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What if I told you that talking to an empty chair was one of the most freeing and healing experiences I had during my three years in counseling? You're probably thinking something to the effect of "what in the world? She talked to an empty chair?" Yep, I sure did! It was my senior year at IWU. I was working with my therapist to find healing from a fragmented relationship in my life. My therapist pointed to an empty chair and said "Pretend that they are sitting in that chair. What would you say to them?" I thought this was simply a rhetorical question to get me thinking, but no. My therapist actually wanted me to talk out loud to an empty chair. I was hesitant at first, and doubted that this exercise would be beneficial, but I played along. I turned toward the empty chair and began to talk to "them." I shared my hurt, my need to let go of the past and desire to move forward. I asked for forgiveness for the way I treated them. And I forgave them f...

Quote from Project Semicolon I try to avoid this part of my story. Vulnerability is terrifying - I don't want to write out some of my darkest moments, but recently I have felt led by the Holy Spirit to share more of my story. So here I am, typing.  As many of you know, my father passed away when I was 16. After his death, my life began to unravel. I didn't want anyone to know how badly I was hurting, so I would let all of my emotions out while I was driving to and from work or school. Somedays I would be crying so hard that I could barely see the road ahead.  I would cry. I would scream at God.  I was devastated. I was confused. I was angry.  I vividly remember one day screaming to God that I hated him.  The days, weeks, months and even years following my father's death were very dark. In all honesty, I was in and out of a state of depression. Just getting out of bed was a challenge some days. I lost myself in a cloud of shame and sadness.  I...

It was Valentine's Day. I was sitting on my couch and heard a far-off meow. Soon, there was a chorus of heartbreaking meows sitting at my doorstep. How could I ignore it? I looked out the window and there he was - an orange and white tabby cat with sea green eyes. He looked up at me with hope and continued to meow incessantly until I opened the door.  I always hate seeing animals outside during winter months. I stepped outside, and he immediately began purring. In a matter of minutes, my jeans were covered with fur - he seemed so grateful that someone was paying attention to him. He was shivering from the low temps, so I warmed up a small bowl of milk for him. I thought that was all I had to offer him until I remembered I had a few cans of tuna - I quickly became his best friend.  I called Animal Care & Control . . . twice, but they never showed up. Sadly, I am not allowed pets in my apartment. Thankfully he wasn't without shelter. There is an old s...

I've always wanted a brother. Ask my mom, and she will tell you that I begged her and my dad to adopt a younger brother for me. Well, you can probably tell that they never caved - I remained an only child. But as I reflect, I have come to the realization that God has provided me with many brothers throughout my life. I don't have biological brothers - and that's okay.  My brothers are the Godly men who I am blessed to call friends.  My brothers make me laugh (and roll my eyes) with their woman jokes.  My brothers challenge me in my walk with God. My brothers always have my back.  My brothers give me relationship advice. My brothers appreciate my love for fireworks.  My brothers listen to my hopes. My brothers give me car advice. My brothers take the fish off the hook for me. My brothers encourage me in my dreams.  I am so thankful for my brothers. Honestly, it wasn't until recently that it hit me just how blessed I have been by...

Tomorrow I turn 23 and I have a birthday wish that will impact 100 people for the better . The thing is - I can't do it alone. As cliche as that sounds, it's true! I need you guys! My birthday wish:  100 Acts of Kindness during the month of February  I have always had this mindset that simple acts of kindness can and do change the world. So here is what I am asking you to do for my birthday:   >>  CLICK HERE   and pledge to complete one act of kindness during the month of February. That's all you have to do! Easy peasy, huh?! Right now only 10 people have pledged (thank you to those that have!). We have 17 more days to make this happen -- we've totally got this :) Why Acts of Kindness, you may ask? For starters, February 10-16th is Random Act of Kindness Week . And like I said before, small acts of kindness have ripple effects that can truly change our world!  Also, did you know that doing kind acts for others actually increases YOUR leve...

Bad days. We all have them. Watch this video. 5 minutes of your life well spent - trust me.

My dad in Vietnam On September 1, 2007 my father passed away from ischemic heart disease , which is a fancy way of saying his arteries were so blocked that blood couldn't travel back to his heart. It's been six years since his death, but the wound was ripped open last year when my mom and I found out his death was tied to his military service in Vietnam. It's not fair, I lamented, It's just not fair.  Agent Orange, which was an herbicide used by the U.S. military in Vietnam, has been linked to the deaths of many veterans. The official list of health complications includes 14 different diseases, but ischemic heart disease didn't make the list until three years ago.  The heart wrenching part of all of this is that several individuals have told my mother that the doctors knew  Agent Orange was the cause -- they were simply told by the government to keep it under wraps. Awful. I'm not all about debating government conspiracy theories, but that was compl...