Kristena Tunstall

  • Home
  • Bible Study Quiet Time
    • Jen Hatmaker
      • A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study
  • Speaking/Webinars
  • Our Daughter’s Hospital Story
  • Blog
Kristena Tunstall > My Journeys > 365 Day Writing Journey > Day 71: Being Your Own Shrink

Posted on February 22, 2014 By Kristena Tunstall

Day 71: Being Your Own Shrink

Cartoon psychologist sitting on an arm chair keeping notesI have to share this quote with you.

“You have to have done that hard psychological work before you sit down to write.” —MARY KARR

This is one of those ‘awe-ha’ moments. Ever since I can remember I never understood why God would allow, in His loving giving Self, the terrible abuses and neglect that happened to me throughout my childhood.

As I entered high school, my freshman year we attended a church a couple of times. It wasn’t till the following summer I was able to get a ride to it each week and on Wednesday nights. It was during this time that I thought maybe God wanted me to work with teens who’ve been through hard things and I’d understand. But God never opened a door for me to do that.

So as I continued to get older I really didn’t know what God’s plan was for my life. More things piled right on top of the childhood stuff. Sometimes I’d ask God how much more did He think I could possibly handle? He answered that when Mari went to heaven to see Him.

Was I angry at God for this? Absolutely. I’m still human. We all get angry at our earthly parents. He is our heavenly Parent. God understands. He’s still there for us through every joy and every heartache or tragedy. He’s the one to give us the strength we need to live each day.

So when God took me down the road of writing, He didn’t even let me take a detour to fight the road He wanted me on. As a result, I feel blessed He has granted me this gift. And after all these years of abuse, neglect, difficulties and challenges, and ultimately death, He needed me to have all the “hard psychological work” done in my life so that one day as I sit here and write this I’ll have the understanding of more than most people have happen in a lifetime. Really, think about that for a second. God didn’t do all these things to me. However, He allowed each and every one of them to happen so that His ultimate plan can be partly filled by what I do in my life to glorify Him.

 

Day 72: Writer's Remorse

February 23, 2014 Kristena Tunstall 0
To write truthfully sometimes we have to write things we may not want others to know but are important to be true to who we are as a writer. When I think about this it kind nails me to the wall. My past isn't pretty. And it's not from anything…
 

The Journey with Emilie Hendryx

February 21, 2014 Kristena Tunstall 5
Please welcome this weeks guest Emilie Hendryx for The Journey. She answers the question: How have you seen God work in your writing journey? In the Midst of the Journey I’ve always loved reading and writing. Ever since I was a little girl, I can remember dreaming up ideas, creating…

signature
Post Views: 2,246

Related

Comments

  1. Sylvia bray says

    February 22, 2014 at 4:47 am

    Wow, Kristena! Well said! You have put into words what I have pondered in my life for a long time. I believe this is true for each of us. In a way far beyond our understanding God takes the threads of our lives and weaves them into a beautiful tapestry that warms the lives of others – if we let them. Thank you for your willingness to share your tapestry with us. And praise God for placing in you the drive to share what we need to hear! Sylvia

    • Kristena Tunstall says

      February 28, 2014 at 11:22 am

      Thank you my dear, sweet friend Sylvia. My sincerest hope is that whenever anyone reads what I’ve written, no matter what it is, that they can see truth in it, my truth, and that I can just lay it out there. I think in this way people can get to know me better through my writing. I’m still amazed sometimes with this gift He has given me and how it can actually touch someone else’s life. I feel so honored and blessed.

  2. Jean Williams says

    February 22, 2014 at 11:02 am

    Ah, Kristena, you are wiser because of all the struggles in your life. God is so good to give you the passion to write. You will make a difference. You will bloom!

    • Kristena Tunstall says

      February 28, 2014 at 11:23 am

      Awe, Jean, you are such a sweetie. You never seem to fail at being able to put a smile on my face by your comments. I thank you for each and every one of them. They touch my heart. And thank you for your belief in me.

Site Archives

  • ►2020 (6)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (1)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2019 (1)
    • ►March (1)
  • ►2018 (4)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►July (2)
  • ►2017 (15)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►March (4)
  • ►2016 (11)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►February (9)
  • ►2015 (22)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (5)
    • ►October (3)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (3)
    • ►January (5)
  • ►2014 (221)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (6)
    • ►October (4)
    • ►September (3)
    • ►August (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (28)
    • ►May (15)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (34)
    • ►February (30)
    • ►January (35)
  • ►2013 (346)
    • ►December (34)
    • ►November (28)
    • ►October (50)
    • ►September (53)
    • ►August (22)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (31)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (31)
    • ►February (28)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2012 (82)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►August (11)
    • ►July (15)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (3)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2011 (46)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (9)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (6)
    • ►February (7)
    • ►January (19)
  • ►2010 (43)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (2)
    • ►September (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (12)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (2)
    • ►March (3)
    • ►February (5)
    • ►January (3)
  • ►2009 (49)
    • ►December (5)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►July (2)
    • ►June (1)
    • ►May (4)
    • ►April (7)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (10)
  • ►2008 (34)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (15)
    • ►October (8)
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter
My Tweets
Follow @MommysAngelHeav
  • Archives
  • Categories
  • Tags
Archives
  • ►2020 (6)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (1)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2019 (1)
    • ►March (1)
  • ►2018 (4)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►July (2)
  • ►2017 (15)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►March (4)
  • ►2016 (11)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►February (9)
  • ►2015 (22)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (5)
    • ►October (3)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (3)
    • ►January (5)
  • ►2014 (221)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (6)
    • ►October (4)
    • ►September (3)
    • ►August (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (28)
    • ►May (15)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (34)
    • ►February (30)
    • ►January (35)
  • ►2013 (346)
    • ►December (34)
    • ►November (28)
    • ►October (50)
    • ►September (53)
    • ►August (22)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (31)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (31)
    • ►February (28)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2012 (82)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►August (11)
    • ►July (15)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (3)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2011 (46)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (9)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (6)
    • ►February (7)
    • ►January (19)
  • ►2010 (43)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (2)
    • ►September (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (12)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (2)
    • ►March (3)
    • ►February (5)
    • ►January (3)
  • ►2009 (49)
    • ►December (5)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►July (2)
    • ►June (1)
    • ►May (4)
    • ►April (7)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (10)
  • ►2008 (34)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (15)
    • ►October (8)
Categories
  • ►About Books… (22)
    • ►Book – The Unknown Door (3)
    • ►Book Reviews (5)
    • ►Featured Books (14)
  • ►Announcements (2)
  • ►Featured Posts (8)
  • ►Holidays (39)
    • ►4th of July (5)
    • ►Birthdays (6)
    • ►Christmas (6)
    • ►Easter (1)
    • ►Father’s Day (1)
    • ►Memorial Day (1)
    • ►Mother’s Day (4)
    • ►New Year’s (2)
    • ►Tax Time (1)
    • ►Thanksgiving (4)
    • ►Valentine’s Day (1)
    • ►Wedding Anniversary (6)
  • ►Interviews (2)
  • ►Miscellaneous (1)
  • ►Miscellaneous (6)
    • ►VotD (1)
  • ►Mommys Angel in Heaven (246)
    • ►Featured Posts mommys (2)
    • ►Multimedia moms mommys (1)
      • ►Videos mommys (1)
    • ►My Writing mommys (10)
      • ►In Response mommys (1)
      • ►In The Moment mommys (4)
      • ►Monthly Blog Chain mommys (1)
      • ►Reflection mommys (2)
      • ►Stories mommys (1)
        • ►Nonfiction mommys (1)
  • ►Multimedia (20)
    • ►Photos (4)
    • ►Slideshow (2)
    • ►Videos (12)
      • ►YouTube (7)
  • ▼My Journeys (306)
    • ▼365 Day Writing Journey (152)
      • Day 1: Switchbacks up the Mountain
      • Timing...
      • Day 2: Sacred Space
      • Day 3: The Holy Calling
      • Day 4: Choosing Story Over Relatives
      • Day 5: Getting Caught
      • Day 6: Daring to Tell
      • Day 7: Jumping Off
      • Day 8: The Voice that Chirps and Chirps
      • Day 9: Getting Permission
      • Day 10: Working Out
      • Day 11: Racing Hearts and Churning Stomachs
      • Day 12: Patience
      • Day 13: The Matanuska Valley and Other Diversions
      • Day 14: Waiting for Pizza
      • Day 15: People in a Jam
      • Day 16: Exploding Typewriters, Smoking Computers
      • Day 17: Love Thy Reader
      • Day 18: Your Validation Posse
      • Day 19: The Five Characteristics of Good Writing
      • Day 20: Naked in the Hallway
      • Making a change
      • Day 1: Switchbacks up the Mountain
      • Day 2: Sacred Space
      • Day 3: The Holy Calling
      • Day 4: Choosing Story Over Relatives
      • Day 5: Getting Caught
      • The Journey with Carole Brown
      • Day 6: Daring to Tell
      • Day 7: Jumping Off
      • Day 8: The Voice that Chirps and Chirps
      • Day 9: Getting Permission
      • Day 10: Working Out
      • Day 11: Racing Hearts and Churning Stomachs
      • Day 12: Patience
      • Day 13: The Matanuska Valley and Other Diversions
      • Day 14: Waiting for Pizza
      • Day 15: People in a Jam
      • Day 16: Exploding Typewriters, Smoking Computers
      • Day 17: Love Thy Reader
      • Day 18: Your Validation Posse
      • Day 19: The Five Characteristics of Good Writing
      • Day 20: Naked in the Hallway
      • Day 21: Finding the Spotlight
      • Day 22: A Writer's Lifestyle
      • Day 23: What Writer's Do
      • Day 24: Writing While Drooled Upon
      • Day 25: Failing Better
      • Day 26: The Trampoline as a Metaphor
      • Day 27: Fruitcakes and Discipline
      • Day 28: In the Company of Animals
      • Day 29: First Things First
      • Day 30: Out of the Box
      • Day 31: Dreaming Your Ship
      • Day 32: Improvisation
      • Day 33: Diving, Not Drowning
      • Day 34: The Duck or the Pâté?
      • Day 35: Eight Ways to Sabotage Yourself
      • Day 36: The Peculiar Art
      • Day 37: Being a Writer
      • Day 38: Ideal Conditions
      • Day 39: Keeping a Journal
      • Day 40: Inspiration
      • Day 41: Overnight Success Story
      • Day 42: Darling, What If You Tried...
      • Day 43: Nelson's News
      • Day 44: Sad Flailing and Panic
      • Day 45: Stubborn and Stupid
      • Day 46: Frou-Frou in Your Head
      • Day 47: The Writer's Club
      • Day 48: Community
      • Day 49: Tilting
      • Day 50: The Narrative of Your Life
      • Day 51: Nothing New Under the Sun
      • Day 52: The Writer as Spy
      • Day 53: On Work and Sentences
      • Day 54: The Beginning Writer
      • Day 55: One Lie Leads to Another
      • Day 56: No Drama
      • Day 57: Juggling
      • Day 58: Retreating to Play
      • Day 59: What Writers Can Learn from Six-Year-Olds
      • Day 60: Showing Up
      • Day 61: Writing Hours
      • Day 62: Feast or Famine: Part 1
      • Day 63: Feast or Famine: Part 2
      • Day 64: Writing Is Not Pretty
      • Day 65: Why You Don't Show Your Work to Your Spouse
      • Day 66: The Pitfalls of Grammar
      • Day 67: Seinfeld's Calendar
      • Day 68: Making Use of Fear
      • Day 69: Your Naked Prose
      • Day 70: The Right Age to Write
      • Day 71: Being Your Own Shrink
      • Day 72: Writer's Remorse
      • Day 74: The Truth and Nothing But
      • Day 75: Signs and Messages from Above
      • Day 77: Why Write?
      • Day 79: What Does Your Mother Think?
      • Day 80: The Strip Club
      • Day 81: Writing on Water
      • Day 82: Finding a Genre
      • Day 83: Retyping the Best
      • Day 84: How to Be a Writer
      • Day 85: Motivation
      • Day 86: Looking vs. Seeing
      • Day 87: Lessons of Drama
      • Day 88: From the Desk of God
      • Day 89: Worries of Writing Memoir
      • Day 90: The Wrestling Match
      • Day 91: Naming Names
      • Day 92: Rituals of Discipline
      • Day 93: Habits of Writers
      • Day 94: Lighting Candles
      • Day 95: Five Things Writers Can Learn from Dogs
      • Day 96: The Things We Keep
      • Day 97: Clear Language
      • Day 98: Ideas in Limos and Planes
      • Day 99: Writing Your Own Corner
      • Day 100: Writing as Therapy
      • Day 101: Waiting for the Train
      • Day 102: Five Things Writers Can Learn from Cats
      • Day 103: Closing the Gap
      • Day 104: Writing Your Own Front Yard #acfw
      • Day 105: PERFECTION! #acfw
      • Day 106: Odd Notes #acfw
      • Day 107: A Love Story #acfw
      • Day 108: Aunt Boo's House #acfw
      • Day 109: Just Reading #acfw
      • Day 110: Reading in Russia #acfw
      • Day 111: Authors on Pedestals #acfw
      • Day 112: Getting to Denver by 4:00 #acfw
      • Day 113: Surrender #acfw
      • Day 114: The idea That Won’t Go Away #acfw
      • Day 115: Writing the Tree #acfw
      • Day 116: Why Writers Get Scared #acfw
      • Day 117: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Writer #acfw
      • Day 118: Infusion of Hope: The Circus Rider #acfw
      • Day 119: Stillness #acfw
      • Day 120: Writing the Event #acfw
      • Day 121: Life Rafts #acfw
      • Day 122: Fiction vs. Nonfiction #acfw
      • Day 123: An Empty Swimming Pool #acfw
      • Day 124: Breaking Glass: Metaphor and Symbols #acfw
      • Day 125: Approval #acfw
      • Day 126: The Art of Finding Solitude #acfw
      • Day 127: One True Sentence #acfw #365days
      • Day 128: Learning to Swim #acfw #365days
      • Day 129: Imaginations Going Nuts #acfw #365days
      • Day 130: Paying Attention #acfw #365days
      • Day 131: Do Not Try This at Home #acfw #365days
      • Day 132: Double-Edged Sword of the Internet #acfw #365days
    • ►A to Z Challenge (68)
    • ►A to Z Challenge mommys (30)
    • ►NaBloPoMo (56)
  • ►My Writing (551)
    • ►365 Days (185)
    • ►Bible Study Quiet Time (93)
      • ►Jen Hatmaker (42)
        • ►A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study (21)
      • ►Priscilla Shirer (2)
        • ►The Armor of God (1)
    • ►In Response (37)
    • ►In The Moment (149)
    • ►Monthly Blog Chain (3)
    • ►My Journeys (2)
    • ►Reflection (68)
    • ►S.H.E. Time (2)
    • ►Time (6)
  • ►Other Site Authors (2)
    • ►Clever Girl (1)
    • ►Mari’s Teacher Mrs. A. (1)
  • ►Poetry (32)
    • ►Athena’s (1)
    • ►Free Form (11)
    • ►Rhyming (7)
  • ►Songs (13)
    • ►Lyrics (6)
    • ►Music (5)
  • ►Stories (16)
    • ►Fictional (4)
    • ►Nonfiction (9)
  • ►The Journey (75)
  • ►Websites (3)
  • ►Writing (42)