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The Hidden Trap of Motherhood (and More)
Each Friday I post at Not Alone Mom with Kristin Nelson as part of her ministry team. This week’s post is a personal one I processed as a woman with insecurities - The Hidden Trap of Motherhood....
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What is Your Drug of Choice?
Vodka and Vicodin. What’s your drug of choice? This weekend I’ll be sharing the powerful story of a young mom who found herself unexpectedly turning to Vicodin and Vodka and ended up in rehab. This...
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Inspiring Stories: Candi’s Story
It’s a great privilege to share Candi’s story. Candi is a family friend and her honest vulnerability makes her story so powerful. As a counselor working with children and families, I honor the hard...
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Steps in Overcoming Obstacles: Keep Walking
I have a messed up knee. A torn ACL, torn meniscus, possible compression fracture. Today I’ll be seeing an orthopedic doctor to find out the course of treatment. Since the injury two months ago, I...
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Inspiring Stories: Stacey’s Story
Friday I posted The New Normal: 8 Tips for Working Moms at Not Alone Mom. It is my greatest privilege to share Stacey’s story of love and grace. She has walked many paths familiar to women – loss of...
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Steps to Health and Healing – Pushing Through Fear
“Ouch, that hurts,” I told the physical therapist working on my knee. He was trying to figure out what was stable and what needed to be stretched after last week’s surgery. “We’re going to get you...
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Running Away, Giving Up and the Benefits of Being Caught
This week, I’ll be speaking in Western Michigan for two women’s groups on Hope Beyond the Picket Fence. I’ll be sharing what I call “my angry mom story.” It’s the hope and truth our family has lived...
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The Sound of Silence
And there was silence in Heaven. Revelation 8:1 I don’t feel right writing, but in my selfishness, I do. The tears roll down my face today. My heart is broken. Broken for a childhood friend who lost...
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The Resurrection:Real Victory for Real Life
A similar article was first published in The Purpose Magazine in March, 2013 The life-giving power of God’s word became real to me at seventeen. As a young girl with an eating disorder, I felt...
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How to Fight A Lion and Other Principalities
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly...
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Winter’s Here, But Spring is Coming
Like other parts of the Midwest, Spring is coming late this year on the Back Forty. As I write, the calendar says Spring has arrived, but snow is pelting the window. I’m a whiner about March anyway,...
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Why I Run and Why You Need Freedom, Too
The sun was in my face, good music was in my ears, and my feet hit the pavement. As my feet hit the ground with each strike, I was careful to land just right. After months of being injured, having …...
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The Gap, The Holes, and the Race to Fill Them
She sat there with a batting glove on her hand. It gave her power in the identity she’s forming. She’s a fighter. Inside is a girl who wants to be something else. I see it in the way she cocks …...
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I’m A Fighter. Why Fighting For What’s Important Is Worth It All
Thank you to those who read Kaylee’s inspiring story, “Loving the Kids“. Her words were a gift because we’ve seen the depth of her journey. Like her dad, she’s not one to put herself out there. I...
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Mother’s Day: Inspiring Women and Messed-Up Experiences in Motherhood
Today is Mother’s Day – the day we think of the blessings of motherhood. In reflecting on this day, I’m reminded of inspiring women who had messed-up experiences in motherhood. Many biblical women...
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The Power of Hope and Compassion: Let’s Git-R-Done
This week has been crazy. We’re getting ready for graduation and open house next weekend. The second time around isn’t so bad, but it’s a great reason to get things done around the house that need to...
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Facing Insecurities: Why I Don’t Look In The Mirror
It’s summer time here on the Back Forty. With summertime comes natural beauty, fresh fruits and veggies from our garden. With the changing of the seasons come the changing of life’s seasons, too. Years...
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Sometimes the Best Answer is a Four-Letter-Word.
I spent three years in grad school learning multiple theories on personality, development, and how do conduct talk therapy. Thousands of hours from work experience has taught me sometimes the best...
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If Heaven Were A Place and Why I Stay Away
He stands in an empty room. It’s quite and still, but his heart speaks to memories the he holds. I couldn’t stand in that room, so I stay away. There are moments when the pain of what is gone is …...
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How To Be Strong When There’s A Weak Link
I’m 4% permanently partially paralyzed. A fancy way to say I have a torn ACL from a workman’s comp injury. I have a weak link. As my surgeon released me from treatment, he said my knee will only be as...
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