• grief
    Emotion - emotional health - healing

    Grief: Five Pitfalls that Stall the Healing Process

    - By 

    Grief recovery is an uncomfortable topic for many. We skirt around those who have suffered grievous loss, afraid that we will say the wrong thing. But just as a little research will help anyone learn to validate and support a grieving friend, help is also available for those who must journey through serious grief. The Grief Recovery Handbook is just such a resource and in it, I learned a lot about how to complete a cycle of grief. The first topic within the book is about how various types of pitfalls keep us from fully grieving and completing the relationship…

  • Bible
    education - language - Revelation - Spiritual Maturity - Telling the Truth

    How the Bible Reads You When You Read It

    - By 

    The Bible is intertextual. In literary theory, the term intertextuality refers to the interrelationship between texts, especially works of literature; the way that similar or related texts influence, reflect, or differ from each other. And just as many works of literature reference the Bible, whether knowingly or unknowingly, we, too, are texts that interact with every book that we read. Think of it this way. I am a collection of experiences, memories, and acquired knowledge. I have a library in my mind. As I read any work, I access this library of the mind and interact with whatever I am reading. In a sense, everything I read is now understood in a whole new way. I create a new book…

  • loyalty
    Narcissism - narcissist - narcissistic abuse

    Loyalty vs Casting Pearls before Narcissists

    - By 

    A reader recently asked a question about the line between healthy loyalty and codependency. I didn’t have an immediate answer so I took some time to really think about it. I looked up the definition of loyalty and it surprised me a little. The first word listed is devotion. The next words are more familiar; faithfulness, allegiance, support. Those rang truer to me until I began to remember my relationship with my narcissistic ex-husband. A turning point in my heart came when I heard a preacher say We worship what we fear. The words messed with me because I was…