Glass House Counseling Ministry

09/02/2021

So many things require attention—things we can't (or shouldn't) ignore. We need enough knowledge of what's going on in the world around us to protect ourselves and our families, we need enough education to earn a living, we need to pay attention to our immediate surroundings, plan our financial commitments...the list feels infinite.
The barrage is so constant, that I often catch myself "meditating" on things that should not occupy the majority of my thoughts. Yes, it makes sense to know the risk of exposure to an illness, or if a storm is nearby, or if there's a public threat to safety. That helps me make wise decisions. BUT, after I educate myself with the most reliable information that I can find, I have the choice to let that keep dominating my thoughts (meditating), OR I can choose to file that information to be used as needed, and move my thoughts on to something better.
Focusing my mind, and dwelling on a particular subject, is meditation. And, while I can't (or shouldn't) ignore things that are important to survival, or ignore the needs of those around me, I don't have to dwell there. I have choices.
→Do what I can, and forget the rest.
→Do what I can, and pray about the rest.
→Do what I can, and worry endlessly about the rest.
→Don't do anything.
→Talk about it ad nauseam, and hope someone else does something about it....
That list is infinite too.
But controlling my meditation is the only way to live a peaceful life right in the middle of fear, chaos, conflict, and uncertainty. We can choose what we allow our mind to DWELL on.
"Whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—MEDITATE on these things."[Philippians 4:8 NKJV]
The things we meditate on, dwell on, fix our eyes on... they are the things that have the power to shape our present and our future. So think about the urgent things when necessary, but dwell on things that are noble and true; things that are pure, just and lovely; and things that are virtuous and praiseworthy.

08/31/2021

"For instance, you might always turn on the news in the evening because that’s part of your habitual routine. But after evaluation, you realize you don’t really enjoy that block of time, and the news has little impact on your life. To improve, you swap your time watching the news for dedicated time to check in with friends. In contrast to being fed a continued course of negative information, you instead feast on the latest updates from people you really care about.

This new prosocial activity (catching up with friends) in the “Pleasing” category replaces the “Yielding” activity (of news consumption) and over time increases the number of opportunities you have to experience and broaden your positive emotions."

https://www.theepochtimes.com/why-developing-a-fun-habit-is-better-than-pursuing-happiness_3820728.html?fbclid=IwAR1V-u3COjLaPbREci485etqSlDRhtvEyVOuzK_LAB37Z_V25yDAikkVhUw

Try tabling your concerns regarding happiness and instead apply that energy into taking an action-oriented approach based on creating a fun habit.

06/22/2021

01/25/2021

Starting 2/3/2021 Glass House Counseling will be open for in-office appointments.

Virtual visits will also be available, as well as other options such as live chat visits for existing clients, and a subscription service for ongoing counseling via secure messaging. Will post more details for those options in upcoming weeks.

Request an appointment via facebook message, or text/call 281-624-8043 for more information.

01/09/2021

Okay, so the award was just a $50 gift card from an artist mentorship group I'm a part of, but it still counts! 😉I was prompted to write this song for the c...

06/07/2020

Starting 6/24/2020, Glass House Counseling will be open for Wednesday and Friday appointments .

Request an appointment via facebook message, or text/call 281-624-8043.

04/19/2020

I've yet to master "living in the present". I practice a lot, and fail a lot. I understand the secret is to enjoy (not just tolerate or appreciate...but sincerely find a way to ENJOY) something just the way it is --right now, right here---this minute.

I remember how it came so naturally to my younger self. Nobody had to remind me to enjoy the way soft spring grass felt on the soles of my feet. I could spend hours crawling around on my grandma's big concrete porch, watching inchworms travel from one place to another, with no destination in mind. Sitting in a tree out by the bayou was its own reward. Nothing else was needed. Just some friends in a tree watching the sun shine, talking about catching crawdads in the ditch, and throwing china-berries at the neighborhood boys, made for a beautiful afternoon.

With adulthood, comes expectations. Tons of expectations, some good--some, not so much. We stop looking at the way things are, and tend to focus on how we want them to be...someday. Or for those of us who have experienced loss through tragedy, it's tempting to spend too much time looking back, which is even worse, because those days are already spent.

It's easy to forget that people and things aren't wonderful because of who or what they might someday become . The wonder is to be found in the way everything is right now. We are all on our way to becoming something else. None of us are the same person we were ten years ago (although I wouldn't mind having my "ten years ago" body back!) My house might someday become one of those finished masterpieces, like I see in magazines (although it isn't likely since that actually sounds pretty flat and boring) but today, with a stack of laundry in the corner of the bathroom, dishes in the sink, a project spread across the dining room table, and toys scattered in corners and under chairs where the grandkids left them, my house, in all it's humble messiness, has a particular beauty (even if I am the only one who can appreciate it).

One thing I learned while sitting by Mel's side, watching him die, for almost two years, is that we're all walking through this valley the Bible refers to as the "shadow of death". Some of us are traveling faster than others, but we're all heading in the same direction. That means the projects I'm writing on this list, to hang under a magnet on my fridge, may never get done. I may as well find some beauty in the simplicity of writing the list, because that's where I am at the moment.

It's nice to feel the rough sharpened wood and smooth yellow paint of the pencil against my fingers. It makes me smile about schooldays past. I'm grateful for the forgiveness of a supple and generous eraser that lets me whisk away my many mistakes in the blink of an eye. With all the noise turned off, I can hear the muted scratching sound of silken graphite gliding over the pressed and dried pulp of blank paper. The marks pick up a texture from the loose weave of a linen tablecloth underneath, and a ray of sunlight quivers across my hand through the shadow of rustling leaves. Even if I never get to check a single item off the list, I've spent the last quarter of an hour noticing the beauty in writing it. Time well spent.

There's no shortage of things to worry about in the future, or of things to long for, from the past. But the beauty of today is all around us, right now.

04/08/2020

I see so many Christians jumping on the end-times bandwagon, and cranking up the trumpets since the “covid apocalypse” hit the news. Some are running around wild-eyed like like Henny-Penny shrieking “the sky is falling! The sky is falling!” ( Exactly like what happened in the 70’s due to tensions in the Middle East) Others try to keep it on a scholarly level, making timelines between current events and the Book of Revelation. I’m certainly no expert, but here’s my personal observation for what it’s worth*.

*Take it or leave it because I have no desire whatsoever to debate it.

The Bible compares the “end times” to birth pangs. My midwifery career has taught me well, that labor and birth are wildly unpredictable, even though it usually falls within a very predictable framework. I’ve been on births where “mom” was in active labor for hours, made it to 6 cm. and stalled out with nothing happening for days. It happens all the time when birth is not augmented by medical interventions. So looking at the nature of birth in Biblical times, you can get a very different picture of that metaphorical reference.

The undeniable truth is, we don't know when anything will happen. Look at all the failed predictions so far. I believe those end-time markers were included in the Bible as warning signs... like the ones that tell you to slow down and observe your surroundings…"be prepared for the drop-off ahead".

For so many years, I think Christians have felt (and practiced) that it was their duty, not only to point out the "signs of the times" but to somehow find a way to slam on the brakes and keep it from happening (which is a major factor in the marriage between politics and Christianity). But I’ve read the book from cover to cover, and I'm pretty sure we don't have any responsibility to keep the world spinning. All we can do is get ourselves right with God, and isn’t that the main theme of everything Jesus came to tell us?

If you line up WW2 events with end-times prophecy, it is amazingly accurate. But the surviving WW2 generation has lived a full life, and is fading off the planet of natural causes. The "roaring twenties" of last century were a notoriously irreverent season, followed by a sobering, worldwide reminder not to thumb our noses at the One who holds this planet in His hand. That changed the moral atmosphere for decades, until the end of last century.

Who’s to say this is not a wake-up call for this generation—perhaps the beginning of the revival we’ve all been praying for. Haven’t we already seen it throw a monkey wrench in the swelling globalism machine? Borders are being protected now around the world, without question. Whereas, that was considered a crime against humanity by liberal governments just a few months ago.

I can only do what is in my power. Stay close to my Father, and trust Him to keep me in a safe place. I leave the rest to God. Otherwise, I would end up like those people holed up on a mountain top, drinking poison-laced koolaid.

If there is nothing I can do about it, I force myself not worry about it.

Matthew 6:26-27 "Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan?”

However, that is NOT to say we should go along our merry way, saying “all is well, be at peace” ignoring the warning signs. The signs were already there during the disciples’ lifetimes, prompting them to believe Christ would return before they died a natural death. If they felt the time was near, some two-thousand-ish years ago, we are certainly far closer to the “midnight hour” now. We have no more assurance of being able to get right with God just before sliding into the grave, than we ever have. None of us knows whether or not we will end up below six feet of dirt by the end of this week. I’m aware of two instances of friends’ loved ones being unexpectedly taken away in the past few days, and it had nothing at all to do with a virus. To quote the Boy Scout motto, just “be prepared”.

What I think, and what I feel, can waver from peace to panic in a fraction of a second these days. I just keep working to ground myself in the one thing that doesn't change. That is how faith looks when it's put into everyday practice. Is it hard sometimes? Oh yeah. Almost ALL the time. But I’ve learned that God is faithful when nothing else is.

Be careful of what you fear. Fear is a form of worship (another topic for another day), and God has given us clear instruction to have no other gods before Him. It’s one of the “big ten”.

Here’s some wisdom the Apostle Paul sends us from a couple of thousand years ago in the tenth chapter of First Corinthians. The words are as timely now as they were then. “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful…

04/06/2020

Daily news routine: Peek in on a few choice news items with one eye closed, and try to gather enough reliable information to talk myself down off the ledge another day.

Are the numbers skewed? Yes, they most certainly are. Some by pure human error, some intentionally manipulated to fit pet agendas, some to cover up truth, and some are most assuredly tailored specifically to deceive. I remind myself to trust the numbers to the only one who knows the absolute truth. I don't know the real statistics, but He does.

Is there an unpredictable, highly contagious virus actually making the rounds? Yes. Or is this an overblown fear campaign? Maybe. Was it started intentionally? The usual theories are floating around, but there is no way to know. What matters is that I personally, will never know because I have to rely on information and conjecture generated by other flawed humans. I remind myself to trust the news to the only one who has the absolute truth. I don't know the whole truth, but He does.

Will we ever get back to normal after this? Depends on my definition of normal (which changes every day). Will our society find a way to move forward when this acute situation passes? Absolutely. Will we ever feel safe again? Safety on this planet has always been an illusion, and I remind myself to trust the only one who has the power to keep me eternally safe. I don't know the future but He does.

Today we are okay. It's my choice to live the life God has given me, one day at a time, because other illnesses and accidents didn't stop happening when this virus was unleashed. We all have a day of reckoning somewhere in our future. Hopefully it isn't today. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for He is with me. Someday this puzzle will all make sense, but probably not today.

It's what's on my mind, starting another week in the new normal.