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Birth Fears, Redux
By Allison Hull It’s a birthday! Everyone’s excited for the first birthday, right? Can’t wait to see the cake smashing and the icing covered face. Can’t wait to see them try to rip into a present and probably pass out from the sugar coma. Birthdays are supposed to be joyous times filled with eagerness for the years to come. For some moms it’s not all joy. Some births are not always joyous and some are downright scary. As I near a first birthday I’m reminded of that time for me over and over again. And I’m reminded of this article Holly posted in July. https://katieluthersisters.org/2015/07/birth-fears/ When she first wrote it…
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Confessions of a Control Freak
By Amanda Markel I’m something of a control freak. If it can be planned, scheduled, or organized, I will attempt to do so. This was never more evident than this summer, when I was planning our first real family vacation. I tried to think of everything. Where would we stay? What activities would we do, and at what times? How could I maximize our all too brief time to see the most important things, do the most fun things, and make sure there was something special for each member of our family to experience? And then there were other concerns. How can we make this trip for the least amount…
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My Old Friend, Anxiety
By Heidi Goehmann I have had a long history with anxiety. So much so that I tell people it’s like a backpack. I take it on and off, but it’s always at least sitting in the corner of the room, staring me down. I have tried for years to shake off the weight. Years ago a friend told me that “Do not be afraid…” is the most often given command in the Bible. So, I took it to heart and when anxiety would well up, I’d push it down, way down, telling myself over and over, “Do not be afraid, do not be afraid.” Sometimes I’d even take on a…
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The Images in My Mind
By Anonymous (Editor’s note– because of the incredibly personal and sensitive nature of this post, I’m going to be watching comments closely. Please be loving with our sister.) Pornography harms women. It devalues them and transforms them into tools for man’s desire and lust. It strips women of their dignity and teaches men to manipulate, control, and then throw away, rather than love, protect, and care for them. This is all true, but this only scratches the surface of the harm pornography inflicts upon women. We seem to be blind to those women who bear the pain and scars — not from being offended by the material or from enduring…
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Singleness
By Ellie Corrow Most children, especially girls, assume they will one day grow up, get married, and start a family. This is a dream that is not qualified with an “if” but a “when” and a goal that marks an unequivocal entrance into adulthood. Some people have no trouble achieving this, meeting the right person at the right time, and no one’s timeline suffers accommodation and adjustment. But, others don’t have this experience, instead they wait, and wait, vaguely wondering if they are running out of time, if there is someone out there for them. It’s a difficult place to be in, when life doesn’t work out as you expected.…
