Tag: Love
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Farmview Drive
Growing up, I only recall two houses that we lived in. The first was attached to the back of a grocery store and it wasn’t very big. I don’t have many memories of that house but I do remember being scared every time the cops would knock on our door and notify us that the […]
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BU: The Necklace
When I look at my life as a whole, I like to highlight moments in time that remind me that my life has truly been Beautifully Unbroken (BU); this is one of those stories. Last July, my daughter, who is a missionary at an orphanage, returned home for what should have been two months. For […]
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BU: Airplane Redemption
The Beautifully Unbroken (BU) series I am weaving into my blog because, amidst our struggles, I believe it is important to remember the good things that have happened in life. Along my journey, I have not had many mentors and, in fact, have only had two of them. The first one I met back when […]
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Chameleon
In, To Be or Not To Be, I wrote about the confidence I walk with now. Yet, it was a constant battle to sincerely believe in myself; at times it felt like it was an endless and wearisome dirt road. Along the journey, self-doubt was my constant companion and self-worth relentlessly eluded me. My only […]
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Dance Through the Fire
God does not give us more than we can handle because it is not Him giving us our troubles.
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Silent Prison
One of the most misunderstood and overlooked forms of abuse is emotional abuse. It is easily covered up, easily overlooked, and easily dismissed. Psychology Today defines emotional abuse as: “A pattern of behavior in which the perpetrator insults, humiliates, and generally instills fear in an individual in order to control them. The individual’s reality may become […]
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Rage Storms
There are many symptoms that contribute to the diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). One of those symptoms is defined on the Mayo Clinic1 website as follows: React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior. This is the symptom that has profoundly affected my life as […]
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To Be or Not to Be
Narcissism is complicated. Sort of. Up to this point, I have avoided using the term narcissist because it needs to be better clarified. We live in a society that promotes self-centeredness, which gives way to narcissistic behaviors and thought patterns. However, just because you don’t like the way someone treats you or doesn’t act the […]
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Ebony: Part 4
It is one thing to devise an escape plan; it is another to walk it out. The reality is that, as a helper and support person, it requires a lot of time, effort, and constant attention. Although Dick had been evicted from Ebony’s home, he managed to keep controlling her and, unbeknownst to anyone, was […]
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Ebony: Part 3
Self-worth: If you don’t define what it is for yourself, someone else will gladly define it for you. In Ebony’s case, as told in Ebony: Part 1, Joey and Ricky did a thorough job of breaking her down and, when she met Dick, she had no idea how much more breaking could be done. Even […]
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Ebony: Part 1
The cycle of domestic violence is a very difficult one to break and can get passed on for generations. In my last blog, Chasing the Winds of Approval, I wrote about how elusive seeking the approval of someone who is emotionally unavailable can be. Now, I will tell the story of Ebony, who grew up feeling emotionally […]
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Chasing the Winds of Approval
When I look back on my experiences in life I can list so many things that I had to overcome. One of the most difficult, however, was learning how to accept myself even when there was a lack of approval from those around me. It was programmed into my head that I was not smart […]
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Never Cry Again
Domestic violence takes many forms and, although the abuse usually begins with one person, it can quickly become a learned behavior. When you grow up in an abusive environment, children pick up on the behavior and begin to mirror the actions of their abuser in one form or another. You can never tell which way […]
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Put the Gavel Down
Sharing my story has been an emotional journey as it is not easy to tap back into those memories and relive them. However, it has been a healthy exercise to look back and see how far I have advanced in my life. I have taken my experiences and have done my best to allow them […]
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Triple Dog Dare
As we move forward together, it is important to explain that, when I speak of Jesus and His role in my life, it is because I am sharing my life experience in which He plays a vital role. Having said that, I will never criticize anyone holding different beliefs than mine. I am not here […]
Beautifully Unbroken 