A sinful woman in the town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house. So she brought an alabaster jar of perfume and stood behind Jesus at his feet, crying. She began to wash his feet with her tears, and she dried them with her hair, kissing them many times and rubbing them […]
Read More...BPD is referred to as a personality disorder. Does that mean that those of us who are thus diagnosed have a bad personality? And what is a personality anyway? How does it differ from character? Character refers to a set of moral and mental qualities and beliefs, that makes a person different from others. A […]
Read More...You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Psalm 139:1-3 Many of us living with mental health issues find it hard to realize […]
Read More...Don’t set those with mental health issues apart. I hope you’ll check out my article, published last week on Church for Vancouver. You’ll find it at http://churchforvancouver.ca/when-pastors-are-too-kind-dont-set-those-with-mental-health-issues-apart/ And no, I don’t usually look as stressed out as all that 😊 marja
Read More...Taking control: creating our own boundaries What can a person like me – a person who sometimes feels rather “small” – do when no boundaries are given? I wonder how many of you who are reading this feel “small’ like this? Small in your eyes. We too often forget that God does not see us […]
Read More...Our pastors as supporters Ministry leaders are often the most affected by the needs and demands of people with mental health issues in the church. They tend to be kind-hearted with great willingness to help those who are suffering. For them setting boundaries in the spiritual care of these people is especially important. Someone I […]
Read More...Caring for our caregivers Lord, I know that, despite the illness I struggle with, I’m a caring person, like so many of us. We help others whenever we can and many of us have made contributions to our communities. Even then we run into problems with depression and other kinds of emotional distress. It becomes […]
Read More...Suffering: a gift? Lord, when I go through hard times, all I feel then is the pain. I often wish I could die. Looking for a way to escape it, I call out to you. To friends as well. But I receive only momentary relief. There seems to be no apparent reason for what’s happening. […]
Read More...What did Jesus do? Lord, you yourself know how there’s no pain like this pain of being rejected. Not only rejected, but sometimes even mistreated. You understand how much strength it takes to accept what I’ve gone through. It took more strength than I’ve needed for anything I’ve done before. I’ve heard that you just […]
Read More...When fences become walls Some words a friend shared: “I keep thinking about fences, especially the ones on our street. I’m not sure that fences make GOOD neighbours. Wherever there is a fence on our street, it feels like they are keeping everyone out of their corner of the world. It becomes a definite boundary, […]
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