Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Month: March 2024 (page 1 of 2)

Jesus said, “feed my sheep”

CHRIST’S WORK CONTINUES – MY STORY The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?”  He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” John 21:17 Jesus called his disciples […]

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I spoke about mental health and faith

WORD ABOUT ME SPREAD – MY STORY Word about me as a person who could speak about mental health and faith issues started to spread. In 2005, shortly after joining the Brentwood Park congregation, the Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division (CMHA, BC Div.) asked me to write about mental illness and the Church. This […]

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No advising, no fixing, no setting each other straight

DEVELOPING FAITH-BASED SUPPORT –  MY STORY When I began writing A Firm Place to Stand, I had not thought of creating Living Room. Living room was born out of reflection and the writing process. God was working in me as I poured out my thoughts and as I was mentored, pastored, and prayed for. The […]

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A child of God

AN OPEN HEART You may have noticed how I come across as a bit of a child through much of my story. And I do feel like a child in many ways. You might be seeing it in how enthusiastic I am about Jesus. You might be seeing it in how vulnerable I am in […]

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A firm place to stand

MY WORK, ALL HIS – MY STORY While I was developing plans for the Living Room ministry, I was hard at work writing my book, A Firm Place to Stand: Finding Meaning in a Life with Bipolar Disorder. I hoped that this would contribute to raising mental health awareness in the Church. With this autobiographical […]

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Loving the unlovable

LIVING ROOM LOVE – MY STORY G.K. Chesterton is quoted talking about “Beauty and the Beast”: “Unlovely things must be deeply loved before they become lovable.” And isn’t that the way in which Christ loves us? “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” And I think of how much I loved my Living Room people […]

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Who do I think I am?

CREATING MANUALS – MY STORY In May, 2007, just over a week after the mental health service I sat down to start putting together a Living Room manual. But it took some courage getting started. “Help me, Lord, please, to get the juices flowing.” That morning, I was reading in Exodus about how Moses felt […]

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A day at a time

HOLY DISCONTENT – MY STORY December 09, 2008 I’ve been on a roller coaster for about two months now—times when I’ve been okay and other times when I’ve felt very down, not knowing how I can continue, wishing I could get off the ride. I’ve heard some people with bipolar say how they think they […]

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Too much for a single person

BADLY NEEDING HELP – MY STORY – June 21, 2007 I talked to Peter Biggs from BC Christian News. He wants more stuff on faith and mental health—lots more. I think he would like me to be a regular contributor. The next month, he would ask me to write a series of four articles or […]

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Where should I draw the line?

GIVING SUPPORT – MY STORY From the moment the small ad about the new faith-based Living Room support group for mood disorders was posted in the Burnaby Now, calls started coming in from people wanting to know about it. “What do you mean by ‘faith-based’?” And I would tell them about the Christian faith the […]

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