Mulling over a meme on a friend's facebook page this morning, I started to realize that the abuse that so many women endure, may never actually come to an end. Ever. "As we got ready to go to a movie one evening, I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror. Hair looked good, make-up done. I was wearing a brown and beige houndstooth blazer over a brown top, and blue jeans. Nothing fancy, but dressy enough for a night out," she told me. "When he saw me, he told me I needed to change. He … [Read more...]
Finding Freedom Through Forgiveness
How do you forgive someone who hurt and betrayed you? Should you even try, especially when they refuse to apologize or even acknowledge that they did anything wrong. Many years ago, a friend had made a comment reveling in my husband's failure at something he had tried. It was a careless comment, but it stung, and I decided that I would sever my relationship with that friend. Shortly afterward, I was relating the comment to another friend, and told her how much it hurt, and that … [Read more...]
Freedom from Abuse: Trust Your Instincts.
Laury Abbott knew she needed to get away from her husband. In her heart, she knew-- she wasn't safe. Neither was her 8-year old son, Danny, Jr. She had told family members that she was concerned, and was planning to file for divorce from Daniel Abbott. But before she could do that, before she could formulate an exit strategy to get herself and her son to safety, Daniel cut and stabbed his wife and young son to death. Then he stabbed himself. Three bodies were found in their Rainier, Washington … [Read more...]
For Janay, the Nightmare is Only Beginning
I have never run a marathon. I have run many 5k races. I've even run an 8k. Twice, I ran a 198-mile relay race as part of a 12-person team. But I have never run a marathon. Nor have I trained for a marathon. I've read training plans for marathons, marveled at the work involved in conditioning a body for such abuse. I mean, accomplishment. But that can't give me the real life experience of actually doing the training, picking a race, carefully and methodically preparing for it through training, … [Read more...]
Setting Me Free
A friend posted this video on his facebook page today, with a caption: You have time for this. I'm gonna tell you the same thing. Go ahead. Watch it. As I watched it, I kept thinking about this verse: "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for our brother. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 1 John 3:16-17 (NKJV) Here is a boy … [Read more...]
Wipe Away the Tears, and Run
I don't want to work out today. Yeah, it's overcast and cool. It's been raining for two days. But it's more than that-- I'm heartbroken. My Cuddle Bug is 6 years old. In fact, he's just two days younger than one of the sweet babies killed in Friday's massacre in Newtown, CT. I was sitting with my Cuddle Bug, having lunch with him in his school cafeteria, when the AP bulletin came over my phone. I continued to monitor the reports throughout the afternoon. There was no way to comprehend … [Read more...]
An Open Letter to Hope Solo
Dear Hope, May I call you Hope? I realize we've never met, but you've been on my mind a lot this weekend. No, I'm not you're biggest fan. I've never played soccer, and I don't have a little girl who looks up to you. But I do have this blog where I write about women and health and fitness. And since mental health is part of a woman's overall fitness, I feel justified in using this forum to write you a letter you'll likely never read. Because we do have something in common: we've both married … [Read more...]
Sabotage, and Other 4-Letter Words
C'mon. Is it THAT hard to just eat healthy? Really? Ugh!! I really struggle with this and I shouldn't! I took a nutrition class in college. I've done the Weight Watchers Points thing. I KNOW that I'm supposed to eat fruits and vegetables and lean proteins. I make a kickin' salad with greens and fruit and fat free poppyseed dressing. Other salads, too, but that one's my favorite. This would have been SUCH a GREAT week if I could have just stopped putting crud in my mouth! What kind of crud, you … [Read more...]