God will never shame you into anything. He only draws. I grew up a preacher’s kid. My dad pastored for most of the time I was growing up, so every week was filled to the hilt with church attendance and activities. This was the time of wearing your Sunday best (never jeans), so I was […]
Theologian Thomas Fuller knew this when he wrote, “It is always darkest just before the Day dawneth.” From an astronomy perspective, this metaphor isn’t true-eth. The darkest part of the night is actually around midnight. But it does capture the emotional truth of struggle. The clash between dark and light that occurs just before dawn […]
A teenage client once told me that blowing bubbles helped her manage anger. She said it was hard to stay angry and blow bubbles at the same time. “It can’t be done,” she said. “Bubbles are happy by nature. You have to let go of anger to blow a bubble.” 🤔 Now that I have […]
The last several weeks have brought unconscionable pain. The sociological and psychological reasons vary. The common thread is evil. We can’t wrap our heads around what’s happening because we now live in a time that tries to explain evil away. We laugh at the idea of a foe so steeped in pride and beauty he […]
This time last year I was ready lock, stock, and barrel to go back to school to get a Master of Divinity degree. I was convinced I had a strong call to study the Word and ministry even more deeply. I’m a pastor’s daughter and have been in ministry with my husband for much of […]
The mental health industry doesn’t know what problems it’s trying to solve. We talk a lot about increasing access and reducing stigma. But when someone asks, “What specific problems will therapy solve once I get in the door?” it’s hard to give a clear elevator pitch for that. We default to vague statements about “a […]
I’ve spent years softening myself to seem more palatable to other people. I tend to hide the more raw version of me behind a mask I think they might like better. Honestly, I think we all do this to some degree. We want to bring our best selves to our lives and relationships. That’s a […]
One of the bigger discussions happening right now is whether or not AI will replace your mental health therapist. Many industries are asking similar questions, and are already witnessing AI models doing a pretty good job of handling the most routine aspects of their work. It’s exciting and terrifying all at the same time. Make […]
Almost thirty years ago, right click > View Source Code changed my life. I was perplexed at how images and text came through a phone line and into my computer. One day, I read you just had to right click anywhere on the page… Once I figured out how to read the code and then […]
I’m a Gen Xer, and boy, are we a nostalgic bunch. My feeds are full of memes and sappy remembrances of a time when things were “simpler,” bolder and brighter. My cohort has the distinction of experiencing some adulthood before the Internet added a bajillion working parts to life. It’s easy to look back on […]