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Quotes From Our Current Reading Material
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”Colossians 4 *** “The woman with a steadfast heart is a woman who is alive–alive to all the emotions she’s been given by the Lord. She’s aware of the sinful possibilities that emotions may enflame, but she’s not stoical or afraid to laugh or to cry. She doesn’t let her emotions lead her, but she doesn’t ignore them either. She can mourn, and she can dance. She can…
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Drawing Dragons
One of Samuel’s favorite activities to do is draw dragons. This all started when we watched “How to Train Your Dragon,” one of my favorite movies, for the first time at a friend’s house. I love sharing my interests with Samuel and I think he can tell when I really like something, so he knew right away we were enjoying something special together. We decided to read the original books by Cressida Cowell next, which are humorous and include some very likeable characters. (I do edit them slightly as I read them because they’re written for someone a little older than Samuel. I also omit most mentions of Thor, but…
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Building Up and Breaking Down
Anxiety does strange things to your thoughts and emotions. For a while, I lost the ability to distinguish between thoughts that made sense and thoughts that didn’t make sense at all. These thoughts piled on top of each other until I created a wall that seemed impossible to break down. For example, during the worst of the PPD/A I experienced after Ruthie was born, I believed Ruthie would never sleep like a normal person, and Brian and I would live the rest of our lives as chronically sleep-deprived, cranky parents. I believed that very few people cared about me or my family, despite the fact that many people brought us…
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When Reality Doesn’t Feel Real
Please keep in mind as you read this article that I am not a medical professional or counselor. In this article, I write strictly from experience. I aim to provide a few encouraging Bible verses and some practical advice about a symptom of anxiety, derealization. Derealization is not always caused by anxiety or PPD/A, although it is a common symptom of both. According to the Mayo Clinic, derealization can also be caused by traumatic experiences, stress, or an underlying medical cause. [1] If you experience derealization (or depersonalization, a similar feeling) and notice these feelings impact your daily life, please talk with a medical professional and a counselor (I recommend a…
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New Music
True to the theme of my writing this month, I took most of the words in the two songs below directly from the Psalms. The verses from these two Psalms remind me of God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and peace. I hope you enjoy these two pieces, and find hope and encouragement in God’s Word in whatever circumstances he places you! Your Steadfast Love, O Lord (Psalm 36:5-6) Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,Your faithfulness to the clouds.Your righteousness is the like the mountains of God; Your judgements are like the great deep;Man and beast you save, O Lord. (Repeat) Peace Is Within His Walls (Psalm 122:6-7, references,…