Welcome to my blog!

Today I start my blog and I'm rather excited about taking on this new endeavor.  I've been unable to work at my private practice for several years now due to my ongoing health problems.  Fortunately I've been able to retain not only my sanity to some degree (my husband would probably question this statement!), but also have retained my counseling licenses. 

Hopefully this blog will accomplish two things.  First, be a creative outlet for me while living in this body that at most times I wished I could trade in for a newer one, one with that new body "smell" (and a smaller waistline...hey, let's dream big while we're at it).  Second, for me to be able to pass on information and insights I have gained while I was doing counseling in my private practice and from living as a Christian with chronic, severe pain and a chronic illness.

I'll try to keep my posts brief when possible, as I know you have other blogs you enjoy reading and have other things in life to do... and as the country song title says, "How can I miss you if you won't go away?".  Also, I can only manage sitting at the computer for brief periods of time.  My intention is to do my teaching under the topics off to the right, and I'll let you know when I add to each of them.  I have quite a variety of topics I'd like to share with you, so I decided the best way was to break them down and write about each one individually.  Consider the topics to be like book titles, and when I can, I'll write something new in each "book".  I'll keep you up to date on what book I've added to, so you can follow along with me.  I'm always open to comments or suggestions as I want this blog to be a two way street.

Please understand that while I am a licensed counselor, I cannot give advice on anyone's personal problems and would highly recommend you seek out professional help in your local community if you feel your situation or circumstances are difficult or dangerous.  The purpose of this blog is simply to share my own personal experiences, and to pass on educational material that some will, hopefully, find helpful in their day to day lives.

By the way, here's a couple of photos of our two dogs.  Maggie is our 1 year old Maltese, and Murphy is our beagle.  We're not exactly sure of Murphy's age as he was a rescue, so he's probably about 6 or 7 years old now.  I'll let you decide which one you think is the most mischievous :)

Update on 5/1/12:  Unfortunately Murphy passed away on Easter Sunday.  It is possible he had several strokes as towards the end he was having a hard time walking and couldn't physically eat, which was very strange considering his first love was food.  So, we now have a second Maltese (another white cotton ball) and we've named him Toby.  He's about 3 months old and weighs about 3 pounds.  So we are now officially downsized to two small dogs.  My husband buried Murphy out in the apple orchard by our other dogs that have died and gone on to be with Jesus.

It is a sad thing to lose a pet, as we get so attached to them.  They have such short life spans compared to us, but we console ourselves knowing that when we get to heaven they'll all be waiting for us and we'll have a wonderful reunion!