by Merita | Oct 12, 2024 | Shining on God's Character
God's Heart in Your Storm I confess. I’m consumed with my beloved North Carolina mountains and the heartache of its people. Pain and shock. Lives changed forever. Death. Landscape destroyed. All things familiar swept away or damaged. Infrastructure gone. It’s trauma,...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Sep 7, 2021 | Creative, Culture of Silence, Points of Light, Restoration from Abuse, Shining on God's Character
Compared to others, my family didn’t have much money, but one thing we shared with our community was the Culture of Silence. If something bad or questionable happened, it was all hush-hush or became part of the gossip mill in which I was seldom included. Hard...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Aug 10, 2021 | Breaking through Darkness, Childhood Abuse and Trauma, domestic abuse, Joyful, Points of Light, Restoration from Abuse, Shining on God's Character
Condensed from guest blogger, Misty Dawn, at Shakam Boqer You can be a safe place. You can be a safe place for the victim. Being a safe place means allowing their feelings and hurt to be fully expressed and regarded as valid in the face of the emotional, verbal and...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jul 20, 2021 | Childhood Abuse and Trauma, Healer, Points of Light, Restoration from Abuse, Shining on God's Character
I’m pleased to introduce my daughter, Misty Dawn, as my guest for the next few weeks. Her blog, Shakam Boqer (Hebrew for “early in the morning”), is an eclectic gathering of her own deep thoughts centered on finding hope of bright joy after a night of...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jun 22, 2021 | Childhood Abuse and Trauma, Forgiving, Healer, Points of Light, Relationships, Restoration from Abuse
The woman sits in the front pew, expectant and eager. Her grandchild will be baptized. It’s a time of celebration, but church hadn’t always been so joyful. Most of her early pew-sitting and hymn-singing was nothing but an inner struggle from a lifetime of...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jun 16, 2021 | Breaking through Darkness, Childhood Abuse and Trauma, Healer, Identity Restored, Points of Light, Restoration from Abuse, Shining on God's Character
It’s dark on top of our hill out here in the country—miles from any town. Very dark, with no electricity. I love to sleep in total darkness, but I don’t want to live in it. I slip away from my bed and wander outside. I’ve been interacting with survivors of childhood...
