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I am taking a brief break from my Navigating Mental Health series for something a little less dark and more enlightening. Enjoy! Our children are quite diverse in their personalities as well as their likes and dislikes. They are also very diverse in food and eating habits. For example, one of my older boys willContinue reading “Picky eaters vs. picky Christians?”

No leader can build and sustain a great organization if no trust exists. – unknown. This is Part 3 in my series on Navigating mental health disorders in a strict religious environment (SRE). I previously wrote about some of the tactics that leadership uses in such circles to discourage people they feel threatened or intimidatedContinue reading “Navigating mental health disorders, Part 3”

This is the second installment in a series on Navigating mental health disorders in a strict religious environment (SRE). Men in leadership positions that remind those below him that he is in charge… are not leaders, but bullies. (unknown author) Much thought and discretion has gone into this over the past few weeks. A leaderContinue reading “Navigating mental health disorders, Part 2”

This post is what I hope to be the first in a series of short essays: Surviving in a strict religious environment (SRE) while struggling, often secretly, with a mental health disorder. This is a collection of my experiences, as well as observations of others that have struggled as well. As a full disclaimer, IContinue reading “Navigating mental health disorders in a strict religious environment (SRE)”

It’s been several months since I posted an update. We had a busy year. We welcomed both a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law into the family this year, so that kept things interesting, for sure. As a few know, I’ve been journaling for many years and a few years back I wrote the draft to myContinue reading “A message from the editor”

How often do we sacrifice our own peace and happiness in an attempt to salvage someone else’s reputation? I think we tend to do this more often than we admit. Someone does us wrong, either morally or ethically, and in order to “keep the peace” and not cause strife, we play it off. Sound familiar?Continue reading “Sacrificing happiness to protect someone else’s reputation?”

You have $86,400 in your bank account and someone stole $30 from you. Would you be so upset that you would throw all the remaining $86,370 away. In the hope of getting back at the person who took your 30 bucks? Or spending more and more of your remaining money just to get back thatContinue reading “30 Seconds”

I am in the process of doing a much needed remodel of the site, so please have patience if something doesn’t look right. I spent the summer compiling material and now its time to put it all to work! Check back soon….

As the couple drove home later that evening, the husband simply shook his head. What on God’s green earth did we just witness? Obvious sexual misconduct, rape of a child at that, just blown off with the wave of a hand. This isn’t right. Someone needs to look into this. The victims need justice. TheyContinue reading “Nothing holds water… the can of worms!”

At the age of 17, I made a big change in my life and joined the plain community, specifically the Dunkard Brethren Church, a decision I do not regret. Nearly 25 years later, after cycling through both the Mennonite and conservative Brethren circles, after many hurts to myself and much frustration to those around me,Continue reading “I’m an “ex-transplant”!”