Extend Yourself Grace

Sharing How I Modified My Behavior + Changing My Mindset = 100 lb sustained weight loss + My quality of life soared!
Extend Yourself Grace

Extend Yourself Grace

Heartwork Chronicles: The Journey of Healing and Growth, part 2

I dive headfirst into the unseen but ever-present skirmishes of the soul, shedding light on the deep emotional wounds we keep hidden. This chapter is a heart-to-heart about the raw power of opening up, the bravery needed to face our inner turmoil, and the enlightening journey towards healing and peace that follows. It’s about acknowledging the courage and love it takes to turn our battles into bridges, guiding us from the shadows and darkness into the light. So, come along as I explore the path to mending more than just the flesh, where every hushed whisper of discomfort finds solace in understanding and tender self-love.

Heartwork Chronicles: The Journey of Healing and Growth, part 1

In this intimate tale from the Heartwork Chronicles, I unravel the beauty of conversation as a key to healing’s heart. Walk with me through a narrative sprinkled with smiles, laughter and tears, where the simple act of dialogue—both with ourselves and those around us—becomes a canvas for understanding and embracing our true strength. Discover how reflecting on our victories, big and small, equips us to meet today and our tomorrows with a bold heart and a resilient spirit.

Redefining Progress: The Hidden Value in Life’s Unexpected Impermanence

Everyone needs to hear this and know this. And I mean EVERYONE. I believe we already know it, but we’ve become so disconnected from ourselves we no longer believe what the God in us teaches us. It’s the still, deep knowing. Rather than bemoan the season of rest, akin to the leaves falling off the trees, we must instead appreciate the season we’re in and embrace the importance of and recognize these periods of stability as opportunities for reflection, adjustment, and preparation for continued progress.

Savoring Life: A Journey of Mindfulness, Self-Discovery, and True Unconditional Love

And the single most important connection I have in the world is the connection I have with myself. God loves me. I love me. I love others like I love me. If I don’t love me well, I can’t love others well, either. So I spent years learning to love myself well. To care for myself. To be patient, kind, protecting, trusting, hoping and to persevere. After all, that is the very definition of love in Corinthians.

Navigating Transition: A Personal Journey of Success and Growth in 2023

Before we look ahead to the new year, we ought to spend time celebrating all of our accomplishments from this year. Before we move forward, how about we spend some time relishing our accomplishments and successes from this year?! Like, duh! Yes, of course!

Praying Against Evil: Seeking Divine Protection in a Troubled World

Let me be so incredibly clear: simply put, some people are evil and wicked. Some people lie, cheat and steal (and don’t let them be the trifecta doing all three!) to get whatever the hell they want and they don’t care about anybody else’s feelings but their own. Actually, they don’t even care about their own feelings! They care about what the want. What they get. Feelings?! What are those?!?!

A Nurse’s Reflection: The Journey to Peace and Serenity

I was speaking with a client as they were preparing for discharge from the detox facility where I work, discussing their eagerness, excitement, apprehension, and joy to return from the detox facility– their temporary home for the past couple of weeks in close community with people who intimately know their struggles with addiction– to their own home. Standing tall, they said: “[When I go home,] I’m remaining firmly grounded in peace [stomps left foot] and serenity [stomps right foot].”

Reclaim Your Life: Overcoming Addiction, Cultivating Self-Worth, and Thriving

The strength to overcome your challenges lies within you– not without you! By daring to do one thing differently or to ask for the support you want or need to overcome your addiction, you open the door to the life and future you want. The present you desire.

The Raw Truth of Alcohol Withdrawal: A Detox Nurse’s Perspective

Unaddressed wounds don’t heal. If I cut my arm severely but don’t acknowledge it, it won’t heal, it’s get worse! And healing hurts. After I notice the wound, I have to clean it so it doesn’t get infected and it stings. Whether I apply pressure to stop the bleeding or clean it with alcohol, it’s gonna hurt. But the hurt doesn’t last forever. It’s temporary.

Self Love Conquers Self Hate

I hated the fullness of my cheeks and the width of my nose and the gap in my teeth and my double chins and my uneven eyebrows and the deep chocolate brown of my skin. I distracted others from my face by wearing low cut shirts. “Surely if they notice my breasts they won’t notice me, I thought.” Deep exhale. Deep inhale. Deep exhale.
I hated the width of my nose. The White and White presenting girls at my elite private high school were getting nose jobs for their 16th birthday and boob jobs for graduation gifts. We were taught to hate our ever-growing and changing bodies. And I couldn’t wait to get my nose job. To narrow it. To make it a cute lil tip.

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