“He may have been old and sometimes cantankerous when I knew him but these memories coming to mind, reminded me of the deep love he had for his family and how he was always there whenever we needed him.”
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Love
Fear About Being Admitted to a Psych Unit
“Mental health is a scary issue for many people. There is so much stigma attached to many of the diagnoses. Adults frequently are afraid that they will lose their jobs if anyone finds out. This leads to not getting help, and not being able to talk to anyone about their mental health isolating them from the world. Which in turn, can lead to more mental health issues like depression and anxiety. ”
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Leave Out The Politics And Ask, “What Would Jesus Do?”
“However, if we were to leave politics, government, terrorists, and everything else out of the equation and just ask, WWJD? What do you think he would say about the men, women, and children waiting at the borders of our land starving to come in? ”
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How To Get A 72 Hour Psych Hold
“Some of you may be dealing with heavy psychological issues with a friend, significant other, or family member. Their behavior is erratic and/or frightening.
You don’t know what to do.
What can you do?
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Can You Just Listen To Me?
“No matter what you personally have experienced, another person has lived a different life. They need to know that their own experiences are valid. Even if they are different from our own. Even if it has led them down a different path from us. People aren’t going to listen to our testimonies of Christ unless they know of our love for them.”
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The Carousel Ride That Never Happened
“Do you have that one time that niggles in the back of your mind when you think of your past, something you wish you would have done differently? I have a lot of them. . . But the one I’m thinking about today is a time when I was 18 years old. ”
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Why We Say No To Slumber Parties
I had a unique slumber party when I was probably 10 or 11, compared to a lot of other slumber parties. My family owned a small motel. I was able to invite about 10 girls over for a slumber party in one of our motel rooms, sans chaperones. We spent the night binging on tv and snacks and at one point after midnight, snuck out down the street for a bit. If my parents only knew. . .
But not all slumber parties are fun.
Not all slumber parties end well.
I overheard girls talking about me and others when they thought I was asleep. It wasn’t kind.
Generally, it has been our practice not to allow our kids to have, or participate in sleepovers.
My number one reason?
I was going to say-
Because kids are a complete mess the next morning from not sleeping the night before. I’m all for my kids having fun and spending time with friends. Dealing with the aftermath of not enough sleep.
But the real reason is safety.
Did you know that most children who are trafficked in the U.S. are trafficked not by a stranger but by a family member or someone they know?
At slumber parties things get tried for the first time- pills, alcohol, smoking, touching, and experimenting.
My kids will make choices.
But I want to make sure that they are old enough to understand the choices and the consequences they are making. I don’t think it’s fair to make them deal with circumstances they aren’t ready to deal with.
Am I sheltering my children?
Maybe.
But I also know that the longer they go without smoking, the less likely it is they will ever smoke.
The longer they go without drinking, doing drugs, the less likely this is going to be a problem for them. Not that they won’t ever try them, because they might. But the longer it is that they don’t, the better.
My children are totally capable of making mistakes and do frequently. So do I for that matter.
Giving them the time to figure out how they feel about things, to learn the information for themselves, and give them a chance to see others making mistakes is priceless. So I’m going to keep sheltering my children for a little while longer while giving them freedoms to choose that I feel are appropriate.
Managing Children’s Expectations At Christmas
“I just know that I want my children to grow up to be adults who seek to help and love other people. To realize that having “things” isn’t everything. So each year I’ll keep working and trying to help them understand. “
The Dramatic Highs and Lows of Special Needs Parenting
“We live in a world that can have life and death situations in it, not just a few times in a lifetime, but frequently.”
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The last present
“November of 2018 was my daughter’s eleventh birthday and we had just lost her Grandmother a few weeks prior. Her Grandma was Mrs. Claus reincarnated, and the two of them bonded over shopping, fashion and decorating. Christmas and birthdays always brought her awesome surprises from Grandma.”
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