Hope From Your Mama!

  Woodlands Church, Stevens Point, WI Religion/ Denomination Evangelical “Free”  Most of you know this blog was started over 10 years ago when I was still part of a mega-church.  It's interesting to look back on my blogs and see some of the brainwashing that took place. It keeps me humble and it causes me to be wary of any thing, place or person trying to control my heart and mind. Most of you also know I was asked to "step down" from a leadership role at said church because I was "naughty"... Reading “naughty” books... LOVE WINS Questioning whether or not Jesus would accept Gays. Gasp!!  I also lashed out (privately) at one of the Pastor's wives who thought she could bully me into not sharing my beliefs.  I guess I learned MY lesson!  😆 I recently wrote a blog talking about one of my experiences at this very church.  Imagine my surprise when my blog had an anonymous comment left on it by someone, who probably is still a part of this huge enterprise.  Didn&

  ~I’ve lost friends for various reasons throughout my life.  One time in the 7th grade, one of my best friends ended our friendship because...  “She heard I tried smoking!!”  😮😮 Yep. Our relationship was never the same again because I tried a ciggie! Even though I apologized and begged her to take me back and promised her I would never try it again!!  Nope! No deal! I guess I just counted myself lucky that she didn’t tell my Mom on me as well!  Momma would say to me, “Don’t ever smoke!” With a cigarette hanging out of her mouth! 🤣  My Momma also said, “Do as I say, not as I do!”  But it worked! I don’t smoke cigarettes. 😉       I use that line on my daughter to this day!    ~I also lost a lot of friends when I drifted away from the Christian religion/ “cult” I was in.  Especially when I had the audacity to talk about that journey in my blogs or on Facebook!!  “We don’t talk about injustice and the bad things in the church Christeen!!  That will hurt the work of “Jesus”! Funny... I

Warning!! If you are a complete type A personality, a fitness junkie or a complete healthy food eater... this blog is NOT for you! This blog is for people like me who have ALWAYS struggled with weight gain and body image and bad eating habits and wishes someone would have turned me on to Yoga in My 20’s ~~~ Puberty was crazy. Having my period sucked. Having children was fricken hard!!!  But no one really warned me about the worst one... peri menopause!! I have been having multiple issues with pain and with my mood stability the last year and a half. One night I looked up peri menopause, and all of these issues fit!  I won’t bore you with all the gory details. I am getting help from my doctor. Thank the Goddess for Estrogen and Legal marijuana!   But one thing I am learning is that my body, as completely imperfect as it may be... has served me well for many many years! I need to love her and treat her well!  So that is why I share with you, the best thing I have found to treat my body w

  When Holly was about 8 or 9 years old, (so, about 10 years ago) our church started having something called,  "The Princess Keepers Club." It was based on some book and entire program about "purity" and keeping your "kiss". AKA virginity. Or as Madea would say it, "Virgintity!"  Oh man... us Evangelicals really made a big deal about THAT! Funny Jesus never mentioned it. We worked through a work book and had weekly meetings. We had a big ceremony which included the Dads... I know I know! This is going to be making a lot of readers gag and the others think, What's wrong with that!??  But this is my story to tell. My experience. My mistakes. You raise your kids your way and good luck with that!!  I really think we were just a bunch of young Moms desperately wanting our daughters not to be as... "foolish" as we were about sex!! Or some, wanting our daughters to be "pure" like we were!  I'm not telling you which one I was.

I don't know why, but this picture just seemed like the perfect one  for my last blog here!!! Those who know me best, know that I have been hurt very deeply by the religion I was a part of for many, many years.  Also, the religion I was part of for many, many years, deeply hurt people.  I think this blog is sort of a "testament" to that journey. There were a lot of years of wrestling with, "WHAT do I actually believe??"  This blog was my way of expressing my thoughts throughout that journey.  I didn't do too bad either!! I have received over 22,000 views since I first started this blog!  Brag Picture!   Okay... so maybe half of the views were me and the other half were the people from the old churches I attended, who would spy on me to see what I was writing about them!!  One of my favorite quotes from  Anne Lamott.... (She's another Christian author the "good" Evangelical Christians aren't supposed to take seriously... If you're not fa