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From Trauma Bond to Freedom: Our Family’s Journey
During a conversation about the trauma bond with my oldest, she challenged me to write a post that dealt honestly with the difficult journey my four daughters and I took from years of abuse to a healthy and loving blended family unit. The original trauma bond belonged to me and my ex-husband. For reference, a trauma bond is a seemingly iron-clad tie between an abuser and his or her victim. The result of the cycles of abuse that revolve around reward and punishment, the trauma bond has the same psychological effect as a trap has on the leg of a wild animal. Lured by the promise of something good, we…
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Five Things I Want Say to Victims of Narcissists
I receive emails almost daily from victims of narcissistic abuse. Each of these victims sounds just like me twenty years ago. My heart aches for each of them because I know what they have ahead of them: the fight of their lives. Time and time again, the victims question themselves, afraid to face the brutal truth. How can it be true that the person you married does not love you and even more, has become your worst enemy? I remember Danny Silk once saying at a conference that if your loved ones don’t know you love them, you don’t. That quote struck me hard. He was talking, of course, about…
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The Kiss of Judas and the Mystery of Iniquity
Iniquity is not high on my list of things I wish to write about. However, in my journey through Luke, I found myself considering Judas for the first time. In my previous post about Judas, my thoughts were on the mask he wore. But this time, I found myself caught in the moment where Jesus asks Would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? This is where the word iniquity comes to mind for me. I feel Jesus’ hurt at this moment. Or perhaps He was astonished by the gall of it. A kiss in Jewish culture represents loyalty. It is a covenant of friendship as when Aaron…
Healing Through Art & Words
