“You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” Deuteronomy 5:20
Who would have guessed a doll could teach me about secrecy and lying?
When I was a child, I received a much-desired china doll, actually named after Florence Nightingale. So, obviously, when my mother bought her for me, I was thrilled, so thrilled, I shared my excitement with the wrong person: my dad.
“Earthquake, thunder, fire and fathers.”
Japanese Proverb
Have you taken the time to be there for your spouse? Some of you reading this may be thinking, “He hasn’t taken the time to be a husband, why should I put in any special effort?” “She has rejected me for two weeks. I’m not going to do anything extra around the house for her.” But we do have to put in special effort if we truly want to be there for each other. Marriage is certainly not about keeping score. It is about giving of ourselves freely whenever we have the chance to do so.
What Is Important For Marriage? Read More »
by Timothy D. Terrell » Bio
The days of the piggy bank and the dollar-a-week allowance are past. You’ve got a job, and you’re making several thousand dollars a year, boosted by those Christmas gifts from your family. Maybe your first tax return is due this April 15. The financial side of your life is definitely different from what it was two or three years ago.
Finances for Teens (and everyone) Read More »
Parenting can be the most important and challenging role we will ever have in life. Parenthood takes time, money, love, support, and much effort. With every aspect of parenting there are certain roles and responsibilities that need to be fulfilled by us. What makes parenting such a challenge is that sometimes we aren’t really sure what we should do in certain situations.
At what age should we allow our daughter to date, or should we even allow her to date? Have we ever thought about the consequences of what dating can do to mold a person’s character? What does he or she learn from dating? Should we allow our teenager to have a computer in their bedroom? Are they watching too much TV? Playing too many video games? How will these things affect them later?
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 NIV
I do know this much, parents have a responsibility to their children, to love them, discipline them, and care for them the best they know how until they leave home. But isn’t there more to the role of parenting than that? Yes, there is! God brings spiritual meaning into our lives so that our purpose of being parents is important and worthwhile to us. It should be a pleasant and honorable task instructing and disciplining our children and teenagers.
Parenting: Tough Love Read More »
This statement, from its anonymous author, recently caught my attention:
“Hearts are wild creatures. That’s why our ribs are cages.”
Its focus, the heart and the rib cage, hit home. For I have had a disordered history with both.
My obsession with the thin physique created my descent into anorexia and its painful heart issues.
“…I could count all of my ribs. I still wasn’t thin enough; it wasn’t good enough…”*
As I’ve been in recovery from eating disorders, food, weight and body image issues, yes, I’ve had to deal with my heart. That, therefore, includes the related topics of passions, desires and idolatry.
The Heart: A Wild Creature Read More »
Coming from a theater background, I’m no stranger to an audience.
“All the world’s a stage… And one man in his time plays many parts…”
In William Shakespeare’s play, “As You Like It,” Act II Scene VII, purpose-filled life is compared to that of a theatre stage.
How much more does that apply for those of us recovering from addiction, disorder or abuse?
Besides my theater background, I also have an eating disorder history as well. In college, I battled both anorexia and bulimia.
Indeed, during my sophomore year, desperate in my bulimic behavior, I began to dumpster dive…
“… I’d try to play it off, pretending everything was normal as people passed by me scrounging in the dumpster… in broad daylight… I couldn’t hide any longer from others what I was doing… people were noticing…”*
*Excerpt from Sheryle Cruse’s book, “Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of an Eating Disorder”
This was an unwelcomed audience for me.
Nevertheless, people saw. And, no matter how I tried, I could not escape the Presence of the Most High.
For a long time, I fought God.
Power In Discovering Your Audience Read More »
Over the years, I have learned about boundaries and the discernment needed in determining when to stay and when to go.
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.” Matthew 10:14; Mark 6:11
These scriptures often deal with the spreading of the Gospel. And that is certainly the case. But I also see them applying to addiction/recovery matters as well.
1. We admitted we were powerless over a substance or behavior ─ our lives had become unmanageable.
Step One challenges our “I have this under control” lie we often tell ourselves.
I have encountered this from close family members, most specifically, my mother.
I was rather late arriving to the therapy party when it came to addressing my disordered eating/image issues. I wasn’t in therapy as a skeletal anorexic, an impulsive bulimic or a ravenous overeater. No. It was a matter of “years later” when I finally decided I needed to face personal issues about myself. And I did it alone.
I did it alone because, when it came to dealing with those unpleasant and difficult issues, my family was unwilling to participate in unflattering truth’s revelation.
I first encountered this as an emaciated anorexic.
Using Our Recovery Feet Read More »
Nature versus nurture: it’s still an unanswered question. And that mystery applies to all things appearance.
Faces have always captured my attention. I am fascinated by the variety of features and expressions they contain.
A Couple of Kittens…
I first was obsessed with my mother’s set of three cat figurines. There was one “mother cat” and her two smaller white kittens. I was especially preoccupied with the kittens.
And here, perhaps, is where I encountered one of my first harmful disordered ideas about image. I viewed one kitten as cuter, a/k/a, “better” than the other. Why? It was because this kitten- let’s call her “Sally”- appeared to have a sweeter, more pleasing, “good kitty” facial expression. The other kitten, however, had more of a “Sophia- Loren- exotic- eyeliner-drawn- face” situation going on.
And, somehow, to me, that kitten face – let’s call her “Sophia”- symbolized more mischief and displeasing, “bad kitty” behaviors than that of innocent-and-cute-looking Sally.
Indeed, in this kitten context, my toddler self was already learning inaccurate appearance associations all on my own.
But soon, other influences contributed to my preferences. Adults also instructed me about which emotions, often depicted in the human face, were acceptable – and which were not.
An Image Utensil?
Nature vs. Nurture: An Unanswered Question? Read More »
It’s been said the mother-daughter relationship is the most complicated dynamic around. Therefore, most of us can see why eating disorder behaviors often arise within these relationships. The influential modeling of mother on daughter impacts her beauty values.
But the issue goes beyond just appearance; the enmeshment creates a tug of war for control and autonomy.
The Mother-Daughter Tug-of-War Read More »
“Know the difference between those who stay to feed the soil and those who come to grab the fruit.”
This sobering statement recently came to my attention. I don’t know who originally said it, but it resonates, all the same.
It has personally factored in heavily as I have learned, firsthand, who was a part of my healthy support system…and who was NOT.
Indeed, this concept plays a MAJOR role for each of us as we navigate our addiction/recovery journeys. It is usually not too long in life, before we encounter the all too common cliché dysfunction of co-dependency, narcissism and/or exploitation.
Know the Difference: Healthy or Unhealthy Support System? Read More »
