Marja Bergen

author, mental health advocate, follower of Christ

Tag: faith (page 2 of 3)

Pretended faith

  The more I think of it, the more I know. I would much rather have friends who don’t believe in God than friends who pretend they do. marja

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Faith – from mind to heart

  Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 NLT   In your mind you know there is a God. You’ve read about him and heard people tell about him. And yet you cannot truly sense his reality. There must be more. Jonathan […]

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They thought I was a priest (2019)

(From my journal October 2013) On October 7, 2013 I was admitted to CRESST where I was to stay for three weeks. It was my first time at a psychiatric treatment facility in fifteen years. The biggest reason I was there was to adjust my strange sleeping patterns. They were thought to be bringing on […]

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In spite of a snow storm

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  145  (March 29, 2008) Amazingly we had a big snow storm here in the Vancouver area. Huge snow flakes falling thick and fast…and we’re almost into April! With all that snow I expected we would get a smaller turnout to Living Room than usual. It was sticking to the grass and to […]

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Comment on waiting patiently (2019)

In the previous post you read the following:  Unfortunately, being patient and hopeful is pretty difficult during times of depression. It’s the nature of depression to take away hope. And we often don’t feel God’s presence at times like that either, so it becomes hard to trust Him. Fear takes over. It’s good at times […]

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Letter to a depressed Christian

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  129  (January 15, 2008) A couple of days ago, Sandy wrote the following:  “What are some your hints to “keep going” when you really feel depressed and just want to stay in bed all day but know that you can’t because of family responsibilities? My kids are 21 (in college), 17 ( […]

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Finding meaning in a life with bipolar

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  99  (September 10, 2007) A while ago I had an article published on canadianchristianity.com with the above title. The first person to comment did not like my view at all, arguing that: “It’s bad. It’s a defect in our brain functioning. There is no gift from God about it. Mental illness is […]

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Faith-based support the best

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  97  (September 5, 2007) I’ve been meaning for a while to draw from Harold Koenig’s book, Faith and Mental Health, and share with you some of the treasures of thinking and understanding I have found there. Koenig tells of nearly 500 studies during the twentieth century that reported statistically significant associations between […]

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How faith helps

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  92  (August 18, 2007) The symptoms of bipolar disorder can be unbearable at times. But the question is, what kind of person do you become as a result? If you don’t become bitter, you become better. (I’m quoting someone here, but not sure who.) I truly believe that. If we can survive […]

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Sleep – an act of faith

LIVING ROOM MEMORIES  88  (August 4, 2007) Sleep problems was the topic at our last Living Room meeting. Some of the practical solutions to getting to sleep are covered well by many writers. But there is a spiritual angle to this – one I haven’t seen discussed too much anywhere. I read a wonderful book […]

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