hetti-marie manu

If there is one thing a daily relationship with God has taught me, it is not to do things halfway or sloppily. Do things well. Give your best. Represent. This summer, I found myself having many conversations with my children about character. In one instance, I asked one of them (who had just asked to use my mini elastic bands) to gather the elastics that had spilled into a drawer and put them back in the bag I gave her. Her reluctant sigh and pushback surprised me. The task would take less...

Character doesn’t negotiate whether to do the right thing. I’m trying to instil values and principles in my children, and sometimes it feels like my words roll right off them like water off the back of a duck. What frustrates me most is the duplicity I see when i perceive that they give their best to strangers, friends, or people who pay them, yet argue or give attitude when asked to help at home. It boggles my mind. You see, I’ve tried not to comment on every little thing that is out of...

The habits you practice in private will always shape the influence you have in public. One of the most humbling lessons I continue to learn is that many of my biggest challenges are self-induced. Yes, life brings circumstances we cannot control, but if I am being honest, a surprising number of my struggles have less to do with outside forces and more to do with what is happening inside me. Can you relate? Too often those challenges look like succumbing to my temptations for comfort food like...