Inspiring Women

02/08/2025

02/08/2025

Inspiring Women
💗February is LOVE Unconditionally

We have shared how we extend that LOVE thru a Sisterhood 💪.
I thought there was an amazing LOVE we all could be better at and that is loving ourselves ! Here’s a great LOVE starter:

1. Stare fear in the face. So often fear stops us. Instead live fearless - knowing when to stop and when to move and when to be brave.

2. Invest in your friends. Good friends listen and show up. Do the same. Friendship is give and take and give and take. Friends are the ultimate gift.

3. No excuses. You must take care of yourself: heart, body and soul. There is no excuse for forgetting you. Your family needs you to love you with the same tenacity that you love them.

4. Guilt doesn't need to dictate choices. Don't let guilt stop you from taking care of yourself. Guilt keeps one stuck.

5. Read real books again. Watch a mini-series. Start jogging. Do something that is not work, not chores, but simply that makes you happy.

6. Love your body. Your aging body. Yes, that. And stop lamenting the wrinkles, but embrace them as another year lived.

7. Don't short-change yourself. You are amazing.

8. Listen more, judge less. Comparison is the death of contentment. Instead of judging, be happy for others.

9. Slow down. Hold hands more. Say "yes" to one more book. Let them get the gum in the check out line. Just be present.

10. Create margin in your life. That space in-between the busy and the crazy where you can just breathe again.

11. Don't be afraid of "no" and trying. The worst that can happen is that you brush off and try again.

12. Be proud of yourself. Like really nitty gritty proud - of all the showing up and trying and giving and little things you do that matter so greatly.

13. Give to others. Maybe it's not money or time, but sometimes it can be grace extended.

14. Be straightforward with your words.

15. Love well. Love without fear. Love unconditionally.

16. Forgive. This. Over and over. Grudges destroy, forgiving brings freedom.

17. Fall seven times, stand up eight. Don't lament the falling - celebrate the standing.

18. Learn from your experiences and mistakes. They don’t need to define. Sometimes those spaces of experience make us real and in the real spaces we forge connection.

19. Take risks. The biggest risk for me in life is the risk of not trying.

20. Mindset, mindset, mindset. What one thinks truly is what one believes, what one becomes.

21. Be adaptable. Life can change in an instant.

22. Love others deeply. For who they are, for there courage, for their story. Kindness and love are priceless.

Begin.

02/06/2025

Inspiring Women are focusing this month on LOVE … unconditional LOVE . I’d like to share my story of a sisterhood I am so very grateful for ,one of true UNCONDITIONAL love.

It has recently occurred to me sometimes we hope the most important women in our lives know how important they are to us, but maybe we don’t say it enough. I genuinely hope my best friend and sister Julie Normand knows the impact she has had on my life. Not only has she taken me in when I made massive life changes, she answers every call no matter the time of day or night and she listens to me talk about the same situation, fear, victory or heartbreak endlessly. She is selfless, quietly loves and supports me and only judges me a little when I go full crazy mode. She is my rock and a female always in my corner.

Over the last two years I have made some MAJOR life changes. I have lost a considerable amount of weight, changed my diet, started dating, left a toxic job, moved home and found more peace and love in my life despite the ups and downs. Often as women it is easy to find yourself comparing to those around you, and casting judgment on those making changes, based on fear, jealousy, pain, confusion and so on. When I moved back this time I was different, better in some ways and open to improving in others, but never once did I feel my best friend didn’t have my back. She may have had internal dialogue or moments of hesitation, but she loved me where I am and for who I am!

When I look at my friend Julie I see so many things. She is a beautiful woman and beautiful soul. She has her act together unlike anything I may ever have. She is good with money, makes calculated decisions and doesn’t lose sleep over financial woes. She knows she is secure and what that looks like in the future and I absolutely love that for her. She has never been my competition, she is my inspiration and my grounding. We each pull ahead and occasionally fall back in our lives, but we always reach back to make sure the other is ok, so that we are both winning. Unconditional love and support in a female relationship, when we are told to compete, to be prettier, thinner, and better is the most beautiful part of my friendship.

Thank you for your love and support. Thank you for celebrating my victories and coming along side of me during failures. Supporting women even when our hearts are jealous of their success, looks or financials is what we need in this world.

Julie Normand
Deirdre Fortino

02/05/2025

Inspiring Women Be the “Love of your Life “

02/01/2025

Inspiring Women !
February is the Month of LOVE—But Let’s Celebrate UNCONDITIONAL Love!

Unlike the world’s version of love, we want to highlight the deep, unwavering, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE that shows up in our lives. Over the next month, think about those people who embody this love and share their impact with us!

Today, we honor the sisterhoods—the friends who hold our secrets, carry our struggles, and never keep score. The ones who laugh with us until we can’t breathe and cry with us when life is too much. The ones who show up, no matter what.

Let’s celebrate them! Drop a photo and a comment about the sisterhoods in your life that make all the difference. ❤️

01/30/2025

Inspiring Women
Do not leave this month without that ONE Thing still at your forefront!
It’s so easy to roll into the next thing leaving your passions unattended . Pick it back up and today prepare your plan .

💝💪THE POWER OF ONE
One Thing. One Decision. One Direction. One Word.

💝💪What’s the one thing that could change your path?
💝💪What’s the one decision you’ve been waiting to make?
💝💪What’s the one word that could define your year?

Start with ONE.
That’s where growth begins.

01/26/2025

February is for LOVE, but our Inspiring Women’s focus is on sharing UNCONDITIONAL Love to INSPIRE others.

💖 It’s a love no matter what.
💖 It’s a love unwarranted.
💖 It’s not what society shows.
💖 It’s unexpected.
💖 It’s never losing HOPE.
💖 It’s contagious.

Unconditional love starts with YOU—INSPIRING WOMEN daring to love greatly, even when it’s hard, even when it’s unexpected.

✨ Share with us a moment when someone showed you unconditional love. Let’s inspire each other to love boldly this February! ✨

01/25/2025

Inspiring Women we thought we needed a reminder of our January focus before the month is over . It’s never too late to share or start your 1 THING 💪💥❄️

❄️✨ The Power of One: Ignite 2025 ✨❄️

As the snow blankets the earth in quiet reflection, we invite you to embrace the power of one.

💡 One action.
💡 One decision.
💡 One focus.

This January, join us as we discover the one thing that will ignite your year and guide you toward clarity, growth, and transformation.

Let’s turn the silent battles of 2024 into the loudest victories of 2025. Together, we’ll craft a year filled with focus, resilience, and success.

🌟 Stay tuned for more details on our upcoming January gathering—designed to inspire and empower YOU! 🌟



We loved to hear any of your successes 👇⬇️ So far

01/24/2025

Mary Rose Vanas has ALWAYS been in the arena of Inspiring Women. Her story I hope can be shared at our next Inspiring Women’s event on June 19th ? This is her and her passion to feed America and believes no child should ever go home hungry . What a beautiful way to gather area families !

Shelby School District shows us how it’s done :

Parents of Shelby elementary children please look for the following flyer in your students bag. The flyer will be going home today, please let us know if you will attend the event so that the food program team can cook your hot and ready pizza. Every family will be going home with a bag stuffed with goodies for a delicious meal. We may even take care of you if you forget to send a form back!!!!!!

01/22/2025

Miss Sawyer's "Kids With A Cause" is like so many of you Inspiring Women. In 8 seasons this amazing group has sent out over 70,000 Stockings to our troops and those presently serving our communities . We are so excited to have this worthy cause our focus for this years INSPIRING WOMEN’S event on June 19th @ The 10 Spot

Today was the perfect day during the winter storm and no school for us to add up all the stockings that were shipped out or hand delivered for our 8th Annual Sawyer's Stockings Project! 🇺🇲🧑‍🎄❤️
For a year where we did minimal in person events and fundraising while we dealt with health issues we are very pleased with the thousands of stockings that we were still able to give to those serving our country!

Got to admit that Sawyer was disappointed we didn't do 10,000 but there is always next year again and over the past 8 seasons we have done almost 70,000 stockings!! 🎉🎉🎉
We are so grateful to our amazing volunteers and to each and every one of you for your support!
Sawyer has started working on Thank You cards and we hope to get them mailed out this weekend ❤️❤️❤️

01/21/2025

Inspiring Women I was reading today and I saw a really cool reflection note !
Take a bit of time to examine yourself. When are you most complete and most integrated? Return to that place that situation to gain the healthy sense of self that is so easily lost in our worlds clamor and activity. Have a beautiful day,

01/17/2025

💪To All the Women in the Arena 💪

Inspiring Women It’s not always easy being in the fight. Sometimes you feel the battle scars, and it’s hard to see the victories when you’re not at your peak. But remember this: you’re in the arena. You’re showing up, pressing in, and daring greatly, even when others may not see or understand your efforts.

Theodore Roosevelt’s timeless words, tweaked just a bit to reflect the amazing women out there, are a refreshing reminder to keep learning, growing, and fighting for what matters. The battle is worth it, and so are you.

To all the inspiring women striving valiantly, your courage is seen, your efforts are valued, and your triumph is coming. Keep going—you’ve got this! 💪✨

01/15/2025

🎨THAT ONE THING New Year, New Growth! 🎨

As we step into this new year, let’s focus on that ONE thing we can do to grow and thrive. Creating a vision board is such a fun and powerful way to visualize our goals and dreams. It’s all about bringing clarity and intention to our growth journey! 🌳✨

I’d love to do this with my special friends or other Inspiring Women! 💕 What do YOU do to focus on growth and set your intentions for the year? Share your ideas or a picture of your vision board below! Let’s inspire one another. 🎨

01/14/2025

❄️Inspiring Women I know it’s cold in Michigan right now and the newness of the New Year may have worn off . You may struggle to keep those resolutions and sometimes the isolation creeps in , even in your busy lives . I found this reflection from The Crown Effect by Kathy Vintson very true ❄️

Sometimes she feels overwhelmed. Running but getting nowhere. Striving but not achieving. Competing but never winning.

And then her Father opens up the heavens and pours out a blanket of snow.

And in the silence and the beauty, she remembers…

To move forward, she must follow Him.

To achieve, she must hear Him.

To be victorious, she must surrender all to Him.

So she stands still and listens for His voice.

Love and hugs,
Kathy 💖💖💖

“Be still, and know that I am God…”
(Ps. 46:10)

Share below 👇 How do you find comfort ? Share a meditation a devotional a montra that helps you?

01/11/2025

Inspiring Women ❄️💥
It’s incredible how someone’s simple life can be so deeply INSPIRING. I only know Rachel Reed from afar, but her REALNESS, JOYFULNESS, and ability to prioritize what truly matters have left such a lasting impact.

Her AUTHENTICITY has challenged me to embrace more transparency in my own life, and her genuine approach to wellness makes her goals feel so attainable.

Thank you, Rachel Reed, for inspiring us all to live with purpose, joy, and authenticity. You are a light!
Rachael Reed

01/08/2025

Inspiring Women You have it in you to FIND & FOCUS on that ONE THING this year !

01/07/2025

❄️ INSPIRING WOMEN: January’s Focus - The Power of ONE ❄️

Sometimes, that ONE thing can feel impossible, but the rewards are worth it. This month, we’re reflecting on the power of ONE decision, ONE step, or ONE bold action that could change everything.

For me, it was a cold plunge this week—3 minutes in 32-degree icy water. It was HARD, but the benefits were AMAZING!

So, here’s the challenge: What’s that ONE hard thing you could commit to this year? Maybe it’s stepping out of your comfort zone, starting a new habit, or letting go of what’s holding you back.

Let’s inspire each other by sharing your “ONE hard thing” in the comments below! 💬