Shame. It’s a small word, but it carries the weight of a wrecking ball. Unlike guilt, which says, I did something bad, shame whispers something far more sinister: I am bad. Left unchecked, shame can quietly sabotage our most precious relationships and leave us feeling trapped, isolated, and misunderstood, even around the holiday season. As…
Last week, I had an aha moment. I was on a call with a new donor for First Things First while simultaneously trying to convince my five-year-old to take his antibiotics for walking pneumonia, distracting my one-year-old from playing with the shiny knobs on the stove, and making dinner for my mom and dad who…
https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Untitled-design-11.jpg7001600Lauren Hallhttps://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.pngLauren Hall2024-12-15 09:58:072025-02-19 15:02:21It Takes a Village, But What Does a “Village” Look Like?
This year was the first Thanksgiving my family celebrated without my grandmother. Shortly before Christmas of last year, she fell and broke her hip. As the story goes with many people in their late eighties who suffer a fall, she struggled to recover and ultimately passed away from her injuries four months later. However, being…
https://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Untitled-design-6.jpg7001600Lauren Hallhttps://firstthings.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/ftf-logo-300x186.pngLauren Hall2024-12-08 11:25:232025-02-19 12:28:20How to Keep the Poison of Resentment Out of Your Marriage
How Shame Harms Everything in Our Relationships
Shame. It’s a small word, but it carries the weight of a wrecking ball. Unlike guilt, which says, I did something bad, shame whispers something far more sinister: I am bad. Left unchecked, shame can quietly sabotage our most precious relationships and leave us feeling trapped, isolated, and misunderstood, even around the holiday season. As…
It Takes a Village, But What Does a “Village” Look Like?
Last week, I had an aha moment. I was on a call with a new donor for First Things First while simultaneously trying to convince my five-year-old to take his antibiotics for walking pneumonia, distracting my one-year-old from playing with the shiny knobs on the stove, and making dinner for my mom and dad who…
How to Keep the Poison of Resentment Out of Your Marriage
This year was the first Thanksgiving my family celebrated without my grandmother. Shortly before Christmas of last year, she fell and broke her hip. As the story goes with many people in their late eighties who suffer a fall, she struggled to recover and ultimately passed away from her injuries four months later. However, being…