God Is Near the Broken, Not Disappointed in Them
“I thought I was a bad Christian because I still flinch.” A woman said that in my office years into her healing, and she said it the way people confess…
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Forgiving Someone You Still Have to See
Most forgiveness advice has a quiet assumption baked into it, and once you spot it, you can’t unsee it. It assumes you can leave. Block the number, move the membership,…
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When the Person Who Hurt You Never Says Sorry
Somebody reading this has an empty chair at the table. The conversation you were owed, the one where they finally look you in the eye and name what they did,…
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Forgiveness That Protects You
We’ve reached the last stretch of this series, and I want to open it with a picture from every Southern porch I’ve ever loved. The screen door. A screen door…
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Faith After Betrayal
There’s a question you may be carrying that feels too dangerous to say in Sunday school. You prayed over that marriage. Then, you trusted God with that friendship, that church,…
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God Is Big Enough for the Truth
The last few posts tell the truth plainly, naming the wound, feeling the anger, sorting fact from fear. Before I move into the next part of this series, I want…
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BEFORE THE SHAKING Book 2 in the OMS Series
About the Book Kid was three years old when his legs stopped working. He was three years old when the doctors at the first hospital said it was strep, and…
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Forgiveness Begins With Truth, Not Silence
Let’s start here, plain as I can say it. Forgiveness doesn’t open with a hug or an olive branch. It opens with the truth, said out loud, about what actually…
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Boundaries That Help You Heal
Healing needs protection. It needs space and honesty, patience and safe people, and enough time to become more than just survival. That’s why boundaries matter so much. Without boundaries, healing…
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Boundaries With Your Calendar
Your calendar can tell the truth about your boundaries. Sometimes we say we value rest, family, healing, prayer, health, and peace, but our calendar tells on us. Too many commitments,…
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Boundaries With Rescuing
Helping is beautiful. Rescuing is different. Helping supports someone while still letting them carry their own responsibility. Rescuing picks up responsibility that was never yours to hold. Helping says, “I…
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Boundaries With Old Versions of Yourself
Sometimes the person you need a boundary with is an old version of yourself. The version of you who survived by staying quiet, who apologized for everything, who said yes…
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Boundaries With Grief
Grief needs boundaries too. That may sound strange, because grief already feels so heavy. But when you are grieving, your heart is tender, your energy runs short, your body moves…
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Boundaries With Being the Strong One
Being the strong one can wear you down to the bone. People come to you because you handle things. You listen, you fix, you carry, you stay calm, and you…
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Boundaries With Other People’s Opinions
Everyone has an opinion. About your choices, your parenting, your marriage, your healing, your grief, your faith, your boundaries, your work, and whatever you’re planning to do next. Some of…
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Boundaries With Apologies Without Change
An apology without change can become part of the cycle. “I’m sorry.” “I didn’t mean it.” “I’ll do better.” “That won’t happen again.” Those words can matter when they’re sincere….
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Boundaries With Family Expectations
Family expectations can be heavy. Sometimes they’re spoken clearly. Sometimes nobody says them out loud, but everyone in the house still knows they’re there: Show up.Keep quiet.Do not talk about…
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Boundaries With Your Phone
Sometimes the boundary you need is not with a person. It’s with your phone. The constant buzzing, the unread messages piling up, the pressure to answer fast, the feeling that…
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The Peace That Comes After the Panic
Sometimes after you set a boundary, peace does not come first. Panic does. You say the thing you needed to say, send the message, end the conversation, and stop explaining….
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Love Does Not Require Self-Abandonment
Love does not require self-abandonment. That sentence may be hard to believe if you’ve spent most of your life proving your love by how much you can endure. The disrespect,…