The Epiphany of Change

It was an act of courage to put her musings on the Web. Last year, about to turn fifty, she paid attention to a longing that was just surfacing in her heart, to share her own stories of finding the extraordinary in the ordinariness of her life. Seemingly overnight, she decided to leap, to follow her dream: to create her own footprint with the observations of grace she found woven in the daily living among her family, friends, and the world around her. She wanted to start with a blog, build it to a book, and inspire an online community where others could share as well.

And so on an ordinary Tuesday in December 2007, Barbara just dove in, built the blog, and started writing. She had no business plan. She didn’t hire a team of consultants. She didn’t do focus groups. And she didn’t quit her day job.

She just kept putting one step out there in front of the other and “figuring out where I was going as I went.” Her then-thirteen-year-old son Will inspired her courage and newfound Web design skills.

“I figured now is the time. Will told me I could do it, then showed me how, and I did it,” says Barbara.

The Liftoff

What Barbara did next was tap into her networks. She test-drove her blog by sending an email blast to friends and family. She invited, “Please pull up a chair. Plop down for a while. . . .” And Barbara started writing  —  girlfriend to girlfriend, just as if friends were sharing coffee at her kitchen t