In 2019 I decided to do something my sister has done for many years: record the books I read. So I bought a little Moleskine and started jotting down titles each time I finished a book. I was coming out of severe depression and anxiety, and was seeking to rebuild my mind. Reading was a […]
3 Voices That Helped Carry Me Through Anxiety and Depression
In the beginning of my breakdown, I didn’t have capacity for very much input, so my normal stays of writing and reading were set aside. The words I could receive came from people close to me in real time. However, three artist voices broke through the darkness of severe anxiety and depression, bringing peace instead […]
When It All Shakes Out (You Exist)
When it all shakes out, beloved, you will know what is true and what was only pretense, And it will hurt, because there are things you wanted to be true that will never be true, and things you needed to be false, that were never false, and things in the middle that you will discover […]
A Breakdown
“Thou makest darkness, and it is night: wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth.” A breakdown was like being bound, blindfolded, and pummeled, then dropped in the middle of a thick, dark wood. I was completely beaten, covered in bruises and still vomiting up bile and blood when the blindfold was ripped […]
I Have A Voice
I wrote following post in October. It seems like it was the key that fit the hole, turned the lock, and opened the door to my breakdown. The words poured out of me in strength: then fear rushed in to the vacancy the words left behind. I can remember every day from the day the […]
Depression
And so the winter passes. We took a sharp turn into spring this week, with the snow and frost giving way to sunny mid-70 days. Donning a tank top, I worked away at the last of the blueberry bushes, and my sun-kissed skin kept me warm all night long. It was a long, dark winter. […]
Becoming Abundant (survivor songs #30)
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (shall be comforted – paraklethesontai – God will come right alongside and will be with us.) _______________ _______________ The demands our griefs place on God will be satisfied. This is what strikes me as I consider the audacious phrase shall be comforted and the fullness […]
Tearing Down The Fence: the grief and healing of re-entry – a guest post by Hallie Ziebart (survivor songs #29)
Tearing Down The Fence by Hallie Ziebart __________________ __________________ I mourn. Oh, have I learned how to mourn! My life became not what I expected, or hoped for, or thought I was promised. Life unfolded, joys and sorrows have come and gone. Sometimes I feel bewildered. Sometimes angry. Sometimes thankful. And sometimes I feel nothing […]
“Where Do We Go From Here? God Have Mercy” – a Marriage Startup Podcast with Leslie and Laura Camacho (survivor songs #27)
Today Laura Camacho joins up with her husband Leslie to offer a follow up to yesterday’s post (When Does Comfort Come, survivor songs #26). Leslie and Laura host a weekly broadcast called The Marriage Startup Podcast and today they are sharing a special edition of the podcast put together specifically for Survivor Songs. It is such an honor to host […]