by Paula Stephens | Grief, Grieving, Holiday, Holidays, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Uncategorized
I lost my Dad on Christmas Eve when I was just 16. The next year my Mom, Grandma, and I took our holiday grief on vacation and found ourselves on a beach in Hawaii for the holiday season. It was a great way to break with the traditions and memories none of us wanted...
by Paula Stephens | Gratitude, Grief, Inspiration, Love, Personal Growth, Uncategorized
Yes, I’m a Gold Star Mom I wasn’t sure I wanted to write about this. Not because I don’t feel a deep and humble pride to have this title. But because I feel this title is too sacred to splash it out into the world simply because it became a flash in the...
by Paula Stephens | Grief, Grieving, Inspiration, Love, Personal Growth, Uncategorized
I am so excited to share this post from Tracie to you! In this post Tracie shares how she and I got connected… and it was NOT love at first sight. Enjoy and please leave a comment at the bottom. You can read more of Tracie’s wisdom at her blog, From the...
by Paula Stephens | 5 stages of grief, Forgiveness, Grief, Grieving, Inspiration, Love, Love Yourself, Personal Growth
This might be your first Mother’s Day without your loved one, or you might be like me and have a few under your belt. Either way I suspect you are feeling that familiar lump in your throat and/or that knot in your stomach. I get it, I have it too. This is my...
by Paula Stephens | Books on Grief, Grief, Inspiration, Love, Love Yourself, Personal Growth
I have never been one to make health related new year’s resolutions – but I usually say that reading is one of the things I would like more of in my life. As I was making a list of what I wanted to read in 2016 it was fun to reflect on five books on...
by Paula Stephens | Behavior Change, Goal Setting, Grieving, Healing, Holiday, Holidays, Inspiration, Love, Personal Growth, Retreat
What was the #1 New Year’s Resolution in 2015? Yep, you guessed it – LOSE WEIGHT! In 2010 I lost 150 pounds – True Story! I lost 150 pounds that came from the deepest folds of my heart and radiated out into every fiber of my mind, body and spirit....
by Paula Stephens | Behavior Change, Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Grieving, Holidays, Inspiration, Love Yourself, Personal Growth, Resilience, Vulnerability
Growing up Christmas Eve was the day Santa delivered our gifts. Yes, in my family someone always dressed up as Santa and delivered the gifts on Christmas Eve. So, for a child, this was the day that created lasting memories. Like the year we suspected Santa was Grandad...
by Paula Stephens | Behavior Change, Grief, Grieving, Healing, Inspiration, Personal Growth, Resilience
When you listen to those who’ve lost a loved one it doesn’t take long before you begin to hear the sad retelling of friendships lost or damaged and complaints of feeling isolated by family members. The unfortunate result, for the person who is grieving, is...
by Paula Stephens | Forgiveness, Gratitude, Grief, Grief Detox, Healing, Love Yourself, Personal Growth, Uncategorized
The universe conspires in the strangest ways sometimes. Shortly before Brandon died I became the proud owner of a small all natural-organic bath and body company. I reveled in making all the products myself and learning so much about natural body products. Part of my...
by Paula Stephens | Gratitude, Grief, Grieving, Healing, Inspiration, Love
Healing Connections It was about a year ago when, in the mail, came this book – “Rare Bird: A Memoir of Loss and Love”. On the front was stamped “Advance reading copy * Not for sale”. Anna, the author, had sent it to me to read and...
