Pain
Infertility Sucks.
I got another negative pregnancy test. After months and months of trying, and seeing negative pregnancy tests, we decided to get the professional help that was recommended. I met with doctors, was “probed” more times than I can count, was given drugs that I never thought I would take, and have cried often. We spent several thousand dollars just on the first round of fertility drugs and testing, and, yet again, a negative pregnancy test. The disappointment was more overwhelming ...
I’ve been Good to Life
Recently I had opportunity to meet with someone I’ve not seen for about 12 years. When he saw me, he smiled and said, “You look great! Life has been good to you.”
It has? I was under the impression that life has been a mixed bag of stress, joy, and deep disappointment, with a dash of happiness thrown in for flavor. At first I thought this was just a social pleasantry, but considering this man’s professional expertise and history with my ...
2016 was Hard, but Great.
As I look back at the whole year, the feeling I have is best described as, “ugh!” I’ve lost a lot. Infertility became one of the most common words I’ve had to fight with. We lost our Colorado family and community when we moved to Michigan. We sold our beautiful home and all the wonderful opportunities of hosting people from all over the world and having a big yard with bon fires every Friday night. We left our amazing jobs ...
My Life is Hard and I Prefer it that Way
This is an odd thought, I know, but hear me out and you might find that you agree. Let me paint you two different pictures:
First, we have a young man who grew up in a new suburb, lived in a big house with a theater room, game room, and a hot tub out back. His family was wealthy, but never filthy rich. They went on a tropical cruise every year, he usually had the latest generation of phone and gaming ...
The People Pleasing Disease
Imagine this: You are at work and you see someone you like walking down the hall. You aren’t romantically interested, but you like them simply because of their fun personality. You see them pass other co-workers and notice that everyone they meet seems to like them too because they give a big smile or a pat on the back. Are you likely to respect this person more or less because they are well liked by everyone?
Most of us would answer ...
How To Forgive
If you haven’t read it already, check out my blog post The Surprising Truth about Forgiveness to make sure you have the proper foundation before embarking on this next post.
Most of us understand that forgiveness is amazingly important. This one concept has the power to define who you are and direct the path of your life either by its presence or absence. Seems important to get it right then…right? I offer the following as my perspective on how to forgive.
Self-Assessment
The ...
How to Support Someone Who Has a Mental Illness
Educate Yourself. If you suspect a family member or friend has a mental illness or they told you they were diagnosed, learn as much as you can about the illness. Learn what causes it, for example, in depression serotonin levels are low, do you know what that means and how serotonin works in the brain? If not, look it up! Just by being there and loving them is a major help, and the first step is to know what their diagnosis ...
What To Do If You See Abuse
This is a follow up to my blog about Domestic Violence. Read that, know the signs, then understand what you can do to help by reading below.
Abuse is everywhere. One in every three women are abused sexually and that is a staggering number considering how the addition of statistics for physical and verbal forms of abuse would only increase that number. This is not a game and it’s not something to joke about. Sexual abuse doesn’t happen because they wore ...
What Would You Do if You Were Married to Josh Dugger or Jerod Fogel?
Ashley Madison security breach; people are amazed. Famous people get caught like Josh Dugger, Jerod Fogel, and Tiger Woods; people are surprised and disgusted. I am surprised by how surprised we all are! Lots of these famous people have been inspiring role models who fell into a terrible lifestyle and were caught right in front of America’s eyes, ouch! Unfortunately, in my line of work, I see this all too often with many people who are inspiring role models, no ...
