How to Practice Compassionate Self-Care

In this busy world, with its unending demands on our time and energy, it’s easy to become depleted. If we want to avoid burnout, we must practice healthy self-care. In previous posts, I made the case for self-care, discussed why we don’t practice self-care, and talked about how healthy self-care involves both nurturing and limits. Now it’s time to talk about some practical how-to’s. This post will talk about the nurturing, compassionate part of healthy self-care, and next week’s post will wrap up this series on self-care by covering the disciplined, limit-setting part of healthy self-care.

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Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. In observance of this important issue, I decided to review the book HUSH and address the issue of childhood sexual abuse.

Nicole Braddock Bromley was sexually abused by her stepfather from about age 4 until she was 14 years old.  At age 14, she told her mother, charges were filed, and her stepfather committed suicide. Nicole now is the founder of OneVOICE Enterprises and travels around the country bringing a message of healing for victims of sexual abuse.

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Pastor’s Wife, You Are Not Alone!

Once a pastor’s wife sat in my office, weeping. As she dried her eyes, she asked, “Do other pastor’s wives ever feel like this?”

“YES,” I said. “Yes. They do.”

As the wife of a pastor for over 30 years, and more recently as a marriage and family therapist who works with spouses of ministry leaders, I am very aware of the isolation that many pastor’s wives feel. Being the wife of a pastor can be rewarding and fulfilling, but it can also be stressful and lonely.

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