Shows
Big Girl PantsBig ChangeWhen you sell your house, it's a lot of change all at once. I've been finding hidden messages at the back of the sock drawer, flipping through memories from childhood, teen times, and adulthood. Memory after memory flashes from every corner, from every found item. Some of our memories are like life preservers, they hold us up when we're in deep water. But other memories speak to all that went wrong. And those memories are an anchor that drags us down to the bottom and holds us there until we run out of either courage...2023-08-1908 min
Big Girl PantsMeeting RacismI like to think of myself as discriminating (in a good way) but not prejudiced. But in today's times, it's important to think about how we contribute to prejudicial attitudes about other people based on political opinion or childhood conditioning. This is the story of how I first met racism and the way that impacts my life today.2023-07-2110 min
Big Girl PantsTHE BOARDING HOUSE: A Bed and a Meal for $10 a WeekThis isn't the first time America has had a housing crisis. A recent encounter with a homeless camp brought back a story about my great-grandmother. Twice widowed, she solved a problem for herself and for others. Maybe it's time to let stories from the hard times of the past inspire how we address problems today.2023-06-2809 min
Big Girl PantsPut Your Money in the MattressI think most of us worry about money more than we'd like to admit. No matter how much we have, it seems like it's never enough. But have we entered a time like the one that made my Grandmom put her money in the mattress? Listen to her story, and mine. Maybe it's time to give that idea some new consideration.2023-06-0211 min
Big Girl PantsNever Forget: People Died to Keep You FreeWith all the political huffing and puffing in advance of the 2024 election cycle, the big issues we face as Americans are, again, off the table. Affordable health care, homelessness, food insecurity, mass shootings and more. Social media is slicing and dicing us like a red tomato into little voting segments. We're being fear-mongered into seeing each other as dangerous. Is that the America you want? Let's come together and prevent a second Civil War. This Memorial Day, let's take back our freedom. People died to keep you free. Honor that.2023-05-2709 min
Big Girl PantsThe Hangin'God has a strange way of putting us exactly where he wants us to be. 2023-04-1808 min
Big Girl PantsBorn from Stories and MysteryThe formation of a human soul is complex business. As children we sift through ideas but also marinate in the stories of our family and the rituals that are passed down from one generation to the next. This is the story of one such formation.2023-03-3008 min
Big Girl PantsCowboys and IndiansWhen I was a kid, we didn't play organized sports. We roamed the neighborhood like feral cats. But we mostly behaved because, back then, any parent that caught you doing something wrong had permission to punish you any way they saw fit, whether they were your parents or not, so like I said, we mostly behaved. But there was this one time when things went very wrong. 2023-03-2008 min
Big Girl PantsRescue MissionAfter hearing a Easter sermon about "taking up my cross" I saw a cat torture and kill a baby bird. And thus my ministry to save the birds of Elm street was born.2023-03-0305 min
Big Girl PantsLife: Speeding AwaySometimes you meet the right one and the right one takes you on the ride of your life. 2023-01-2911 min
Big Girl PantsWindow to Another WorldI feel all caged up by winter, until I look out my window. 2023-01-2608 min
Big Girl PantsPatience: Playing the Waiting GameI picked the wrong year to start coloring my hair. Over twenty years ago I waited 9 months to have a baby. Now I'm waiting to have a knee replacement and feel like I'm 90. Getting old is NOT for sissies.2023-01-1306 min
Big Girl PantsJello Cake and Santa Snack, Welcome to My New Years EveNew Year's Eve festivities in my childhood were exquisitely boring, the ones in San Francisco so celebratory I can't remember them, and then my husband rolled one in by having a massive stroke, but we won't dwell on that. You never really know your relatives until you spend the holidays with them. Here's an introduction to some of mine!2022-12-2908 min
Big Girl PantsA Christmas Story: Iris in the SnowI wrote this for Appalachian Voice magazine many years ago. It's a story about a boy I knew back in the hills of West Virginia. If you're in need of a feel-good story this holiday season, this might just fit the bill! Merry Christmas from my heart to yours.2022-12-2110 min
Big Girl PantsA Thanksgiving with Moonshiners and MissionariesI'll never forget what happened in the Zickafoose sisters cabin the Thanksgiving day the moonshiners arrived. You won't either. 2022-11-1608 min
Big Girl PantsBirthday PartiesI never had a birthday party until I turned 25. Then gave myself one and never looked back!2022-10-2807 min
Big Girl PantsFishnets and Mini-skirtsI was always on the outskirts of high fashion. But when the fishnet hose and mini-skirts arrived in my school, I was determined to have them!2022-10-1906 min
Big Girl PantsHalloween: The Despard MansionIt was a dark and stormy Halloween eve when I ended up somewhere I wasn't supposed to be.2022-10-1111 min
Big Girl PantsBad HaircutsWe've all had one: a bad hair cut that just can't grow out fast enough! This is the story of a sheep-shearing beautician who gave me just such a haircut, and it scarred me for life. (Well, not really, but I do have an un-natural fear of scissors and clippers.)2022-10-0507 min
Big Girl PantsInner Tubes and Water SnakesBack when I was a kid in West Virginia, we didn't go to the pool, we went to the swimming hole, down at the bottom of Old Man Reynolds pasture. This is a story about the time we almost drown there. Best enjoyed wearing your Big Girl Pants.2022-09-0807 min
Big Girl PantsA Lesson in CourageWhen I was 12 I knew a woman who was bedfast with rheumatoid arthritis for 14 years. When her caregiver could no longer care for her she was sent to a home for invalids, where a difficult new thing called Physical Therapy was tried on her condition. She earned her Badge of Courage when she survived it and learned how to transfer herself from a bed to a wheelchair, open a can, and go to the bathroom by herself. We watched Star Trek together and drank Coca-Cola when got back home. She encouraged me to do the im...2022-08-3010 min
Big Girl PantsWhat I Learned in Home EcBack when I was in middle school, we took a survivalism class. It was called home ec. All girls had to take it. The boys took shop. We learned to sew and cook; they learned to change their oil and hammer a nail. We should never have dropped those mandatory classes. Now we have young parents who can't cook a potato or change the oil in their car.2022-08-2908 min
Big Girl PantsSeeing My Mother NakedI don't guess that there's s a way to prepare to see your mother fully naked. I know no one tried to prepare me. I was maybe thirteen, and it just happened, on a stormy afternoon in late summer, just as I was developing my own "woman's body." Seeing her changed everything.2022-08-1610 min
Big Girl PantsPE and My PeriodI learned very confusing information about sex in our "health" class during PE. When I got my first period, I assumed I was dying, since "periods" were mentioned but no one said anything about blood.2022-08-1112 min
Big Girl PantsMy Boyfriend Daniel BooneWhen you don't get picked for volleyball or asked to the school dance, a horse may just end up as your best friend.2022-07-2909 min
Big Girl PantsMy Friend TinyI was rescued during a difficult year in middle school by a cook named Tiny. She taught me that the bullies torturing me were just as insecure as I was. After all the positive lessons she provided in self-esteem, I watched her give her own up to keep a man.2022-07-2709 min
Big Girl PantsThe Three KingsMy pastor father was a white man involved in the Civil Rights movement. This is the story of how he stood up to the Three Kings, the power-brokers in a mountain town determined to keep things as they were. When trouble is looming, you need your Big Girl Pants.2022-07-2108 min
Big Girl PantsScout CampSocial intrigue begins early. There are always the popular ones, the bullies, and the things we don't want to do that others think are "good for us." This is the story of how I "got to" go to Scout camp where the first thing I "got to" do was dig a latrine. Things went downhill from there. 2022-07-1506 min
Big Girl PantsWhy I Love HorsesThe most fun I've ever had was on the back of a horse. I was a clumsy child. I flunked out of ballet. I fell on my teacher after trying to turn my feet out in fourth position one too many times. Atop a horse, I was regal and elegant. Wrapping my legs around their power has always been magical for me. I dreamed of having a dappled gray Arabian but that dream never came true.2022-07-0709 min
Big Girl PantsTORTURE: We all have things we never forget.Sometimes things happen to you that you can't forget. Sometimes those things stay with you when you're an adult. Experiences that influence you in ways you aren't always aware of, or sometimes you are aware of them, but you just can't do anything about it. This is the story of how that happened to me. 2022-06-3009 min
Big Girl PantsMountain BaronsI grew up in West Virginia. Everyone assumes that it's a poor state but some of the richest people I've ever known live in West Virginia. That's because it's a feudal state. You're either a baron or a serf, there's not much in between. As the divides between the "haves" and the "have almost nothings" continues to grow, you might find this story of life in the 60's informative.2022-06-2208 min
Big Girl PantsMoving AgainWe live in a world on the move. There are secrets to knowing how to make a move and still keep a little peace in your life. Here's the story of how we did it.2022-06-1208 min
Big Girl PantsSomething Called KindergartenKindergarten forced me to leave my childhood dreams and start memorizing 26 letters in an arbitrary order. It was the beginning of my realization that often "education" is more about forcing young minds into compliant boxes than inspiring knowledge.2022-06-0407 min
Big Girl PantsThe Bully and My Baby SisterAs the first born, I was a Princess with many welcoming arms and laps. Then my baby sister was born, and everything changed. I hadn't realized how protective I was of her until an e bully picked on her in elementary school. I almost killed him for it. 2022-05-3007 min
Big Girl PantsWho's in the Basement?My sister and I never watched cartoons in the morning like normal kids, because we never knew who was in the basement.2022-05-2007 min
Big Girl PantsI Was Born in a Church2022-05-1106 min
Big Girl PantsBig Girl Pants! Always on the Move!I was always moving somewhere. But my birth was a much anticipated event back in the hills of West Virginia!2022-05-0308 min
Big Girl PantsAn Unorthodox EasterThe Urkanians celebrating Easter on Sunday reminded me of the Easter I experienced when I was six. I'll never forget that exploding egg.2022-04-2606 min
Big Girl PantsResurrectionWhat would you like to use again, pay more attention to, or see differently? Resurrection means doing exactly this.2022-04-1310 min
Big Girl PantsThe Birds and the BeesSpring is here and nature is busy with procreation. The birds and the bees provide such an interesting mirror for human behavior. 2022-03-2307 min
Big Girl PantsFogged InSometimes it can be hard to see where you're going in life, especially when fear joins the party!2022-03-1607 minBig Girl PantsCrisis ManagementSometimes things happen that you can't anticipate and response isn't optional. Sometimes, you just gotta do what you gotta do! But responding in a way that lets you honor the sacredness and fragility of your own emotional system is very important, especially when the crisis happens to someone close to you.2022-03-0808 min
Big Girl PantsAre You Waiting for What's Next?Spring is pushing hard against the cold earth. Winds of change are everywhere. Do you find yourself waiting for what's next, too? 2022-02-2808 minBig Girl PantsAre You Looking for Sunshine?Life can get dark. Winter days drag on, political roulette between nations threatens war, people get sick, inflation soars. Sunshine can be hard to find. That's why it's important to go looking for it.2022-02-2306 min
Big Girl PantsCaptured2022-02-0806 min
Big Girl PantsWhat If You Only Had 30 Days Left?The American retailer is hot on it to make cash off your expressions of love. Flowers, balloons, dinners out, cards, and jewelry with diamonds and hearts. But if you only had 30 days left on this earth, what would you do with that time? How would you express love during that tiny window? Never trade an interesting question for an answer!2022-01-3108 min
Big Girl PantsMy Bluebird GirlI'm a birder. I feed the birds at several feeders and have my favorites, one in particular. I even feed them mealworms (which is part of this story). This last week we had a storm, a big one. Thirteen inches of snow. And it changed the life of the wild things. It changed me, too.2022-01-2513 min
Big Girl PantsSnowed InI've always loved snow days! They give us an excuse to stop and rest. We can take the time to make and eat comfort food and reconsider about what's important. After a third pandemic year, maybe we all needed some snow days! And snow days bring out the beauty of nature on display. We're at 13 inches and counting in the mountains.2022-01-1709 min
Big Girl PantsEpiphany!It's been a long year dealing with COVID. Maybe we're all more worried about things than we need to be. At least, that's my epiphany moment!2022-01-0810 min
Big Girl PantsMaking Friends with a New YearOn a cold winter day, I watch the world fly into my window feeder, and contemplate the state our nation during COVID, again.2022-01-0407 min
Big Girl PantsMake Friends with Fear in the New YearThere are so many changes coming at us in this world, we're all so exhausted by COVID and climate change weather disasters and the isolation of our social brains. Sometimes. no matter how strong you are, t's hard not to be afraid. So maybe making friends with fear is a great starting place for life in the new year. 2021-12-2806 min
Big Girl PantsBe Not Afraid: Trust Is the AntidoteThese are harsh times: COVID (again), bombings, school shootings, inflation, the intentional spread of dis-information, mistrust. We're wired for negative bias yet born from love. Trust may just be the missing part of our holiday equation!2021-12-2007 minBig Girl PantsWaitingI remember when waiting used to be exciting! Then waiting became a dreadful activity. And now I'm back to finding it intoxicating again. Life ebbs and flows and waiting is a big part of it, especially when you're at the beginning and end of it. These days, the planet itself is waiting for help to arrive. 2021-12-1109 min
Big Girl PantsA Special Kind of SweetnessSometimes it's the little things that we remember. Sometimes it's the little things that get us through grief. And sometimes, it's just fun to eat spoil your supper with a sweet. Especially during the holidays! 2021-12-0705 minBig Girl PantsFinding Warmth Amid the Quiet of WinterWinter is a harsh mother. She has her own ways and her own rules. The creatures that break those rules often pay a large price. Winter gives us longer nights to sleep. Bears and rabbits take advantage of these longer rests. While we light up our houses and plan late-night parties. What is this is the year to rest in the quiet of winter? Winter is a good time for thinking.2021-11-3008 min
Big Girl PantsA Time for GratitudeThis Podcast Is a Guided Meditation to Counteract Black Friday. The greedy world you live in always makes you feel like you are never enough. That you can never have enough, or do enough, or be enough. But this is a capitalistic lie. You are always enough and you almost always have enough. So join me in an act of counter-capitalism by participating in this guided meditation to celebrate your abundance and offer gratitude. Because your every breath is a gift and you are precious. 2021-11-1808 min
Big Girl PantsBeating the Black Friday BluesIt's that time of year again when we're being encouraged to buy, buy, buy. To slap plastic and get ready for the holidays! The bounty of Thanksgiving is lost amid the hype. Time to remember what's real and to be grateful for life itself. This episode comes with a bonus guided meditation that will help you remember how wonderful life really is.2021-11-1706 min
Big Girl PantsA Different Way of SeeingAs I grow older, I find that what I am valuing in life is changing. Worry about money is being replaced with worrying about time. Whether I'll have enough time to do the things I want to do, like tell stories in the British Isles and eat seafood in Greece. What once seemed so important now doesn't. COVID and years of widowhood have changed my perspective.2021-11-1008 minBig Girl PantsAn American DeathAs a grief professional I exhibited my Navigating Loss Program at a large funeral convention this month and I got quite the education in an American death. 2021-10-2608 minBig Girl PantsChanging with the SeasonsThe seasons change all the time. So gently at first, then with that first breath of icy air or the bright colors of fall leaves. We change, too. And our seasons are always on the move, then comes that startling change, the one you can't ignore. Yeah, that one.2021-10-1106 minBig Girl PantsAdaptivity: On Hiking the Rim of Your SoulAll of life involves change. Sometimes the changes come gradually and sometimes change is forced upon us. Adaptivity is a human strong-suit but one we often neglect. I'm at one of those points where I'm choosing to change before I'm forced to. And I'm not the only one...2021-09-2710 min
Big Girl PantsCloud CoverSometimes the day-to-day grind wears us down to the nub. But when we have a chance to shift our perspective, it's amazing what we can see.2021-09-2210 min
Big Girl PantsAFTERBIRTH: Sometimes it takes a long gtime to deliver a child.I lost my husband when our son was newly sixteen. His birth was relatively painless, since it was a C-section. (The recovery from surgery, was not much fun, but epidurals are pretty amazing things.) But it was just this month, when he turned 26, that I delivered the placenta. This is the story of a mother's love and the length of time it often takes us to finish birthing our children.2021-09-0708 min
Big Girl PantsFinding the Family Guns and Other Treasures in the ClosetOur childhood rooms hold memories and treasures. When we leave them for adulthood, sorting through them is a rite of passage.Todd men have had and used guns for generations. While I'm not a gun person myself, when our son had to sort through his room as he moved off to medical school, he found treasure in the closet, along with memories.2021-09-0108 min
Big Girl PantsWe Live in a Squirrelly WorldSometimes the world around us imitates our crazy human life. Take the squirrel microcosm for instance.2021-08-1707 min
Big Girl PantsMake Room for What's NextLetting go of the life that used to live you is hard. I'm on my third commercial dumpster and feeling lighter every day! Sometimes we own our stuff and sometimes our stuff owns us! Know what I mean?2021-08-0706 min
Big Girl PantsDoing the Math: Is It Time for a New Equation?There are so many things being solved by math today. All except the most basic things. Like economic justice, the saving of our planet, the prevention and cure of disease. Is it time to look at things differently? When will X=Y? When will all life matter enough for us to behave differently and realize we are NOT in charge.2021-07-2808 min
Practicing Gospel PodcastA Widow’s Tale with Donna Marie Todd PGE 45For those of you who have been listening to this podcast from its beginning, you know Donna Marie Todd as a storyteller. She was one of the first people who graciously and generously gave her time and talent to allow me to interview her or him. Donna Marie introduced us to the wonderful art of Biblical Storytelling, and that art has been an ongoing series for me as I continue to interview Biblical Storytellers. The link to that side of Donna Marie’s life can be found here:
http://www.donnamarietodd.com/
And the link to...2021-07-2644 min
Big Girl PantsLet It ALL GoI just filled a dumpster with stuff in my house and yard that wasn't even mine. It's been 10 years since my husband died and it was time to get rid of his Man Cave junk. What's in your junk trunk?2021-07-1706 min
Big Girl PantsIs It Time to Let Go Yet?Every loss we experience leaves us with broken dreams. Things we wished we would have done or said, plans that will not materialize, trips that won't be taken, and people we will no longer see or be friends with. Our broken dreams cut us like glass until we touch them one more time and then let them go. This is a story about love and loss.2021-07-0807 min
Big Girl PantsTake a Walk on the Wild Side Before It's Too LateGetting out in nature with the wild things can inspire our souls in ways that are healthy and vital. Too much of our lives are spent in needless worry, spinning the hamster wheel of the economy we rarely benefit from. Wild things spend their days being free. Sure, there are the quick life and death dangers, but those moments come and are gone. We humans cling so tightly to anxiety that we become ill. Get free of it.2021-07-0408 min
Big Girl PantsA 4th of July Pig PickingCome to the hills of West Virginia for a 4th of July pig pickin and learn how that day still impacts my dating choices.2021-06-2910 min
Big Girl PantsWhat Are You Listening FOR?Ever find yourself believing all the negative things people say while ignoring the positive ones? Yeah, me, too. Maybe we should change the order of that.2021-06-2206 minBig Girl PantsWhat Are You Listening To?Whales and birds talk to their young, beginning in utero, giving them instructions on everything from when to hatch and where to go fishing. If listening has this big an impact on animal life, imagine how what you're listening to impacts you.2021-06-1508 min
Big Girl PantsIt's Time to Let Go of Pandemic ThinkingIf you're reading this, you survived a world pandemic. But the cortisol and adrenaline that you survived on for over a year aged you. I know, because I had COVID (twice). I remember that super-stressed feeling from the years after my husband passed. But you survived it! Time to release all that stress and focus on moving forward with intention and joy. Here's a way to do that...2021-05-2908 min
Big Girl PantsMaking Friends with Your Shadow SelvesI began exploring my shadow selves shortly after my husband died. Not because I wanted to but because I had to. There were parts of me that wanted it to be okay that I was afraid and angry but I was too much of a Southern girl to acknowledge them. Now is the right time to acknowledge the power of these suppressed selves and to let them walk in the light along side us so they don't do anything in the dark that can hurt us.2021-05-2510 min
Big Girl PantsWhat's Trying to Be Born in You?It's been a long year of isolation. Perfect for internal contemplation. Something is waiting to be born inside you. Do you know what it is yet? Perhaps a lesson from the sea will help.2021-05-1806 min
Big Girl PantsAre You Pregnant with Possbility?Nature is bursting with energy right now so is a good time to take that into yourself and recover from the darkness of this last pandemic year!2021-05-0905 min
Big Girl PantsWhat Are YOU Pollinating?Nature is pollinating the world like crazy this spring. She's trying to insure the survival of plants and trees with the help of bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators. Now that you're older and wiser, and survived a pandemic, what would you like to help to survive? It's an important question for us all and one with a highly personal answer!2021-04-2709 min
Big Girl PantsFRAGILE: Handle with CareA lesson from a wildflower walk in how to honor both your fragility and your strength.2021-04-2107 min
Big Girl PantsNever Forget How Precious You AreSpring is a great time to get out and see how new life is leaping up, filled with promise for the future. Your life is a promise, too, and sometimes it's easy to lose sight of that.2021-04-1107 min
Big Girl PantsYou Are Loved, Just the Way You AreIt's easy to feel abandoned and scared during a pandemic. Easy to see ourselves as alone and unloved in the best of times. But the reality is that we are always being watched by the eyes of love. Here's how I see my life issues reflected in the Easter narrative.2021-04-0407 min
Big Girl PantsSometimes You Can't Stop the MusicMy mother was a 43-year breast cancer survivor. She and I shared a rare musical bond. This is the story of the last time we made music together. A mystical moment that I'll always remember and the gift it gave to her, to me, and to everyone who heard it.2021-03-2806 min
Big Girl PantsDon't Let Regrets Steal Your DreamsRegrets are like those mean kids in middle school who whispered about you in the hall or that nosy aunt who tossed your childhood sins on the table at the family reunion and invited everyone to taste your shame. We all have regrets, and they often keep us from fulfilling our dreams. Don't let the past ruin your future. Keep regrets in their rightful place - at the end of the hallway.2021-03-2207 min
Big Girl PantsIs Your Heart Saying It_s Time to Surrender Your Broken Dreams So New Ones Can EmergeAre you dragging your tired, broken dreams around with you in a too-heavy backpack? If so, unpack that nasty old thing. See what's in there and let that stuff go! It's spring! You've got new dreams trying to live through you. Make room for them!2021-03-1609 min
Big Girl PantsThe Ancient Secret That Will Help You Emerge from WinterI want to pull this winter off like a pair of ill-fitting long johns. Walking in the woods I tripped over an ancient secret that nature uses to escape the sludge of winter. Maybe it can help you, too?2021-03-0908 min
Her Two CentsA Widow's Tale and the Very Large Sisterhood with Guest Donna Marie Todd of A Widow's TaleWelcome to the Her Two Cents Podcast where your hosts Laura Webb and Faith Doyle come together as two female financial advisors with over 40 years of collective experience to provide a multigenerational perspective on all things money. Our goal is that through these conversations, we can normalize the way women talk about and view money. Did you know that the AVERAGE age for a woman to be widowed is 59 years old? Yes, widowhood is one of the fastest growing demographics for women. Losing your spouse or partner changes EVERY aspect of your life: financial, sexual, and societal. Our guest...2021-03-0432 min
Big Girl PantsWill We Ever Be Safe Again?COVID has brought every last one of us a traumatic experience. This trauma runs the gamet: Broken lives, broken dreams, broken bank accounts, broken marriages, broken families, and way too many funerals. Trauma's biggest impact is that it reduces our sense of safety. To feel safe again, we must grieve what we've lost.2021-03-0207 min
Big Girl PantsHillbilly HollerFind out what happens when two women go to the wilds of Madison County in search of a pristine paradise. Surprise! Life is never what you plan for and Monster Truck shows may not be your thing.2021-03-0110 min
Big Girl PantsGet Your Happy OnSometimes we need to get away. We need to take a little trip for NO REASON AT ALL. When we do, we give ourselves permission to find the beauty that lives all around us, to watch a cloud, and see a landscape transform as the miles roll by. A little trip is good for the soul.2021-02-2408 min
Big Girl PantsWant to Feel Happier, Release Anxiety, and Enjoy Your Life?This has been such a year of angst and anxiety. So many tumultuous events and divisiveness have unsettled us all. But we can find happiness and release anxiety even in times such as this. When we reclaim the ancient practice of surrender, we are freed to enjoy our life.2021-02-1709 min
Big Girl PantsLearn to Love Your FearWhen you ignore your fear it holds you hostage. Fear is an ancient friend. Fear once alerted you to lions in the tall grass. Fear serves a purpose, it's there to keep you safe. When you learn to love your fear and trust it to guide you, it will reveal hidden dangers (like those lions in the grass). Fear knows what's keeping you from fulfilling your dreams.2021-02-0907 min
Big Girl PantsWhat Is Fear Costing YOU?It's so easy to be held hostage by our fears, especially now. It's tempting to either give into fear or slap on a "Brave Face." Something different happens when you let fear be a messenger.2021-02-0106 min
Big Girl PantsHow Do You Size Up Your Fear?We are living in a time of financial and personal pandemic fear. But the truth of the matter is we've all had fear since we were small. We met fear in different ways as little people, but we've all encountered it and it's changed us. This is the first in a series of reflections about how our fear controls us and ways to meet it where it lives and hopefully, use the information it has to better our lives.2021-01-2609 min
Big Girl PantsLooking for Soul CourageSometimes it's hard to see what's right in front of us. Sometimes it's hard to do the right thing. Maybe it's time to do both as we remember struggles from the past and the work of Martin Luther King, Jr.2021-01-1909 min
Big Girl PantsWhen You Wish Upon a StarPick a star word and let it guide your year! The frightening levels of political rancor and COVID infections are keeping us at arms-length from one another. But looking heavenward shows us planets rotating around the sun in an orderly fashion; each without worry about whether the others are doing it in the "right way."2021-01-1408 min
Big Girl PantsA Trickle of HopeIt's been a dark winter already. As I plant my indoor bulb gardens, I'm feeling as shriveled up as the tulips and amaryllis. Careful watering is the secret to a bulb garden blooming. We're a lot like bulbs, we have everything we need to grow already inside us but we, too, need careful watering. Who and what will nurture your growth this winter? Think carefully about the question because you deserve to bloom in 2021.2021-01-0507 min
Science Made FunWorld Storytelling Day- The Singer of Stories, Donna Marie ToddWorld Storytelling Day is celebrated March 20th of each year. We speak with Donna Marie Todd, President of the Asheville Storytelling Circle about the importance and value of oral storytelling. Storytelling is humanities earliest communication method, and we discuss the importance on learning and culture. Learn more about the Asheville Storytelling Circle by visiting their website: https://www.ashevillestorycircle.org/index.htmlVisit Donna Marie's Website and YouTube at: http://www.donnamarietodd.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3hc5_xj2kuLEGTrLnstdMw2020-03-1940 min
Be The Talk043: The Gifts of Death with Donna Marie Todd[spp-playlist] Donna Marie Todd is a writer, storyteller and the editor of "Widow" magazine. She is the founder of A Widows Tale project, which began with a grant from the National Storytelling Network, to provide retreats and online recovery programs for widowed women. WATCH Donna Marie's TEDx Talk HERE Learn about Donna Marie's Organization HERE. BeTheTalk is a 7 day a week podcast where Nathan Eckel chats with talkers from TEDx and other branded events. Learn the tips tools and techniques that can help you give the talk to change the world...2018-03-1321 min
BeTheTalk with Nathan Eckel043: The Gifts of Death with Donna Marie Todd[spp-playlist] Donna Marie Todd is a writer, storyteller and the editor of "Widow" magazine. She is the founder of A Widows Tale project, which began with a grant from the National Storytelling Network, to provide retreats and online recovery programs for widowed women. WATCH Donna Marie's TEDx Talk HERE Learn about Donna Marie's Organization HERE. BeTheTalk is a 7 day a week podcast where Nathan Eckel chats with talkers from TEDx and other branded events. Learn the tips tools and techniques that can help you give the talk to change the world...2018-03-1321 min