Fall's Season of Grieving
Fall might be the season when those who grieve can put the pain and suffering into perspective and be reassured that healing does come.
Why Not PYSOP?
Put Your Stuff On Paper/PYSOP has nothing to do with school. If writing seemed like a struggle for you, reframe Pysoping this way: Pysoping is to the broken heart what Drano is to a clogged drain! It is a release valve that allows your emotions to flow freely in a safe place on paper. There are no grammar, spelling, or handwriting rules to follow when we PYSOP. So put pen to paper fearlessly. Let all your thoughts and emotions, questions, and fears flow out from your body and heart. Our emotions are messy, disorganized, random, and unpredictable. What goes on paper should reflect what is in the heart.
From "WHY?" to PEACE
I deeply appreciate how Jesus can redirect our screaming “WHY?” questions, by acknowledging the pain, then offering something that comes from His Kingdom of Love, Mercy, and Grace ~ His PEACE. This peace is real, my friend. It doesn’t come from our circumstances or our psychology. It comes from God.
Independence Day Grief
Independence is now a new way of living day to day, yet your heart will ever be touched with explosive memories that will dazzle and sparkle in the night sky of your soul. Just as a new country was made, a new individual is being formed. That is you. Will you be courageous to grieve well, make choices that lead you towards adjustment and healing, and reach out to others to be with you as you learn a new way of life?
Fathers who Mourn and Children who Grieve
Could you look into the face of God and see His Father's eyes of interest, compassion, warmth, courage, and welcome? He is never too busy for you and offers His limitless resources to guide you through your life with all its losses and grief.
God's Valentine to the Grieving Heart
In a peculiar way, our aching, longing hearts are all about love ~ either the love we could never receive or the love we so terribly miss.
Putting Away Christmas
I turn off the CD player and reluctantly put all the Christmas music in their box. By now the missing charm and glow of lights, decorations, and holiday tunes leave me feeling melancholy. The house seems lonely, empty, and quiet. My soul feels the loss.
Putting Away Grief?
I wish it could be this uncomplicated to put away my grief, but I know it is not.
The Nativity of Loss and Grief
Does it seem your grief is unnoticed? Is there only a rare visitor? Has isolation robbed you of the normal social and emotional support you need? If Angels could guide shepherds and a star could direct wise men, then I hope you can trust God knows how to send comfort and support to you.
Christmas ~ A Good Time to Grieve
On the one hand, Christmas is about trees and lights, food and shopping, gifts and secrets, concerts and parties, and jingling bells with loud “Happy Holidays” greetings. As mourners, many of us find ourselves among the poorest of the poor as if characters from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”
Holiday PYSOP!
Find a pen and paper. Allow your real, honest, and true self to spill out on the lines. Fill the page with what you are really feeling and thinking. Now that you have a broken heart, there is no need to pretend. Let the pen release your deepest pain.
Your Defining Moment In Spite of Holiday Grief
By understanding our phase in grief, we can make better plans that will help us honor our loved ones and grief their absence with healthier outcomes.
Isn’t Thanksgiving Grief an Oxymoron?
4 Options that can get you through the holiday. 1. be open to gratitude and list small things you are thankful for. 2. Live in the present moment. 3. Make a plan to honor your loved one. 4. Accept and give love.
When Grief and Gratitude Co-Mingle
To my friends who mourn during this season of giving thanks, I give you space to do so. I give you the freedom to grieve. I offer you support in your bereavement. The crazy paradox of what you are experiencing and what others are celebrating may feel like knives stabbing the already shredded parts of your heart.
How to live through the Fall Season of Grief
Sometimes just knowing that grief has its seasons helps. It’s like gathering a little blanket of comfort and hope
A Griever's Lament ~ God's Response
I am told to take life one step at a time, but it is so dark, I can’t see the chasms to my right or left and I am afraid to move forward. It feels like each day I am stumbling in the dark, which leaves my emotions bruised and battered. When sorrow is my constant companion, how am I to wake up and enter into the activities of “normal” people?
Who are We Really Mad at in Grief?
We can often feel mad at the person who died. This is confusing and normal. Find out how to turn this irrational thought into a rational one.
An Open Letter to a Grieving Friend
Dear grieving friend, we commit to being here with you, no matter if you get angry, depressed, close us out, or just need us to sit in silence with you. We are here for you through the long haul.
Resilient Grieving in a COVID World
Learn to practice self-hugs, pillow hugs, and auditory/visual hugs during the difficult and lonely days of isolated grief.
Grief Like a Train
Grieving well means taking back control in our lives. One of the best places to start is with ourselves.