pain

4 Reasons You Shouldn’t Say No

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Last week, we looked at 4 Great Reasons to Say “No.” If you haven’t read that post yet, take a minute to go back and get the history before reading below.

Back? Okay. Just as there are some truly life-giving reasons for saying no, there are also a few that are actually holding us back. Which of these is most true for you?

  1. You’re Afraid

I’ve said no to so many things in my life that I was afraid of: sports, relationships, hamburgers. Yes, I was afraid of hamburgers. (It’s a texture thing.) As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to try things that initially scared me – sushi, hiking, speaking in front of hundreds of people – and in doing so, I’ve become much more clear about what I do and don’t want (see point 1 under 4 Great Reasons to Say “No”). Continue reading →

Not Paper-Thin or Pain-Free: Embracing Pain in a Healthy Way

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Peach Flower

I am thin-skinned. An easily-bruising peach with a low tolerance for pain. As my family would say, I am a “delicate flower” – small things can upset the fragile ecosystem that is me. I wish I could say my paper-thin nature is limited to my literal dermatology, but it goes deeper than that – down into my heart and soul. An unkind word, a bad piece of news, or an unmet expectation has the potential to shake me more than I’d like to admit.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed a bit of a thicker skin – figuratively speaking, of course. I no longer cry when I get a wrinkle in my socks; although, if I’m being honest, that still bugs me. Like most people, my M.O. is to avoid pain and seek out comfort whenever possible. As a highly sensitive person, I experience my circumstances acutely. My surroundings, my feelings, and other people’s feelings affect me deeply. This is why I don’t watch the news, why I’m more prone to anxiety, and why you’ll never catch me watching a violent movie. Continue reading →

A Cord of Three Strands

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IMG_3275“A cord of three strands is not easily broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Tonight we are a cord of three strands, sitting, eating, talking, writing – three friends, three women blessed by the words, “Me, too.” Those two wonderful words that say, “You are not alone. You are not the only one who feels crazy, lost and confused much of the time.”

But we three cords are not just wallowing in our burdens, instead we’re intertwining our experiences, strengthening each other by the sharing of truth. Like iron sharpens iron. The three strands of our lives weave together to form a cord that reaches up to Heaven. And we’re leaning on that cord, clinging to it, pulling on it with all our weight. We’re reaching out for understanding, asking for wisdom. Continue reading →