Thinking Outloud

MFT research in the last 15 or so years points to this key concept of healthy marriages:  a secure, trustworthy, consistent emotional bond between the partners.  Dr. Sue Johnson talk about this in this brief, helpful video. Check it out :-)   What is a healthy marriage?‬‏ - YouTube

I've had the pleasure of being around girls in their early teens quite a lot the past few years, and I have noticed a quirky turn of their conversation that has got me thinking. One girl in the midst of a conversation with another girl will say something critical, blunt, or even hostile;  pause;  and then follow up immediately with a smile and "Just kidding!" Thinking it might have been a style of humor unique to one (particular) girl I know very well, I listened for it when these girls were together in groups, or chatting back and forth on Facebook, or in conversations I overheard while driving or waiting for them (I'm always waiting for them). from the film " Mean Girls" Over and over the same pattern. Critique, "just kidding," then the other girl usually follows with a response that might be equally snarly and if not met with a light heart and smile in return. The first girl might answer with another blunt remark. Et cetera. I've ofte

Yes, women clergy can be particularly lonely. A retreat and contemplative community reaches out and gives a healing embrace: A time of grace for women clergy | The Christian Century

Robert Wuthnow, a preeminent sociologist of religion, has written a new book about our region of the country. But this reviewer says he writes surprisingly little of the Christian church's influence on the culture. Odd. Remaking the Heartland, by Robert Wuthnow | The Christian Century