Boundless Hope Christian Clinical Counseling

12/21/2025

https://open.spotify.com/album/2GB8RJEEcvyVyUt0YA3Uue?si=me_TZ6DXSY2GRwth6ezg_Q

Michael Boggs · single · 2025 · 1 songs

12/19/2025

The holiday season can be magical and joyful, filled with lights, laughter, and traditions we have held close for years. But for many people, the same season can also bring grief, even if we do not have words for it. Perhaps it is the empty chair at the table, a text that goes unanswered, or the sudden ache of memories from holidays past. Perhaps it is the quiet, unnameable sorrow of feeling disconnected from the warmth and connection we long for. The first step toward healing is simple, but powerful: noticing that grief exists and not blocking it.

Grief does not always look like tears or wailing. It can be quiet, shapeless, and hard to define. Sometimes it shows up as restlessness, tension in the shoulders, emptiness in the chest, or a gnawing sadness that has no obvious trigger. The body remembers what the mind may not yet have understood. When we ignore these sensations, we inadvertently store them, allowing grief to linger without relief.

Grief is not a problem to fix. It is a natural response to life, love, and loss. Allowing it to surface, even when it feels inconvenient, painful, or uncomfortable, is the first step toward true healing. As difficult as it can feel, simply not blocking our grief can create space for the body, heart, and mind to begin processing what has been held inside. We are eager to offer support if you would like us to join you on your grief journey.

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net
inquiry@boundlesshope.net

12/18/2025

One December morning, Janice sat in her living room, surrounded by ornaments, lights, and the smell of pine from the tree. Everything looked perfect on the surface, but she felt a hollow ache that she could not put into words. She also felt a twing of shame because this was the season that Jesus was born. This was supposed to be a time of celebration and joy. But Janice didn't feel joyful and she didn't know why.

She tried to name it: sadness, loneliness, loss? Nothing fit exactly. Janice found herself holding her breath, stiffening in her chair, trying to force the feelings away because the holidays were supposed to be happy. She decided to simply be still before the LORD.

Without an audible prayer, Janice visualized herself being held to God's chest and felt safe enough to allow herself to simply notice what was there, with no judgment or explanation.

To her surprise, in time, the feeling began to soften. It was not gone, but it was no longer locked away. That is the power of acknowledging grief.

The holiday season can be magical and joyful, filled with lights, laughter, and traditions we have held close for years. But for many people, the same season can also bring grief, even if we do not have words for it. Perhaps it is the empty chair at the table, a text that goes unanswered, or the sudden ache of memories from holidays past. Perhaps it is the quiet, unnameable sorrow of feeling disconnected from the warmth and connection we long for. The first step toward healing is simple, but powerful: noticing that grief exists and not blocking it.

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net
inquiry@boundlesshope.net

12/17/2025

The real power of the Enneagram comes from noticing the emotional and relational patterns that consistently show up in your life. These patterns often reveal the parts of you that are trying to protect your heart and matter more than your Enneagram type.

Typing focuses on choosing the correct number. Patterns focus on understanding your lived experience. Typing is quick. Patterns are reflective, slow, and transformative. Typing invites certainty. Patterns invite curiosity. Typing gives a label. Patterns reveal your story.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy offers a helpful companion approach alongside the Enneagram. IFS teaches that we each have parts within us that carry burdens, fears, memories, and protective strategies. The Enneagram describes the structure of those patterns. IFS helps us engage them with compassion.

When we focus on patterns, we begin to ask deeper questions.

~ What am I protecting?
~ What emotions rise first for me?
~ How did my story shape the strategies I still use today?
~ What parts of me need care, healing, and connection?
~ Where is God inviting me to grow?

Patterns reveal the unconscious strategies we rely on to feel safe and loved. Understanding these patterns gives us the opportunity to make new choices. This is where transformation begins.

The Enneagram is not a spiritual solution in itself, but it is a powerful tool for self knowledge. When paired with the gentle, insightful lens of IFS therapy, it becomes a pathway toward genuine healing. These two models together allow you to understand both the structure of your patterns and the emotional parts that carry the weight of them.

Click here to learn more about how the Enneagram may be a beneficial tool for you: www.boundlesshope.net/blog/understanding-the-enneagram

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net
inquiry@boundlesshope.net

12/16/2025

The Enneagram is not meant to label people or place them in restrictive categories. You are a person created in the image of God, continually being shaped, refined, and renewed. You are not confined to the limitations of your type based on human understanding.

Your number is not your identity. It is not your full story. It is not the deepest truth about your soul. Your number is simply a pattern structure that formed around your childhood experiences. It reflects how you learned to cope, how you learned to stay safe, and how you learned to make sense of the world.

These patterns are powerful, but they are not permanent. They are not unchangeable. They are not the measure of your worth.

The Enneagram also reveals how your protective strategies may be influencing your life today. With awareness and support, you can cultivate new ways of relating, thinking, and responding. You can learn to live from your core self rather than your entrenched patterns. You can grow into the freedom Christ desires for you. Healthy engagement with the Enneagram helps you explore the terrain of this transformation.
To continue reading our current blog, click on the link in our profile: www.boundlesshope.net/blog/understanding-the-enneagram

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net
inquiry@boundlesshope.net

12/15/2025

Some Christians worry that the Enneagram is incompatible with their faith. We understand that concern and encourage wise discernment. Many believers find that the Enneagram aligns beautifully with the Christian story of creation, fall, and redemption. From a theological standpoint, the Enneagram aligns with the belief that we are image bearers of God. Our strengths reflect aspects of God’s nature. Our distortions reflect the impact of the Fall. Our growth reflects the Spirit’s transformative work.

Scripture consistently invites self reflection and self examination. David models this posture when he prays, “Search me, God, and know my heart,” or asks himself, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?” We view the Enneagram as a tool to help illuminate the parts of us that are difficult to see on our own, especially the patterns that operate beneath the surface of consciousness. These patterns influence our choices, our relationships, and our spiritual lives. When we bring them into the light, we create space for God to reshape them.

The Enneagram never replaces the gospel. Instead, it helps us recognize where we are resisting the work of the Spirit, where we are still living from fear or shame, and where God may be gently calling us toward freedom. It has the potential to help Christians become more compassionate, more self aware, more able to love others, and more open to the healing presence of Christ in their internal world.
To continue reading our current blog, click here: www.boundlesshope.net/blog/understanding-the-enneagram

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net
inquiry@boundlesshope.net

12/14/2025

Sometimes you LOVE the people you work with. Sometimes you LOVE your friends. Sometimes those are the same people. Les Mis celebrating the 5th floor of life!

12/13/2025

Cindy Garafolo, LMHC. She works hard and plays hard! Christmas costume party on Friyay night!

12/12/2025

Like all relationship tools, the Enneagram can be misused. One common misuse is typing others. Although it can be tempting to categorize people based on observable behavior, the Enneagram is rooted in motivation, not action. Two people may behave similarly but for very different reasons. When we type others, we bypass genuine curiosity and reduce them to assumptions. This can damage trust and hinder healthy connection.

Another way the Enneagram is misused is by over-identification. Some people cling to their type as a fixed identity. They interpret everything through it and become rigid in their self understanding. Instead of seeing their type as a pattern they learned, they see it as who they are. This limits growth and stalls transformation.

Others misuse it by weaponizing their number or the numbers of those close to them. This might look like criticizing a partner by saying “You are acting like such a Seven right now” or excusing one’s own behavior by insisting “I am a Four, so I cannot help being emotional.” These statements bypass accountability and compassion.

The Enneagram is also misused when it becomes a substitute for deeper healing work. Sometimes people prefer the intellectual clarity of naming patterns rather than the emotional labor of healing them. The Enneagram can reveal the roots of our struggles, but it is not meant to heal trauma, mend broken relationships, or resolve long standing internal conflicts on its own. Be on the look out for our next blog, which will explain how the Enneagram model can compliment your participation in Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy for deep transformation.

When the Enneagram is misused, it becomes a barrier to intimacy instead of a pathway to it. When used wisely, it creates opportunities for understanding, empathy, and personal growth. To continue reading our current blog, click on the link in our profile.

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net/blog/understanding-the-enneagram
inquiry@boundlesshope.net

12/12/2025

A few pictures of some of the people that make Boundless Hope such a special place to work at! We sorely missed those that couldn't make it. Grateful for those who braved the pouring rain- we had a blast! Special special people the staff at Boundless Hope.

12/11/2025

The Enneagram is often misunderstood. Therefore, is important to clarify what it is not.

The Enneagram is not a personality quiz. Although online tests can provide clues, they are not reliable indicators of type. A number cannot capture the depth of your lived experience or the nuances of your emotional world. The Enneagram is best understood through reflection, conversation, prayerful discernment, and slow attention to the patterns that consistently appear in your life.

The Enneagram is not a label that confines you. It does not tell you who you are in your essence. It does not prescribe your destiny or reduce your complexity. It is not a tool to categorize people into simplistic boxes. It is not a reason to justify harmful or immature behavior. It does not excuse relational patterns that hurt others. Saying something like, “I cannot help it, this is just my type” is a misuse of the tool.

The Enneagram is not a replacement for Scripture or the Holy Spirit. It is not a new gospel or a spiritual authority. It is not a source of ultimate truth. It is simply a tool that, when used thoughtfully, can illuminate the very places where God desires to bring healing.

The Enneagram is not a weapon. It should never be used to diagnose people, judge their choices, assume their motivations, or make declarations about their spiritual or emotional maturity. Each person carries their own story, their own wounds, and their own God given dignity. Click on the link below to learn more.

813-219-8844
www.boundlesshope.net/blog/understanding-the-enneagram
inquiry@boundlesshope.net