I did it again. I watched him sigh and leave the room. He didn’t snap back. He just removed himself from my criticism. He used to throw a quick response back, but not so much anymore. I immediately felt guilty, because I knew I fell back into the familiar pattern of fault-finding. My motive is … Continue reading Fault-finding Fallacy
Challenges
Dental Floss for the Soul
I’m thankful for social media. I’m thankful that I finally gave in and joined the party. I’ve met so many nice, interesting, faith-filled, smart, funny people – everyone doesn’t necessarily have all five qualities. I’m doing the #DailyGratitude challenge again this month on Twitter. It’s a great spiritual discipline to make the first post of … Continue reading Dental Floss for the Soul
Lives of Desperation
Nobody checks themselves into a mental health facility just for the fun of it. Desperation is usually the motivation. For several years, I was a therapist for a partial hospitalization program. Many of the patients were middle aged adults who were in desperate situations. Our partial program served people who had dual diagnoses of mental … Continue reading Lives of Desperation
Agree or Disagree, That is the Question.
I intend for this post to stir up more questions than answers. In our very polarized society, it's easy to find a cause or position and to identify those on the opposite side as our enemies. Instead of finding some equilibrium in our discourse, the pendulum seems to be swinging further apart on either side. … Continue reading Agree or Disagree, That is the Question.
Lessons in Tisha B’Av
This weekend (Aug. 10 – 11, 2019) our Jewish brothers and sisters are coming to the end of “the nine days” before their day of fasting and mourning on Tisha B’Av - the Ninth day of the month of Av. Tradition says, on that same day, the first and second Temples were destroyed, 656 years … Continue reading Lessons in Tisha B’Av
Grief is Hard Work
We try to avoid grief. It’s uncomfortable – painful. We try to jump to relief and normalcy too quickly, before grief has done its work within us. And make no mistake, grief is work. It is a process that should not be medicated away or otherwise circumvented. It is normal, but it is exhausting. Usually … Continue reading Grief is Hard Work
Are You Catchin’ A Gratitude With Me?
For the month of July, I participated, along with about 80 other Twitter users, in a 30-day gratitude challenge. Stoney deGeyter issued the charge to give a daily tweet with one to three things we are thankful for, promising extra credit if it was the first tweet of the day. He moderated this on-line forum … Continue reading Are You Catchin’ A Gratitude With Me?