Trauma and the Las Vegas Shootings
Trauma is in my wheelhouse. I grew up with trauma. I buried trauma. I finally learned how to deal with trauma when I became a Licensed Professional Counselor at age 37. For 15 years I have researched trauma, written about it, counseled clients, attended seminars,...
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Brene Brown’s Braving the Wilderness
Brene Brown's new book Braving the Wilderness released today. I bought it on Audible because she's such a good storyteller and has so much wisdom. I wanted to hear her voice. Here's what BookBub says: A timely and important new book that challenges everything we...
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Dear Maddy
Dear Maddy, You are the daughter of my dear friends. Your dad and my husband have been friends since they were three. Over the years our families have stayed close. John and I met you when you were just a few weeks old and now you are three days from walking out...
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Self Care Checklist
One Rule For Life Vacations Can Teach You
Whenever me and my husband take group tours to Europe we make such fabulous memories. Planning these trips, and then taking them, makes each day after our vacation richer. But one thing we’ve learned about our trips is that a lot of things are going to go wrong. ...
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The Scientific Reason It’s So Hard to Keep a Secret
As a counselor, it’s fairly easy to keep secrets. That’s because I’m required to. It’s against the law except under very specific circumstances for me to share what clients tell me. So, I’ve had to get good at it. Usually that’s not a problem. But if a person’s...
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10 Ways Bathing Helps Your Physical and Mental Health
Have you ever seen the movie Doc Hollywood? If not, rent it. It’s cute. My dad was a small town doctor and he was a lot like the grouchy old doctor in the movie. The other day I was reminiscing about my dad. For almost any complaint he would say, “Take a hot...
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A Family Shaped by Grace
A Family Shaped by Grace - a book review Last summer I was hanging out in a Colorado hotel room while my husband attended a conference. I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw that a literary agent friend of mine had recommended a group called Hope Writers. I...
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Mother’s Day—Tearful, Tough, or Tender
Is Mother's Day happy or painful for you? For me, it's bittersweet because I lost my mom when I was 18. It took me years to grieve her loss. But nowadays I don't get stuck in the sadness because there are too many other things to be glad about. Recently author...
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How To Avoid Swallowing Hooks In A World Of Nasty Fishermen
Yesterday I was listening to a top radio commentator. He has 20 million listeners. A woman called into the show and told him she had noticed he was an overcomer. Over the decades many people had attacked him, made up lies, and belittled him because they didn’t agree...
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