Dear Friends,

On Wednesday night, one of my very good friends here will graduate and move back to her home state. I will definitely miss her presence in the house, but I am very excited for her and I can’t wait to hear how she is doing out in the “real world.” She has grown so much just in the time that I have been here, and though she is technically my junior, I look up to her in many ways, and she exudes wisdom far beyond her years.

I recently realized another benefit of the length of the program here. In other facilities that might last 30-60 days, it is much harder to see a great deal of growth in people. Although these shorter programs can be beneficial, people just kind of come in and out. As a newer resident, I didn’t really notice much difference between me and the people who completed the program. I think the opportunity new residents have here to witness people graduating is incredibly inspiring. It speaks volumes about the possibility for true change, if we are only willing to put forth the effort and be receptive to the help we are offered. (continue reading…)

Dear Friends,

This week has gone by incredibly fast. I can’t believe it is already Friday! One of the things I was worried about before I decided to come to A Friend’s House was the fact that the program was much longer than other standard treatment programs. Even though I definitely wanted (and needed) the benefits of a long-term program, I kept wondering if I was really committed to sacrificing what seemed like such a big chunk of time. After a little bit of thought, I realized that if I continued on with life in the manner I was living it, it would truly be losing that same amount of time. If I sacrificed nothing, I would gain nothing. (continue reading…)

Dear Friends,

A few nights ago, I was doing a devotion that mentioned Simon of Cyrene.  He was the man at Calvary that was made to help Jesus carry the cross. It prompted me to reflect on how suffering is viewed.

When it comes to things we can’t fully understand, pain in the world is close to the top of the list. It seems only normal to try to avoid pain and suffering at all costs, and I think as Americans, our culture and lifestyle reflect our extreme disdain for discomfort. We have been learning in our most recent theology group that Americanized versions of eastern religions are becoming more popular, in part because some eastern belief systems, such as Buddhism, claim to have the answer to eliminating suffering. But despite our best efforts, we still experience hardships all throughout the course of life. (continue reading…)

Dear Friends,

We finished up our Anger and Forgiveness group this past week. I have been very blessed over the past few years in that the Lord has given me the grace to truly and tangibly experience His love and mercy. That experience has spilled over into other areas of my life, including being able to make peace with my past and really begin to like myself–not because I am extraordinarily special (any more than anyone else) or because I am achieving any particularly great feats. Instead, it is because I have finally stopped struggling against God. I have given up trying to do it my way. My way has never worked in the long term. It barely worked at all in the short term. I used just about every unhealthy coping skill imaginable to deal with the pain I felt, from disordered eating to self-injury to substance abuse to unhealthy romantic relationships… the list goes on. (continue reading…)

Dear Friends,

This past week felt like a turning point for me. I started running again, which may seem like a “little” thing, but it is something I haven’t done in years. It was one of those things that I thought about and thought about and placed in the “someday” column, believing that I wasn’t in good enough shape to run. After talking to our therapist, Sue, I was encouraged to quit letting fear get in the way of accomplishing my goals. So I let go of the excuses, I let go of the fear, and I made a plan to run five days a week for the next 12 weeks. I plan on continuing beyond the 12 week point, but I didn’t actually write out the plan further than that yet. The first day I ran was pretty amazing–I didn’t go far, but I proved to myself that I am a lot more capable than I give myself credit for. The second and third days went smoothly too, although I had to use positive self-talk to keep myself going because my muscles were sore from the previous days. The fourth day, though, was a little different. (continue reading…)

As we near the end of the first quarter of 2010, I wanted to take time to celebrate our strong start to the year.

- Thanks to our loyal and generous donors, we ended 2009 with a balanced budget. This is always a great way to start a new year!

- We launched a new website (www.helpforwomen.net), which is much more user-friendly. It contains lots of information for potential residents and their families, as well as helpful information for our supporters. Already we have received more phone calls from potential residents who tell us they found our website.

- As of early February we have a full house, and women on the waiting list. Having seven women in the program keeps staff quite busy. A full program enables more discussion in groups, increases our grocery bills and utility costs. The residents also enjoy sharing the daily and weekly chores with more ladies! (continue reading…)