Communication has extremes… and most of us slide into one without even realizing it. 👉🏽 Some of us OVER-PROTECT. We soften everything… avoid telling the truth… carry the emotional load… and try to “keep the peace” by cushioning every hard thing. It feels kind… but it actually keeps people from growing, owning their choices, or rising into strength. 👉🏽 Others of us DRIVE HARD. We push… we point out the gap… we want results… we speak with fire, clarity, and urgency. It feels honest… but it can land like pressure, intensity, or criticism — especially when someone is already overwhelmed. 👉🏽 What about when someone is going through a challenge? This is where communication often swings to one EXTREME or the other: Coddling: • Over-comforting • Protecting them from responsibility • Excusing unhealthy patterns • Carrying what is theirs to carry • Treating them as fragile Invalidating: • Ignoring their emotions • Minimizing their reality • Pushing too hard, too fast • Talking over their process • Making them feel weak for struggling Both responses damage connection. Both responses stunt growth. So what does HEALTHY communication look like in hard seasons? It’s the middle ground — the place where truth and compassion sit together. It sounds like: • “I see what you’re walking through.” • “It makes sense that you feel the way you do.” • “And I still believe you have the strength to work through this.” • “I’m not doing it for you, but I’m here with you.” • “This is hard — and you’re capable.” • “Feel what you feel, and let’s choose the next step.” No coddling. No invalidation. Just support + responsibility. Compassion + empowerment. When someone is struggling, they don’t need rescuing… and they also don’t need pressure. They need a voice that honors the reality of the struggle without stealing their chance to grow through it. #Growth #Support #Activation #Empower #Mindset #EpicYourLife #Validation #Love #AmishMatchmakers #Single2Married #Relationships

I keep seeing TikToks and posts about people’s “narcissistic parents.” And it’s getting out of control. One girl showed off a tattoo “symbolizing everything her narcissistic mom did for her”… then wipes off the cream and—nothing. Blank. Are you fucking kidding me??? This is where we’re at? Shoving our parents into a trendy psychological box because society handed us a shortcut label that lets us avoid actually healing our own past? Your parents — who, by the way, are wounded children from their parents’ generation — get judged, boxed in, and scapegoated so you don’t have to face your own responsibility. Every single one of us has childhood wounds. Every single one of us lived through something. Some had it brutal. Some had it confusing. Some had it disappointing as hell. But MOST parents were doing the best they could with the tools, trauma, and limited emotional skill set they inherited. YOU — and YOU alone — are responsible for the work that makes you a healthy, functional adult. YOU decide how deep you go in rewriting your story. YOU choose whether you stay stuck or rise above it. And honestly? You’re far stronger than the victim narrative you cling to. Take responsibility for your life. Be grateful you’re even here to talk about it. Grateful you survived it. Grateful you have breath and choice and agency. Because blaming your parents, dragging them online, and labeling every wound as “narcissistic abuse” doesn’t heal you — it keeps you small. Your parents may have messed up in all the worst ways, but you’re still here… with the ability to bitch, complain, blame, judge, and live your life in a world full of challenges. Don’t waste your strength staying wounded when healing is fully in your hands. #epicyourlife #amishmatchmakers #Single2married #healing #newstory #mindset #blame #judge #responsibility #ownership #generational #trauma #rantover #scapegoat #narcissism

Let’s talk about handling toxic parental dynamics — with maturity, understanding, and yes… even empathy. Because here’s the truth: Toxic behavior usually comes from unhealed trauma. Parents who never learned emotional safety, communication, or regulation end up repeating what they survived — not because they’re evil, but because it’s all they know. That doesn’t excuse it. But it DOES give you the power to respond differently. Here’s what maturity looks like in this dynamic: 1. Stop expecting them to be who they’ve never been. Letting go of the fantasy parent brings clarity, not coldness. 2. Set boundaries based on patterns, not hope. Protect your nervous system. If they consistently offer 20%, stop expecting 100%. 3. Respond, don’t react. When you see their behavior as THEIR wound — not your failure — it loses its emotional grip. 4. Allow empathy without self-betrayal. You can understand why they are the way they are without tolerating the behavior. 5. Choose your level of relationship consciously. Distance, closeness, limited contact — you get to decide what’s healthy for YOU. 6. Do the generational work they never could. Learn regulation. Build healthy communication. Break cycles. This is where your real power is. Healing doesn’t always mean reconciliation… but it ALWAYS means responsibility for your own growth. Your parents may have shaped you, but they do NOT get to define you. This is emotional adulthood. This is breaking the pattern. This is freedom. ❣️ #emotionalmaturity #mindset #healing #parent #toxicrelationships #love #epicyourlife #amishmatchmakers #single2married #responsibility https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1KUo5Qibto/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The message at church yesterday was about FEAR — and how often we’re told to “Fear Not.” Then the pastor paired it with the verse reminding us that we are “blessed and highly favored.” And instantly… I thought of Hazel’s grandmother, Patsy Rose. Every single time I called and asked how she was doing, her answer never changed: “Baby, I am blessed and highly favored.” She said it when life was good. She said it when life was heavy. She said it during seasons where family challenges were breaking her heart. And she said it while dying of lung cancer. This month marks 11 years since she passed… and yet her voice, her faith, her resilience still echo in my mind. Her body was failing, but her spirit? Unshakable. Her circumstances were hard, but her declaration never shifted. “Blessed and highly favored.” Yesterday’s message reminded me — that kind of faith isn’t naïve. It isn’t denial. It’s ANCHORED. It’s the kind of deep-rooted belief that comes from knowing WHO walks with you in every season. Patsy lived that truth. She embodied it. She taught it simply by the way she spoke and the way she believed. So today, and especially in this month of remembrance… I’m choosing to hold onto the same reminder she lived by: Even in the hard seasons… even in the unknown… even when our hearts are shaking — we are blessed and highly favored. Not because everything is perfect, but because HE never leaves us in any of it. What a legacy of faith to carry forward. 🩵 #faith #trust #blessedandhighlyfavored #epicyourlife #amishmatchmakers #single2married #mindset #belief