A Different Kind of Prayer

By Chief Lekhiket of The Waynedale News Heavenly Father, help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and was rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children. Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can’t make change … [Read more...]

On The Death of George Floyd

In the past couple of weeks since the tragic and unnecessary death of George Floyd on 25 May, I’ve been both talking race in my therapy practice and researching race more often than usual. I’m trying to be informed, trying not to be naive. I have greatly enjoyed the respectful interchanges and the willingness of people of color to answer my questions. I can’t speak to what it’s like to be anything … [Read more...]

Psychological Abuse in Relationships

Outside of some of the more obvious abuses and sins against a relationship, such as physical abuse, sexual coercion and infidelity, there are other forms of abuse that may not be so obvious to some. These include forms of psychological and emotional abuse. It’s not necessarily that people have had poor relationship role models and landed in a relationship similar to the one(s) they grew … [Read more...]

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: HOW GOOD IS GOOD ENOUGH?

"I'm a good person. I'm kind, helpful, generous and loving. Isn't that what God wants? Won't being a good person get me into Heaven?" Pastor Ryan of Palm Valley Church: If being a good person was what it took to get to Heaven, I would have a hard time making a case for a good God. That might sound a bit shocking, but follow me here for a bit… If “being good” was the requirement for getting … [Read more...]

SPIRITUAL WARFARE: Why do good things happen to bad people?

Pastor Ryan of Palm Valley Church: In order to answer the question of why do good things happen to bad people, we first need to determine: What categorizes a person as “bad?” Who are these bad people? How bad do you have to be to fall into this category? Where is the line? The more you think about it, the tougher it is to draw it. I mean, we can sort out extreme cases pretty easily in our minds: … [Read more...]

Shame, Sex and Love

Check out this amazing podcast with Alanis Morissette and trauma and recovery expert Pia Mellody from the Meadows. Great discussion about shame and so many other things! Here’s just a sample: “If you take on somebody else’s shame because they are being shameless, you wind up feeling worthless. That’s very, very toxic.… Your own shame feels like embarrassment or humility. It’s not a negative … [Read more...]

Marriage on Autopilot

The other day, we were in the car headed to the airport. I looked in my bag to make sure I had my phone, and I could not find it but felt certain I threw it in there. Just as I was about to ask my husband to turn around, I set the bag back on the floorboard and found the phone sitting in my lap. To my credit, it did kind of blend in with the dress I was wearing. Ok, not really, but it did get me … [Read more...]

How Do We Measure Love?

It's been on my mind--and heart--to write about love this week. My husband and I have this thing with our kids, as I know many parents do, where we go back and forth with I love you, I love you more, I love you infinity and so on--about the only argument with my kids that I treasure! I say that I love them more and that it's impossible for them to love me more because I gave them life. Somehow, … [Read more...]