The LifeCare Blog
Anxiety
The Gospel, Neuroscience, and Psychology
Over and over God calls us into a deeper, more loving, more peaceful relationship with Him. His perfect love is sufficient for us, it heals the most painful wounds, it shines a light in the dark places, it gives peace to the chaos. He draws us closer to Him by...
Pulling Out the Weeds
Photo By: Shawn Rause Pulling-out weeds is terrible. My mom has one heck of a green thumb and as a chore she would make me pull weeds for hours in the hot North Carolina sun every year. To make it worse North Carolina’s soil is a hard orange clay, so it is hard to dig...
COVID-19 and the Sanctity of Life
When I think about all that our nation—and the world—is experiencing with regard to the coronavirus and COVID-19, we all are impacted in many different ways. Our routines have been dramatically altered, the health of loved ones is in question, physical contact with...
Overcoming Negative Thinking – for Children
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”Phillipians 4:6-7 When...
You Are Not Alone in the Waiting
Waiting for the news of a diagnosis, waiting for your son to find the courage to make the right choice, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting to feel more content in your job, waiting for the pain of the past to stop interfering with your present... If only you...
The Danger of Bypassing Your Emotions: an Introduction
Feeling fear and anxiety? Be anxious for nothing, God’s got you!Feeling sadness and grief? Have hope in eternity! Focus on what’s yet to come.Feeling overwhelmed? God will never give you more than you can handle. These responses are merely “emotional band-aids” that...
Self-Care: Adjusting Your Oxygen Mask for a Better You
If you’ve flown on any commercial airline you’ve heard the safety presentation offered prior to takeoff… If there is a drop in cabin pressure panels above your seat will open revealing oxygen masks. If this happens pull a mask towards you until the tube is fully...
Therapy Helps You Cope with Stress
Have you ever asked God for something – something good, something within God’s will – and yet the answer was…no? Have you struggled with what to believe and how to feel when God doesn’t fix something broken in your life? If so, I’ve been there too, and am still there....
Children
When Playing Becomes Something More
Play is often considered an impractical activity that should only be engaged in for recreational purposes. Nevertheless, mental health professionals are discovering that play is an essential element of human happiness and a form of communication for children. ...
Depression
Pulling Out the Weeds
Photo By: Shawn Rause Pulling-out weeds is terrible. My mom has one heck of a green thumb and as a chore she would make me pull weeds for hours in the hot North Carolina sun every year. To make it worse North Carolina’s soil is a hard orange clay, so it is hard to dig...
You Are Not Alone in the Waiting
Waiting for the news of a diagnosis, waiting for your son to find the courage to make the right choice, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting to feel more content in your job, waiting for the pain of the past to stop interfering with your present... If only you...
The Danger of Bypassing Your Emotions: an Introduction
Feeling fear and anxiety? Be anxious for nothing, God’s got you!Feeling sadness and grief? Have hope in eternity! Focus on what’s yet to come.Feeling overwhelmed? God will never give you more than you can handle. These responses are merely “emotional band-aids” that...
Self-Care: Adjusting Your Oxygen Mask for a Better You
If you’ve flown on any commercial airline you’ve heard the safety presentation offered prior to takeoff… If there is a drop in cabin pressure panels above your seat will open revealing oxygen masks. If this happens pull a mask towards you until the tube is fully...
The House Down Old Country Lane
This is a true story. The names and some details have been changed in order to protect the identity and confidentiality of the person about whom I am writing. There is a house down an old country road that is in severe disrepair. You wouldn’t know someone lived there...
Wholehearted
Have you ever ventured out or thought what it might mean to get your heart back? That question usually stirs up one of two immediate reactions: Wow! How great would that be? or What do you mean? I never lost my heart! The first is usually from men or women who have...
What is the True Cost of Freedom
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s...
When the Past is a Weight on Our Shoulders
For many, weight loss seems like a never ending battle against the scale. One day we are down a pound, the next we are up two. There are a great many challenges that keep us from reaching our goals such as daily stresses at work or in life, a lack of time for...
When Christmas Isn’t Merry
This is the time of year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, give gifts, and enjoy friends and family. It can be a wonderful time, but for some it’s a depressing time. Today, I was playing tennis with a group and overhead a discussion by a couple of women from the...
Couples
The Silence of Adam
Plato said, “We can easily forgive a child when he is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light.” These words capture the essential truth of his famous “Allegory of the Cave.” A profound social commentary, Plato exposes the tendency of...
Why Couples Fight and How to Refocus on Good Stuff
Relationships are complicated. We come together seeking to share our lives with another person and needing to feel loved. We want to be supportive, responsive and make our best friend happy. Why do we end up fighting? One way to explore the problem is through the...
The Relationship Dance
Relationships can be hard. Some more than others. With each person we find ourselves moving to a different dance and doing our best to follow the steps, but recognizing we might step on toes or not know the way everytime? There is grace (hopefully) as we learn and...
Grief
When Grief Pays a Visit
Every year around this time, grief pays me a visit. In the beginning, grief was my constant companion. It was there when I awoke and never left my side. While I dreaded its very existence, I also found a strange comfort in its presence. I felt validated by my grief...
You Are Not Alone in the Waiting
Waiting for the news of a diagnosis, waiting for your son to find the courage to make the right choice, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting to feel more content in your job, waiting for the pain of the past to stop interfering with your present... If only you...
The Danger of Bypassing Your Emotions: an Introduction
Feeling fear and anxiety? Be anxious for nothing, God’s got you!Feeling sadness and grief? Have hope in eternity! Focus on what’s yet to come.Feeling overwhelmed? God will never give you more than you can handle. These responses are merely “emotional band-aids” that...
The Two Greatest Gifts
What is the greatest gift God can give you this Christmas? I don’t know what you or your family may be walking through this Christmas, but I do know if you have felt loss and suffering at any level in the past days, months or years, this Christmas could be very...
The House Down Old Country Lane
This is a true story. The names and some details have been changed in order to protect the identity and confidentiality of the person about whom I am writing. There is a house down an old country road that is in severe disrepair. You wouldn’t know someone lived there...
Lifestyle
You Are Not Alone in the Waiting
Waiting for the news of a diagnosis, waiting for your son to find the courage to make the right choice, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting to feel more content in your job, waiting for the pain of the past to stop interfering with your present... If only you...
Self-Care: Adjusting Your Oxygen Mask for a Better You
If you’ve flown on any commercial airline you’ve heard the safety presentation offered prior to takeoff… If there is a drop in cabin pressure panels above your seat will open revealing oxygen masks. If this happens pull a mask towards you until the tube is fully...
When a Man Feels Lost, Step I is to Grab the Map
We often see clients struggling with anger, sadness, stress at work or at home and even with violent outbursts toward others. There is a common thread shared among so many of them, especially when the clients are men. Many, many times, men say, “I feel lost” or...
Specialities
What Is EMDR?
Finding a therapist can already be a challenging task, but when you get referred out to a specialist, it can be especially frustrating. In this article we are going to tackle the question, “What is EMDR?”! This popular evidence-based treatment is now becoming the #1...
Spirituality
Waiting Well
We live in a Veruca Salt world, don’t we? You know, Veruca—the quintessential spoiled little girl from Roald Dahl’s classic, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? If you’re like me, you know Veruca best from the movie adaptation starring Gene Wilder. Even now I can...
The Gospel, Neuroscience, and Psychology
Over and over God calls us into a deeper, more loving, more peaceful relationship with Him. His perfect love is sufficient for us, it heals the most painful wounds, it shines a light in the dark places, it gives peace to the chaos. He draws us closer to Him by...
COVID-19 and the Sanctity of Life
When I think about all that our nation—and the world—is experiencing with regard to the coronavirus and COVID-19, we all are impacted in many different ways. Our routines have been dramatically altered, the health of loved ones is in question, physical contact with...
You Are Not Alone in the Waiting
Waiting for the news of a diagnosis, waiting for your son to find the courage to make the right choice, waiting for your marriage to heal, waiting to feel more content in your job, waiting for the pain of the past to stop interfering with your present... If only you...
The Danger of Bypassing Your Emotions: an Introduction
Feeling fear and anxiety? Be anxious for nothing, God’s got you!Feeling sadness and grief? Have hope in eternity! Focus on what’s yet to come.Feeling overwhelmed? God will never give you more than you can handle. These responses are merely “emotional band-aids” that...
To be Without Wax
The word for “sincere” in Italian is sincero. “Sin” means “to be without.” “Cero” is the Italian word for wax. It was a term used in the practice of pottery. Artisans would mold a vessel out of clay and place it into a kiln...
The Two Greatest Gifts
What is the greatest gift God can give you this Christmas? I don’t know what you or your family may be walking through this Christmas, but I do know if you have felt loss and suffering at any level in the past days, months or years, this Christmas could be very...
Journeying from Resistance to Acceptance
Accepting “what is” is a theme that God has been working out in my life for many years. Acceptance doesn’t mean approval, endorsement, or even liking the circumstances. It simply requires a mental and heart-felt shift from resistance to submission through...
Trauma
What Is EMDR?
Finding a therapist can already be a challenging task, but when you get referred out to a specialist, it can be especially frustrating. In this article we are going to tackle the question, “What is EMDR?”! This popular evidence-based treatment is now becoming the #1...