Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Category: Christian support (page 14 of 17)

Rejection at church

In the previous post I talked about how some people with mental health problems go home after church with feelings of rejection. I confess, that happened to me many times in past years. Often those feelings of rejection led to depression. I don’t know whether I’m different than I used to be, but in the […]

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The best kind of friend

LIVING ROOM  MEMORIES  275  (April 5, 2010) The best kind of friend you can have is someone who will cry with you when you cry and celebrate with you when you’re joyous. What amazing bonds can form when a friend is sympathetic to where you are emotionally! I have three friends like that now, and […]

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Why do we live? (2019)

Many years ago, when I was in a very bad spot, I told my pastor – in all honesty – that I could not remember why I lived.  Sometime later he came back with this reply (or something like it): “You live so that you can give others a reason to live.” What a blessing […]

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A reason for living

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  262  I’ve been thinking: I feel my best when I’m doing things for other people. When I’m living for something more than just myself. When I’m feeding into other people’s lives. And isn’t that the answer for all of us who have trouble finding a reason to live? Isn’t that the best […]

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My need for compassion (2019)

Oh, I wish I could have received compassion like Jesus modeled. Jesus was in tune with the suffering of sick people, the suffering and needs of people who are judged by the world. How can people rightly judge a person they don’t understand – whose pain they cannot feel? How can they understand the pain […]

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Lack of compassion as sin

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  254  (October 18, 2009) Our guest speaker at church today was David Collins. He talked about the sins of Sodom and Gomorrah, pointing out that the sins they committed were symptoms, they’re not the root of it. At the root was something else. Quoting Ezekiel 16:49: “Now this was the sin of […]

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Loss of friendship (2019)

I have a friend who was very important to me, in many ways. This friend helped shape me into the person I’ve become, guiding me, mentoring me spiritually, giving me comfort when I needed it. I never had anyone I admired so greatly nor felt closer to. How sad it was when changes happened to […]

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Following a friend’s example

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  247  (August 29, 2009) The holidays I had this spring and summer showed me how good it is for me to take time out to relax. They showed me how important it is to keep my life in balance. I decided to try not to get overly stressed again. I need to […]

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Many irons in the fire

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  246  (August 18, 2009) Life is a balancing act. Trying to find balance between work and play, solitude and being with others, quiet times and busy times. I’ve been working hard to find such a balance now-a-days. My last holiday showed me how refreshing it is to have down times. Times away […]

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Coming alongside God

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  245  (August 11, 2009) One thing that contributed to the depression I’ve recently recovered from was that I felt overwhelmed by all that Living Room brought me: people to support, interest by others from far and wide to start a group. A few weeks ago I even heard from someone in Pretoria, […]

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