Practically speaking blog by Jill Donovan

Turn Off The Comments

Last week I made a video of my dog, Tucker, trying to get my attention by pushing a ball into the pool. I wound up posting it on social media just for fun, thinking nothing more than sharing a pi...

I Will Be Happy When…

We live in a world that is constantly telling us, “You will be happy when…”This seemingly innocuous phrase can become a relentless soundtrack to our lives if we are not careful. How often have yo...

God’s Grace Is For Our Reality, Not Our Imagination

An overactive imagination can be both a blessing and a curse.It’s a source of both exhilaration and anxiety. It fills your nights with brilliant ideas and stirs your soul with creativity.Yet, it ...

Mute The Madness

Last night, an unusually loud noise echoed throughout our home, reminiscent of a biblical plague of frogs descending upon us. Unfazed, my family paid no heed to frog-pocalypse, but the ever-incre...

Decision Making In The Absence Of Clear Answer

Have you ever been standing at a crossroads of a significant life decision, and someone tells you to write out a pros and cons list for each scenario? Yet, despite your valiant efforts, and e...

It’s A Rule. Not A Buffet.

Have you ever noticed how people, regardless of age, can possess a unique talent for treating instructions or guidelines as “loose suggestions” rather than actual rules? Like the rules are only the...

The Hobby That Saved My Life

One of the many gifts Covid brought was the sudden inability to recall my thoughts mid-sentence. How can I be talking about something I found so important one moment, and then within the same minut...

You Are Not Their Criticism. You Are Not Their Praise.

You are NOT their criticism. You are NOT their praise. Have you ever heard the phrase “you’re only as good as your last movie” for actors or “you’re only as good as your last book” for writers? ...

Getting Off The Roller Coaster Of Someone Else’s Emotions

If the saying, “You are only as happy as your least happy child” holds true, then the moment you welcome children or grandchildren into your life, you can say goodbye to peace and happiness as you ...

Stop Calling It Your Baby

Most people assume I have two children.After all, each year, our Christmas photo shows only two girls.However, for the last 11 years, I thought I had three.And no, I’m not talking about my four-leg...