I have a friend. I haven’t seen her for a while now. She tends to come and go as she pleases. Every so often, she will drop in, stay a while and leave when she thinks she’s kept me company for long enough. Whenever she’s around, my days need to be re-organized. Hers is a [...]

Fear. It cuts you like a knife; it immobilizes you like a straitjacket. On a daily basis, fear is a reminder that the world is not a completely safe place, and that it is not entirely as you wish it would be. Does reading about fear and its effects make you feel fearful? If so, [...]

There are three words I need to get rid of.  I’m trying to delete them from my vocabulary.  I want to cross them out.  They’re toxic so I am doing my best to erase them from my thinking. As I’ve journeyed toward becoming a healthier person I’ve realized that these three words are poisonous to [...]

Depression is much more common that I expected. I remember being at a Men’s Breakfast at my church, and five out of the six men at my table admitted to going through depression. But it is rarely talked about. I tried many things to get rid of the depression – sleeping, fasting and prayer, talking [...]

Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “But I would never do that?” I hear myself say that all the time. Sometimes it comes in the form of “I could never wear that” or “I wouldn’t know where to begin” or “I don’t think I could”. Those voices of self-doubt are very common. While it’s comforting [...]

A recent issue of O, The Oprah Magazine featured a quiz that used a pie chart to plot how you spend your day.  The quiz was in two parts. Part one plotted what you actually do now and part two was a list of things you love doing. The last part of the task involved [...]

Looking for a mini-break to add a little relaxation to your summer? Leave the stresses of bathing suit shopping behind and take some time to pamper yourself. Try a few of these easy ideas that work for any body and remember how much fun summer can be. 1. Go play outside. There are so many things to [...]

I am in the process of buying my very first home. I’ve rented for 12 years and finally – amazingly – it’s time. The offer has been made and accepted and if the home inspection passes they’re going to give me the keys. The last two places I’ve lived in I’ve had to move out [...]

I lost my dad to suicide at the age of five. Shortly after that a family member started sexually abusing me. Several years later I lost my step dad to a horrible fire that destroyed our home. We were left with nothing except for haunting memories.  Later, I turned to drinking to ease the pain that tormented me day [...]

Motherhood and Identity

Becoming a mother for the first time is an amazing and wonderful time in a woman’s life. But in between the joy of sweet giggles and the strain of midnight feedings mothers sometimes begin to lose their identity.  Once you become a mother you are changed forever, but changed into what?