Now that we’ve entered March and spring is on the horizon, why not take time to refocus, refresh and remind yourself that while you are enough as-is, your goals and dreams are worth still nurturing.
If you’ve forgotten or abandoned the resolutions you made 90 days ago, why not take this week to get back on track? Because you are worth it, and the effort you’ll exert is certain to cost less than the regret that may otherwise envelop you.
You can start over with a clean slate, for that’s the beauty of each new day. It comes with a fresh opportunity to hope anew and climb a bit higher.
In the process of trusting your process, your lessons, blessings and other experiences will teach you what you need to know when you arrive. Your job? To pay attention and press forward along the route to destiny.
As you lean in and embrace discipline, decide to appreciate the unfolding of your life’s story, as much as your circumstances will allow. Create space for moments and miracles that can transform you, and allow them to do just that.
One of my intentions this year is to bring my whole self to every role I embody, because all of Stacy shows up as the fiction writer, the nonfiction inspirational writer, the strategic communications professional, the mom, sister, auntie, friend and community volunteer.
With that in mind, while I will primarily continue to post in this space about my inspirational musings, my novel-in-progress and other author-related news, I’ll also be sharing occasionally about another endeavor that’s close to my heart: an opportunity to advocate for children and foster communications for a greater good.
I’m excited to share that I have joined the global nonprofit organization Children International (aka CI) as the Global Director of External Communications.
(To those who’ve inquired, yes – I’ll still be based in and involved in the Richmond, Virginia community, and I will continue my creative writing and occasional writer coaching.)
Here’s to those of us who are multi-passionate! Writing remains my foundation, and I’m grateful for this and other opportunities to evolve, grow and experience where it leads.
Traveling to Colombia with Colleagues
My most recent adventure led me to Colombia. It is one of 10 countries (including the U.S.), where Children International is serving youths and young adults who exist in dire poverty and need hope to believe their lives can get better, along with tangible help to make it so. Eight colleagues and I traveled there from the U.S. in mid-February, to meet with some of those we serve and with our Colombian counterparts who are leading operations.
Since words won’t suffice, I hope the few images I’ve shared here (plus more you can find on my Facebook page), convey in some small way, the mutual joy felt by all of us to connect as members of the CI family.
These young people repeatedly offered thanks for consistent educational support, access to health care, life skills exposure, and positive role models who pour into them, when the lure of gangs, giving up on life, and other ills threaten to pull them off track.
They expressed how much it has meant to exchange letters with people who have sponsored them with monthly contributions since ages 3, 4 or 5.
They described how the opportunity to receive Children International scholarships that fund job training has allowed them to dream.
Before we departed, one of the teenagers thanked us for our work by declaring: “You are a grain of sand that helps us have better lives.”
I left their presence knowing they are more than their circumstances. They are eager to learn, grow and be the first generation to help their families thrive.
On one of our final nights dining together as a team, a Colombian CI colleague took us to La Cueva, a restaurant famous for serving as home base for the city of Barranquilla’s renowned journalists, authors and artists. Unbeknownst to her, one of the waiters for the night — a 20-something aspiring writer — had once been a sponsored child through Children International. When he saw the organization’s name on our group reservation, he proudly introduced himself as an alum.
Seeing him working in an esteemed establishment while continuing school and nurturing his creative goals made our collective day. It was a welcome reminder that our choices to go the distance with others can give them breathing space to find their way.
I left Colombia all the more convinced that it takes just one person to impact a life. By changing the narrative for one, we are rewriting the story for many.
To learn more about Children International, visit children.org.
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I’ve been on a staycation this week and just a few days in, I feel like a new woman.
I’ve cleaned my fridge, and filled bags of clothes and other stuff to take to Goodwill and to a local church’s clothes closet.
I’ve hooked up a new computer (on my own), although my son chatted with me during the process, in case I needed tech support. Lol
I’ve fielded calls from my daughter, the bride-to-be, who is on the countdown to April.
I’ve chatted with a few friends daily and lunched with two.
I’ve turned down a brief road trip and a complimentary flight. Why?? To simply rest.
Which leads me to what has been the most meaningful part of this week so far: allowing myself to sleep until my heart’s content and move at a “whenever I get to it” pace. (Today is my busy day for the week. I’ve scheduled a few appointments and virtual meetings, and if I owe you an email, it’s coming!)
My fellow author Saundra Dalton Smith, who penned the bestselling book Sacred Rest, would be proud.
Because rest is indeed sacred, and it opens up our well and our energy for creativity, deeper engagement with others, better appreciation for our blessed surroundings, and greater willingness to see and serve ourselves. (When our wells are full; we can healthily pour into others.)
I haven’t paused this week because I’m ill(I feel great!); I’ve intentionally paused to ensure that my pace for 2024 remains measured and meaningful.
I’ve paused to ensure that I center myself in being fully present and focused on enjoying the days, weeks and months to come.
This “rule of rest” for the week felt uncomfortable at first (those waiting-but-not-urgent emails and chapters to write taunted me), but as I’ve leaned into the leisure, I’m certain it’s preparing me to dive more joyfully and energetically into my storytelling projects and other professional endeavors, my volunteer activities, family milestone moments, looming travel, and much more.
I’ve shared this, in part, as an invitation to join me. If your January was busier than expected, consider making time in February for your own sacred pause.
You may not be able to devote a week, but gift yourself a day (or a few) to lean into sleep – as much as your body craves – and enjoy some good food, laughter, and pampering yourself in simple ways that matter to you.
You are worth it. And so are the dreams, goals, work, relationships and legacy you are nurturing. Trust the timing of your life, and in the process, your preparation and strategic rest, will align.
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I recently came across a photo of myself that was taken during my senior year of college and I’ve kept it on my nightstand for an occasional chuckle.
Yes, my pants are too big ( I was really petite back then and did my best! ) and yes, I remember where I was – in a friend’s dorm room, enjoying a surprise party thrown for me.
I look like I’m singing because I was. But can I really sing? Sadly not. I had fun trying, though, with whatever song was playing at the time.
I look like I was acting silly because I was. And guess what?
Beneath my sometimes reserved, often inspirational and occasionally feisty demeanor lies a woman who is still fun at heart and able to laugh at myself and with others.
I was 21 in this pic and considered grown.
What I’d tell that young girl from my now full-fledged adult state is actually what I exemplify in this photo: to always find joy in the small moments and sing (and dance) through the rest.
That girl didn’t always get it right and neither do I; but both versions of me have been, and remain, grateful for love, laughter, grace, life lessons and the journey itself – gifts that never age or go out of style.
This week, I challenge you to dig up a few of your own funny pics from the past and reflect on your treasured (or silly) moments from yesterday. May you be inspired to embrace new dreams, cut yourself and others some slack, and create more meaningful memories.
Happy New Year, my friend! As we set goals or resolutions for this shiny, new year before us (Welcome, 2024!), let us not forget the good, the great and the wow moments that have led us to this point.
Be grateful for what is to come, for sure; but also be grateful for what IS.
When we celebrate the beautiful things that already are, we can better appreciate the simple blessings that will proceed or accompany the longed-for visions that become our reality this year.
I encourage you to pull out a favorite journal and spend some time today making a list of the intangible gifts you already possess. I’ll start us off here….
What I know for sure?
– I am grateful to be healthy.
– I am grateful to be loved.
– I am worthy of self-care, mutual respect and seeing dreams come true (and so are you).
– I have a purpose greater than myself and walking in it gives me great joy.
– I am far from perfect, yet even so, I can render light and hope that blesses others, and for that I’m grateful.
I am leaning into these truths – these tiny miracles – like never before in 2024, for these are life’s best gifts and graces.
Consider the truths of your journey and what you know for sure. Honor these blessings. Build upon them. Continue your becoming in 2024.
I am on the journey with you. Let’s go!!
Photo credit: Samia Minnicks
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TGIF! On this final Friday in 2023, I give thanks for a year that has been full of so many moments of wonder, wow God, self-reflection, self-love, acceptance of others, joy, tears, surrender and soaring.
In the words of the great Maya Angelou, I “wouldn’t take nothing for my journey!
I am grateful for what has been and I’m excited about what’s to come.
Oooh the stories I am stirring to share (in writing and otherwise)! Stay tuned.
What have been your moments of wonder, wow God, self-reflection, self-love, acceptance of others, joy, tears, surrender and soaring?
Join me in reflecting and giving thanks.
Celebrate what has been and welcome new horizons.
This is our time.
May we all elevate our visions, throw our shoulders back, and greet the purpose and opportunities before us with open arms, a can-do attitude, and a smile.
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I’ve discovered over time that most of the cliches about love we recite earned their status as “tried and true” phrases for a reason. They hold weight and worth that can’t be disputed, including the reality that choosing to unconditionally love yourself helps you authentically love others.
This doesn’t mean it’s easy – especially in a world that tells us we’re not smart enough, thin enough, wealthy enough, and in some cases, fair-skinned enough. Those outer voices often can - and do – drown out the truth.
It’s for this very reason that we must dig in the heels of our hearts and stare back at the face in the mirror with compassion and empathy, time and time again. We must acknowledge whatever flaws we think we see, smile at them and bless them. We must gaze into those tender eyes we own and tell ourselves that we are worthy of being seen and heard because we matter.
Try it and try again, until this rinse and repeat cycle shifts from feeling like an awkward exercise into a steady and welcomed recognition that resonates within. Because you can, and should, love yourself with abandon.
When the process gets off track, do a personal reset and keep growing. You’ll be compelled to summon the courage to love yourself, and as a result, others up close. You’ll also find yourself accepting the need to sometimes love others from afar.
The key to your mastery? Making the choice to never give up on you, and to always lead with love, and with an open heart.
In these days leading up to Thanksgiving and the official kickoff of the holiday season, I offer you three challenges:
1. Be fully present
Be fully present in all of all the simple, significant and in-between moments spent with friends and loved ones – like the few minutes of fun I savored with a sweet and smart young friend during our joint travels earlier this year.
2. Offer grace and kindness
Offer more patience and grace to those whose grief may be sharper and deeper during the holidays, when their loved one’s absence is all the more real. I’ll be spending Thanksgiving with some who are in this space, and I’m still missing my big brother, who passed away 11 months ago, five days before Christmas. It is the memories we hold and the stories we are welcomed to share about them that will carry us through.
3. Be intentional
Be intentional about leaving everyone you encounter better than you found them. Make those memories and record them. Light a candle for the cherished family and friends who are no longer physically with you.
Move with love and gratitude
And trust that love and light will always win. Give it, be ready to receive it, and keep saying Thank You along the way.
There are so many good and exciting things happening in this season for so many of us, while destruction continues to befall many around the world.
This is the yin and yang of life, and also the reason to keep watch over our hearts, our thoughts, our words and our choices. We may feel helpless, but what we CAN control or contribute to, we must.
Our truths matter, and so do our hope and faith, and our ability to see others and seek to understand them.
Let’s not give up on goodness or each other. Pray for peace in the Middle East, and for peace in many of the cities, towns and homes across our nation.
Instead of bending toward the culture and a “by any means necessary” existence, what if we tried living with a “because everyone matters” perspective?
Your one shift, and someone else’s one shift, and my one shift could perhaps, together, shake the world.
I wasn’t planning to share this on social, because it was such a special moment between my son and me.
However, in the past few weeks I’ve had conversations with several other moms who are in the trenches of parenting, and chatting with them reminded me that sometimes when you’re in the middle of a thing, you can’t envision the difference your commitment is making.
These conversations also reminded me that when I was raising young children and then adolescents, there were moms ahead of me on the journey who encouraged me to keep pouring and loving and correcting and guiding, and to trust that the seeds being planted and the care being rendered were a worthy investment.
It is with this in mind (and with his permission) that I share this sweet note that my 22-year-old son surprised me with back in August, upon finding an old English paper amid his belongings before he returned to college for senior year.
It reads “You are my super hero!” and the note explains that he had described me as such in a paper written during his sophomore year.
In the paper, he explored how super heroes often steal away to transform into their “super selves” and change the world for the better. In my case, he indicated that my super power was writing.
He detailed how, as a young child, he often watched me focus on completing my manuscripts on some weekends and some evenings, and rather feeling resentful, witnessing me fulfill a dream that would give hope and enjoyment to others made him proud.
What a gift that note and the recently found essay were to my mama soul!
And what a powerful reminder that our babies are watching us, and in doing so, learning how to write their own super hero stories.
So, to my friends who are in the hands-on stages of parenting: Don’t let weariness cause you to give up or despair. Trust that just as your efforts to nurture your children and guide their dreams is a gift to them, so is your persistence in leaning into your own heart songs and life’s calling.
You are their super hero, and someday I’m confident that in their own ways, they’ll tell you.
Share with Your Friends!
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) and yes, I remember where I was – in a friend’s dorm room, enjoying a surprise party thrown for me. 
Still Unfolding with Stacy Hawkins Adams 