Embrace It All!
Episodes
131 episodes
The Three Most Important Relationships in Your Life
Strong relationships are fundamental to our existence. We all need each other! But there are three most important relationships are imperative for each of us to develop and strengthen before we can create and strengthen all ot...
A New Year and a New Season of Change
The theme for this past year as well as the beginning of this year for our family can be summed up into one word: CHANGE.Each one of us has experienced so many changes. And yet, through it all, we have become stronger, and our abil...
But If Not: When Miracles Don't happen the Way We Hope
I had a friend ask me an interesting question several weeks ago. It has given me much to think about since then, and has led me to ponder my own experience of not receiving the miracle I had hoped for two years ago. My plans don't a...
Gone and Forgotten and Other Lies
On this episode I share how believing two thoughts created so much misery for too long. Our brains offer us thousands of thoughts each day, some are true and some are stories and some are downright lies. Unfortunately, for me, I bel...
What I am Learning from the Pain of Unmet Expectations
Over the course of the last month and a half I have had several experiences that have helped me learn how painful it can be when our expectations don't line up with others' expecttions. In this episode I share several experiences that hav...
Learning That I Can Accept Change, Again
That last two months have brought more changes to our family, and with it all the emotions of feeling joy and sorrow at the same time have been overwhelming. My heart has been heavy and I haven’t been able to put into words all that I am ...
Understanding My Anger
I have learned and experienced over the last 22 months the many ways that grief manifests itself in me. I knew that anger could be one way, but up until December of 2024 I hadn't experienced it. Then it it. In this episode I b...
Understanding My "Why" For the Things I Do
It's been a while, I know. But I am back! Today I will briefly explain part of my journey over the last few months and one way that helped me climb out of my own discouragment and worry spiral. And it all has to do with...
How EMDR Therapy Unlocked the Trauma in my Brain
In this episode I briefly share how EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) Therapy helped to unlock not only the trauma from Jessica's death, but trauma from years before. I will explain what it is designed to do and my own expe...
How Self-Compassion is Healing the Wounds
It's been awhile, I know. Over the last month, my emotions were quite heavy overall. I have felt the pain and sadness of Jessica's absence more than I thought I would. And it confused me. Afterall, it has already been a ...
Traveling Down the Road of Regret is not Worth it
Shortly after Jessica died, I started to travel down the road regret. suddenly I found myself in the state of “ wish I would have and wish I could have”. I wish I would have told her I loved her more often. ...
Choosing to Turn Toward Each Other
Shortly after Jessica's death, a friend of mine shared with me that there is a high percentage of marriages that don't survive after the death of a child. Although shocked at first that she would share this with me so soon after Jessica's...
The Importance of Remembering
For the past several weeks I have been going through pictures and trying to organize them. Each picture created a memory and gave me a chance to reflect on how our family has evolved and grown over the years. The experiences c...
Learning What it Means to Personally Trust God and Let Go
Over that last three months a lot has happened with our family. So many wonderful and hard experiences at the same time. And in the middle of all of it, my faith and trust in God and my Savior was stretched more than it has ev...
Learning to Doubt Not and Fear Not
I am learning that after experiencing a traumatic event, your mind is constantly on high alert, just waiting for the next traumatic thing to happen. This is quite normal, but it is not easy to go through. In this short episode I wil...
Finding Miracles Along the Way
This month was filled with celebrations, and also many "firsts". During the first year after a loved one dies, you experience the holidays and celebrations for the first time without them, and it can be so painful. I've struggled a ...
What I am Learning About Becoming Resilient
Over the last 8 months I am learning what it means to become resilient. Some people think that resiliency means that you brush off your challenges, pull up your boot straps, and move on. But as I continue on this journey, I am comin...
What I am learning from following impressions and feeling anger
There will be times in our lives when we receive strong impressions. Sometimes those impressions make sense, but more often than not, at least in my life, they don't. Today I will share one such impression with you and why I am so g...
When Sleep Doesn't Come
Two months after Jessica's death, I would consistently wake up in the middle of the night with my stomach in knots. I would try to figure out what triggered it, using some familiar tools, but nothing worked. In this episode I will s...
It's Okay to Take it Slow
The way we experience grief can be so different in the way others do. One of the things I am noticing in my own grieving process is that I am moving at a much slower rate than I ever have been. On today's episode I talk about what this lo...
How I am Learning to Mourn with and Comfort others
I thought I knew what it meant to mourn with those that mourn and comfort those that need comforting. But I didn't quite fully undersand. In this brief episode I will share with you what I am learning and the impact it is having on ...
What I am Learning From a Broken Heart
My heart is broken, and I suppose it will be for a very long time. As I am mourning, I am learning what it is to be comforted, truly comforted in very personal way. Today I want to share with you what I am learning from my bro...
What I Hope For In 2024
It's a new year. In the past I would be excited for the new year, making long lists of resolutions and goals for myself. But this is year is different. Honestly, the thought of making any type of resolution or goal for this u...