Feeling anxious is not synonymous with distrust or relying on our own strength. Actually, allowing ourselves to feel our anxiety (or any difficult emotion) leads us to acknowledging our need for God and opens us up to receive His care and kindness. In allowing ourselves to feel our difficult feelings, we trust that God is …
Rethinking Fear and Faith
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Rethinking Fear and Faith
In conversations with loved ones and clients about their anxiety, I’ve often heard some variation of the phrase: “I know I just need to the Lord with this.” And I never quite know how to respond. On the one hand, yes, we are called to trust the Lord and on the other hand, I know …
Imposter Syndrome
Not a day passes without me looking at my children—at least once—and thinking, “How am I a mom?” Obviously, I know how I’m a mom, but I am often flabbergasted by the enormous task I’ve been given of raising two small humans. From what I’ve heard from other moms, I think it’s pretty common to be told …
Book Review: On Getting Out of Bed
“On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden & Gift of Living”by Alan Noble Wow. This was a favorite read of mine this year. I just finished it for the second time. Isn’t it a beautiful cover?! Don’t let the brevity of the book (104 pages) fool you – this book is full of life-changing, inspiring …
Book Review: Overcoming Anticipatory Anxiety
I don’t know about you, but when an influx of scary stuff happens in our world, my imagination gets going, thinking of all the horrible things that could happen to those I love. And I often talk with clients about fearing what “could” happen or the possibility of experiencing future stressful situations. There is an …
Relationship doubts: are they my own insecurities or a result of my partner’s actions?
Relationships serve as a landscape in which our insecurities and our worst qualities can surface. I believe this phenomenon happens in both safe/healthy and unsafe/unhealthy relationships. For many (if not all) of us, we often fear being abandoned or deeply wounded. If we are in a safe, healthy, committed relationship, these insecurities can be assuaged …
What exactly IS anxiety?
It seems like everyone has anxiety these days. To be fair, there’s a lot going on in our world that is anxiety provoking. But what is anxiety exactly? How do we know when it’s just a feeling or something more, like an anxiety disorder? Does one’s personality make them more prone to experiencing anxiety? First, …
To Feel is Human
Recently, I was at my parents’ house, and they decided to put on old home videos of my sisters and I when we were small children. Most of their videos seem to be of us opening our presents each Christmas. These videos all seem to be pretty much the same, with the exception of us …
In Defense of Emotions…
Stop for a moment and think of the term: emotion. What comes up for you? Here are some things that immediately come to my mind: “Oh, she’s so emotional;” “don’t be so emotional!”; feelings; good and bad emotions; eye rolls; the episode of the Bachelor that I watched last night; crying; screaming; laughing. Looking at my list, I notice messages that …