Tired of Doing the Same Thing Over & Over, Hoping for Different Results?
You didn’t wake up this morning and think, “Today is the day I need to hire a life coach (or relationship coach or spiritual coach or hope coach).” But I would put money down that you woke up this morning, you sweet woman, and within about thirty seconds, your top...
Getting through the Holidays
Are you in a hard marriage? Are you separated? Are you divorced? Are you a single mom? Are you dreading holiday gatherings? Are you dreading not having plans for Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve or Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve? Are you dreading not being able to do...
Gratitude Challenge
We all know deep down that we are more blessed than we acknowledge, so I'm laying down a challenge to you, my sweet readers. Some of you may be weary these days, not wanting another list of things to do, but some of you might be up for the task. So this year, I'm...
Relational Peace
I dreamt that I ran into Beth Moore and she suggested we have a slumber party. Obviously. And as we were lounging around in our pink matching jammies (because why not?), she asked me, “If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it be?” My automatic,...
Pain is Pain, No Matter the Year
During my first marriage, I kept journals. Lots and lots of journals. Some would say it was a record of wrongs, something we as Christ-followers are called not to do as an act of love. But I knew better. I knew what my journal meant to me. It was my lifeline. It...
Fall Blahs & Winter Blues
If you live in a region where there are four distinct seasons as I do, then you know what it feels like to look down the barrel of six months of grey, of cold, of rain, of snow, of blah. Some people are blessed with a love of all things Fall (one of my daughters) and...
Capital-T Trauma & lower-case t trauma
Before the word ‘trauma’ filled our mainstream vernacular, I used to think my life had not been traumatic. It had been hard, sure. There had been some really rough patches (okay, decades), yes. But was I traumatized? No. (At least, I didn't think so and never would...
Words Matter
When I was in my 20s and 30s, I probably said about 75% of what I was thinking and kept 25% to myself. I was involved in so many conflicts at my church of 19 years that I jokingly said I should get a plaque for most Matthew 18s. I’m not sure why I felt I could say...
I Think My Husband Abuses Me. Now What?
Let’s say your husband hits you. Or pushes you. Or slaps you. Or let’s say he has never hit you. But he has forced you – forced you – to have sex when you said no. Or let’s say he hasn’t hit you and he hasn’t forced you to have sex. Let’s say it’s not that obvious....
Toxic People
tox·ic /ˈtäksik/ poisonous, venomous, dangerous, destructive, harmful, unsafe, injurious tox·ic person someone who is poisonous, venomous, dangerous, destructive, harmful, unsafe, injurious I think that when we think of a toxic person, we tend to think of someone who...
