Posts

Childbirth — What Is a Doula and What She Can and Cannot Do

Image
  When you are preparing for childbirth, you quickly discover that the delivery room can feel crowded with professionals—OB‑GYNs, midwives, nurses, anesthesiologists. And then someone asks, “Are you getting a doula?” If you have never worked with one, the word itself can feel mysterious. But a doula is simply a trained support person whose entire focus is you —your comfort, your confidence, your emotional steadiness, and your sense of being seen and heard during labor. A doula is not a medical provider. She does not replace your doctor or midwife. Instead, she fills the gap that medical staff often cannot fill because they are busy monitoring fetal heart tones, charting, managing medications, and watching for complications. A doula stays with you continuously, offering the kind of steady presence that can make labor feel less frightening and more manageable. What a Doula Can Do 1. Provide continuous emotional support Labor can be long, unpredictable, and overwhelming. A doula s...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Religion Is a Language for Talking to God”—But What Happens When We Weaponize the Grammar?

Image
  In An Afternoon's Dictation , Steven Greenebaum (PhD/Rev) wrote he was told by God that “religion is a language for talking to God.” It’s a beautiful insight—simple, disarming, and profoundly true. But like any language, religion can be used to bless or to wound, to build bridges or to burn them. And today, we are watching what happens when the language meant for communion becomes a tool for control. When the Language of Faith Becomes a Weapon Across the world—and across dinner tables—religious identity has become a fault line. Not because people suddenly believe more deeply, but because religion is increasingly treated as a badge of tribal belonging rather than a path to the divine. Christian Nationalism reframes Christianity not as a way of loving God and neighbor, but as a cultural boundary marker—who belongs and who does not. In this worldview, faith becomes fused with national identity, political loyalty, and social hierarchy. The result is not devotion but division. Fam...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest post for May/Mental Health Month from Mark Wilson: Snapping Out of Depression When You are a Caregiver for Your Loved One

Image
  It is very easy if you are taking care of your loved one with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia to fall into a depression. This depression can put a major risk to your health, and if you are depressed you will not be a good caregiver for your loved one either. Check Your Mood Elevator Before sharing what you can do to reenergize your positivity and power, an important capability is knowing when you need to be uplifted.    There is a simple tool that can help immensely with this; it is called the “Mood Elevator”.   The “Mood Elevator” was created by Larry Senn, a leading consultant, and author in the field of Leadership.   Larry Senn created the “Mood Elevator” to help leaders know when they have the needed positive energy or “mood” to be effective and when they don’t.    The higher buttons on the Mood Elevator are states that include “being grateful”, “insightful” “creative”, “resourceful”, and “hopeful”.   If you do a gut or feeling...
Post a Comment
Read more