Good morning... I could wake up my 14 year old son 15 minutes earlier so that he could ride to school with his 16 year old sister. It took some angry clashing to realize that she wants to arrive early and he wants to take his good ole morning time. So, instead of finding a happy middle ground, her [...]
Good morning... When I worked as a play therapist, I had an option every day. I could drive Route 30 from my home in Gettysburg, PA, a straight, twenty minute shot to my office in New Oxford. Or I could leave my home a little bit earlier and meander for thirty minutes, twisting-and-turning through farmlands strewn with cows, barns, [...]
Good morning... One of my favorite forms of therapy is sand tray therapy, a method of self expression using a tray of sand and a shelf full of miniature items symbolizing objects or people or experiences in a person's world. The client sitting in front of me, either a child or an adult, would choose from my shelf any [...]
Good morning... I will never forget a boy named Corey. Trained as a play therapist and counseling in a non-profit agency in New Oxford, PA, I first met Corey as a scared five year old who was hiding beneath the glass coffee table in our waiting room. Loved deeply by his mom and abused harshly by his dad, Corey [...]
Good morning... When is the last time you were invited to a 4 year old birthday party? What honor I felt when my soulful, new neighbor sent me an invitation to her son's dinosaur birthday party. In an instant, would you not check "yes" to this adorable Evite? "Join us to celebrate the birthday of our almost 4 year [...]
Good morning... I was in a bit of a funk. Battling self doubt orchestrated by God's enemy, I worried that the words pouring from my fingertips were losing power, getting ho-hum, limping ineffective. A few nights back, I prayerfully journaled onto the page my soul-searching angst. God must have been listening. Look at portions of an email greeting me [...]
Good morning... Awareness is an interesting thing. When I am in a deeply contemplative state, quietly calm, I rest relaxed down deep in my soul. When I am in a more frantic, frenzied state, I am up in my obsessive mind, struggling for control on the surface of myself. So it was very interesting to watch myself caught in [...]
Good morning... I love the Bible story "On the Road to Emmaus", found in Luke 24:13-35. Two people are walking and talking about Jesus being unjustly accused and brutally crucified, taking down into the grave their high expectations, "We had hoped that he would be the one to set Israel free! But it has already been three days since [...]
Good morning... We all have flaws and we all try to hide them. We all make make mistakes and we all hate the consequences. We all self-protect, layer upon layer, and soon our false self takes on a life of her own. Our outsides look one way. Think bullying and boisterous. Think silent and scared. Think narcissistic and know-it-all. [...]
Good morning... I just learned that "confession" in Greek, exomologeo, means "to agree with someone," and the word "confess" can be translated "praise" or "thank you." I am struggling to wrap my brain around these life-changing insights. I usually think of confession as something we do privately with God, purposefully hidden away from the ear shot of others, expressing [...]
