I had just turned thirteen when I had my first kiss. Rory, the cute, mysterious, dark-haired boy from down the street, had been my boyfriend for a few days when our friends decided it was time we kissed.
Continue readingFirst Kiss
Author: carlyriordan
Abortion. Choosing to allow a life to be ripped from your body in such a humiliating way is not something your soul moves on from quickly. [Personal experience]
The first time I walked through the door of the abortion clinic was for an appointment to confirm I was pregnant. In my mind, there was no need for confirmation. Since I’d taken the test, the subtle changes in my body were haunting reminders of the secret I was hiding. A sudden thirst for soft drink, cravings for ice cream and a distaste for coffee, which had generally sustained me each day during university and long hours at work.
Continue readingWhen you find yourself exhausted, check whose lane you’re running in.
I am a writer. I have to write. When I don’t, things get messy, disoriented, clogged up and kinda foggy. Over the past few
The pang of regret: the words I wish I’d added into my book that I can’t add now.
Lately, I’ve been feeling the pang of regret. The regret stems from the fact that potentially my book had caused married hearts to wish they had something else. Despising their own marriage.
Ouch. Continue reading
Paint your world with gratitude. A lesson in thanksgiving.
Paint your world with gratitude…
My first official role in ‘ministry’ was helping to look after a small team of people who made up our church worship team. It was a role I took very seriously. Very seriously. Continue reading
Small Steps of Eternal Significance
Writing Daughter Wait! wasn’t something I intended to do. It just happened. A few years ago when I felt the prompt to start writing I began writing. Mostly I wrote messages. Writing messages became blogging and blogging turned into a love affair with words that resulted in me dreaming of one day writing a book. Continue reading
Self-worth struggles and a Covenant of Life
When I was in the final stages of editing my book I came across this passage:
‘Black baggy clothes were my staple attire—my best efforts to hide the body I was ashamed of. In my mind, the few extra kilos I carried were enough to make me want to hide. But imagining the future forced me to realise I didn’t want to be a wife with body image issues, a lack of confidence, constantly belittling myself. God valued me, and I needed to start valuing myself.
Tackling self-worth… again [Real Talk]
So here’s the thing. Writing a book, yep, it was hard. It was challenging, emotional, time-consuming and full of setbacks. But, it was nothing compared to the next bit. The bit where I have to overcome the struggle within and get the book out there. Continue reading
Sin too deep for forgiveness…
The shame, guilt and horror of what I’d done were so deep that I couldn’t deal with being present in my own life. I just watched it from a distance. I wasn’t me. At times, truckloads of emotions boiled up, and I exploded in uncontrollable crying, screaming and shouting. The outbursts lasted for hours. I was an intelligent and capable young woman yet the way I was living was incongruent with what my heart knew to be true, and it caused extreme conflict within. Continue reading
Finding peace when facing crossroads. How to be sure the next decision you make is right.
Change was imminent. As the day approached, peace diminished as every spare minute was increasingly filled with podcasts, books, questions and conversations. The hope was that in the pursuit, a particular pearl of wisdom would be discovered and administered to the growing symptoms of uncertainty. Continue reading