Better is One Day
Joni Mitchell’s Help Me I Think I’m Falling in Love Again brings me right to the front seat of my Mom’s car and I’m four. America’s Sister Golden Hair and I’m five and with my Dad. When Doves Cry and I’m thirteen at a sleepover. Love Will Find a Way and I’m falling in...
The Role of Women in Marriage
I have never written on this topic before and I’m pretty sure I know why. Because a, no one has asked me to (ha!), and b, it’s a hot-button issue (but oh well). For some reason though, I have some thoughts these days and I'm feeling weirdly fired up about it. For...
When the Impossible Happens
I am compelled to write about something that happened to me somewhat recently. Something I participated in. Something I was not expecting and had you told me ahead of time would happen, I would have said something sarcastic because I wouldn't have believed you. I am...
Change in Perspective
I can tend to see the negative in things and I don’t like that about myself, so I’m working on it. The cool thing is it’s amazing how such a simple change can also be so profound. In my first marriage, for example, I HATED that the bed wasn’t made. I repeated this...
Tips from a Recovering Over-sharer
I used to tell everyone everything about my first marriage. Well, no, that’s not true. I told my parents next to nothing. I told my close friends random, different tidbits. I told strangers WAY TOO MUCH. And the more I work with women, the more I realize that this is...
Why Am I So Comfortable with Pain?
Let’s talk about pain. Think about a time when you’ve had a toothache. It’s the worst, right? I’ve even heard it said that “your toothache is the worst pain in the world” because it’s all you can think about and, frankly, because it's yours. Physical pain sets up camp...
My Top 10 Tips for a Strong Marriage
Caveat: though all of these things could help in marriages with adultery, abuse and addiction, those kinds of marriages are a different breed and could also benefit from a different list; the marriages I have in mind for this specific list are those that are mostly...
My New How-to-Relate-to-My-Adult-Children Policy
We took our young adult children and grandchildren on a family vacation. There were fourteen of us between the ages of 4 months and 55 years. It was a lot of preparation. It was some anxiety (mostly on my end). It was filled with plenty of sweet moments and some hard...
How Were You Taught that God Loves You?
I just heard someone pose the question: “How were you taught that God loves you?” My first thought, interestingly, was actually the answer to the question: “How were you taught to get a man to love you?” Hmm. Those are two completely different questions, but that is...
