Thoughts for the Journey
The LUV Journal
Thoughts for the Journey is the LUV Journal — a space for reflection, clarity, and shared learning. Here we explore ideas, experiences, and practical insights that support personal growth, organizational health, and intentional next steps.
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Why Did I Get Out of Bed This Morning?
Life isn’t always profound. Sometimes it’s just messy hair, strong coffee, and convincing yourself that getting out of bed was the right decision.
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Beyond the Checklist
What if we’ve spent decades teaching life skills—but not enough time helping people discover who they are, what they value, and recognize their own inherent worth? For decades, I watched caring professionals and hopeful young people work incredibly hard toward the same goal: building a better future. Yet too often, after every requirement had been…
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I Started in a Garage
There are seasons in life that ask questions we never expected to answer. Who am I now? What happens when the path I was walking suddenly disappears? Do I still have something meaningful to contribute? In 2017, those questions became very real for me. I was recovering from a life-changing health challenge and trying to…
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Everything Feels Like the Problem
Most of the time, when everything feels like the problem… it’s not. You ever have those moments where it just feels like everything is off?Like no matter where you look, something needs your attention… something needs to be fixed… something feels wrong? And your brain just keeps going.Trying to keep up.Trying to figure it out.Trying…
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When Everything Becomes a Business
As services grow and scale, something subtle can shift—from purpose to pressure, from connection to structure. This reflection explores what happens when systems become businesses—and what we risk losing along the way.
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Included and Funded—But Who Holds the Influence?
Lived experience is being included—and often funded—in child-, family-, and youth-serving systems. But as roles become formalized, something begins to shift. This piece explores a critical question: who holds influence, and what happens when lived experience is present… but no longer positioned to lead?