I recently took a drive with two of my kids to a beautiful beachfront in Northern California called Dillon Beach.
Being at the Ocean, I feel free! Laughing so hard as I skip around the beach, searching for seashells and taking in every detail of its beauty.. What a gift to be treasured…it will always be my happy place. 💙
YOU matter….
Even when you feel like no one notices or cares. Your presence on this Earth is important…your voice, your opinion, your ideas, your disappointments, your shortcomings, your accomplishments, your defeats, your best qualities and your worst character defects, your talents, your stories, your laughter, your hugs, your smile. Every aspect of YOU, is a gift to this world. You are valued, cherished and needed.
And even when it doesn’t always feel like it…
I encourage you to grab on and hold tight to this truth…YOU are loved…overwhelmingly loved, undeniably loved, forever loved.💗
~ denise marie
“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. – John 8:36
There was a time, that I didn’t identify with the one who stared at me daily in the mirror.
Sometimes I didn’t like her, other times I felt like I didn’t really know her and many times didn’t understand her. She found herself lost between living to please others and resenting her continued self-sacrifice, even at the cost of her well being.
Ultimately betraying herself.
Numerous times she tried to free her true self, but found it difficult to come out from under the deep despair of childhood trauma and shame.
Today, she realizes it’s ok to choose Her.
She now, carefully cradles her heart, whispering powerful words of truth dripped in non-judgmental love and grace.
She is no longer hidden beneath the layers of trauma, she is emerging, growing and nurturing each space within the weight of her being.
She no longer identifies as an outsider, but acknowledges Her name.
The name her Mother, lovingly graced her with in 1969.
Her name is Denise Marie and I am her.
“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. – John 8:36
Healing doesn’t happen linear, it ebbs and flows and many days I’m battling my mindset as I demolish thoughts that try to set off my anxiety. There are many days when I can smile and genuinely say “today’s a good day” and then there are days when I can barely get out of bed, and yet choose to say “today is a good day…to…rest. Both days are good, it’s all about how I choose to respond to my circumstances.
“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. – John 8:36
#nolongerheldcaptive
I will not be silenced…
My voice matters.
My opinion matters.
My words matter.
My thoughts matter.
What I have to say matters.
How I feel matters.
My questions matter.
My disagreeing with you matters.
Standing up for myself matters.
Speaking up matters.
What I like matters.
What I don’t like matters.
Telling my jokes matter.
Telling my story matters.
My choice matters.
My dreams matter.
My disappointments matter.
My goals matter.
My style matters.
Being comfortable in my own skin matters.
Being confident matters.
Being unsure at times, matters.
Taking my time to process my feelings matters.
Being sad matters.
Being happy matters.
Being angry matters.
Laughing out loud matters.
My smile matters.
My quirkiness matters.
My “no” matters.
My “yes” matters.
Saying exactly what I mean matters.
Having boundaries matter.
Being kind to myself matters.
Being kind to others matters.
Practicing self-care matters.
Loving freely matters.
My brown skin matters.
Being myself, even when others say it’s “too much” matters.
Being free spirited matters.
Letting go of what I can’t control matters.
Liking myself matters.
Loving myself matters.
I matter.
~ denise marie
be·lov·ed – dearly loved.💗
“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. – John 8:36
#nolongerheldcaptive
“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed”. – John 8:36
#nolongerheldcaptive
No longer held captive 