How To Get Rid Of Clutter And Live Abundantly Have you ever owned anything? This is why you cannot forgive any of your former lovers. Things like “having chairs” is preventing you from living your best life, and also you should throw away any item of clothing you’re not currently wearing. If it’s not on your skin, you don’t really love it, do you? Cops See It Differently, Part One | This American Life There are so many cops who look at the killing of Eric Garner or Mike Brown and say race . . .

The Christian Case For Vaccinating Your Kids | TIME For Christians, however, this selfish individualistic mentality — the what’s good for me and mine and who cares about anyone else — goes against the core teachings of Jesus. One clear ethic resounding throughout the life of Jesus and his teachings is that we don’t have the luxury of ignoring each other. Instead, we have a responsibility to care for each other. Via Lola Donaghue  Neglect In Childhood Leaves Marks On Brain | . . .

Use Your Words | Shauna Niequist I think sometimes we shy away from words like this, because it’s awkward, or because we don’t want to make things all serious. We don’t say anything because we assume people don’t really care that much what we think, or because we don’t want to seem parental—doesn’t proud sound a little bit like you’re talking to a twelve year old? Happy Birthday! Have Some Racism From Elmwood Cafe! | W. KAMAU BELL I told her (which meant I had to awkwardly tell these . . .

I Could Have A Baby But She Could Not | Blithe, A Blog You see what I’ve come to understand is that infertility is mostly a silent grief. Just as I had, there are women who have dreamed since they were little girls about having a baby…. and then they have come to the shocking truth their “happily ever after” may never come. Many people don’t discuss their attempts to get pregnant or their inability to conceive. Instead they keep trying over and over, month after month, quietly in sorrow for what . . .

Please Don’t Tell Me I Was Lucky To Be Adopted | The Washington Post For me, being an adoptee is like getting into a horrible car accident and surviving with devastating injuries. But instead of anybody acknowledging the trauma of the accident, they tell you that you should feel lucky. Even if the injuries never stop hurting, never quite heal. Even if the injuries make it impossible to feel comfortable in everyday life. So I learned not to talk about it. Even though my bones ached. 10 Things . . .

12 Things White People Can Do Now Because Ferguson | Quartz If you are a person of faith, look to your scriptures or holy texts for guidance. Seek out faith based organizations like Sojourners and follow faith leaders that incorporate social justice into their ministry. Ask your clergy person to address antiracism in their sermons and teachings. If you are not a person of faith, learn how the world’s religions view social justice issues so that when you have opportunity to invite people of . . .

Anne Lamott: My Secret Little Prayer | Salon.Com When I pray, which I do many times a day, I pray for a lot of things. I ask for health and happiness for my friends, and for their children. This is okay to do, to ask God to help them have a sense of peace, and for them to feel the love of God. I pray for our leaders to act in the common good, or at least the common slightly better. I pray that aid and comfort be rushed to people after catastrophes, natural and man-made. It is also okay to ask . . .

Born Again | Mamalode I would agonize over my intense and pointless guilt. Why hadn’t I found her sooner? She would dwell on the anger of my having not carried her inside of me. She had replaced her birth mother with me, and I could also be replaced. I could leave her, but she would try and leave me first. I would hold her closer the further she pulled away until she would finally break in half; the release, the fear and happiness all mixed together in a messy and desperate cry. The Avon World . . .

National Adoption Month And Awareness: Flip The Script | Light Of Day Stories Let’s listen to the voices that we can truly learn from: adopted adults. Let’s move the microphone, held in the past and present by adoption agencies and adoptive parents, and hand it to them. Take a look today on Twitter for #FliptheScript. Listen to the voices of adoptees who love their adoptive families deeply, and who have struggled nonetheless. Listen to those who had horrible, fraudulent experiences, and who . . .

The 9 Most Overlooked Threats To A Marriage | Kelly M. Flanagan It’s a lifetime that forms us into people who are becoming ever more loving versions of ourselves, who can bear the weight of loneliness, who have released the weight of shame, who have traded in walls for bridges, who have embraced the mess of being alive, who risk empathy and forgive disappointments, who love everyone with equal fervor, who give and take and compromise, and who have dedicated themselves to a lifetime of presence . . .