A Year Later
On June 1, I sat down and began writing out “Thank You” cards to those who sent me sympathy cards when my dad passed last May.
During this past year, I’ve made several attempts only to end up leaving the neatly stack cards on my tables or my bed. Thinking back I believe those cards comforted me each time I picked them up.
It took a year.
A year to sit down.
A year to revisit the grief.
A year to find words for kindness shown during one of the hardest seasons of my life.
Part of me wishes
I had done it sooner.
Last June.
Last summer.
Months ago.
But healing has its own timeline.
And maybe this wasn’t procrastination.
Maybe this was readiness.
Because grief took so much from me.
My energy.
My focus.
My capacity.
But yesterday, something returned.
Yesterday, I wrote the cards.
And maybe healing looks like this too:
Not becoming who I used to be
but noticing what I can finally hold again.
Thank You May ✨💞
As May comes to a close, I find myself reflecting on a month filled with gratitude, growth, healing, faith, creativity, and quiet becoming. Some moments stretched me, some restored me, and some gently reminded me that growth does not always happen loudly.
This month held answered prayers, lessons, softness, writing, reflection, and the continued journey of resting while I wait. I am deeply grateful for every breakthrough, every moment of clarity, every reminder to trust divine timing, and every opportunity to keep becoming the woman God is calling me to be.
Thank you, May, for the memories, the growth, and the grace. 💞✨
Creating A Mood Board For You Book
Have you ever created a mood board to brand your book?
These colors and fonts were chosen intentionally for my journal Resting While You Wait. Branding helps your book feel consistent across social media, marketing materials, and your author platform.
Your book’s design becomes part of your story.
This image was created in Canva. I began by:
1. Searching Mood Board.
2. Under categories I selected “Your Story”
3. Added my book cover image and designed from that point.
Follow and connect with me for more self-publishing tips, author insights, and encouragement to help you bring your book to life.
#selfpublishing #authorlife #bookpublishing #writers #lindarinsights
Seasons Have To Change
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall. You may put another season at the beginning of how you list the seasons but we know that after Winter comes Spring, after Spring come Summer and so on. The seasons can dictate what we wear, what we plant, and often how we travel.
Over the past several weeks I have been hearing "Well, Alright" by Cee Cee Winans on the radio at least once a day. This song is not a new release, so I believe that God is sending me a message. Each time I heard the song I thought to myself, "What I am to get from this?" Then it dawned on me.In the lyrics there is a part, of the song, that states "Seasons have to change, it won't always be this way" When I hear this I cry nearly every time. God is truly sending a message here. Just as the snow has to melt, in most states, or the leaves on a tree must fall our personal seasons must change also.
If we truly believe that God has a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) then we are assured that the seasons of financial troubles, heartache, and despair must come to past. We must be prepared for the change in the seasons. Years ago I purchased a shovel because I know at some point I have to clear the walkways. I have purchased a water hose because I know at some point my yard will need to be watered. In my garage there is a trimmer that at some point is used to keep the weeds and bushes under control.
Yet be ready! Just as seasons have to change, we also need to be equipped for the change. I am equipping myself by staying not only in the Word but in close conversation with Him. I am equipping myself by making better choices for my family and myself. I am equipping myself by holding on to His unchanging hand.
Equip yourself.......change is about to come to you and I want you to be ready.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BL1gs71stB0
Believing in Him,
Lindar
Written August 2011
Resting While You Wait Prayer Journal
Benefits of RWYW Journal 💞💙
**Spiritual Growth:** By dedicating time each day to reading, writing, and reflecting, participants will experience significant spiritual growth and a closer relationship with God.
**Increased Peace:** Engaging with scriptures about rest and God's promises helps to cultivate a sense of peace and reduce stress.
**Habit Formation:** After 21 days, participants will have developed a sustainable habit of daily spiritual practice, making it easier to maintain this routine long-term.
**Enhanced Clarity:** Quiet reflection and listening to the Holy Spirit can provide clarity and direction in one's life, making it easier to navigate daily challenges.
Chase What Matters
From ~ Morning Mannah 10.17.16
This morning I’m going to touch on some thoughts from our current series Stretch Marks. Last week during the sermon a phrase popped in my thoughts. Chase What Matters. Several times I’ve tweeted that phrase because I often think, “I need to chase what matters.” For some reason last Sunday after service I tweeted, Chase what matters. If you’re not being chased.. well.. maybe you don’t matter.
That could pertain to relationships, to employment opportunities, to business ventures. It can pertain to our relationship with God, if we’re not chasing Him.. Well.. It’s probably easiest to discuss this as this relates to relationships. Let’s say you have a person you may be interested in. If that someone is not pursuing you, chasing after you, you may not be the person they are seeking.
In 2008 Chase Bank launched a new campaign to promote their range of banking services including credit cards, student loans, retail banking etc. They planned to spend over $70 million to launch the program entitled “Chase What Matters” In their black and white advertisement under the slogan read: You want to make the most of your time and money. That’s our priority too. Because what matters to you matters to Chase.
This morning, let’s repurpose that phrase.
You want to make the most of your time and money. That’s God’s priority too. Because what matters to you matters to God and if we switch that around it will say what matters to God, should matter to you. Chase what matters. You will hear this phrase so much because I believe that it’s necessary so that when a situation just doesn’t feel right you will know to chase what matters. To chase what is important. To chase what counts.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13-14 KJV
I press toward, I go after the things of God.
Often times we are out searching for things that God never intended for us to have. We get our feelings hurt, our heartbroken and then we go to God in despair. Sometimes, at least for me, I hear God say, “I know you’re hurting but I never wanted that for you. You wanted that for yourself.” Ouch. That hurts.
We are in the series Stretch Mark and last week Pastor Mike talked about being pursued. You see if you are pursuing something you are going after it you are chasing it. We have to pause and ask the question. Are you chasing what matters? Are you chasing those things that God wants for you? Are you chasing God? Do you know where He can be found?
Seek the Lord while he may be found: call on Him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6
One of the things that we have to understand is that sometimes we can’t find God to call on Him because we don’t know where He is. We are not in our Word daily. We are not worshipping Him in spirit and truth. To us He is lost but every moment in His eyes we can be found if we seek Him.
With the pressing issues we have in our lives are we taking the time to seek the Lord while he may be found? It’s so easy to get busy with family, finances and Facebook, let’s keep it real, that we forget about God. We forget about His promises and those things that He has purposed for us. We put Him on the back burner and we look for Him when things are not going right. Our God wants us to chase Him. The songwriter says in the song Chasing After You, I’m chasing after you, no matter what I have to do, cause I need Him more and more. He goes on later in the song to say Just to be close to you, I’m chasing after you.
Now, that sounds like a stalker. I’m chasing after you. No matter what I have to do. Just to be close to you. If someone says that to you, you might want to rethink your relationship with that person. But as it relates to my Father who knows all things and see all things I want to go after Him. Wherever He is, is where I want to be. I want to chase after Him because He matters. His desire for our lives matters. His will matters. His presence matters.
In the first part of this series we heard: If we want to see God move. Make a move.
In the 2nd part of this series we heard: In order to know God’s will you have to be close to Him. You can only get close to Him by chasing after Him.
Yesterday we heard about wait training, we don’t wait on people. We wait on God. We are waiting on a God who is and is in all things.
What’s important to God should be important to you. God has blessed all of us with so many gifts and talents and He desires that we go to where He is to use to gifts to give Him honor and glory. On the way home from church I’m verbally creating an outline for Morning Mannah. I say out loud, God if you are going left, I’m going left too. If you’re going right, I’m going right too. Tyler then asks me, “Mom, what if you’re in the right lane and God wants to go left?” I immediately responded’ I’m going to flash my blinkers to get in the left lane so that I can go where God is going.”
If I’m going to be a true stalker of my Father then I have to pay attention to the direction in which He is going. Even it means interrupting what’s going on to flash my blinkers to get in the correct lane. Let us all continue to seek Him while He may be found.
Apparently I love commercials because to end Morning Mannah, I’m going to combine Chase and American Family Insurance with a phrase that I pray blesses you.
Your dream is out there. Go get it. God will protect it. Chase what matters.
I pray this blesses you.
More Than a Cover Redesign
Recently, I revisited the very first book I self-published in 2009: Ghetto Chick: Words of Heartache and Self-Love. During the pandemic, I taught myself how to use Canva and redesigned the cover, creating a version that I loved and felt reflected the spirit of the original. Yet when I began imagining what the cover might look like in 2026, something unexpected happened.
What started as a design exercise became a journey back to the woman who wrote the book in the first place. In 2009, self-publishing wasn’t trendy. There were no endless tutorials or easy-to-use design platforms. I was a fairly new certified teacher, raising a teenager and a toddler, and carrying the weight of a failed marriage. It was one of the darkest seasons of my life.
Yet night after night, after my sons had gone to sleep, I would sit with my laptop and my journal and write. Those late-night writing sessions brought me peace when I desperately needed it. The bedroom scene on the cover was never just a room. It was a sanctuary.
As I reflected on redesigning the cover for 2026, I realized that the biggest difference wasn’t the typography, the colors, or the layout. The biggest difference was me. The woman redesigning the book today has lived more life. She has taught children, coached authors, raised remarkable sons, navigated grief, experienced healing, strengthened her faith, and learned the beauty of choosing joy.
I recognize that the woman who wrote Ghetto Chick in 2009 deserved tenderness too. She may not have had all the language yet. She may not have known where life was going. She may not have known she would one day build a publishing company, guide other writers, create journals, workshops, and communities centered on healing and self-expression. Yet, she still wrote. She still published. She still believed her voice mattered enough to place it into the world.
Looking back now, I don’t see Ghetto Chick as simply my first book. I see it as the seed of LindarInsights. It was the voice before the framework, the healing before the teaching, the story before the strategy. The cover redesign reminded me that I wasn’t revisiting an old project. I was honoring the beginning of my becoming.
If 2009 Arlinda could sit across from 2026 Arlinda, I believe she would be proud of her. Proud of the books, the coaching, the students, the faith, the healing, the resilience, and the courage to keep trying. Most of all, she would be proud that through every season, I never stopped writing. What began as words on a laptop in the quiet of the night became a life devoted to helping others find and share their voices. And for that, I will always be grateful.
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☀️ SUMMER READS FOR WOMEN ☀️
Summer is the perfect season to slow down, pour back into yourself, and pick up the kind of books that nourish your mind, spirit, and growth. Whether you’re healing, dreaming bigger, rediscovering yourself, or simply craving inspiration.
This curated reading list was created with women in mind. These are books that encourage reflection, courage, creativity, faith, and becoming. From personal growth and emotional wellness to beautifully written stories that stay with you long after the last page, there’s something here for every season of womanhood.
This summer, let reading become more than a habit. Let it become part of your restoration. Brew the tea, sit outside a little longer, highlight the meaningful passages, and allow yourself the gift of growing slowly. ✨
Which book are you adding to your summer reading list first? Drop it below! 💜
#SummerReads #WomenWhoRead #RestingWhileYouWait #HealingJourney #PersonalGrowth #BookLovers #MindsetShift #FaithAndWellness #SummerReadingList
Nothing To Prove
There is something sacred about healing that happens quietly. Somewhere between grief and becoming, between what was lost and what is still unfolding. Lately, I’ve found myself reflecting on the spaces where we stop performing, stop proving, and simply allow ourselves to be.
Nothing to Prove was born from that tender place. It is a reminder that joy can still find us after we choose ourselves. And perhaps healing doesn’t always arrive through grand declarations; sometimes it comes softly through reflection, stillness, creativity, and even coloring outside the lines.
Maybe restoration looks like warm tea, gentle pages, quiet faith, and giving yourself permission to rest while your heart remembers how to hope again.
Grief & My Favorite Number
The number 16 is my favorite number.
My birthday is on the 16th.
Alex’s birthday is on the 16th.
It represents double new beginnings (8+8)
And. Takes a breath.
It is the date we buried my father a year ago.
A year without him has been an emotional roller coaster.
Leading up to May of last year, I was beginning to see a glimmer 🤏🏽 of hope while recovering from a chronic illness.
It felt like 🥊🥊 when Alex called me that night to tell me of my father’s passing.
Some days I couldn’t figure out if the feelings of fatigue, anxiety and depression were from the illness, mourning the loss of my father or both.
Some days those feelings collided. I honestly had to come up with a system. If I managed to get dressed, have on my 3 pairs of earrings and some makeup, I accomplished something. 🤷🏽♀️
Now, if I did those things and got out of the house. I’m winning on those days. 🏅
What has helped.
✨Sleep
✨Essential oils (lavender, spearmint & eucalyptus)
✨Crying freely
✨Realizing grief shows up in various ways.
✨Therapy
✨Journaling
✨Being gentle with where I am.
✨My faith
✨My village
✨Tending to my plants.
The Lord will perfect that concerning me.
And sooner or later…
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Thankful Thursday 🌸
It's A Thankful Thursday 💜
Today, I’m reflecting on how creativity can become a form of healing. What started as a simple idea has unfolded into something deeper — a journey of rest, reflection, hope, and becoming. Through every season, even the difficult ones, God has continued to show me that light can still exist in the night.
This season feels different. Softer. More aligned. More hopeful. And today, I’m especially thankful for the reminder that we do not have to rush our healing, prove our worth, or shrink who we are to move forward. One breath, one prayer, one moment at a time… we are becoming. ✨
Nothing To Prove
Somewhere between grief, healing, voice notes, vision changes, and learning how to create differently… something beautiful happened.
What started as trying a simple AI prompt a few days ago became a full coloring journey built around the framework:
Rest. Reflect. Respond. Release. 💙
And as I created, I realized something:
I wasn’t just making images.
I wasn’t just making images.
I was watching my healing become visible. 💞
There was a season after illness where reading hurt, screens were difficult, and writing felt far away from me. So to now sit and complete a project of this magnitude feels like nothing but God. 🙏🏾
And maybe that’s why the phrase “Nothing to Prove” keeps showing up in my hands, in my spirit, and throughout this process.
Not because life has been easy.
But because peace no longer has to be earned.
But because peace no longer has to be earned.
Your voice. 💞
Your vision. 💞
Your victory. 💞
Your vision. 💞
Your victory. 💞
Self-Care Saturdays ~ Get Still
This morning I thought about how my mom would always tell us to get still when we were little. We were busy little people. I can only imagine that my mom wanted us still so that she could have a moment of peace.
Often we want people to get still. What happens when we get still ourselves?
Here lately my mind has been racing with all of the things going on in my life, in our country and ideas that I need to get out on paper. One evening I went for a walk and I came back and sat on my porch. As I sat there I thought maybe I should get my laptop or maybe I should finish the book that I'm reading and God said, "Just sit still. Do nothing." I looked out from my porch and I saw the trees swaying in the wind, the beauty of the sun going down and children riding their bikes up and down the street.
I sat still and realized that more often I need to say to myself, "Get still. Do nothing." Even if for a moment.
As you go about your day, take moments to be still, to calm your mind. Listen to what God wants to tell you, listen to the wind blowing, listen to the laughter of those that you love and in that moment, just be.
Be well. Be blessed. Be encouraged. All things are working together for your good.
One Year Later - A Year Without My Father
A year. 💛
It’s been a year
Since my world shifted.
A year since I last lived in a world
where my father was just a phone call away.
And somehow…
I’m still here.
Not unchanged.
Not untouched.
But still standing.
I’ve learned that grief doesn’t disappear.
It softens, it stretches, it settles into the quiet places.
I’ve learned that love doesn’t end
It just finds new ways to live inside of me.
There were days I didn’t think I’d get through.
Days I moved slowly.
Days I didn’t move at all.
But I made it.
And today, I honor him
not just in my tears,
but in my living.
The very last thing that I wanted to do today was leave the house but I did. I went and voted and I thought about my father. He would have voted earlier in the day and watched the news all day listening for the results.
That was one thing that I did today to honor him. I tried to be productive around the house. I spent today trying to do normal things. Realizing at the same time that things aren't normal anymore.
Two Days Before One Year
I remember the version of me from this week last year—
tired, behind, trying to catch up to a life
that felt like it was moving faster than I could follow.
I didn’t know what was coming.
I didn’t know how much would change.
But I showed up anyway.
In the middle of stress, recovery, and responsibility—
I was still loving, still reaching, still trying.
And now… here I am.
A year later.
Still missing you.
Still feeling the weight of your absence in quiet moments.
But also—
creating again.
Breathing deeper.
Finding pieces of myself that grief didn’t take…
it refined.
I am not who I was.
And I’m not who I will become.
But I am here.
And that means something.
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Hello May 🌸
May this month bring you peace, time to be creative, moments of reflection and the grace to rest while you wait on everything meant for you.
Thank You April!!
April, you didn’t arrive loudly. You met me in the quiet places and reminded me who I am when I’m not performing, proving, or pushing. You gave me space to rest while I waited, to trust what is still unfolding, and to honor the version of me that kept going, even when no one was watching. In the middle of reflection, healing, and steady rebuilding, you whispered what my spirit already knew: that my voice still matters, my story is still evolving, and none of it was ever wasted.
Mindful Monday
I pray that your day has been peaceful.
I pray that all of your needs are met.
I pray that your family is doing well.
Don't forget that
Even in the midst of uncertainty, God is in control.
Even in the midst of crisis, He's right here.
If you need to, take moments to pause, to breathe and to feel this moment.
If tears began to fall
Just let them
In this moment
Be your truest
Most authentic self
Inhale
Exhale
We are going to get through this
When it's over,
We'll be different
We'll be better
We will be
More loving
More giving
More compassionate
You're not in this alone.
We are in this together.
Nearly A Year Without My Father
It's been nearly a year since my father passed and I'm beginning to think of the last time that I saw him and the last time that I spoke with him. Grief has a way of grabbing you and pulling you back into time. It was this time last year when Shadeur Sanders got drafted in the fifth round of the NFL draft. My father was not happy about him not going in the first round.
That day I was out at lunch with my son at P.F Chang. We decided to take my father a meal and part of that meal was a key lime dessert. My father loved key lime pies. And so we went to the Brown House to take him him a meal. I got to see him and he looked good. He had recently gotten out of the hospital and seemed to be doing better.
I remember him calling me the weekend before he passed because there was a tragic incident on UC's campus. My father called me to tell me to make sure that my son's knew what had happened and that they were safe. It was important to him that they knew to be alert.
I try not to have regrets about not seeing him more. This time last year I was in a whole different space in my life, with healing from illness, going to physical therapy and returning to work on an elementary behavior unit. Plus I was trying to rest, heal and get back to normal. Whatever normal was.
I think I'm finding comfort right now by remembering seeing my dad on the porch, which is one of our favorite places at the brown house, and us having that conversation. We had talked throughout the next week but I did not get a chance to go see him.
The last time I saw him... I had to come down from the porch that he loved to sit on to watch him leave the Brown House one last time.
Writing has helped to process things. At least a little bit.
8 Months - Grief & New Beginnings
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