How Can a Shoebox Offer Hope to a Hurting Child?
Each year during October and November, our church takes part in filling shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. This year, our small church of about 120 people, filled 63 boxes! If you don’t know what Operation Christmas Child is, take a…
Why Does That Child Behave so Poorly?
Last week, I attended a seminar entitled “They Need to Know That You Care, Before They Care What You Know!” The focus was on the impact of trauma on children. What is trauma? According to childwelfare.gov, trauma is an emotional response…
Hope Changes Everything
To believe that hope changes everything, we must first understand what hope is. Merriam-Webster defines it this way. To cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true: to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment. Many…
Practice Makes Perfect??
We took three of our grandchildren to see the Harlem Globetrotters this past Saturday. They had a blast. It was fun to see the awe on their faces and their smiles in response to the players antics on the court.…
Magnified
The magnifying mirror in the above picture was hanging on the bathroom wall in the condo where we stayed while at the church conference in Orlando. I developed a love/hate relationship with this mirror over the five days I used…
- Abuse/Neglect, Anxiety, Depression, Family, Foster Care, Mental Illness, Non-Fiction Story, Parenting, Suicide, Tragedy
Childhood Trauma & Anxiety
Last week I shared with you about my work as a CASA for the City of Chesapeake and how I’m using that experience in my novel. Another aspect of my novel involves the repercussions that can occur in a person’s…
Help! Someone I Love Has a Mental Illness
In the novel I’m currently writing, the main character becomes a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for abused and neglected children. I have been a CASA volunteer for two years with the Chesapeake Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. One of…
Comfort Food
The recipe for No Bake Cookies popped up on my Facebook memories today. Every time I see these cookies, I’m ushered back to my childhood. My brother, who is a year and a half my senior, used to make these regularly. Granted, even though the cookies are made with…
Hope That Heals
Hope is the expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Do you have hope? At times we can have the desire for something to happen, but no expectation that it will. Hopelessness is a very difficult place to…
Love Letters
I like you, do you like me? Check yes or no. I remember writing those simple words in elementary school on notes to boys I liked. I received a few similar notes as well. By the time I reached high…
