Family | JuliaGrace.ca

06Sep 2024 by Julia Grace McCammon

Navigating the Depths of Parental Grief

The loss of a child brings a depth of sorrow. I see the immense struggle parents face in moving forward after child loss. The journey through grief is deeply personal and challenging, especially when it involves the unimaginable loss of a son or daughter. Overcoming grief and sorrow is a huge task for parents who have lost a child at any age. The emotional trauma that accompanies such a loss can often prolong the grieving process, creating a heavy burden. It's like carrying an anchor that keeps pulling you back into the depths of sadness, making it difficult to see a way out. The Lingering Effects of Grief The emotional trauma that lingers after such a loss can manifest in various ways, impacting relationships, mental health, and overall well-being. Despite…

31Jul 2024 by Julia Grace McCammon

The Power of Commitment In Our Life

Relationships

What's your level of commitment in life? Do you jump in when you commit to something and are ready to go, ready to see it through? No doubts, no resistance, just let's get it done or let's meet, let's do this. Or are you a reluctant one? Are you more on the side of caution and you hold back and you say "I'll try and be there. I'll try and get this project done. I'll see if I can find the time for it" by putting off the commitment. When we say the word try, it just takes the power out because it's really setting us up for failure. When we can just stand up and say "Yes, I will get this done. Yes, I'm committed, I'm going to see…

23Mar 2023 by Julia Grace McCammon

Do Foods We Eat Fill A Void Or Feed Our Body?

Food, Healing, Lifestyle, Relationships

The foods we eat, do they fill a void or feed our body? How do we analyze what is good or bad for us? Simply put, how do you feel after eating or drinking certain foods? We all have some foods that upset our stomach and our gut. Were you in a hurry and chomped down the food without even noticing its taste or aroma? Hurry, hurry, hurry. We do that a lot, don't we? Were you calm and able to enjoy the meal? Or were you upset and agitated in the middle of an argument? Our stomach and intestines and more all want a peaceful environment. It's like riding over a bumpy road at high speed. Things get jostled around and sometimes they break. Do you want to be…

01Jul 2020 by Julia Grace McCammon

Life Memories and Mulberries

Food, Lifestyle, Nature, Relationships

Have you ever had the chance to go berry picking?I'm not talking about the little packages of berries you pick up at the store.I did a lot of berry picking when I was young, and it was a favourite activity. It usually also involved a chance to go out for a picnic with my mom and grandfather, Cappy Guy. My mom would prepare the meal and pack it up for the three of us. We would take off in Cappy’s little car, which he never did seem to get, to handle and how to shift it properly! So I remember bouncing around while riding in the back seat, but I loved every second of the trip. After dinner, they would sit and have coffee together and Cappy would light up…

09Nov 2019 by Julia Grace McCammon

Strong Women Are Valuable

Lifestyle, Relationships

Strong women are valuable because they are aware of their own worth and recognize the strengths and potential of others. They communicate clearly and directly, and expect others to do the same. Women are feeling more empowered and have more authority and leadership roles. Commitment and dedication are in their nature, they follow through 100% A strong woman is quick-witted and articulate, which can be intimidating for some people, including her partner, family, and co-workers. She can quickly spot weak characters and won’t tolerate excuses. She knows that direct communication is an essential part of finding solutions to problems. Her priority is to get results, so she may seem impatient or bossy at times to get things done well and efficiently. She won’t sugarcoat things with fake smiles and compliments.…

01Jun 2019 by Julia Grace McCammon

Valuable Life Lessons From A Vegetable Garden

Food, Nature

My Mother was an amazing cook who managed to feed a family of seven very well despite her limited budget. Her large vegetable garden provided heaps of vegetables in summer and delicious pickles all year. As a child I helped prepare, plant and harvest vegetables from that garden every summer. I felt respect for Nature when my hands were in the soft prepared earth, gently placing seeds in the soil. It requires patience to carefully plant at the right depth and space, sometimes one seed at a time. Next the miracle would happen as the sun’s life force energy would awaken these tiny seeds to germinate and grow into plants. I enjoyed the view as our vegetable garden transformed from mounds of brown dirt to delicate green plants sprouting in…

04Mar 2019 by Julia Grace McCammon

Is Moving Stressful? 6 Tips for a Calmer Move

Lifestyle, Relationships

How many times have you moved from one place to another? Moving creates a challenge to sort and organize our stuff, then fit it into various boxes and containers. On moving day all our belongings get packed into a moving truck, van or car and driven to our new home. After that, we get to unpack all the items and choose where to place them at our new place. Yes, it can be very stressful… Moving shows some strengths and weaknesses Are you a procrastinator who waits too long to start packing? Does moving include last-minute panic, tossing items in garbage bags that can accidentally get thrown out? The process of sorting and letting go of stuff we don’t need takes time but is truly rewarding. It feels great to…

28Oct 2018 by Julia Grace McCammon

Is What We Believe in Life Really True?

Healing, Relationships

We are taught many early truths by family, unfortunately their wisdom isn’t always best for our success. A childhood moment that strongly affected me was my father’s words after viewing my excellent report card. “98? Why didn’t you get 100?” These few words had great power, along with negative comments and events that chipped away at my self-confidence. Dad was repeating his experience as youngest in the family. As parents our job is not to break the spirit of our children, nor is it to fill their heads with delusions and expectations. When we begin adult life feeling worthless and lacking confidence, how do we believe in our self and trust others? Starting off on the wrong foot is brutal, I’ve been there. Determined to break from my father’s rule,…

24Feb 2017 by Julia Grace McCammon

3 Healing ways for Seeing the Truth and Letting Go

Healing, Lifestyle, Nature, Relationships

As we move through life it's incredible how often we are tested and struggle with trying to assist or simply letting go. The truth is we can create more problems by jumping in and trying to help out, take it from me. Especially with the folks we care about, our children, our partner, our parents, friends and clients. I was always willing to jump in and help but I have finally learned a huge lesson. You can never fix what people aren't willing to change No matter how much we desire to help another person, the choice to take action or not will always be with them. Here are three ways I determine how much a person with problems, issues or complaints really wants to improve. 1. Are they taking responsibility for their part in problems? Or…

28Aug 2016 by Julia Grace McCammon

5 Things I’ve learned about Allergies and Asthma

Healing, Lifestyle

Over the years I have witnessed many improvements in clients suffering with allergies and asthma. Their progress can be life-changing and it's great to see! Here are some common elements that consistently need attention to lessen the severity of allergies and asthma symptoms: We look at what’s triggering the stuffiness, sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes. It gets interesting as we uncover what bothers a person and what they have weaknesses for. For example do they have a weakness to Ragweed, being outdoors or fields of flowers (yes, that was an actual weakness for a client who no longer suffers from annual Ragweed symptoms)? What sensations are they experiencing? Discomfort, itching, irritation (this one can be physical or non-physical - so who or what irritates us?!) and the list goes…

28May 2016 by Julia Grace McCammon

Do We Still Want Gold Star Approval?

Lifestyle, Relationships

At some point on our life journey we've all had a need for approval in one form or another.It begins as a child when we look for our parents’ approval. Remember how good it felt to get a smile from Mom or Dad when you performed well? Or how horrible you felt when they were disappointed or disapproved? We all enjoy feeling good about ourselves, but some people develop a real thirst for approval. They want and need more appreciation for everything they do.Sadly the need for glory can mess a person up when it suddenly disappears. In my early school years I loved receiving gold stars for a job well done, we all did! The problem can exist in how we handle ourselves as teens and adults. Do we continue…

01Sep 2015 by Julia Grace McCammon

Are You Ready to Change Your Life?

Healing, Lifestyle, Relationships

Again and again I hear how much clients want to change. They want to stop feeling stuck and clear the anxiety, sadness and stress in their lives. Often we're ready to say "heck yes!" but when the time comes we pull back. Important moments when we make a choice - to go forward or slip back into familiar patterns we're used to. I see all of the potential of a person in front of me. It's sad to watch some clients shrink back as they get close to breaking through to their next level of confidence and awareness. Most of us want joy and happiness in our lives, right? Sometimes we are so wrapped up in our stories of what went wrong we cannot see a choice to change. Or we…

04Jun 2015 by Julia Grace McCammon

Jim Carrey speech: Living Life in Love or Fear

Lifestyle, Relationships

Listen to Jim Carrey in this video with wisdom and great nuggets about living your life fully. His speech is inspirational and makes a lot of sense! Fear is going to be a player in your life but you get to decide how much He says "all there will ever be is what's happening here, in the decisions we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear. So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality...You can fail at what you don't want so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love!" Risk Being Seen in All of Your Glory! Powerful when he says: Hope Walks Through the Fire and Faith Leaps Over It Starts about 10 minutes into…

03Apr 2015 by Julia Grace McCammon

Loving Animals = Learning to Care for Others

Lifestyle, Relationships

Many of you know I grew up with animals, I loved them and they were my friends. We always had a cat and dog but around 8 years of age I was thrilled the moment I rode a friend's pony. I asked my father if we could get a pony and he told me if we did, I would be responsible for the care and feeding of the pony. Of course I agreed, having no clue of what was involved and how much horse poop I would shovel. We started with one pony, then 2, then 2 more and their foals, then a horse for Dad, and a horse for Mom. My sister brought home "cute" baby chicks that she cared for for a few weeks, and then I got…

08Feb 2015 by Julia Grace McCammon

Happy & Sad Emotions Missing Mom & Chocolate Cake

Healing, Relationships

It all started with a chocolate cake... I decided to make a cake for my husband's birthday. He loves chocolate so I began looking at recipes. I have old ones but this time felt pushed to find a match with my mother's recipe from the past. You see my mother was an awesome cook and she loved to bake! In summer she'd do extra baking and sell it at my Dad's hardware store to local and summer folk in our small town. The tricky part with Mom's recipes was that most were in her head. So when you asked for a recipe she'd list off the ingredients as "about a cup of this and a couple of spoonfuls of that...". I was often left wondering if she was talking teaspoons…

19Dec 2014 by Julia Grace McCammon

Christmas Triggers – Stirred Up by past Emotional Wounds

Relationships

They stir up our past emotional wounds, reminding us of times that were better or worse. Along with glad feelings, our sad and mad emotions can suddenly bubble up to the surface, usually not at the best of times. Christmas brings up a variety of feelings for many people. Some experience upsetting emotions which are consistently triggered year after year around the holiday season. As we remember favourite Christmas moments and past events shared, we feel sadness and grief over loved ones who have passed, knowing they won't be with us again this year. We beat ourselves up with memories of past ugly events and negative circumstances. Especially childhood traumas we couldn't control. Anger and hurt feelings appear around relationships that damaged us.Some people even feel shame about being alone at Christmas. We have…

05Oct 2014 by Julia Grace McCammon

Feeling Different? Enjoy “Let It Go” from Frozen

Lifestyle, Relationships

I've been feeling different and rather alone in many circumstances since I was a child. Many people don't appreciate a person who's different. Instead they mock, bully and try to control the bright, innocent and caring individuals who are just a little different from themselves. These experiences create sadness that goes very deep and makes life seem an uphill journey. I recently watched the movie "Frozen" and was blown away by the song "Let It Go". Tears streamed down my cheeks as I listened and I knew it must be shared. For all the "different" folks in the world, enjoy this amazing song and be yourself! The information provided on this blog is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Always consult with a professional for medical advice.

17Feb 2014 by Julia Grace McCammon

Snowflakes Falling In The Night

Nature, Relationships

In recent weeks there's been an ice storm, tons of snow and extreme cold. This week has seemed a breeze as warmer winter temperatures make life easier. Plus when the sun shines it's really quite beautiful outside. This evening while out for a walk I was happy to witness lovely huge snowflakes slowly drifting down from the dark sky above. My husband laughed as I opened my mouth, stuck out my tongue and tried to catch the big fluffy snowflakes. It's fun to feel the cool tingle as the snowflakes instantly melt in your mouth! What I most appreciated about the snowflakes was the flood of childhood memories that rose up in that very moment. I remembered so many times I had done the exact same thing as a child,…

Tag: Family