Joy Phenix's Blog

Have you ever avoided initiating an awkward conversation? What drives our avoidance? Fear? Apathy? Laziness? Maybe your feelings were bumped or bruised and you knew (you just KNEW) you weren’t supposed to “let it go,” but that you needed to talk it out.  Perhaps it was a curt word from a colleague or a brush-off [...]

Be always lavish of your caresses, and sparing in your corrections. William Cavendish I received a text this weekend which was so kind, so heartfelt, and so flat-out encouraging, that I’m still awash in gratitude for the person who reached out to me. Can you recall when someone encouraged you in such a way? Maybe [...]

“Fran-Sis-Co…  That’s fun to say!” Buddy the Elf The quote above is perhaps my favorite from one of the most quotable movies of all time. Words definitely have a fun factor and, when we think about it, not only are there great words to say, there’s also a bunch of icky words. In fact, if [...]

“He who loves, sees.” C.S. Lewis The other day I came home and our sitter described how my son seemed particularly quiet after school.  She spent the better part of the afternoon trying to coax the story out of him, eventually learning the details of a 8-year-old playground drama. By the time we came home, [...]

Repeat after me: There. Are. No. Superwomen. Breath deeply and repeat as often as necessary! I know we covered this yesterday, but a daily reminder can’t hurt!  Besides, while it’s easy to explain WHY we should ditch the “Superwoman Myth,” the HOW can be the tricky part! Even if you’re Intellectually Convinced the comparison/competitive game [...]

“Excuse the mess, but we live here.” Rosanne Barr Have you ever known someone who disappears whenever someone in their life has a crisis? I have one friend, let’s call her “Debbie,” who is notorious for such behavior. The people around Debbie have come to expect her disappearance act and most of the time give [...]

“The compliment that helps us on our way is not the one that is shut up in the mind, but the one that is spoken out.” Mark Twain I was walking the dog to the bus stop, the kids had run ahead, and Billy turned to me and said, “I can’t believe I get to [...]

“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant” Ralph Waldo Emerson Yesterday at 3:22, my twitter feed started chirping like mad. I changed computer tabs and saw the news of the Boston explosions.  Suddenly knew I was going to resist turning on the television for hours, if not days. [...]

This post reminded me – AGAIN – to approach my kids when I’m wrong in humility and with an eye toward healthy relationships. *** REPOST *** Parenting is a humbling experience. Pardon my surprise, but I didn’t realize how much I needed to change grow to do this job well.  I figured since I had [...]

One of the best compliments I’ve ever received was when someone said their family started playing the compliment game because of this post!  What high praise!!! Thanks so much.  For those of you who might have missed it, here’s a favorite Team Phenix game! *** REPOST*** I am reading a fantastic book by Bob Goff [...]