joy
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There is a kind of person modern society praises endlessly. The agreeable person. The one who keeps the peace, who tries to understand every side, who smooths the air in a room the moment tension begins to gather. They are thoughtful. Careful. Generous with the benefit of the doubt. And yet I have come to…
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Pregnancy has stripped away my illusions of control. My body is loud right now. It reacts quickly, holds onto stress, demands rest whether I agree with it or not. Fatigue is no longer subtle. It is decisive. There is no negotiating with a nervous system that is already carrying more than its share. My mind,…
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The devil rarely tempts you with anything that looks like evil. That would make it too easy. He comes offering what seems manageable. Reasonable. A small permission you can live with. I know this because I took those permissions. My fall didn’t begin with addiction or self-harm. It began with the quiet decision to override…
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People pretend that joy is suspicious. Modern culture treats happiness like it needs to be justified with a tragic backstory. If you smile too easily, people assume you are shallow. If you laugh loudly, you are told to lower your voice. Misery gets treated like depth and joy gets treated like naivete. That is backwards.…
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If it were not my family, I would have healed faster. The complications that come from incest are far reaching and so difficult to come through. If a stranger had done to me what my family did to me, there would be no question but to get on the down road as far and as…
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“Because a sad face is good for the heart.” Ecclesiastes 7:3. The generational sin of incest casts its net on many — until you stand against it and stop it! The countless stories I’ve heard in my family of childhood sexual crimes. The tears I have wept for these deep losses. I’ve learned that there…
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Things that I love! I loved blowing bubbles with my children. The act of gooey fingers dipping in the syrupy bubble sauce and raising the wand to your mouth was just so much fun. The sheer delight of little fingers racing after the whirling air bubbles. Nothing like it. The taste of an ice cream…
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We need connection. Period. I know that people are the very thing that broke my world. When I couldn’t trust anyone, I trusted God. I have learned that isolating myself (which I was formerly very fond of) did nothing good for me. I may have perceived safety by being alone, but isolation is lonely and…
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Freedom, what is freedom? Freedom is defined as the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. I love that! It is beyond refreshing. The power to act, speak and think as you want? I was not raised that way. Jesus said, “He [the Spirit of the Lord]…
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My value and worth wholly belong to my Father in Heaven. As I struggle in my humanity, I’m often faced with an edge of hopelessness. Will my pain end? Will I see an end to suffering? I don’t have a timeline for when or if my healing on earth will be complete, but I do…