Glowing All Along.

The unexpectedly beautiful thing about renovating a 100-year-old house is that there is always one more thing to fix,… A pipe starts leaking behind the wall. A section of plaster falls from the ceiling into your soup. One seemingly simple project uncovers three others lurking beneath it. Living in an old Victorian has taught me that homes are layered creatures: beautiful, stubborn, complicated, and never truly “done.” Just like me. 

And for a long time, I treated my own life the same way. I was always waiting for the next improvement before I let myself fully relax into happiness. I kept telling myself I would be happy when the house looked better. When work settled down. When finances improved. When I felt more successful, more confident, more certain of where my life was heading. Joy became something I placed just beyond the next completed project. I kept telling myself: As soon as this To-Do List is finished, then I’ll finally relax. Then I’ll finally be happy. The problem with living that way is that the finish line keeps moving. I am constantly adding new tasks to the list — often faster than I can cross the old ones off.

But over the past three years of owning this home, somewhere between renovations, travel, writing deadlines, and everyday life, I started noticing small moments that felt unexpectedly complete on their own. Evening light pouring through the tall old windows in my foyer. Music echoing through half-finished rooms while I painted trim. Coffee in the morning before the kids congregate at the bus stop. Sitting still long enough to enjoy the life I was already standing inside of, instead of mentally rushing ahead to the next task on the list.

I think many of us spend years trying to earn the right to feel at peace. We overwork. We overprove. We overexplain ourselves. We postpone enjoyment until everything is finally polished and resolved. But lately I’ve started wondering what would happen if I stopped treating happiness like a reward for crossing some imaginary finish line?

Last year I spent time in Brazil, and one of the things that stayed with me the most wasn’t a landmark or an attraction. It was the feeling. The sensation of being alive and living life in the moments and appreciating them as they unfurled. Being present and not obsessed with some conceptual future finish line. People lingered longer over meals. Conversations stretched late into the evening. Music drifted by on the breeze as I savored my favorite local vino. There was a sense that life was supposed to be participated in, not just planned and completed. 

I realized how much of my own energy back home had been tied to striving. Improving. Fixing. Achieving. Even in moments that should have felt joyful, part of me was still scanning the horizon for what needed to happen next. But somewhere along the way, I began stepping more fully into the life I had already started building. Not a finished life. Not a perfect one. Just one of my own.

The old house I’m restoring still has projects waiting for me. Some rooms remain in transition. There are tools where there normally would be decorations. But the funny thing is, the house has never felt warmer. The family gathers here now for the holidays. Friends stop by to swing on the porch. Neighbors comment on the visual improvements. The imperfections no longer cancel out the beauty. If anything, they make it feel more alive.

I’m learning that living in the glow doesn’t mean everything suddenly becomes effortless. It means allowing myself to experience warmth while life is still unfolding. It means recognizing that softness and ease are not signs of laziness or complacency. Maybe they are signs that I am finally becoming at home within my home. And within myself. 

These days, I’m trying to pause more often inside ordinary moments instead of racing past them on my way to some imagined future version of happiness. Because maybe the glow was never waiting at the finish line. Maybe it was here all along.

Kyle Brandon is a Staff Writer for the Freestyle Living Magazine. He is a Realtor in Central Ohio and can be reached through his website:

Kyle Brandon Realtor® (exprealty.com)

Kyle.Brandon@exprealty.com

Living in the Glow

There comes a point in life when you realize you are no longer simply dreaming about the life you want; you are already living pieces of it.

That realization inspired our Summer 2026 theme for Freestyle Living Magazine: “Living in the Glow.” It’s about stepping fully into the life you’ve already begun creating. It’s about enjoying the warmth, the ease, and the freedom that come when life begins to feel softer, lighter, and more aligned. Most importantly, it’s about allowing yourself to be seen without constantly overworking or overproving.

For many years, I lived in “go mode.” Like so many women in midlife, I wore every hat imaginable: business owner, property manager, mentor, mother, writer, organizer, and problem solver. I spent decades building businesses, managing properties, helping others, and trying to create security for everyone around me. Somewhere along the way, I realized I had become very good at managing life but not always living it.

One of the biggest shifts in my personal journey happened quietly during a simple evening in Florida. I had spent years dreaming about creating more freedom in my life; more flexibility, more peace, more time for experiences instead of constant pressure. Sitting near the beach after a beautiful sunset, I suddenly realized something profound: I was no longer dreaming about the lifestyle. I was inside it.

Not because everything was perfect, but because I had slowly built it one decision at a time. One healthier choice. One investment. One brave reinvention. One boundary. One moment of choosing peace over pressure.

I think many women miss that moment in their own lives because we keep moving the finish line. We tell ourselves we’ll relax after the next achievement, the next paycheck, or the next milestone. But what if the life you once prayed for is already beginning to unfold around you?

Today, through the Kathy Binner International Academy, Freestyle Living Magazine, and our growing community, I encourage women to stop waiting for permission to create lives that feel meaningful now. Freedom looks different for everyone. For some, it may mean travel or passive income. For others, it may simply mean slowing down enough to enjoy a quiet morning without guilt.

This summer, I invite you to notice your own glow; the wisdom, healing, progress, and freedom you have already begun creating. Maybe this season is not about becoming someone new. Maybe it is simply about fully stepping into the woman you have been becoming all along.

And if so, welcome. You are right on time.

Kathy Binner is a bestselling author, podcast host, and founder of the Kathy Binner International Academy. With a passion for helping others live intentionally, Kathy teaches real estate investing, wellness, writing, and business strategies through her signature membership platform. She believes that “Health comes before Wealth,” and her mission is to help others create a legacy worth living and sharing. Learn more at www.kathybinner.com.

The Beauty of Alignment

I've found that I really love watching sunsets. Probably because in years gone by, I never got to see any of them.  It's an odd thing to say, I know, but it's true.

In my decades in performance motor sports, business would boom in the warm weather months when everyone wanted to be outside enjoying their sport. That meant I was inside waiting on customers till evening, handling their orders, closing up shop, setting up the computer's nightly processing, and oh yes, as an afterthought, making dinner happen.

The craziest part about this lifestyle that controlled me from morning to night is that I never intended to go into this industry at all.

Sure, I learned useful skills along the way. But for all the experience and growth gained, it was all against the grain for me — never in alignment with what my goals were, what my giftings were... in short, with who I was.

After a series of major life upheavals, I seized the opportunity to change my lane.

Now I honor my natural leanings toward teaching, coaching, writing, and speaking... all of which I love. My life experience, combined with my ability to make the complex simple, creates valuable guidance that helps others build their own aligned lives and businesses.

The heartfelt words of appreciation they send me in emails, texts, and our live calls mean so much. They're a reminder that when I bring all of who I am, I can deliver the most value to the world. And make a true difference.

Even if I'm working hard or putting in long hours to achieve a goal, that old heavy sense of existential exhaustion is no longer there. Things are clearer now... lighter.

Now that I've chosen a path, a way of working, and a way of being that's in alignment with how my mind and heart operate, my work can be done on a completely different schedule. Now dinner can be at dinnertime instead of 9:30 at night. Now I can go to a local park, take a walk, and stand in the glow of a sunset if I want (see my photo above). Travel occurs more often now, so I get to see many more lovely sunsets than ever before.

Author Itayi Garande said it beautifully: “When your mind, choices, and behaviour align, life stops feeling like a struggle and starts feeling like a flow.”

That, my friend, is the beauty of alignment. If it's not yet at the heart of how you live your life, I sincerely encourage you to take the first step toward honoring your giftings and goals. You'll be glad you did.

Linda Thomas believes life's most beautiful moments happen when we stop chasing more and start choosing abundance. Through her 'I Choose Abundance' column and The Automated Entrepreneur community, she helps people thrive authentically. Linda-Thomas.com

Thriving Without Striving; Stepping Fully into the Life You've Already Begun Creating

Sometimes life feels like a race you never signed up for. You’re told to hurry, to push, to be more, do more, achieve more. But what if the real path to fulfillment isn’t about running faster? What if it’s about slowing down, acknowledging the lie you have been basing your life around, telling the truth, so that the authentic person you are shines through. It’s about uncovering the person you already are.

Leaving Lies Behind

We all carry lies—ideas about who we “should” be or cannot ever achieve. We say, "I missed my chance to change careers," or "I have to stay in this unhappy relationship for the kids," or "It is too late for me to build wealth." Maybe you’ve told yourself you’re not smart enough, brave enough, or talented enough. Maybe you pretend to be fine when you’re overwhelmed. These lies feel heavy, like wearing a backpack full of rocks, don’t they?

Letting go of those lies doesn’t happen all at once. It starts with noticing them. Most people struggle, for example, with some form of not being enough, not being worthy. My lie that I am working through is “I am not valued. I am not important.” What is yours? 

Guess what? I am valued. I am important. When I dropped that former lie and stepped into my truth that I am valued and important, I realized I was. It changed my demeanor and how I showed up. It is not an egotistical demeanor. It brought confidence, compassion, and connectiveness. Instead of overpowering you with my importance, I can pass what is inside me to you, allowing you to see your value and importance. 

What is the lie you are telling yourself about your worth? When you exchange it for the truth that you do have worth, you stand a little taller. You breathe a little easier. You make space for your real voice to come through. You thrive without striving.

Thriving Without Striving

Striving is our “go to” when we believe our lie. We are trying to prove our worthiness by doing, by accomplishments. Thriving is totally different. It is success without stress--emotionally, mentally, or physically. 

Thriving doesn’t mean working nonstop or proving your worth. It means growing in a way that feels natural. Think of a plant: it doesn’t force itself to stretch toward the sun. It just does, because that’s what it’s made to do. You are meant to thrive in that same way, too.

You thrive when you give yourself room to rest, to learn, to make mistakes, and to try again. You thrive when you stop chasing approval and start choosing what feels right for you. Thriving comes naturally through living from your truth. The more you operate from your truth, the more you will find your voice that, in turn, benefits and builds up others.

Ruth Pierce is a Staff Writer for the Freestyle Living magazine. She is a Relationship Maximizer, using relationship insights from almost 50 years of marriage and over 10 years in Human Resource Management. You can connect with her through her Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ruthpiercetimetofly.

Finding Your Glow

There comes a moment in life when striving begins to loosen its grip.
Not because we stop caring, but because we finally understand that peace was never meant to be earned through exhaustion.

Living in the glow is about stepping fully into the life you’ve already begun creating. It’s recognizing that the version of yourself you once prayed for is quietly becoming your reality. The freedom to exhale without guilt.

For so long, I was taught that worth comes from proving. Proving that I am capable, useful, strong and needed. I learned to survive by overextending myself, by carrying more than I should, by believing rest had to be justified.

Your glow appears when life no longer feels like a performance.

It’s waking up without dread.
It’s choosing peace over pressure.
It’s allowing joy to exist without immediately questioning when it will disappear.

A life of service does not mean abandoning yourself in the process of helping others. True service flows from fullness, not depletion. When your spirit is nourished, your presence becomes healing, kindness becomes sustainable, love becomes genuine instead of obligatory.

There is a strength in no longer forcing doors open that were never meant for you.

And there is a freedom in being seen exactly as you are without constantly trying to earn your place in the room.

Allow yourself to enjoy what you’ve built instead of immediately chasing the next thing. Laugh more freely, rest more deeply. Trusting your intuition instead of abandoning it to please others. 

Drinking your coffee slowly in the morning, saying no without over-explaining and letting yourself be loved without suspicion. Wearing clothes that make you feel like yourself and choosing calm over chaos.

These small moments become a new way of living.

I used to believe that we must constantly fix ourselves before we deserve happiness. As if rest is weakness and softness is something to apologize for. Yet the most transformative moments often happen when we stop fighting ourselves.

We can leave environments where we were only valued for what we produced. I've learned that being needed is not the same as being loved.

We can allow ourselves to believe life can feel good too. Not perfect, but good, warm, grounded and honest.

We can step into a life that was made and intended for us individually.

It exists in the version of you that no longer chases validation at the expense of peace. It lives in your willingness to trust yourself enough to slow down. To receive and enjoy.  

You do not have to overwork to deserve abundance. You do not have to overexplain to deserve understanding.
You do not have to overprove to deserve love.

You are allowed to live gently.

You are allowed to let things feel easier than they once did.

And maybe the greatest act of service you can offer the world is becoming someone who is no longer afraid to shine.

Carmella Banks is a Staff Writer for Freestyle Living Magazine and is a Wellness Advocate for doTERRA Essential Oils.

You can connect with Carmella through her linked-in profile at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/carmella-banks-1781a370/

Or on her Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/822573918497806

You've Had Your Back to the Sunrise This Whole Time

"Those who look outside dream. Those who look inside awaken." — Carl Jung

Most of us spend the majority of our lives looking outside ourselves.

At what other people expect. At what we're supposed to want. At the version of life someone else decided we should be living.

A friend of mine once asked a question that stopped me cold.

"How have you Should on yourself today?"

Think about that for a second.

We should on ourselves constantly. We should dress a certain way, take a certain job, act a certain way, want certain things. The list is endless — and if it isn't even ours. It's borrowed. Inherited. Assigned.

And here's the thing about living inside someone else's shoulds: it doesn't feel dramatic. It doesn't feel like a crisis. It just feels like a low hum of tension. Like wearing a coat that almost fits.

You don't notice it at first. You just feel slightly off.

You can't see clearly because you’re buried in everyone else's noise, everyone else's shoulds.

The antidote isn't a plan. It's a pause.

Not the kind where you sit in judgment. Just the honest kind — step back, look at your life without verdict, without fixing, and ask: Is this mine? Is this true?

That pause is where Jung’s idea lives. Looking inward isn’t navel-gazing — it’s waking up to what’s real for you, not what you “should” be doing.

The pause is where you stop dreaming someone else's dream and start seeing your own.

Here's the part nobody tells you though: you don't get to understand your life while you're in the middle of living it.

The philosopher Kierkegaard said it plainly — life must be lived forward, but it can only be understood backward.

You don't get to see the full picture from inside the frame. You only see it when you turn around and look at where you've been.

And when you do — when you pause, turn around, and actually look — you see with clarity. But clarity doesn't always mean comfort.

Clarity shows you everything. The good. The pain. The patterns that didn't serve you. The choices you can learn from to make different ones as you move forward.

But here's what matters: every sunrise brings a new day. And with every new day comes the hope of all it offers.

When you awaken to what’s true for you, you awaken to that hope — the possibility that today doesn’t have to look like yesterday. That the choices you make are yours.

That's available to you every single morning. Regardless of who you are or where you've been.

The sunrise doesn't care about your past. It just keeps rising.

And so can you.

So here's what I'd offer:

Stop shoulding on yourself long enough to look inward. Pause without judgment. Live forward from what's true for you. And trust that one day — maybe sooner than you think — you'll look back and finally understand what you were building.

L. Mason VanDyke is a Staff Writer for Freestyle Living Magazine. He is not just an author but a captivating storyteller, weaving narratives that transport readers into rich, immersive worlds of imagination. You can connect with L Mason VanDyke through his email at: lmvandyke@yahoo.com

The Powerful Haiku

I’m a writer. Like many in my field, I’m often asked if I’ve been a writer since childhood. My answer is I was definitely a reader. My mom would let me use her library card, so I could check out 12 books, not my allotted six. 

When I was in 8th grade, however, I wrote a poem for a class assignment. My teacher marked two errors with her red pen: incorrect use of “their” (I’d used “there.”). It wasn’t the corrections, but her remarks that strengthened my path to writing. Her comments about the poem were positive. She liked it. Later, as a senior in high school, my literature teacher commented on an essay of mine, saying it was one of the best he’d read. His response cemented my choice of English as a major in college.

I go back to creating poems once in a while. Whenever I need to take a few moments of solitude to breathe, relax, rejuvenate, I select one of many poetry books on my shelf. Within minutes, I feel more positive. 

This coming August 7-9, one of my two featured guests at my workshop, Into the Springs, is an award-winning poet, Julie L Moore. I’m getting new registrants because they are poets, too. My other guest is a fiction author. I tell those who may be hesitant to spend a weekend sitting through a few poetry sessions that poetry can enhance fiction and nonfiction writing. Poetry seeks to express human hearts. All our writing should do the same.

“Poetry is what happens when nothing else can.” 

― Charles Bukowski

Poetry can become your written expression or get you writing when you may feel like you’re stuck.

Try Haiku.

The oriental poetry form, Haiku, is disarmingly simple but powerful in feeling. Its structure may loosen ideas and open the heart.

According to Writing Cooperative, https://writingcooperative.com/how-to-write-haiku-fa5fe7792661, a haiku is not usually all one sentence—rather, it is two parts. The end result is nature juxtaposed with an expression about being human.

Line 1. 5 syllables:

Describe the setting in the first line in five syllables.

Sizzling summer sun,

Line 2. 7 syllables:

Put the subject of the Haiku in the second line of seven syllables.

Even my bland northern skin

Line 3. 5 syllables:

The third line reflects present tense action, completes a sentence begun in line two, and carries the power of turning the ordinary into something deeper.

Radiates with joy.

Sizzling summer sun,

Even my bland northern skin

Radiates joy.

For You

Here are a few topics to choose for your own Haiku or any written expression:

A melting popsicle

Something you love about yourself

Favorite thing outdoors

Personify summer as a person

Family reunion gone crazy

County fair or festival

Sandy Kachurek is a Staff Writer and Executive Contributor for the Freestyle Living Magazine. She is the director of Into the Springs Writers' Workshop. The 2025 details for the workshop are on the website. You can connect with Sandy through her email at:

sandy@intothespringswritersworkshop.com

or connect with her on her Facebook page at:

https://www.facebook.com/IntoTheSpringsWritersWorkshop/

Living in the Glow

There was a time when summer felt like something I had to keep up with.

The calendars were full, the days rushed by, and even the beautiful moments seemed tied to responsibility. Summer meant managing schedules, caring for everyone else first, and collapsing into bed long after the fireflies had appeared outside the window.

But this summer feels different.

One evening recently, after a long day of swimming, playing games, and cooking dinner over the campfire, I found myself simply sitting back and watching my grandchildren laugh together while sticky fingers reached for chocolate and marshmallows to make s’mores. The sun had begun to sink low enough to cast everything in a soft golden glow, while the crackling fire flickered against smiling faces. No one was rushing off to the next thing. In that moment, surrounded by laughter, stories, and the simple joy of being together, I realized no one needed anything from me except my presence.

And I realized something quietly but profoundly: this may be what it means to finally live in the glow.

Not the glow of perfection. Not the glow of accomplishment or proving ourselves worthy. But the softer glow that comes from becoming comfortable in the life we’ve already been creating all along.

Over the past few years, I have learned to let life feel lighter. Gardening taught me some of that. You cannot force growth by gripping tighter. Plants flourish with consistent care, sunlight, patience, and room to breathe. The same can be true for us.

Little by little, I’ve stopped overfilling every space. I’ve learned that rest is productive too. Simplicity can be beautiful. A quiet morning coffee, herbs growing in pots, laughter around the dinner table, or clean sheets drying in the summer air can hold more joy than the things we once chased so hard.

There is also freedom in no longer over proving.

At this stage of life, I no longer feel the same pressure to explain myself, earn every ounce of rest, or carry everything perfectly. Instead, I’m learning to be fully present to let myself be seen without apology, and to trust that who I am is already enough.

Perhaps that is the true warmth of summer: not just sunshine on our skin, but gentleness toward ourselves.

As I watch another season unfold, I understand now that the glow we search for is rarely found in busy achievement. More often, it appears quietly in the lives we’ve nurtured with love over time in gardens, tended carefully, families gathered close, and moments we finally allow ourselves to fully enjoy.

And maybe the greatest gift of all is realizing we do not have to chase the light anymore.

We have already become it.

Debbie Marks is a staff writer for Freestyle Living Magazine. She is a global marketing entrepreneur, author, speaker, health & wellness coach, home-based business coach, social 

media trainer, & organic homesteader. Debbie is a regional sales director for Melaleuca and facilitates her monthly podcast, Fireside Chat with Debbie Marks.

Living in the Glow:Travel, Purpose, and Saying Yes to Life Again

There comes a season in life when we stop asking, “What’s next?” and begin asking, “What feels right?”

For many adults over 55 life finally begins to soften in beautiful ways. The schedules that once ruled us loosen. The pressure to prove ourselves fades. And somewhere in the quiet space, we start hearing our own voice again.

That is living in the glow.

It’s stepping fully into the life you’ve already begun creating. It’s slowing things to feel lighter, more aligned, more meaningful. And for many of my clients – and honestly, for me too – travel becomes part of the transformation.

As a travel advisor, I specialize in helping individuals, couples, and group age 55+ experience travel in a way that feels joyful instead of stressful.

Because travel at this stage of life isn’t about rushing anymore.

Why Experienced Travelers Still Need a Travel Advisor

Many people assume booking online is enough. But especially for travelers 55+, having an experienced travel advisor creates peace of mind that technology alone simply can’t provide.

My role is not just to book a trip. It’s to:

• Listen carefully to what matters most
• Match travelers with the right experiences
• Help avoid costly mistakes
• Simply complicated details
• Provide guidance before, during and after travel
• Offer support when plans unexpectedly change

Most importantly, I help travelers feel cared for.

Letting Life Feel Lighter

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned – both personally and professionally – is that life doesn’t have to feel so heavy all the time.

Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is permit ourselves to anticipate something beautiful.

A cruise.

A river voyage.

A guided tour.

A long-awaited beach sunset.

A passport stamp we once thought we’d never have

Travel reminds us that wonder still exists.

And maybe “living in the glow” simply means saying yes to experiences that make us feel alive again.

Your Next Chapter Can Be Beautiful

If you’re over. 55, this season of life is not about letting yourself down emotionally. It’s about becoming more intentional.

You’ve earned meaningful experiences.

You’ve earned ease.

You’ve earned moments that feel aligned with the life you truly want.

And if travel is calling to you,, maybe this is your sign to answer.

The glow is already there.

Sometimes the journey simply helps us see it more clearly.

A Personal Story About Embracing the Unexpected

I’ve always been someone who likes a plan. I’m organized, schedule-oriented, and comforted by knowing exactly what comes next – especially when traveling.

So, when my husband and I boarded a cruise scheduled to visit Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao, I already had the trip picture perfectly in my mind.

Then, not far from shore in Trinidad, our cruise ship broke down.

Suddenly everything changed. The original itinerary was canceled, and we were transferred to a much smaller ship headed instead to the Windward Islands. I was disappointed. I wanted the trip I had planned for and anticipated.

But somewhere along the way, something shifted.

The smaller ship felt more personal. The islands were beautiful in ways I hadn’t expected. We experienced spontaneous moments, wonderful conversations, and memorable experiences that never would have happened on the original itinerary.

That trip taught me an important lesson: different doesn’t always mean worse. Sometimes life reroutes us completely. Sometimes the plans fall apart. But often, there is just as much beauty and joy waiting in the unexpected as there was in the original plan.

That was the trip where I truly learned to “embrace the unexpected”.

Sally Sutter is a Staff Writer for the Freestyle Living Magazine. She wants to give everyone the chance to connect, go, see, and do. Even if you think you are not able to travel anymore, Sally wants to show you that you can. You can connect with her through her website: https://www.mermaidtravel.tours

The Peace I Found in Surrender 

There comes a moment in life when survival no longer feels sustainable—when striving, proving, and pushing become heavier than the fear of change itself. For me, that moment came during one of the most uncertain seasons of my life: leaving the security of my job to build a medical practice rooted in the kind of care I believed my patients and I truly deserved.

From the outside, it looked courageous. Inside, it felt terrifying.

I walked away from a steady six-figure income with very little waiting on the other side. I carried the weight of responsibilities, expectations, and constant questions about whether this would ever work out. But financial fear was only part of the reason I knew I had to change.

I was also struggling with my own health.

Years of long hours, surgery, call schedules, and the relentless demands of medicine—while battling rheumatoid and osteoarthritis—had taken a serious toll on my body. As the primary breadwinner for my family, I felt obligated to keep pushing through my pain. The exhaustion became chronic, the stress constant, and the physical pain impossible to ignore.

I realized I could no longer sacrifice my health for a system that often leaves both patients and providers depleted. Modern medicine frequently rewards productivity over presence and speed over connection. I believed there had to be another way to care for people—one rooted in listening, compassion, and healing.

Eventually, the stress consumed me. One night, my body physically rejected the burden I had been carrying, I was so stressed I began to vomit. That moment was both a breaking point and a turning point. I realized I could not force my future into existence through fear, overwork, and sheer willpower. I had to surrender.

I began holding onto Philippians 4:19: “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

That surrender did not erase every challenge overnight, but it changed me. Slowly, I stopped living from panic and started living from trust. I began believing that if God had called me to this path, He would also provide what I needed to walk it.

Opportunities appeared at the right moments. Support came from unexpected places. Doors opened that I could never have forced open myself.

More importantly, I found peace—not the kind dependent on certainty or perfect circumstances, but the kind that settles into your spirit when you stop fighting for control.

Living in the glow means allowing yourself to experience the warmth and freedom that come when your life aligns with your values. For years, I thought success required relentless sacrifice. Now I understand that peace can also be productive, rest can be healing, and trust can build beautiful things.

Today, I am still building, growing, and learning. But I no longer carry the crushing weight of trying to control my future. Sometimes the most powerful step forward is simply to release your grip and allow yourself to live in the glow of what faith, healing, purpose, and surrender can create.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

Rita Brewer is a Staff Writer for the Freestyle Living Magazine. She is a Physician Associate and Health Coach who is passionate about helping her clients reverse their type 2 diabetes and other lifestyle-related health conditions. Now Accepting Insurance!! Are you ready to get off the weight-loss rollercoaster and balance your sugars with ease? Comprehensive sustainable care for weight, metabolic health, and longevity. Rita Brewer Consulting, PLLC, Lifestyle, Obesity and Functional Medicine, 7930 Skyland Ridge Parkway, Suite 203, Raleigh, NC 27617. 

Call 919-881-8295 or connect with her through her website: https://ritabrewer.com