I am so pleased to share this great news with you. Denny's new blog is called Building Personal Strength. Yes, Denny brings more than 35 years as a learning and development professional, a CEO, a writer, and a passionate teacher and mentor to his blog, but enlightened self-interest is the number one reason you should become a regular reader. It's kind of like high-fiber cereal topped with dark chocolate curls and a glass of red wine on the side, all served in an artisan's pottery bowl: good for you, entertaining, satisfying and original.
"Personal strengths are behavior patterns that we ingrain throughout our
lives, such as compassion, courage, patience, composure,
self-discipline, and dozens more. Like knowledge, skills, values,
attitudes and forms of power, personal strengths help us be more
effective when working through tough challenges.
For each
person, some patterns will be stronger than others. And just like any
aspect of physical strength, through repetition you can build up any
aspect of personal strength." Denny Coates at Building Personal Strength
Last May, I celebrated the inaugural edition of novelist Kathleen Scott's new blog, Hill Country Mysteries, and hinted that Denny might be returning to the blogosphere. Here is what I said then:
It
feels like coming home again, the home we want to see as we approach
from wandering in the wilderness, candle in the window, dear faces
peering out into the night, guiding our way with their yearning hearts.
Coming home to folks who know us by our words over time. Honest brokers
who report from the front lines of their own lives. The kind of people
you would drive cross-country to break bread with because you have come
to respect and appreciate their clear-eyed intelligence, character and
courage. . . even though you have never met.
Who in the world am I talking about?
Kathleen Scott
has a new blog, Hill Country Mysteries. Her husband, Denny Coates, who has been sorely missed from the blogosphere since retiring his Book of Life in July of 2004, is working on an innovative concept for his (we hope we hope) return to blogging.
Denny, Kathleen
and I began our virtual friendship back in 2004, when they were living
on South Florida's Atlantic Coast. Denny's blog had a section for
Kathleen's healthful recipes and often his words were punctuated by her
photographs. Love of nature, life and each other illuminated the pages
of Book of Life. Any day you read Denny's blog was a day you found a
bit more strength and joy for the journey.
Kathleen and Denny share my own curiosity about the natural world. I wrote a post called "Exploration" in April of 2004. Kathleen's comment on that post tells you a lot about her uplifting personality and grace. 2004 was Florida's time in the hurricane barrel: we endured Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne. Denny, Kathleen and I -- along with many others -- chronicled the storms' devastation and our personal responses to them. "Holding the Mirror" was one of my posts. It included post-hurricane excerpts from both Kathleen and Denny.
If you used to
read Book of Life, you will be celebrating to learn that Denny's
strong, wise voice may be returning to the blogosphere. Start the party
early by enjoying Kathleen's blog. She and Denny are living in the
wildflower capitol of the world now: the Hill Country of Texas, where
Kathleen is close to completing her first mystery novel, set in,
naturally, a small town in the Texas Hill Country. I can hardly wait to
read it.
Click here to visit Kathleen. Be sure to leave a comment and introduce yourself.
Kathleen Scott and Denny Coates from their home in the Texas Hill Country
p.s. Kathleen recently finished her first novel. You can read some excerpts and posts about her process at Hill Country Mysteries.
