Marriage & Branding

March 11, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Last night I was the featured vocalist at a regional Christian Women in Media event where I heard Mila Grigg from Moda Image Consulting speak on personal branding. Now branding is a hot topic in this age of digital media. What others think of your company or your product makes a difference in your company’s success. I’ve heard many people speak on branding over the years but this one resonated deeply with me. It got me thinking about marriage.  I know you are thinking, “huh?” but stay with me.  Mila said that you don’t own your brand, your customer does and what they say about you when you leave the room IS your brand. So let’s translate that to your marriage relationship. What if your marriage “brand” directly correlates to your relational success? What is your brand there? Would your spouse say you are kind, generous, loving, joyful, forgiving in your marriage or would the residue that remains when you leave the room be frustration, anger, bitterness, annoyance or sorrow? IF the way we carry ourselves within what we do for a living can truly make or break us, wouldn’t that same principle apply to our relationships? Specifically our marriages?

It nailed me. Too often the fragrance I leave in the room is not one that truly resonates with who I want to be as a wife. Juggling my family, career, volunteering at church, planning 2 weddings ( my daughter’s & my sister’s), being head of a local high school music board, running a household ie: laundry,cooking ,cleaning….can leave me frazzled, if not kept in balance. When it is out of balance it spills over into my marriage. Not pretty…Ugh.

Marriage isn’t easy. It takes intentional investment to maintain and grow a rich relationship. What do you want to be known for in life? More specifically, what do you want to be known for in your marriage?  I can tell you, what you are known for in your peripheral relationships can be way different than those close to you at home. You should ask your spouse or your kids. They’ll tell you the hard truth. They are the ones who see the good, bad and the ugly and love you anyway.  At home the real branding emerges. So what is your marriage brand? Is it what you want to be known for? If not, how might you change that today? Something to think about.

Would love to hear from you if you want to comment below. And yes I’m open to the good, bad and the ugly because it matters. Please feel free to like, share this post too. 🙂

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Reflections on Mid-Life

September 17, 2014 by 4 Comments

Mid-Life….I have been avoiding that term for a long time but truth is at 49 years of age, I’m probably more than mid-life! Although my plan is to be around a LONG time heheheh! 🙂 My kids are growing older…I have a sophomore in high school and a sophomore in college. My nest is emptying….my husband and I are looking at empty nest cars (ya know..thinking about the day when I’ll be trading in the mom-van but not quite there yet) and dreaming about traveling. Of course, that will be AFTER all those college bills are paid! Never-the-less….we are looking forward to new adventures in the next few years. It’s bittersweet though. We love family life and traveling with our kids and having their friends in & out of our house. Albeit, I’ll have to do a post on budget mindedly feeding all those friends this past summer… Especially those growing teenage boys, YIKES!

But I digress….I find mid-life interesting to say the least! Growing older in my physical body, while my mind feels so young. I know my 60 year old friends are rolling their eyes about now but truly in the 40’s wow…things start to not work like they used to! I used to see everything near and far. Now I can’t see in front of my nose without readers (sigh)… Cue “We’ve Only Just Begun” by the Carpenter’s. I recently heard someone say that in your 40’s you long for the body from your 30’s that you loathed in your 20’s! After childbirth….yeah I’m right there with them! Crazy how time changes our perspective, does it not?

The “working” title of my upcoming CD is called Love and Life but I’m thinking it’s time to add “mid” to that title. Really changes the whole perspective….what do you think?

Speaking of perspective……Wherever you are now, how has your perspective changed? What are you appreciating now that you once took for granted, perhaps? Would love to hear from you. Leave your comments below…..

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15 years ago today I was at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital waiting…..

June 25, 2014 by Leave a Comment

   Reflections on Love & Life…..Today is June 25, 2014. 15 years ago, I was sitting in a waiting room at Vanderbilt Children’s hospital praying for the life of my 3 1/2  year old daughter. Would she live? She was having open heart surgery to repair a hole in her heart. One she could not live with and one, had we ignored, that would require a heart and lung transplant later. Whew! I still remember the day I received that news. I was 8 months pregnant with my son and on bed rest. I felt the weight of that news like a ton of bricks on my chest. She had the surgery 8 months after I gave birth. So the season of a newborn and no sleep was also fraught with the wonderings of what would happen in the future. Although we had an amazing cardiologist and amazing surgeon, nothing prepares you for the what ifs.… nothing prepares you for the feeling of powerlessness and hoping that doctors do know what they are doing. Even putting your child in the hands of an amazing, renowned doctor does not take that away. The only thing that sustained me was  faith in the God who created us  in the first place. That’s easy to say in hindsight, mind you. It was not easy. It was a day by day, moment by moment, sometimes second by second journey for months. Surgery day…June 25,1999 was the longest day of my life thus far. It seemed those hours of waiting were suspended in time and I couldn’t rush them no matter how hard I tried. I wouldn’t want to relive that season but I am thankful for what I learned about God, my faith, my marriage,my family and frankly, myself. So this is one reason why I am passionate about family life! All the career goals vanish in these moments. Although my career is important…my family is priority. What are you living for today? Having goals is absolutely necessary in life but don’t let them crowd out what is truly important- your relationships. I am thankful everyday  that my daughter came through the surgery fine and has grown into a beautiful young woman, inside and out!

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Relationships and Anniversaries…..

July 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

1987 to 2013…..

Last month, I celebrated my 26th wedding Anniversary. I was thinking about that today as I wished someone else a “Happy Anniversary.” In my latest newsletter, I shared a ‘ then and now ‘photo of me and my hubby too. 26 years….is a long time. Add to that 5 years of dating and high school sweethearts..umm you get the pic. We pretty much grew up together. We certainly made our passage into adulthood together. Sometimes, that can be  difficult because people change over the years. Life and circumstances change us…don’t they?  We started dating in high school!  We have been through so much- lots of fun family times, job promotions babies being born but also … family illnesses and deaths , divorces of our friends, financial ups and downs, 2 years of a sick baby boy = no sleep for parents and a daughter who had open heart surgery… life can throw you a few curve balls along the way and that doesn’t include what we brought into the relationship from our families or origin! My point is…relationships take work, investment of time and energy and  as we go through the years, it is important to celebrate those milestones!

So for all you celebrating Anniversaries this year…Happy Anniversary! My wish for you is to remember why you fell in love in the first place,be present in this moment and to celebrate well! Celebrations don’t have to be expensive. A picnic or a candlelit dinner on the back patio can be just as romantic as one in a restaurant but remember, you need music for the mood too! 🙂 So here’s my Anniversary Song and all my best wishes!

-Debbie

P.S. I’d love to hear from you- How have you celebrated your Anniversaries through the years?

 

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