This page is for the purpose of lifting you up and helping you to discover your value and worth.  You will not find a negative thing on this page.  The things you are about to read pertain to you.

"If you do all that you can do, God will do all you can't do."   Joyce Meyer 

A little humor here:
A little boy asked his parents where he came from. The little boy was only about 5 yrs old and while the parents thought he was too young to hear the answer, they decided that if he was old enough to ask, he must be old enough to know.  The father slowly and carefully proceeded to tell the little gent all about the "birds and the bees".   When he was all finished, he asked the lad if he had any questions. The little boy simply said, " Wow! I just wanted to know if I came from New York or New Jersey!".


I wanted to share with you the "Resident's Rights" at one shelter.  These are wonderful and you need to read them, especially if you have negative ideas about shelters. 
                     
                    Resident's Rights

You have the right to be safe.
You have the right to put yourself first. 
You have the right to be treated with respect.
You have the right to your own feelings and to express them appropriately.
You have the right to ask for help or support.
You have the right to take time for yourself.
You have the right to make mistakes.
You have the right to your own privacy.
You have the right to change and grow.

There are more but this gives you an idea. 


Are you aware on a daily basis that God created you in His own image?  It's true.  When you look in the mirror, tell yourself that God made you while paying close attention to every detail and then looked at you and said, "She is good" or "He is good".  God loves you very much and has a special place in His heart for you. 



When I had been in shelter for a little while, one of my therapists asked me to just sit and write a letter to myself.  She gave no other instruction so I decided to write a letter to myself pouring out my deep felt thoughts, straight from my own heart. I have this letter in a scrapbook that is a part of A Bridge to Hope. It's available for anyone to look at but I've also added it here. This is how I finally felt about myself for the first time EVER after being in shelter for several weeks....

"Dear Maggie,
   I wanted to tell you how proud I am of you!  Even though you have a ways to go, I have no doubt that you are rapidly becoming the confident, independent, self assured woman you desire to be deep in your heart.  You are fast leaving old abusive situations behind including the victim mentality and self abuse to be a healed and whole woman one day.  I'm so excited for you as you learn to reach out for help and accept it more gracefully.  You have learned how to grieve and let go and how to reach out for the strength and encouragement needed to heal and grow.  Your name, Margaret, means "a pearl" and you are truly valuable.  You do deserve a life of real smiles and real fun...not fake smiles and fake fun.  Enjoy life...laugh long and hard and often and don't EVER feel guilty for it.
          Love,
              Maggie"