Tag Archives: questions

Three Little Words

What three words would you use to describe yourself? Take a moment to write them down. What three words would your husband or partner use to describe you? If you don’t know, ask. I did. Maybe they won’t be the ones you expect. This came about after reading a recent interview with a fellow writer. Donna Shepherd was asked three words to describe herself and then how would other describe her? It made me stop and think about there words to describe myself. Here are my three words: Committed, (to God, to my husband and family, to friends, to writing) … Continue reading →

Test Your Relationship Memory

Do you ever get asked questions by others about your relationship? Wayne and I do. People are always either curious, impressed, or appalled that we’ve been together for as long as we have and since such a young age. Mostly it’s younger couples wanting to know how (and sometimes why) we’ve stayed together. (By “younger” I don’t necessarily mean younger than us in age so much as in their years together.) However, sometimes even older couples with a couple of decade’s worth of anniversaries on us pose us questions. When I was running my mom to various appointments, or spending … Continue reading →

Using Customer Questions to Make Improvements

When customers or clients ask questions, it can be a good jumping off place for us as to the areas of our businesses that need work. If things are confusing or do not quite work for those we do business with, they will likely come up as a question or a problem. Instead of simply feeling resentful or answering the question and moving on—if a question pops up (particularly if it pops up repeatedly) it is a good thing to investigate and see if there is room for improvement. I have found that questions and problems can be a great … Continue reading →

Ask Your Child Hard Questions Too

There are times when our children can throw us for a loop with their tough, complicated questions. Many of us realized our children were leaving the baby stages behind when they started asking us “why” and “how” for everything. The children are not the only ones who can ask the hard questions, however, and it is actually stimulating and good for our children if we ask them some challenging questions once in a while too… Instead of automatically explaining or teaching our children as we go along, asking them questions and encouraging them to come up with the answers is … Continue reading →

Do Your Customers Know They Can Ask You Anything?

The flow of information and communication is incredibly important in business–even in a small, home-based business like yours (and mine.) In fact, I think that having an open-door policy and creating an environment where our customers and clients feel they can come to us with any problem–big or small–may be even more important in a small business. We need our customers and clients to know they can depend on us and get in touch with us whenever they need us. In order for our customers and clients to know that they can ask us anything–we have to set the stage. … Continue reading →

Can You Answer These 15 Questions About Your Significant Other?

Recently my friend Brenda sent me one of those “Getting to Know Your Friends” questionnaires. Do you know what I’m talking about? The ones with a bunch of questions you’re supposed to answer about yourself and then send them to everyone you know. Some questions may seem really generic at first glance (like what’s your favorite color, foods, or movies), but sometimes we don’t know the answers. Or have forgotten. It’s fun to see how our friends answer. If we’re astute, we learn something. (In Brenda’s case I’m always reminded what a witty sense of humor she has.) But my … Continue reading →

Doctor Visit Raises Question of Fidelity

A few years back, before we moved to Nashville, Wayne and I used to see the same doctor. However, we never visited at the same time. Except for one time. Sort of. We weren’t in there at the same time, but we both found ourselves in the doctor’s office on the same day. I went for my annual exam. Wayne went in because his ear was bothering him and he feared it was infected. (As an avid swimmer, it was something that happened to him now and again.) I went in and everything went as it was supposed to. No … Continue reading →

Developing a Strategy for Answering Questions

Once you get past the baby stage and your child starts talking, you soon learn that questions are the order of the day: “Why?” “What’s that?” and “When?” become constant words and phrases, ringing in your ears throughout the day. As children get older, the questions get more complicated–developing a strategy for answering and dealing with questions will help you keep the lines of communication open, without losing your mind… It may sound somewhat calculated to think of “developing a strategy”–but I think it is better than getting exasperated and frustrated and creating a world where your child stops asking … Continue reading →

What Would You Like to See in the Adoption Blog This Next Year?

What Would You Like to See in the Adoption Blog This Next Year? This blog will be a little different. I’m asking for comments from you, my readers. What has been helpful to you in the adoption blog this year? What would you like to see more of? More personal experience and reflections? More informational blogs? I, for one, would like to see more comments by readers, both in the blog comments and in the forums. The forums are a great tool to ask questions which I can then address in blogs. As many of you know, I have two … Continue reading →

There Are Days When I Don’t Want to Answer Another Question!

I have written here in the Home Business blog about how important it is to focus on being “helpful” and structuring our business and marketing in such a way that we hone in on what we can do to improve the lives of our customers and clients. While I definitely subscribe to that approach to business, I thought it would be only fair for me to confess that are those days when the last thing I want to do is be helpful to anyone! There are those days when I don’t feel like I have any answers and I don’t … Continue reading →