We all have multiple relationships and tasks to manage and at times it can feel overwhelming trying to meet the demands of life. Social media bombards us with things we “should” be doing. We get distracted with “bling” that brings no long-term results, and our most important people and tasks get the dregs of our time and energy. The pace we live at demands that we prioritise or the most important things will be neglected. Prioritising means valuing one task or aspect of your life over another. It means to prefer, to give precedence to something. The Bible…
Note: This post first appeared in 2018 but has been updated. When I was 18 I did something that I’ve often regretted. It was totally out of character for me and every time I think of it I feel shame. I’ve prayed for forgiveness many times but it still haunts me. I wish I could go back and change what I did but I can’t. Can you relate? You want to forget your mistakes, forgive yourself and move on but it’s hard. Maybe you’re divorced. Maybe you were sexually promiscuous before…
Note: This post was originally published in 2018 but has been updated. Are you an emotional eater? Do you have a love/hate relationship with food? Do you eat when you aren’t hungry? Are you obsessed with food? Maybe you’re discouraged because you’re just not managing to control your eating and your scale is telling you so. What is emotional eating? A simple definition of emotional eating is eating when you don’t need to or are not hungry. You eat when you are angry, upset, lonely, or stressed. Why do you eat for emotional reasons? Because…
My sobbing three year old son stood by the bed. “You must hug me; I can’t hug myself.” And I was frozen inside. Unable to offer comfort until my husband pushed me towards the little boy and told me to. What made me cold and unfeeling? Why could I not offer comfort? None of us wake up in the morning intending to hurt our children. Yet we do.We neglect needs, say hurtful things, withhold comfort, or laugh when we shouldn’t. The hurts we inflict are often unintentional and our children are wounded…
A few months ago a friend and I had a conversation about how to overcome distraction and stay focused on a task. She really wanted to start doing better at it. Do you have things you’d like to change about yourself, things you’d like to learn, and areas you need to grow in? If you do, that’s a good thing because the Bible encourages growth. 2 Peter 1:5-8 makes God’s intention for us clear: grow so you can be fruitful. “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and…
No one purposely takes poison – even in small amounts. We know it’s stupid. But we often stay stuck in toxic relationships that make us mentally and emotionally sick and sometimes even destroy us. Toxic relationships can happen anywhere relationships occur – with a child or parent, in dating or marriage, with a friend or in a work environment, and yes, even in church. Recognising a toxic relationship can be difficult because we may be so used to mistreatment that it feels normal. The toxic person can make us feel like we are the problem. And naming the toxicity can…
Self-esteem is the way we think about ourselves and the value we place on ourselves. When we have healthy self-esteem we tend to feel positive about ourselves and life in general, and we’re better able to deal with life’s ups and downs. When our self-esteem is low, we tend to see ourselves and our life in a negative light and feel less able to take on life’s challenges. Low self-esteem often stems from experiences in childhood that lead us to believe negative things about ourselves. These experiences could be things like: Being bullied…
Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed by your cluttered home? What about your emotions? Your life? Clutter is bad for your brain and bad for your health! It can make you feel stressed, anxious, and depressed. The visual distraction of clutter increases cognitive overload (fills up your mind space so you can’t think clearly). I never realised the impact clutter was having on me until I started decluttering. I immediately felt my mental health improve! What happens when you declutter your life? Researchers have found that clearing clutter from the home and work environment resulted in a…
Brenda and I went to school together and I attended her wedding way back when. She glowed with happiness as people pinned money to her wedding gown at the reception. It all looked so perfect, but I didn’t know she’d be stuck in an abusive relationship for years. Brenda stayed stuck because she felt unworthy and like the abuse was her fault. She forgave and forgot countless times, hoping things would get better. They didn’t. Her husband was addicted to pornography. Brenda broke the videos when she found them. He watched porn at work or other people…