codependency
- Boundaries, Boundary Lines, Burden-bearing, codependency, Discernment, emotional health, Identity, Redemptive Gifts
The Empath Survival Kit: Loving Constructively
Empath is a relatively new term to enter our vernacular. The dictionary defines empath as (chiefly in science fiction) a person with the paranormal ability to apprehend the mental or emotional state of another individual. Signs of an Empath The term has come to mean those people with the spiritual gift of burden-bearing, at least in a Christian context. Are you a burden-bearer? Those of us with this gift can sense the suffering of others and are often motivated to sit with them in their slough of despair. Please note that I am not talking about empaths as intuitives. I am discussing this, not from a New Age perspective but from…
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Narcissistic Marriage: The Five Lies That Bind
Staying in a narcissistic relationship takes a lot of commitment. After all, the benefits of the relationship are fleeting at best, while the daily slog of being someone’s personal slave is exhausting. I have opened up in this blog because I feel led by the Lord to tell my story as a way of owning it. And one of the most difficult things about admitting to my past is that I am generally perceived as a competent, even gifted, woman. People ask, without meaning to hurt me, “How did you get trapped in such a circumstance?” The truth is that narcissists often target intelligent, strong women. Where’s the challenge, otherwise?…
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The Happiness Manipulator: Codependent Christianity
One of my greatest strengths lies in my ability to lay down my own desires in order to make someone else happy. One of my greatest weaknesses lies in the fact that I am willing to give up my desires in order to make someone else happy. A bit of a paradox, that. You see, I am a happiness manipulator. We are used to seeing manipulation in a particularly virulent form on the dramas on television. Characters lie and set up situations in order to gain power, wealth, whatever. But me, I just want you to be happy. And if you are not happy, then I will go to great…
