mentor Worth It?
At 4word, we talk about mentorship a lot. It’s something I passionately believe in, and it’s one of the pillars of 4word and why I founded it. The fall session of our 4word Mentor Program is accepting applications through Friday, September 2, 2016, so if you’ve been thinking about connecting with a mentor or… Read More
Mentoring is for Misfits
Do you ever feel like a misfit? Like you don’t quite fit in with some of the images we see of polished, professional women? Time and again, I’ve seen women discover they’re not the misfit they thought they were through mentoring. When we connect with a mentor with… Read More
When My Church Community Let Me Down
"Community" is a buzzword we hear everywhere we turn. In the media today, we see examples of both good community and bad: the racial unrest plaguing America and much of the world on one side, and countries rallying behind their Olympic teams on the other. Every individual experiences many… Read More
What Makes a Mentor Great
We hear a lot about the benefits of mentoring today, but mentoring itself is not a new phenomenon. Mentoring has always been part of God’s design for weaving together the lives of His people. Titus 2:3 paints a picture of older women teaching and training younger women in “what is… Read More
Pokémon Parenting
As I have watched the phenomenon of the latest video game sensation reach to ridiculous heights and consume my kids’ time, I have decided not to fight it. Instead of resenting Pokémon Go, I have resolved to learn from it. I’m asking questions like: "How do we get… Read More
My Big Fat Family Vacation
I am the oldest of seven kids. Yep, seven. Growing up, I caught on fairly quickly that our family was different from most of my friends' families. Spaghetti was a dinner we rarely (if ever) ate, due to the amount of little hands just waiting to paint the… Read More
Two Tips For Your Boss When You Go On Vacation
Summer is in full swing, and many of us are enjoying long weekends, road trips, and beach getaways with family and friends. But are you taking full advantage of your vacation time? Studies show that close to half of American workers do not use all of their paid… Read More
What To Do With a Bad Boss
In my many years in the corporate world, I was blessed to work for excellent managers. I also worked for some really terrible bosses. One blatantly refused to treat me like a member of the (otherwise male) team, ignoring my requests for an annual review until I threatened… Read More
American Woman
I live in a safe home in a safe neighborhood in a safe city. I have a career, I get to choose where and how I practice my faith, and I travel often. Sometimes, I forget to be thankful for my freedom. Sometimes I even take freedom for… Read More
My Life’s a Mess, and That’s OK
All my perfectionists out there, raise your meticulously cared for and sanitized hands. "Mess" and I have never gotten along. I legitimately got in trouble in Pre-K because I didn't want to finger paint. Way too messy. I mean, who really wants their hands covered in paint… Read More
When It’s All Too Much, Find Rest
None of us are immune to health challenges, whether they are personal or affect someone close to us. A major health crisis can threaten to throw the balance off in every area of our life, consuming our time, energy, and faith for a season or longer. Is it possible to… Read More
How to Recover From “Butijust” Syndrome
Knock, knock. “Mom?” Hand goes up. “I’m working.” “But I just wanted to see if it’s OK for the neighbors to come over and swim.” Knock, knock. “Mom?” Hand goes up. “I’m working.” “But I just need you to transfer some money into my account for…” Knock, knock. “Mom?" Hand… Read More
Confessions of a New Christian
My testimony is unique (aren’t they all?) in that I came to Christ somewhat recently and am able to remember the distinct moment my spiritual eyes were opened. I am grateful because my life was not “bad” before I became a Christian. In fact, it was quite the… Read More
5 Steps to Becoming a “Super-Worker”
If your everyday workload regularly leaves you feeling frantic, you’re probably doing it wrong. Over decades in the business world, I’ve observed thousands of different approaches to work and time management. The least successful approaches tend to leave people feeling pressured and overworked, while the best time-managers seem… Read More