It’s difficult to speak up for what’s right. Usually we just stay silent and hope our silence will keep us under the radar of the person who in the wrong. If we speak up, we will be noticed, and noticed people are targets. Actually, all people are targets to an emotionally abusive person. It’s a myth that you will be able to avoid abuse if you are compliant or perfect or quiet. The abuse doesn’t stop; it can intensify. That is why it is so important to take a stand against abuse wherever it is found. The commonality of emotional … Continue reading →

In some ways, emotional abuse is the most common form of abuse. It comes from the mother who yells in frustration every time her son makes a mistake, “Why can’t you be more like your sister?” Or from the father who snorts in derision as he proclaims regularly to everyone who will listen, “The girl won’t amount to nothin’!” It comes from the husband who tells his wife, “You’re too stupid to get a job!” Over and over again, that pattern is repeated until the repetition obscures the severity. The son will think to himself, Mom always says that — … Continue reading →

Every couple of months I receive a local magazine sponsored by some area churches. The magazine has regular features plus local stories. One of the regular features is a couple who conduct pre-wedding counseling for a few churches; for the feature, a couple sends their question/concern to them and they respond, using their experience as pre-marriage counselors to guide them. I always find it an interesting read, and although the advice is simple it is always on target. The concern in the latest issue really hit at my heart. A woman wrote in expressing concern over her fiancee’s explosive temper. … Continue reading →

While divorce is nothing new in this country, when I read about long-term marriages coming to an end, ala the Gore’s, the Schwarzenegger’s, and the Edward’s, I start to wonder if it is even possible to stay married forever anymore. I hear a lot about the “old days’, but I have a lot of grandparents due to multiple re-marriages. My great-grandparents remained together, but one spouse died long before the other. So maybe those that stay married forever over a real long time period are the anomalies. Maybe now that we live longer and more women are able to support … Continue reading →

I recently bought a magazine and with it came a free mini Mills and Boon novel. I groaned when I saw it and the attendant in the shop smiled in knowing agreement. But one night, while my husband was watching the football, I read it. It was corny, it was predictable and because it was the “red” label, it was semi-raunchy. Not soft porn, but enough to leave less to the imagination than the Mills and Boon offerings of the past. Although written to a strict formula, and possessing an ending that is telegraphed to the reader within the first … Continue reading →