My son recently gave me permission to write in my given name, rather than a pen name. I’ve written using a pen name for his comfort. (And, let’s face it, for mine too!) I didn’t want to taint anyone’s view of him . . . or our family. But we are five years into this journey, and our household recognizes the need to rip off that Band-Aid. The topic of pornography has been kept under a lid for too long. If we are to educate and communicate within our circles and community, I need to be free to write in my given name. Still, it’s a bit awkward to have your mom announce to the world your past behaviors, ones that have been kept close within the family for so long. So I applaud his courage and bravery.
Continue reading “Today’s Porn: Not Your Father’s (Grandfather’s) Playboy”I Get Overwhelmed
I attended the 2020 Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Online Global Summit (that’s a mouthful!) last week with 15,000 (Yep!) other attendees. It was eye-opening. I listened to representatives from Covenant Eyes, Protect Young Minds, Fight the New Drug, and Reach 10. I sat through presentations entitled “From Problems to Program: Engaging Parents to Protect Their Kids from the Harms of Pornography,” “Our Kids Online: Porn, Predators, and How to Keep Them Safe,” and “Responding to the Unseen Victims of Sexual Exploitation.” I felt uplifted and ready to fight one moment, only to feel overwhelmed, daunted and ready to hide my head in the sand the next moment.
Continue reading “I Get Overwhelmed”In the Trenches with Your Child
My son struggled with pornography for nine years. His fascination began when he was nine or ten and turned into a full-blown addiction sometime before he was fourteen. His dad and I found out about it at that point and vowed to get in the trenches with him to help him . Unfortunately, he wasn’t completely honest with us, so he fell back into his ways fairly quickly—even though we talked with him, added filters to our devices, and updated our house rules.
Continue reading “In the Trenches with Your Child”Hope During the Coronavirus Quarantine: You Can Do It!

I want to encourage you to stay strong.
Many of us are home with our kids because of the Coronavirus quarantine. Our routines have been turned upside down and our comfort zone has been pierced. One of the biggest questions on my mind (and possibly yours) is: Will this change cause my child to turn back to their addiction?
Continue reading “Hope During the Coronavirus Quarantine: You Can Do It!”Stages of Grief – Bargaining

In a previous post, I referred to these seven stages of grief: shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, testing, and acceptance. Recently, I explored these stages more thoroughly and identified the process I walked through when I first heard of my son’s fascination with pornography.
Continue reading “Stages of Grief – Bargaining”What Keeps You Up At Night?

One night I heard my husband slip out of bed and leave our bedroom at 4 a.m. A few minutes later I got up and opened the door to our room to see what he was doing. He was sitting on the couch with his computer in his lap. I glanced at the screen and saw he was reading email. I wondered why he was up at night.
Continue reading “What Keeps You Up At Night?”Porn Users Feel Shame

I’d like to share a link to an article I read, entitled True Story: My Struggle With Shame Fueled My Struggle With Porn. The organization that published the article, Fight the New Drug, is committed to informing the public about the effects of pornography. This article is written by an 18 year old who struggled with pornography for 6 years. I like the article because his story is relatable and real. As a parent, it is helpful to hear another teenager’s perspective–his struggles and feelings.
Continue reading “Porn Users Feel Shame”What’s A Parent To Do?
I just spoke with the wife of a porn addict. The writing is on the wall. The last chance was the last of the last chances. She can’t take it anymore. The marriage is over. She is sick of the empty promises and lack of desire to choose her over his addiction. She’s exhausted, worn out, done. She’s told him he has a week to get out. Continue reading “What’s A Parent To Do?”
Get Involved with the Fight Against Pornography?
Since discovering my son’s addiction I have wrestled with the question of whether to get involved with the fight against pornography. Or rather, what my response should be to this growing epidemic. There is an X-rated store (Is that what you call it?) three miles from our home. (How these places stay in business with all the online stuff is beyond me.) Every time I pass it, my blood pressure rises, and I pray it will go out of business. Well, on good days, I pray it will go out of business. On bad days, my prayer isn’t that pretty.
Continue reading “Get Involved with the Fight Against Pornography?”Triggers
I felt my back pocket. It wasn’t there.
I looked in my purse. It wasn’t there.
I looked in the console of the van. It wasn’t there either.
I had left my phone at home. Ugh! My heart raced a little at the thought. Continue reading “Triggers”