There’s something that happens when silence hangs like shadows, when brokenness stains the spirit, when the lining of hope sheds from the heart. Far too often, lingering emotional hurts block us from connecting heart-to-heart with others and from sharing the message God created us to share. But hiding won’t protect our hearts forever, no […]
Month: June 2013
Life through the lens of before and after
Recently while cleaning my studio I came across a group of photos taken several years ago while preparing for housework. I’m a sucker for before/after photos, and these particular shots must have presented quite a contrast considering the disheveled mess that leapt from each image. I couldn’t help but muse that the “after” shots were […]
Can I Ever Make Up for Bad Parenting?
Reader Question: I made some mistakes as a parent. As a broken, often-alone, and abused mother, I believe I did the best I could with what I had at the time. Since coming to know Jesus, I have spent years pouring into my daughter with the hope of making up for any hard places my […]
This girl looking back on the dads in her life
I was 12 when the call came that Daddy was dead. I would spend the following days in a fog, only half aware of my surroundings as I went through the motions of visitation, funeral, burial, and well-wishes from family and friends. I didn’t know it then, but the full impact of the loss would […]
Ask the Counselor: How Can I Break this Isolation?
Reader Question: I suffer from Complex-Post Traumatic Stress. I have lots of abuse in the past from childhood to my adult years. I have had extreme trust issues for the last several years, but I want to be healed. I’ve gotten professional help off and on for years, but I know I will need more support because […]
Why we must keep telling our story
“See, healing comes through story.” Our youth pastor, the speaker for the weekend, halted his pacing back and forth across the stage to let his words sink in. “People aren’t moved until they hear the Story. So share your story!” I thought about that for a long time after he had moved on to other […]
When You Want to Weight the Moments
I watched his face like a sentinel, him facing the crowd with bravely squared shoulders, his brother close behind, whispering, “Be strong. Stay strong.” Now and then he would close his eyes, take a deep breath, and slowly exhale. His jaw tightened and his heart raced, but he was ready. I didn’t have to […]
Ask the Counselor: Is It Possible for Memories of Abuse to be Forgotten and then Remembered?
Reader Question: I’m hoping you can help me. I have no memory of anything happening, but I believe it’s possible I was sexually abused as a child. Perhaps at a friend’s house. When I consider the puzzle pieces, it all points to that possibility. If I start from the place of accepting that I […]