Welcome To CornerStone Life
As women, we are multi-faceted.
My hope is this blog will encourage you and give you hope and direction in every area of your life.
Be Present ~ What Does That Really Mean?
For the past few years, in early December I begin praying and thinking about what I want my “word” for the next year to be. Something that inspires me to more—a word that can be a filter for the way I live my life and the decisions I make. A couple years ago, God kept showing me, “Be Present.” But what does that really mean? As a Queen of multi-tasking, there were always things I could be “doing” when I was having a conversation with someone, both on the phone or in person. Because there was always more “to do” than
Living Above the Clouds
We just got home from a wonderful, refreshing vacation. Two weeks in the Pacific Northwest was a balm to the soul with the giant, green trees and vast ocean waves—soul-giving to these desert dwellers. But the plane ride home is what is staying with me this week as well. I have always loved how white, billowy and cotton-like the clouds look once you break through them with magnificent rays of sunshine coming from above. As we flew out of Denver on our layover, the skies were dark, and the underside of the clouds were gray and ominous looking. It appeared
What I’m Currently Reading — Summer, 2020
If you’ve read many of my previous posts, you know I’m an avid reader. If adulting wasn’t so time consuming, I would probably read for hours each day! I love to learn! And I love a good story! So I thought I would begin a regular series of what I’m currently reading during each season to encourage you to pick up a book instead of turning on the television. Before I lose those of you who do not consider yourself to be readers or simply believe you don’t have the time, here’s an interesting statistic for you. Did you know
Timeless Truth–Poems to Encourage
Several years ago, my younger sister walked through a devastating life change. Everything in her world was turned upside down. She now had to choose between searching out truth through the God she had known in her youth or allowing herself to crumble under the weight of the pain and loss. She chose truth! And in walking in that truth, she has blessed so many over the last decade with her poem writing and her speaking. Today I want to share a few of her poems with you that I believe may help you as you move through each day.
7 Healthy & Clean DIY Substitutes I Use
When I began re-vamping my health a few years ago, I quickly realized that it needed to go beyond just the products I was putting into my mouth. As I became more aware of chemicals and the excess ingredients in most personal and cleaning products I used, I began the hunt for ones I could easily replace. These 7 that I’ve listed are the ones I’ve used the most consistently and for the longest. Other products I have switched to purchasing cleaner versions instead, but these have been great because they not only are better for me but save a
When People Just Need a Listening Ear
I’m sure you, like me, many times find the pain and suffering of your friends and family to be overwhelming. My first instinct is to offer advice (which is many times simply my opinion) and my desire is to try to alleviate their pain. Neither of those are bad things, but are they the best things? What if all I’m called upon to do, and all they really need, is a listening ear? I just finished a book by Bob Beaudine called 2 Chairs. The premise is the importance and life-changing possibilities from meeting with Jesus daily, visualizing Him in
Healthy Summer Desserts
What would life be without dessert?? Boring, I say!!! My Pinterest binder of recipes (you can find more in my post Organizing My Pinterest Recipes) is about one-third desserts and all other food categories make up the other two-thirds. When I began my health journey several years ago and found out I had intolerances to both dairy and wheat, my doctor turned me on to the website www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com. What a lifesaver! You will find several of the healthy summer desserts I share are from this wonderful site. So the recipes I chose to share in this post are all either
Quarantine Reflections – Positives We Can Take Into the Future
As lives and schedules begin to return to “normal” over the next few months, I’ve heard from several who are asking, “Do we want to return to what we were doing before we were forced to slow down?” For many, the answer is a huge NO. But if we’re not intentional enough to stop and reflect and then create a plan, in a very short time, we will find ourselves back in the same rat race. So what lessons can we take from this recent mandatory quarantine as we move into the future? Lesson #1: Slowing Down is Not a
Serenity Prayer: Lessons from the Last 8 Lines
Most of us are probably familiar with the first four lines of the Serenity Prayer. But how many of us are familiar with the last eight? When I read the remainder of this prayer that was written almost 80+ years ago by Reinhold Niebuhr, it caught my attention and has stayed with me whenever I found myself in a time of crisis. I would say America, which means all of us, is currently in a time of crisis, wouldn’t you? The Serenity Prayer has been used by Alcoholics Anonymous and many other 12-step programs for decades. I’m sure you’ve seen
Favorite Summer Salads
There’s nothing better than a light, refreshing salad during the hot summer months. And in Arizona our hot months are HOT and LONG! So our summer salad vs. winter soup ideas need to be up to the challenge. Here are our family’s favorite summer salad recipes, and they are always crowd pleasers whenever they are shared with friends. As I stated in my One Dish Stove-Top Recipes post, I’m including the original post along with changes I have made for either taste, health, or dietary reasons. Enjoy! Cold or Side Salads ~ some may be great for side dishes and
Strengthening Family Connections as Adults
I LOVE my family!! And I know not everyone can say that. But for many, I suspect, you have decent relationships with your parents, siblings, adult children, but the busyness of their lives and yours makes it hard to connect consistently. I want to share some ideas of what we have done in our family to keep our relationships strong. I would love to hear your stories in the comments. Be Intentional This has to be at the core, bottom line, back bone of making this work. If you wait for someone else to plan a time or try to
Gardening for Dummies: Tower Garden is the Answer
I have always wanted to have the fresh vegetables from a garden but the work and time involved would prevent me from moving forward. As someone who really does NOT like to get her hands dirty (literally!) and any flowers I’ve ever tried to grow always died quickly, I had resigned myself to gardening not being in my future. Then I saw the Tower Garden—it looked perfect for a beginner like me! A compact, keep-my-hands-dirt-free, aeroponic gardening system. It sounded perfect … until I saw the cost. I knew and agreed with all the research on its cost effectiveness over
Dream Big Dreams
Dreaming big dreams can be … scary, exhilarating, trigger insecurities, and offer hope all at the same time! Do you ever have the feeling that you were made for more than your current life circumstances? Day-to-day just seems to be so fast paced, the routine so ingrained, the demands so overwhelming, that even the idea of dreaming big dreams seems so unrealistic. And do they even make sense? Am I being selfish because I want more? I mean, shouldn’t I be content with this life God has given me? Then why is there this longing in my soul for something
And This Too Shall Pass … Surviving Today Because of Tomorrow
I’m sure you, just like me, are over this “sheltering in place” and ready for life to return to “normal.” I think we can all acknowledge that we will have a “new normal” following this Pandemic of 2020 … similar to how we did after 9-11. And each of us will need to be making our own decisions on how we will live our future lives in light of this. That’s not what I want to talk about today. Instead, I want to share some thoughts on HOW we live, believe, and think TODAY that will help us come out
One Dish Stove-Top Recipes
As I mentioned in my “Organizing My Pinterest Recipes” post, I like to print out recipes I use regularly so I can first of all, locate them; but secondly, so I can personalize the recipes for our health choices. One of my favorite way to cook are using recipes that I can make using primarily with one large dish and combines many of our food groups together. Plus they are usually large quantities so there are frequently leftovers – great for sharing, lunches or a night off from fixing dinner! Growing up in the Midwest, I still have an affinity
Doing the Next Right Thing
Do you ever feel stuck? Not sure which direction to go or what to do next? Or maybe you’re in a season of fear and feel paralyzed? You can barely remember to brush your teeth let alone take the next step in front of you? We all find ourselves in that place sometimes. And I believe it can be most challenging when we are there because of outside forces that are beyond our control—like this 2020 Pandemic! I listen to a variety of podcasts when I go out on my walks, and one of my favorites is by Emily P.
Parenting Challenges ~ From Tigger to Pooh!
I’m writing this post to give hope to you moms who have that one child that you think just might be the death of you! You know the one … they make you question your ability to be a good parent along with your sanity!! Here’s what I learned from my “Tigger” (because he had boundless energy!) After 6 years of parenting our oldest child, our daughter, my husband and I were pretty impressed with ourselves. She was easy as a baby and we could take her anywhere–she was more like an additional accessory than a child. Easy to travel
Organizing My Pinterest Recipes
Since beginning my health journey 5 years ago, I had to make major changes in the food I cooked for myself and for my family. At first, I was disappointed as I am a baker at heart, and I thought I would no longer be able to bake and enjoy all those yummy carb and sugar heavy treats. Instead, I found that there are so many good, healthy replacement recipes out there – and they are not found in my old Betty Crocker cookbooks, but rather mostly through Pinterest! So I began pinning and creating board after board, trying to
My Weight Loss Trials
It’s a long one (55 years!) but I will try to condense it to the highlights–actually the majority of it has taken place in the last five years. You will find this post is not going to be your typical “I followed this plan, lost this amount of weight, and I’m so proud of my new body.” Instead, this is simply my journey that is far from over. Maybe you can relate? So to begin at the beginning … as my mom says, “We grew up eating organic before we even knew it was a thing.” My mom maintained a
Essential Oil Recipe for Migraine Sufferers
So you’re one too? As someone who has lived with migraines for the past 40 years (ugh!) I have tried many, many prescription medications, holistic treatments and an elimination diet/food allergy testing over those years. About 3 years ago, I came to the end of the medical prescription route as it seemed as though my body was shutting down from all the medication over-use through the years. I felt toxic … and it wasn’t working anyway! So I weaned myself off of all medications over a period of six months and began experimenting with the homeopathic and natural route. I
