How to Build a Grief Support System

3 Signs You Are Ready For Healing How Do You Forgive Even When It Feels Impossible? (Part 1) How Do You Forgive Even When It Feels Impossible? (Part 2)

You can't heal what you refuse to confront.   Unknown If you don't take a long, hard look at what is hurting you then you will not quit hurting.  Yes, it's scary to confront what is hurting you but face your fear to get to healing.  This goes for personal pain, relationships that have brokenness, or anything else that is causing pain and needs healing. As long as you ignore the brokenness you will have brokenness.  The only way healing comes is through confronting the brokenness.  It's a risk you need to take because you will find that the risk pays off.  You will be healed and that's the best pay off.  How do you confront brokenness?  Find healthy people who can help you confront the hurt, be brave enough to honestly assess your participation in the brokenness (if you did participate), and be brave enough to approach the people who caused part or all of the brokenness. Want to be healed?  Then confront the brokenness.

When we clear out stuff, we make room for people.   http://www.imperfecthomemaking.com/2011/10/31-days-to-organized-home-day-one.html This is not a new topic to the 365.  :)  Obviously, however, it is one of my most favorite topics! I love clearing out stuff that we haven't touched, used, thought about in 6 months or more.  In fact, I'm getting ready to go through some tubs again and see what we can get out of our home because it is taking up space. My house isn't a place where stuff is takes precedence over people but I practice keeping our material possessions to a minimum because I don't ever want it to get to a place where it does.  When I watch shows like "Hoarders" and see how family members and friends don't feel welcome and feel pushed out of their loved ones life because of stuff I feel sad.  How tragic to send the message that this thing (whatever it may be) is more important than a spouse or someone else who loves you. This got me ...

Live your life from your heart. Share from your heart. And your story will touch and heal people's souls.    Melody Beattie Our greatest stories, those which leave the most impact, come from our hearts.  And what comes from our hearts are stories that have laughter, sorrow, healing, pain, and everything in between.  The best stories have a little bit of all, even the pain.  For our pain can be someone else's healing.  When we share from our hearts we are telling a story of grace, of redemption, and of hope.  Just like the stories from the hearts of others can be a soothing balm, a life lesson, or a myriad of other things so can our stories be as well in the life of others.  But they have to be shared from the heart.  If they are not then they will not accomplish what they could, the potential of the story won't be reached.  Our stories will only be heartfelt when they are lived from that place as well.  Don't be afraid of your hea...

The soul always knows what to do to heal itself.  The challenge is to silence the mind.  Caroline Myss The biggest obstacle to our healing from emotional wounds, etc is to keep our minds from engaging in that healing.  Our minds are wonderful and helpful when it comes to pretty much everything but healing.  Then our minds turn on us.  They replay the lies that hold us in bondage, they keep the shame we might feel at the front of our efforts, they whisper things to us that keep us in victim mode, they convince us that we are right and "the world" is wrong and against us.  The mind becomes our enemy of sorts when we need to heal. I know this first hand.  I've been there.  I've been in a battle with my mind and my soul. Our souls always know what to do to heal.  They are reliable in leading the way to wholeness.  They point north and lead the way but only if the mind gets out of the way.  And that is a choice each of us have ...

Making forward progress on the outside begins with making a leap on the inside.   Lincoln Patz Surface changes don't lead to lasting changes.  When we make changes, or say we are going to, on the surface all we are doing is "spot treatment" rather than address the real problem.  In order for things to change on the surface we must do the work of addressing the root issue(s).  And having the courage to address the root issue(s) is the leap needed if we are ever going to make forward progress. A sure sign of someone attempting surface changes without addressing the root issue(s) are statements that sound like this: "I will work harder" "I will try to change" "I" "I" "I" We are a relational people and we are also rather blind to our own root issue(s) most of the time.  So we need other people to help us address these things.  If we try to do it in "I" then all we will accomplish is surface - spot treatment -...

Practice sorting through the much to get to the must.   Mary Anne Radmacher I was thinking about how true today's quote is on several levels of life. In material terms it means we sort through all the "much" in our homes (multiple TVs, computers, unused furniture, "collections", paperwork, etc) and we weed out the much to get to the must (do *you* really need multiple TVs, computers, etc?  Why are you hanging on to unused things when others could be using it?  You see what I mean I am sure).  So it benefits our home life when we can make it a practice to sort through the much that accumulates to get to the must.  Sometimes the much we justify as necessary but really evaluate the necessity.  Is it truly a need or merely a want you've tried to make a need? In emotional terms it means we sort through all the "much" in our hearts (toxic relationships, unhealthy behaviors, wrong thinking, etc) and we weed out the much to get to the must (the toxic r...

Our eyes are placed in front because it is more important to look ahead than to look back.   Unknown What would happen if you drove a car forward but kept your eyes glued to the rear view mirror?  All you would see is what is behind you and you would miss what is in front of you...and you'd crash and burn.  Being focused on the past keeps us bound to hurts, bad behaviors, toxic relationships, negative perspectives, etc.  And being focused on the past means we are hurting our present and our future.  We wound people in our present day life, we create new hurts, new addictions, new toxic relationships, etc.  No good comes from living life constantly looking behind.  It slows us down, it distorts reality, it paints a bleak picture of our potential.  Choose today to get your eyes back up front, looking forward, living up to your true potential. Choose today to get your eyes forward again so your heart can be forward again.  ...