Advent Week 2: Silence
“Advent leads to a growing inner stillness and joy allowing me to realize that He for whom I am waiting has already arrived and speaks to me in the silence of my heart.” Henri Nouwen Silence and stillness – a practice many of us struggle with in this hurried modern world. Phones, ema
Advent Week 1: Anticipation
This week marks the beginning of Advent leading us up to Christmas. In the liturgical calendar, this is a season of intentionality that we invite you into with us, wherever you find yourself in the world. We’ll be sending a weekly email for the coming four weeks with a simple advent / mental
Gratitude for All Seasons
Gratitude is an emotion, and certainly you’ve experienced it spontaneously before- perhaps when you received a thoughtful gift, an answer to a heartfelt prayer, a call from a friend when you’re feeling lonely. But gratitude is also a practice, the conscious act of turning your attention to what
Living (Involuntarily) on the Pedestal
by Corrine Gnepf, LCMHC, NCC “You are so brave!” How many times have I heard those words from people in my passport country when they found out where I used to live or now currently live. Sometimes the first comment was followed by “I couldn’t do it.” In that person’s mind I had re
HEART, SOUL, MIND, & STRENGTH
by Nick Steffen, LMHC, Pastoral & Clinical Counselor In the gospels, Jesus recalls the book of Deuteronomy when asked what the greatest command is. He instructs us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. While the conceptual understandings of these words may have shif
The Language of Art
by Amber Goodloe, LPC Pablo Picasso said, “painting is just another way of keeping a diary” and I love this. So often when we think of expressing our emotions, or “getting things off our chest” we think of using words – talking to a friend, writing in a journal, praying, etc. B
Let’s Talk About Anxiety, Shall We?
by Lisa Green, LPC-MHSP, Executive Director Let’s be honest, shall we? Anxiety is extremely prevalent in society today- and not just “out there” society, but among “us” as well. Globally, anxiety disorders are the mostly commonly diagnosed mental health problem, and the World Health Organi
TRAUMA & RECOVERY
by Steve Scruggs, Psychologist You may have had a difficult experience at some point, and find yourself asking- “Was this a trauma?” If you’re not certain, it’s not surprising- even experts can disagree about what constitutes trauma.
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS
by Nick Steffen, LMHC Attention is costly The primary mechanism of our computer’s ability to multitask is something called “context switching.” Essentially, the processing unit saves a task off to memory in a way that it can later retrieve and then shifts over to another task. Each context swi
TAKE TIME TO BE HEALED
by Linda Parker, LMFT It was just a deeper-than-normal step off the sidewalk curb, and I went down in a flash, hearing the “crack” that made my spirits plunge. A trip to the emergency room confirmed the unhappy results of a broken ankle with a cast and crutches my fate for perhaps the next 6 [&h