“All healing is first a healing of the heart.” ~Carl Townsend Like a lot of lucky little girls, I learned to dance by standing on my father’s feet while he waltzed me around the room. My dad was no slouch as a dancer, either. He was a musician at heart—rhythm made his feet tap and…
“A church that follows her Head, the Good and Great Shepherd, is a refuge for the flock, a place of green pastures and clear waters, a place of restoration for wounded sheep and most certainly, a place that fights off the wolves.” ~Diane Langberg Many churches seem similar on the surface because they share common…
I’ve lived in sunny places for much of my life, so when I moved to Michigan nine years ago, I had no idea what it would be like to experience a Great Lakes winter. The Midwest is gorgeous in the summer: freshwater lakes for swimming, dense forests for hiking, and long days when the sun…
“What if your plan doesn’t work?” I was asked this question when I was around eighteen, and it haunted me for years. My plans were supposed to work because—I thought—they were based on truth. But the asker of the question knew something I didn’t yet: sometimes our plans don’t work out the way we think…
Trigger warning: Victims of dating-related or marital abuse may find this content difficult. Please be gentle with yourself. Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe. (Proverbs 2:11 NLT) This isn’t your typical feel-good article. It’s not warm and fuzzy; it’s more like an itchy wool blanket. Yet it’s a long-overdue conversation…
It wasn’t my idea to read a book about childhood sexual abuse. I didn’t read it because I suffered abuse, but because I have friends and family members who did. Halfway through the book, in a chapter called “Styles of Relating,” suddenly I was seeing myself. No, I didn’t recover repressed memories of abuse. This…