The Double Letter South

I always know when my anxiety is striking hard. It seems to be happening more and more often these days, even as I’m trying to understand my habits, change what’s not working and grow as a mature woman. What usually precipitates these bouts of anxieties is an outside force. A tough week at work, maybe, or an especially difficult month of stuff that needs to be done at home. I’ll lose my focus. Small bad habits, like staying on YouTube shorts an extra twenty minutes, mindlessly surfing the web, or grabbing the bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and continuing to munch after I’ve already had a proper serving size. There is a problem with procrastinating, which is nothing more than stalling by using a series of bad tactics. Procrastinating feels awful in the moment. But what’s weird is that our brain tricks us into thinking it will make us feel better. According to functionpoint.com, procrastination, though it feels better in the moment, is an escape mechanism to avoid FEAR. However, in more recen...

 Last night my husband and I reheated some leftovers, fed the kids pizza in their own rooms, and spent some time together watching a romantic comedy. I could say that as twenty-five years have gone by, we’ve grown apart, but it would be a lie. The truth is, my husband and I got married young and, on a whim, and we never really had anything in common. I won’t sit here and tell you this reality doesn’t scare the hell out of me. I worry that when all the kids are grown and gone, our marriage will completely crumble, especially now that we’re getting older. We used to have an insane attraction to each other, and I felt like that could make things go for years and years, but to be honest, that’s gone. What’s left now besides a commitment we made at an altar and a family we love? In today’s world, are those big enough deals to stick it out? I’m just not sure. Marriage is hard, growing old is hard, and doing both while also being bombarded by images of “happily” single, gorgeously photosh...

I’ve been mulling over the lyrics of Leonard Cohen's hit Hallelujah, e ver since Pentatonix released their rendition a decade ago.  I love this song and what it preaches, how love can become such a “cold and broken hallelujah” for some of us. Not a victory march, not at all, not even close. Not a bright light or a deep cry. Just a “cold and broken hallelujah,” a horrible emptiness that can seep into any relationship, marriage, family, friends, church, or even the world as a whole. Love can feel far from victorious. I’m not sure we fully understand want and need and what causes them, so we aren’t always able to clearly communicate with others the longings we so desperately crave. Somethings are simply better left unsaid, more easily stored away in the sacred space between you and God*. But sometimes that sacred space feels so wide that even God seems unreachable. And not to sound like a hippie, but I truly believe when we lose our connection to the Energy-Maker, we lose our connecti...

Have you asked yourself at the end of every year how far you’ve come in your faith? How much did your faith change this year? As far as my faith journey goes, this decade has been a year for the books so far. At the end of every year, I always take stock of where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m going. Taking a hard look at your life is necessary in order to grow as a person. This is going to sound strange to you because some people don’t write at all and some people write and keep them forever, but every five years, I throw away all my old journals. “Don’t you want your children to look back and read what you wrote?” you might ask. Actually, no. I don’t. These are my personal thoughts, my desires and my cries to my Creator. There have been painful, brutal moments of honesty on my journal pages that I don’t feel my children need to be burdened by, even in the future. I used to throw my journals away at the end of every year. I regretted that the next year, every single time. Then, I...

Coahoma, Lafayette, Calhoun, Marshall… Yalobusha? What kind of name is that? Yalobusha is the name of the county where the town of Water Valley, Mississippi, is found. With less than 5,000 people, this quaint little gem shines brightly as an up-and-coming arts mecca in the hills of the Deep South. A once-bustling railroad community, the tracks still run proudly through the town as a reminder of what once was. One of two county seats, there is plenty to see in this small spot on the map. Shops like Turnage Drugs have been here for years and still looks largely the same as it did when it opened, soda fountain and all. A plethora of antique stores have filled in the buildings that once held restaurants and dry goods. And beautiful homes are steadily being renovated and sold to young families and singles who are looking for an affordable, safe, and fun place to live and work. A sight-seeing soul can find plenty for the eyes to feast on in this precious place! Visit today!