The journal

Stories from a life actually lived.

Faith, reinvention, healing, family, and joy. Pick a path, or just wander.

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Series stories that keep growing

Medicare open enrollment: look before December 7 Newest story · Connection Medicare Things to Know, Part 2: Open Enrollment Open enrollment runs October 15 to December 7. Find the letter, make the calls, and get your free worksheet. Read the story

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  1. Rev. Kristina Soto pointing to a Get Ready to Vote 2026 badgeConnectionOctober 2026When Did Vote Become a Four Letter Word?Something lit a fire in me. A nurse and minister on why your vote still matters, and why I will be at the polls on November 3.Read the story
  2. Medicare open enrollment: look before December 7ConnectionOctober 2026Medicare Things to Know, Part 2: Open EnrollmentMedicare plans change every year, and nobody calls to tell you. Find the letter on your counter, ask five questions, know your options, and protect yourself from scams. Free worksheet inside.Read the storyCommunity Education Series
  3. Reiki practitioner resting hands on a person's foreheadWellnessOctober 2026Reiki and Cancer Care: Thoughts From a NurseA nurse and Reiki Master on what Reiki can offer alongside cancer care, what I learned from the women I sat with, and why your medical team always comes first.Read the story
  4. A winding country road at sunset, a bare tree and a line of birds against the skyBelieveSeptember 2026Peace Pilgrim and the Courage to Begin Again: Faith That Grows Up With UsPeace Pilgrim took her first step at 44. Erikson called it generativity. I call it faith. It is never too late to find your calling.Read the story
  5. A glowing spiral of orange and blue light on blackBelieveSeptember 2026The Dance Between Everything: Where Science and the Sacred MeetAt twelve I slammed my hand on a desk and asked why atoms don’t fall apart. Einstein, Jung, Pauli, Planck, and others sat with the same mystery.Read the story
  6. Many paint-covered hands meeting in a circle, seen from aboveBelieveSeptember 2026Interfaith, Interspiritual, and Wholeness: How I Explain the TwoTwo words live at the heart of my ministry. This is how I explain interfaith and interspiritual, and what I saw at the bedside that led me to care for the whole person.Read the story
  7. A bouquet of roses, purple chrysanthemums and a yellow pincushion proteaBelieveSeptember 2026Where It All Began: My Grandmother’s Garden and the Science of Healing LoveMy first experience with spirituality was in my grandmother’s arms. What she knew by heart about flowers, herbs, intention, and safety, science is still catching up to.Read the story
  8. Medicare things to know: the four parts, where it stops, ask the medical reason for admission, rehab rules, planning before a crisisConnectionSeptember 2026Medicare Things to Know, Part 1: What It Covers, and Where It StopsA nurse case manager and daughter of Medicare parents explains what Medicare covers, where it stops, what makes an inpatient admission, the 3-day rule for rehab, and how to prepare before a crisis.Read the storyCommunity Education Series
  9. Could this be sepsis? Think TIME: Temperature, Infection, Mental decline, Extremely ill. Go to the ER and ask.ConnectionSeptember 2026Could This Be Sepsis? The Question That Saves LivesSeptember is Sepsis Awareness Month. A nurse shares Rory Staunton’s story, the TIME sepsis warning signs, and the four words to say at the emergency department.Read the storyCommunity Education Series
  10. What is on the ballot in the 2026 midterm elections on November 3: all 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats, 36 governors, local races and control of CongressConnectionSeptember 2026Your Vote Matters: What Is at Stake on November 3All 435 House seats, 35 Senate seats, and 36 governors are on the ballot November 3, 2026. A nurse explains what is at stake, why midterms matter, and how to get ready to vote.Read the storyCommunity Education Series
  11. Kristina in her nursing daysReinventionJune 2026What a Nurse Knows About Getting UnstuckI spent a decade using quality tools in healthcare. Then I turned them on my own life. Everything changed.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  12. A woman looking out of a windowReinventionJune 2026The Difference Between Giving Up and Letting GoThey can look identical from the outside. From the inside you feel the difference completely.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  13. A road through open countryReinventionJune 2026Why Midlife Is a CallingThe restlessness you feel is not a malfunction. It is information. Here is why that matters.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  14. A notebook and pen on a tableReinventionJune 2026The Four Questions That Changed EverythingAt some point most of us stopped asking the real questions. These four are worth sitting with.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  15. A kintsugi bowl, its cracks filled with goldReinventionJune 2026What a Broken Bowl Taught Me About Starting OverThe Japanese fill broken things with gold. It is not just a way to fix a bowl. It is a way to live.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  16. A woman standing in warm lightReinventionJune 2026Who Said Midlife Is a Crisis?Something shifts in your forties or fifties. The world calls it a crisis. I call it an awakening.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  17. A woman pushing a shopping cart down a brightly lit supermarket aisle, evoking the everyday moment of absorbing strangers' energy in public spacesBelieveMay 2026Why Do I Absorb Other People’s Energy?A CVS afternoon, three strangers' funk, and the science of why we sync up with the people around us.Read the storyLiving Well Series
  18. A Reiki practitioner holding her hands gently above a relaxed client's forehead in a warm, calm session roomBelieveMay 2026What Is Reiki, and Does It Actually Work?A nurse and Reiki Master on the real science of energy, and the honest research behind a practice still finding its evidence.Read the storyLiving Well Series
  19. An open journal beside a cup of teaWellnessMay 2026How Do I Calm My Mind When Thoughts Won’t Stop Spinning?A two-step gratitude practice. Empty the heavy. Plant the grateful. Five minutes most days.Read the storyLiving Well Series
  20. Woman dancing in her kitchen holding a frying pan, a joyful snack-sized workout moment.WellnessMay 2026How Do I Stay Healthy Without the GymSnack-sized movement for busy, neurodivergent, and "I'll start Monday" lives. The minutes count.Read the storyLiving Well Series
  21. The Gracewell Studio weekly creative zone checklist showing four work categories and a float dayWellnessMarch 2026ADHD Organization: How to Plan Your Week by Energy, Not by DayA neurodivergent creative shares the flexible weekly system she built to keep her business moving without forcing her brain into a schedule it will refuse to follow.Read the story
  22. Kristina standing next to a Florence Nightingale cutout in a hospital hallway next to the Nursing Education bulletin boardConnectionMarch 2026The Leaders Who Nurtured My Creativity (Transformational Leadership in Action)A nurse reflects on the extraordinary leaders who made space for her creativity, and how their belief in her shaped everything that came after.Read the story
  23. Upcycled denim fabric and embroidered materials laid out on a cutting mat at The Gracewell Studio workspaceWellnessMarch 2026My ADHD Brain Doesn’t Work in Straight Lines (And That’s My Superpower)Where did you get the pattern? I get asked this all the time. My answer is always the same: I do not use patterns.Read the story
  24. A Heritage Line bag by Monina, laid flatConnectionJanuary 2026Monina: The Puerto Rican Fashion Designer Who Shaped a GenerationGrowing up, I was surrounded by creativity. Colorful fabrics, patterns, sewing machines, and my mother's eye for beauty shaped the world around me.Read the story
  25. Kristina with her guide, TammyBelieveNovember 2025Awakening: Part 1 The Guide Who Changed EverythingBefore the ministry, before the ordination, there was a guide. And a question that would not let go.Read the storyLiving Well Series
  26. Kristina at her ordinationBelieveNovember 2025Awakening: Part 2 The Making of My MinistryAs I grew under Tammy's guidance, the call to go deeper became impossible to ignore. The questions, the curiosity, the quiet invitations from within.Read the story
  27. Kristina on the stairsReinventionNovember 2025Aging Gracefully: What Diane Keaton Taught Me About Becoming MyselfDiane Keaton has always felt like a kindred spirit. Something about her timeless style, her authenticity, the softness and strength held in the same breath.Read the storyWoman on the Stairs Series
  28. A colourful, playful corner of a roomJoyOctober 2025Dopamine Decorating & The Art of Playful SpacesThe spaces we create shape the way we feel. Color, texture, light, and story have the power to lift our mood.Read the story
  29. Loved clothing being remadeWellnessOctober 2025Upcycling for Wellbeing: How Creative Re-Making Calms the MindThere is something quietly powerful in picking up a piece of loved clothing and breathing new life into it.Read the storyLiving Well Series