Marnie L. Pehrson's Blog, page 4

Hard Vs. Easy

When someone we love is facing a hard vs. easy fork in the road, we might think enabling them to take the easy road is more loving, but the hard road could be the most loving of all.

The summer before my sophomore year of college my parents were struggling and couldn’t help me. My parents and I discussed it, and I decided to ask my grandfather for some money. It took a lot for me to go ask him. I knew he had it, but I felt weird asking him for it.

His answer was no. I don’t remember much expl...

Is Your Inability to Say No Making You Sick, Tired or Broke?

One of the hardest things for many women to do is to say no. As wives, mothers and friends, we live much of our lives as caregivers. As a result, we begin to think other people’s wishes must take precedence over our own.

We’ve often heard that we need to say “No” more. If we don’t, we’ll end up sick, tired, or broke because we aren’t taking care of ourselves. But it goes beyond the usual self-care advice. I’d like to explore how being sick, tired or broke is actually serving you on some level...

Perfection Vs. Good Enough

When I was young, my brother (who was quite the perfectionist) referred to me as “good enough, Marnie” because I would do the best I could and then say, “Well, that’s good enough.” He called me, “Good enough Marnie” with just enough derision to let me know he felt I had fallen short of perfection in his mind.

I told one of my friends this story years ago and forgot I’d even mentioned it to her. A couple nights ago, she sent me a video of her cute little grandson (perhaps 4-5 years old) playin...

Body Talk: What Your Body Is Telling You About Your Life

Have you ever wondered why you have certain aches and pains, chronic illness, or other sicknesses? Perhaps you’ve heard people say that ailments are body talk. Our bodies talk to us in the only way they know how about our suppressed emotions, grudges, past disappointments, unhealthy beliefs or unresolved trauma.

While I am not convinced that every sniffle has a message to convey, I do believe there is more correlation between what’s going on in our hearts and minds and what’s happening in our...

Analysis Paralysis: How Much Analysis Is Healthy?

“The unexamined life is not worth living.” – Socrates

As an analytical person, I would tend to agree with Socrates. Those who will not examine their lives tend to keep repeating the same mistakes. Yet, in this article, I’d like to issue a caution to my fellow analytically-minded readers. If you’re someone prone to self-examination, this is for you.

There comes a point where over-examination and too much analysis can be detrimental to our progress. There really is a thing called analysis par...

Book Review: The Breakthrough Experience

[image error]I was going through a sudden divorce and my mother’s passing in March. The grief and loss was excruciating. Then an acquaintance recommended The Breakthrough Experience by Dr. John Demartini as something that would help me make sense of it all. I bought it, on his recommendation and it changed my life forever.

The Breakthrough Experienced helped me finally understand the concept of the Law of Polarity, aka Divine Compensation. I began to look for everything I’d “lost” in the world all around...

Reduce Stress by Setting Boundaries

One of the major lessons of my adult life has been setting boundaries. Whether they be emotional, financial, physical, spiritual or mental. I am such a keep-the-peace type of person by nature that I have given over control of many aspects of my life to circumstances or people because

I am not clear where the line is between them and me. I’ve been fuzzy about what’s my responsibility and what’s theirs When I do realize I need to set a boundary, I haven’t wanted to deal with the anticipated “c...

A Tribute to My Mother, Betty J. Morton

Eulogy for Betty Jean Morton

By Marnie L. Marcus
Delivered 3/21/2017

Audio version: Eulogy for Betty Morton

My mother, Betty Jean Morton was born Betty Jean White on February 10, 1933 in Chattanooga, TN. She was the first child of five born to Thelma Brown White and Eugene R. White.  They lived in Athens, Tennessee at the time. This was a long trip by car back in those days and Betty was delivered by C-section with no anesthesia for her mother.

Mama graduated from Pekin High School in Pekin,...

Tribal Leader, Movement Leader, Thought Leader? Which Are You?

Do you consider yourself a leader? Do people follow you? Even if it is a small group? Have you ever considered whether you might be a

Tribal Leader Movement Leader or a Thought Leader?

Is there a difference and why would it matter which type you are? I think it’s important to consider what type of leader you are so that you can be more effective in your own style of leadership. Let’s look at what each one entails. Keep in mind a couple of these definitions are mine. So this isn’t written in...

9 Steps To Create A Better Life

Would you like to create a better life? These are the 9 steps that will take you from a life that frustrates you to the one you envision in your dreams. I learned learned these through my own personal experience.

1 Release any victim mentality and acknowledge and absorb the fact that you have the right, permission, and privilege of creating the life you desire.

2 Envision the life you desire. Seek a divine confirmation that it’s in your highest good.

3 Emotionally engage with your vision. Wh...