The sun was setting over the South China Sea. Blues, purples, pinks, and golds stretched across the water as I rode on the back of a motorbike through coastal Vietnam. Fishermen headed out to sea. Children played near the road. The smell of the ocean mingled with the scent of food from nearby vendors. It…
I’d just finished a walk, looking at my step count, when a client sent me an adorable picture of her new tiny puppy. I smiled as I read the text. This puppy was another piece of rebuilding and recovering and renewing life. I was thrilled for her. I thought about her puppy throughout the day,…
I was sitting at the dining room table, feeling lost, angry, unheard, and extremely frustrated. I’d been feeling this way for the past few weeks and wondering why I end up in this same place, feeling the same thing, living the same story. It stirs up a fight in me that feels ferocious in it’s…
Every year, I ask God for a word or a phrase. Not as a goal or a resolution, not something I can measure or improve but rather a word to live with, remember, think about, and help me through the year. As this year closes and another year is set to begin, the word that…
I am not a newbie to health issues. I’ve spent years figuring out gut problems, ear challenges, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue, multiple sclerosis symptoms, and fibromyalgia. I’ve gone gluten-free, low FODMAP, and limited dairy. Navigating doctor’s appointments across countries and states, all the tests and labs and procedures, I’ve continued fighting for health with diet,…
“But shouldn’t I be better now? Shouldn’t I be over this?” “I’ve been working through this for months (or years)… how much longer until I have…” I get asked these questions quite often, especially for those coming through a destructive situation, a toxic environment, or a season of burnout. When you go through intense emotions…
Some “messy middle” seasons feel like they’ll never end. The fatigue is long.The overwhelm is real.The messy is complicated.The anxiety is pressing. The hurt is real, heavy, and buried deep. We can feel like every single page of our stories is one hard thing after another. And yet, we get up. We’re still showing up,…
I just poured another cup of coffee. I needed something warm to put my hands on as I prayerfully process and write this post. You might need some coffee because I have a feeling this is a long one. These words have been weighing on my mind for a few weeks now. I’ve had my…
The idea of doing your own work, your own individual work is floating around, filtering into conversations about life, relationships, faith and entering just about every area of personal growth. Doing your own work is incredibly important. Focusing on yourself and doing the individual work is a big part of maturing and growing throughout your…
I’ve been doing more on my own individual work and diving into Internal Family Systems. In that journey, I’ve found some amazing, hurt, fun, beautiful, protective, highly motivated managing, helpful, and faithful parts of me. I’m learning how to see the part, ask questions, tend to what’s there, and discover what it’s afraid of or…