What if I asked you the question, “Do you take care of yourself?” I imagine that most of you are thinking, “Well sure, I’m alive aren’t I?”

Okay, well…what if I asked you a more specific question, such as: “How do you take care of yourself?”

Yeah, that’s what I thought. If you’re finding that question is a little harder to answer, then the rest of this is probably for you.

“… I grabbed a few seed packets to head out on my merry little way only to catch a glimpse of the line that said they wouldn’t bloom for 50-60 DAYS! I stopped dead in my tracks. You mean I’m not going to start seeing the results in the next 2 weeks? Because thats kind of what I was shooting for here.

Instead, I once again had something asking me to wait longer than I wanted to…”

“This view lended itself to some easy people watching. So while I waited for the waitress to come back around with the wifi password, I casually observed the room from behind my latte. (Or at least I hope it was casual, otherwise I definitely looked like Joe Goldberg from the Netflix series YOU)…”

“It was early January 2017 and once again I found myself aimlessly driving around town trying to avoid going home. If I could just find something to do, then I wouldn’t have to face the dam of emotions that were threatening to break.”

“I keep trying to find some way to describe my time at Camp Well.

To sum up the fullness of my heart + the anticipation I have for whats next - but I don’t know that words are adequate…”

Dear Daughter of Dysfunction,

…I’ve got a freeing little secret to tell you…

“Earlier this year, I had just wrapped up a really challenging day at work. You know those days where you question everything, feel inadequate, and leave defeated & drained? Yeah, one of those days. I’m talking snotty, ugly-crying, M E S S .

…I headed down the highway and minutes later the truck in front of me…”

I think for most of us, there are specific days or events that we could look back on and mark as pivotal to our life stories. Sometimes those pivotal moments are really beautiful ones, and others are blanketed in hurt.

June 6th is that date for me.

“Our punishment for failure was swift and unjust. My response was to strive more to make up for my lack.

I learned very quickly how to not rock the boat. Better not fail, because the landmines were plenty.”

“So often we go about life keeping the vulnerable seasons hidden. Forgetting that it’s okay to admit we’re not always okay…but I wonder what would happen if we told the whole story? If we lived our lives transparent and free?”

"The last item on the shelf was a Bible. Old, and worn. The first Bible I had been given as a teenager when I came to Christ.

Seeing it, my instinct was to toss it in the trash as well..."

Sometimes, we forget how badly we need to put ourselves first. And before we know it burn out settles in, and all those little things that we've continued to stuff down deep starts billowing out.

Let's learn how to indulge in a little self-care...

"....The next morning, I walked into the hospital knowing it was my turn to say goodbye. How in the world do you say goodbye to someone forever?....

I don’t know how long I was in there, but I stayed until peace found me...."

"When people hear about my job, they sometimes reply with “Oh, so you get to hold babies!”…which actually sounds like a really cool job, but is definitely not the one I have.

While I sometimes get to snuggle a baby or two- the work leading up to that point is so much more complex..."

“It was okay to say, “I need help.” Doing so took some incredible bravery. It’s been said that “Speaking our fears and goals out loud is powerful.” And being vulnerable and real was one of the most freeing gifts I could give myself.”

“…What would happen if i wrote from a place of being the heroine in my own story? if my life were the setting, and the lessons I learned along the way were the storyline, and I quit trying to write as if there was an ending…”