By Dawn Onley It’s that time of year again. It’s time to think of our New Year’s Resolutions and to plan how we will go about achieving these goals in 2016. We believe in ourselves when we make resolutions. No one sets out to fail. We believe we will finally start taking our health seriously,…

By Samantha McKenzie A friend of mine reminded me today of a low point in his distant past. He shared the trauma caused by his well-meaning family, the stint of homelessness that followed, and the kindness of friends and strangers that endured him during this very painful ordeal. This was about the same time we met as struggling…

By Dawn Onley At a basic level, most religions are based on the concept of hope. The hope in an omnipotent and omnipresent God or higher power. The hope that there is more than this life. The hope of seeing loved ones again. The hope of eternity in heaven. Hope is such a powerful thing….

By Samantha McKenzie As much as I talk about all the things I want to acquire, I spend very little time discussing the things I’m going to have to give up. The word sacrifice flows off our tongues pretty quickly, but the actions to get there are often carried out at a much slower pace….

By Dawn Onley Merry Christmas to you and yours! It is our prayer that your holiday is filled with love and that you are surrounded by the people who make you smile. May your holiday be warm, may your food be delicious, and may all of your dreams come true! Sincerely, womenwhohope  

By Samantha McKenzie With Christmas just a day away, you’ve probably been juggling lists to accommodate this joyous, albeit busy season.  There’s the lists for gifts, groceries, chores and the one to keep up with your spending frenzy. Don’t forget the reminders to take your vitamins, set your alarm an hour earlier and the sticky note on the refrigerator…

By Dawn Onley I’ll bet many of us can point to things that threatened our start in life. It may have been a learning disability. Or some type of health challenge. It may have been the divorce of your parents or the death of a loved one. Perhaps it was an authoritative figure who said…

By Samantha McKenzie Tough conversations. Most women, including myself, shy away from having them. We prefer not to ruffle feathers and become skilled in avoiding conflicts. The idea of hurting someone’s feelings just isn’t worth it, we tell ourselves. The thought that our words would leave another person upset makes us cringe. So, instead of facing…

  By Dawn Onley Change is scary business. Change is this massive unknown looming over the horizon like the pending storm, and causing us to reach for the negative, the worst case scenario, the doom-and-gloom/sky-is-falling pejoratives, because we’ve become convinced that this is what change represents. Change exposes our vulnerabilities and fears, in some cases…

Samantha McKenzie Love, peace and happiness. Three words many search for. I used to believe that if I worked really hard, I’d end up happy. I thought if I was a good girl, I’d find love, peace, joy and then some. With a pocket full of naivety, I searched for this type of life like Dorothy…