Some people say time heals all wounds . . . but I don’t agree. I think it’s what we plant in the soil of that time that determines what we yield. I know it can be hard to figure out this whole healing thing. Healing is not nearly as neat and tidy as I would like it to be. Ideally, I want to build on what I learn each day and check off my healing boxes like I would cross things off a to-do list. But that’s not the way healing works. It’s not linear. It is a journey of both progress and regress. Through my own healing journey, I learned a daily practice that really helped me: Receiving God’s enc ..read more

As I wrote my new book, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, I thought of you with every word I typed. I thought about the comments and direct messages I receive with your stories. The heartbreak. The tears. The relational hardships that seem never-ending. The greatest desire of my heart was to create a safe place for you to process all of this within the pages of this book.  That’s why I want to invite you into a part of my journey that I never got to share with anyone — words that started out in my journal and made their way into the early manuscript for Good Boundaries and Goodbyes. Unfortuna ..read more

Every day, I receive dozens of direct messages on social media from women who have been profoundly impacted by the Therapy & Theology podcast.  This podcast was born out of my own desperate need to make sure I was actually processing in a healthy and biblically wise way all I was going through, not just hoping everything would get better over the course of time.  I was fortunate enough to find a really good Christian counselor, but that is not the case for a multitude of women. Either they can’t afford counseling, they are afraid to go to a counselor, or they can’t find one in th ..read more

Do you have a relationship in your life where you know something is wrong, but you can’t figure out what to do? You’ve prayed about this behavior or situation. You’ve talked about this. You’ve tried to navigate it. You may have even tried to stop it. You’ve made changes. You’ve listened to wise advice and done everything you know to do. But in the end, nothing has worked. And maybe you’ve started to realize if the other person doesn’t want things to change, you cannot change them. So what can you do? Apply boundaries. I know … This feels impossible. Relationships come with many of their own co ..read more

Is it unloving or selfish to set a boundary? I’ve found myself asking this very same question.  Join me tomorrow on the Proverbs 31 Ministries Facebook page as I answer this question and more during a free live Q&A!  Don’t miss this behind-the-scenes conversation tomorrow, November 8, at 11:00 a.m. ET, to celebrate the release of my new book, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes.  I can’t wait to process the questions so many of us are having around the topic of boundaries together and celebrate the release with a fun giveaway at the end! See you then! Click here to join the releas ..read more

It’s challenging to be a dearly loved daughter of God and at the same time a poorly treated woman by another person.  I’m wondering if you can relate.  During the writing of my newest book, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, I realized this on a very personal level. I met with my counselor, Jim Cress, to work on healing from some of my own experiences and I spent hours processing the impact of the trauma I’d walked through. I want to be a woman walking in victory healed, educated and equipped to have the conversations that need to be had. I don’t want to make noise. I want to make a diffe ..read more

It can be difficult to find meaning in the hard things we’ve experienced. The tears. The heartbreak. The waiting. The details we never would have chosen. But we can rest assured that, with God, nothing we’ve been through goes unnoticed or will be wasted.  Many of us believe we have stories to tell, but we don’t always know how to do it. If you’re wondering… “Is my story worth sharing? Could it really help someone else? Is now the right time to share?” I want to invite you to my FREE webinar! How to Take Your Story and Turn It Into a Message will help you: Uncover the transferable wisdom ..read more

I love processing life together, being honest about our struggles together and celebrating our victories together. I’ve seen so much progress in my own relationships through all I’ve learned about good, healthy boundaries, and I want the same for you. I know that setting boundaries in relationships can be incredibly difficult to navigate … and I truly believe the best way for us to process all of these hard things is face-to-face and heart-to-heart.  That’s why I want to invite you to join me on The Good Boundaries and Goodbyes Book Tour with illumiNations, November 10-20! Tickets ar ..read more

You can love them, but you can’t change them. Have you ever found yourself in a relationship that sounds like this?  You’ve prayed about this challenging situation. You’ve talked about this. You’ve tried to navigate it or even tried to stop it. But in the end, nothing has worked, even when you think you’ve set parameters in place. They’re still acting the same way, the relational tensions are higher than ever, and your mind is screaming “I can’t keep doing this… something has to change.” It’s a terribly hard truth to accept, but what if learning we can’t change other people is actually on ..read more

My new book, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are, is now available for preorder!  Confession: I’ve struggled with boundaries for years. I’d almost resigned myself to believing boundaries don’t really work for a person wired like me. Plus, I’d had boundaries weaponized against me and used as punishment which just gave me even more doubts. And, most of all, I lacked the biblical confidence that healthy boundaries aren’t just a good idea, they’re God’s idea. If you can relate, I wrote my new book, Good Boundaries and Goodbyes, with you in mind ..read more