Hello, my Tweeple! How are you and your families doing? Please know that I have definitely missed chatting with you all and getting to know and learn from each of you. I sincerely hope you have all been well, your families have been healthy and you've been blessed with the resources you need.

Where have I been?!

The short and somewhat bitter answer is I've been busy. Not purpose-driven busy but busy with busy work. You know, taking a path you think you should take (even though you detest it) and then realizing you are miserable because you have not been true to yourself.

Honestly, I became a Certified Professional Coach because I love to help others and wanted the tools and knowledge to take their encouragement to the next level. I do not regret that decision one bit. What I do regret is not accepting that my heart is more into ministry than I wanted to admit. I've forsaken the very thing that makes me happy and feel fulfilled to do that which the world tells me I "must" do and I've paid for it. Dearly.

Not only have I been unable to meet the obligations I had previously taken on, I've actually gone backward instead of forward financially. I've unintentionally stood up people I respect and have literally been unable to contact anyone for long stretches of time. Cell phone problems, internet connectivity problems, computer problems, the list is as endless as it is hard for most to believe even though many have seen my predicaments firsthand. Yet, it really is all true and I have become convinced that my situation will not change until I acknowledge some basic truths.

The true irony here is that while I'm great at motivating others to become successful entrepreneurs, to seek and follow their dreams, to acknowledge and embrace their value, I stink at doing that for myself. I do not feel that I am a great Biblical scholar (I use technology to search for specific phrases and the key words I have in mind instead of relying on memorization). I also wondered how I could possibly make a difference in someone else's spiritual life when I have so definitively mucked up my own and - even as we speak - am rebuilding myself.

<- New theme song. (Lyrics here.)

My current situation is this: feeling trapped in a corporate "training" position and literally crying every day that I make the commute because I have abandoned all that meant so much to me. Religious observance, homeschooling, enjoying time with my son ... this position I've put myself in has robbed me of more than just my time. I've lost much of my soul. And for what? Is the supposed "good" pay worth it?

My resounding answer today is "hell no!".

In fact, right now I'm playing hookey to actively seek an alternative solution. I'm looking to find a way to be true to myself and still put food on the table, keep the utilities on and return to a more G-d centered life. I'm reworking my life AND career to reflect who I really am as a person, a coach and a mother.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl "Penny" Lane, C.P.C.

Unknown

I believe that men and women are blessed with different familial roles.

Men were made to be the Head of the Household. Women were created to be the Heart of the Household. Like Yin and Yang, the Creator made us to complement each other, to work together to provide balance and harmony for the greater good of our families.

I believe that those roles should be honored and exalted.

Look around. We've shirked our responsibilities long enough to see what we've done to our society. Where are the parents in our children's shows? More and more cartoons and movies show children saving the world on their own or living life on their own with their friends. Why do you complain about your children when you've stepped away from the "hardships" of parenting? Women, push back your sleeves and be the heart of your homes! Men, step up and be the C.E.O. of your household! Let parents reclaim the titles of "role model" and take back the damaging over-influence we've allotted their peers and the marketing industry.

I believe that men and women should be encouraged to grow into confident, emotionally secure, respectful and responsible beings.

The explosion of single mothers (like me) is not a coincidence. Look at the message our world is sending our young men and women - heck, even our underage children! Music videos, television shows, movies and even advertisements show scads of scantily clad women clamoring for the fleeting attention their bodies bring them and then being tossed aside like used tissue paper when the male grows tired of them. Many females are even dumped when they get "fat" or "let themselves go" due to pregnancy and honestly believe they "deserved" it!

I believe that women (and men) can find fulfillment, contentment and serenity at home as well as in the work-place.

We don't need to be high-powered corporate workers to be considered successful. Running a home successfully can be just as difficult and rewarding as running a business. In fact, a home is a multifaceted enterprise requiring hospitality (meals, lodging, entertainment, laundry, shuttle service, customer service), maintenance (housekeeping, repairs, lawn care, preventative service on all buildings and equipment), fiance (accounts payable, accounts receivable, collections, payroll [allowances]) and administration (to manage it all).

If anyone ever doubts the effort of a homemaker, let the doubter sit down with the homemaker and list all of the homemaker's titles along with the current wage rate for each in comparison to the doubter's contributions and pay.

I believe that children (like my son) are a blessing - no matter how they came to be.

If you don't want your child, there are many families who would love to adopt him/her. Abortion is not pretty. It's the death of a living being. One that grows inside of us and shares our blood. Being concerned about your body's appearance or the "death" of your social life as you know it does not qualify as a "good" reason to kill. If you do not want a child but do want to keep having sex, you have many options ranging from temporary (birth control pills, condoms) to mostly permanent (vasectomy, tubal ligation). Socializing isn't hard, simply schedule play dates, join a MOPS or Mommy's/Daddy's Night Out group. Other parents will understand and you will make new friends.

Don't rule out single parenting just because it can be difficult!

Not only do I give thanks to G-d for my son every day, I also prayed for him every day while he was still in my body. I prayed for help raising him because I felt overwhelmed. I didn't know what I would do, how I could cope with all the responsibility and how I would deal with my son's potential to look just like his father. The end result? The biggest blessing of my life.

For the record, I truly believe my son is the perfect child for me and I make it a point to tell him so on a daily basis. No matter how he came about, he knows I do not regret him one bit and would live my life the same way all over again just to be his mother. I call him the greatest present G-d ever gave me and I tell him about his great potential, if he'll just follow the Lord's path. Plumber, lawyer, doctor, mechanic ... he has the power to change the world by simply being the best person he can be and doing his best. I can't undo my past but I can steer my child - and the world we touch - toward a better future.

I believe that sexual intercourse has been profaned.

Instead of being honored as holy and beautiful, sex is depicted as a fun hobby you can participate in with whomever is willing and without much thought for potential consequences. Where is the self-control? Where is the reverence for an act our Creator made for committed couples not only to procreate but to derive enjoyment from? Where is our respect for our bodies and one another? Again, where are the parents?

I believe that homeschooling provides the best education a child can get.

PBS ran an ad that stated that we are our children's best first teacher. Does that mean we stop being good at training our children once they reach school age? Yet, somehow, we continue to train co-workers, employees, clients and sometimes even other children (professional teaching). Something doesn't seem quite right there! Now look at this:

Using this somewhat optimistic (and slightly incomplete) chart my son and I created for a homeschool project, we see that there are ideally 2 unimpeded hours a day devoted to spending time with our children and significant others. Now, break down how much time your child has with each adult in his/her life. Specifically, every teacher. Think about how many class changes are made throughout the day and whom he/she spends the most time with. Just who is really influencing our children, our future?

For that matter, why do we wonder why kids respect their peers more than their parents and bemoan the fact that modern relationships don't last?

Like pebbles in a pond, our lives influence those around us.

If you don't think you are in any way significant, think again! What does your life teach those who:

- Know you
- Know of you
- Know someone who knows you
- Know someone who knows of you
- Know someone who knows someone who knows you
- Know someone who knows someone who knows of you

Most of us don't think about this outward-spiraling force. Yet, our influence - positive or negative - continues further out than we can imagine, further even than the people accounted for here.

I believe the only way that both our world as a whole and our own life experiences will get better is by returning to real devotion to our Creator.

My quest to become a better person, to be more like the perfect human (Jesus), led me to investigate Judaism. Therefore, you will primarily see references to Hebrew/Jewish resources, texts and information on this site as well as implorations for Jews to be Jews (stop trying to please the world and start trying to please G-d instead!). However, I was raised Roman Catholic and have experienced a myriad of other paths on our way to this point in my life. It is inevitable that you will also find respectful Christian or other religious references.

If at any time you are offended by this, simply navigate your browser to another website. You will be wasting your time and mine by blasting me or launching a campaign to convert me. As someone wise once said, "wish me what you will, I wish you twice as much".

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl "Penny" Lane, C.P.C.

Unknown

Hello, my Tweeple! How are you and your families doing? Please know that I have definitely missed chatting with you all and getting to know and learn from each of you. I sincerely hope you have all been well, your families have been healthy and you've been blessed with the resources you need.

Where have I been?!

The short and somewhat bitter answer is I've been busy. Not purpose-driven busy but busy with busy work. You know, taking a path you think you should take (even though you detest it) and then realizing you are miserable because you have not been true to yourself.

Honestly, I became a Certified Professional Coach because I love to help others and wanted the tools and knowledge to take their encouragement to the next level. I do not regret that decision one bit. What I do regret is not accepting that my heart is more into ministry than I wanted to admit. I've forsaken the very thing that makes me happy and feel fulfilled to do that which the world tells me I "must" do and I've paid for it. Dearly.

Not only have I been unable to meet the obligations I had previously taken on, I've actually gone backward instead of forward financially. I've unintentionally stood up people I respect and have literally been unable to contact anyone for long stretches of time. Cell phone problems, internet connectivity problems, computer problems, the list is as endless as it is hard for most to believe even though many have seen my predicaments firsthand. Yet, it really is all true and I have become convinced that my situation will not change until I acknowledge some basic truths.

The true irony here is that while I'm great at motivating others to become successful entrepreneurs, to seek and follow their dreams, to acknowledge and embrace their value, I stink at doing that for myself. I do not feel that I am a great Biblical scholar (I use technology to search for specific phrases and the key words I have in mind instead of relying on memorization). I also wondered how I could possibly make a difference in someone else's spiritual life when I have so definitively mucked up my own and - even as we speak - am rebuilding myself.

<- New theme song. (Lyrics here.)

My current situation is this: feeling trapped in a corporate "training" position and literally crying every day that I make the commute because I have abandoned all that meant so much to me. Religious observance, homeschooling, enjoying time with my son ... this position I've put myself in has robbed me of more than just my time. I've lost much of my soul. And for what? Is the supposed "good" pay worth it?

My resounding answer today is "hell no!".

In fact, right now I'm playing hookey to actively seek an alternative solution. I'm looking to find a way to be true to myself and still put food on the table, keep the utilities on and return to a more G-d centered life. I'm reworking my life AND career to reflect who I really am as a person, a coach and a mother.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Pearl "Penny" Lane, C.P.C.

Unknown

Are you considered an "expert" in your field by your friends or family? If so, you may have experienced the somewhat unpleasant phenomenon called "help on demand/request or you are a jerk".

Although we are encouraged to train for positions that will allow us to provide for our families, we are somehow expected to also provide products, services and assistance for free when asked by our own friends and family.

While there is nothing wrong with helping and most of us desire to help anyway, it can become emotionally and financially draining. If left unchecked, it can also lead to feelings of resentment and being used on the part of the "expert" and feelings of hurt and offense on the part of the "asker".

During these times, it is important to remember that we all have something to contribute and a mutually beneficially agreement can and should be negotiated. After all, no one likes feeling used and most of us don't like feeling like a charity case either.

Finding that middle ground and expressing yourself in a clear and respectful manner is a hard thing but definitely worth the effort.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Unknown

Are you considered an "expert" in your field by your friends or family? If so, you may have experienced the somewhat unpleasant phenomenon called "help on demand/request or you are a jerk".

Although we are encouraged to train for positions that will allow us to provide for our families, we are somehow expected to also provide products, services and assistance for free when asked by our own friends and family.

While there is nothing wrong with helping and most of us desire to help anyway, it can become emotionally and financially draining. If left unchecked, it can also lead to feelings of resentment and being used on the part of the "expert" and feelings of hurt and offense on the part of the "asker".

During these times, it is important to remember that we all have something to contribute and a mutually beneficially agreement can and should be negotiated. After all, no one likes feeling used and most of us don't like feeling like a charity case either.

Finding that middle ground and expressing yourself in a clear and respectful manner is a hard thing but definitely worth the effort.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Unknown

Been a while since I last posted, huh?

It would be an understatement to say my little family is going through a lot but, we're going through a lot. LOL

For the most part, it's all good. The having to wait for a rock cutter to come slice a path through the rock for my high-speed internet and cable t.v. isn't so fun BUT it's caused us to grow a little closer.

My 8 year-old son, CJ, had already become a tech geek and found the transition almost painful. I told him a few "When I was your age ..." stories and realized that seemed to freak him out more than make him smile.

All he could focus on was no streaming videos, no super cool games, no instant research answers. We'd be lugging our laptops to the "local" (40 miles away in one direction) library and spending time - gasp! - doing "family night" things almost every day. What once was just a once-a-week treat became something he dreaded.

Then it all changed. I don't know when or why but it did. Not only are we closer than we've ever been but he's reading more, discussing things with me and genuinely smiling again.

We've gone through a lot and have a bit more to go through but it is so nice to quietly sit here, watching my son. He's still the little geek but he's not stuck in his tech anymore. He's interacting with the other kids and being a kid. Much more mature than I'd wish him to be but Lord, how proud I am of him.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Unknown

Been a while since I last posted, huh?

It would be an understatement to say my little family is going through a lot but, we're going through a lot. LOL

For the most part, it's all good. The having to wait for a rock cutter to come slice a path through the rock for my high-speed internet and cable t.v. isn't so fun BUT it's caused us to grow a little closer.

My 8 year-old son, CJ, had already become a tech geek and found the transition almost painful. I told him a few "When I was your age ..." stories and realized that seemed to freak him out more than make him smile.

All he could focus on was no streaming videos, no super cool games, no instant research answers. We'd be lugging our laptops to the "local" (40 miles away in one direction) library and spending time - gasp! - doing "family night" things almost every day. What once was just a once-a-week treat became something he dreaded.

Then it all changed. I don't know when or why but it did. Not only are we closer than we've ever been but he's reading more, discussing things with me and genuinely smiling again.

We've gone through a lot and have a bit more to go through but it is so nice to quietly sit here, watching my son. He's still the little geek but he's not stuck in his tech anymore. He's interacting with the other kids and being a kid. Much more mature than I'd wish him to be but Lord, how proud I am of him.

Wishing you much peace, happiness and success,

Unknown