The Church has made great headway in offering more accepting communities for people with mental health issues. But is the acceptance and the support it now gives enough? I believe God calls us to do more. One of the most difficult things people with mental illness face is low self-esteem. With the love of Christ, […]
Read More...When we begin to struggle with mental health challenges, we’re given meds and we’re given a label (a diagnosis). And from that time forward, it’s hard not to live without a different persona—one that is looked down on. One that even we ourselves look down on. We may lose our confidence. Many in this unfair […]
Read More...Stigma is like a dirty word to most of us. We would not think of stigmatizing people with mental health problems or people with other disabilities. We don’t want to harm them, but try to follow Jesus by treating them with kindness. We want to help them find healing. And yet, it’s in that very […]
Read More...Something extra-special It’s not often that a person with serious mental health problems gets the chance to make something big happen. Something like the Living Room faith-based support groups I started in 2006. Many individuals came into my life uplifting me in my faith and courage. When I look back at my 55 years […]
Read More...Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 When I most needed love, I was treated with frustration. Anger. “Why don’t you pull yourself together?” he seemed to say. Like many, he thought that illnesses of the mind could be controlled. […]
Read More...In the last post I wrote “I’m committed to seeing more Living Room groups spring up. I want to see many Living Rooms to serve people who need faith-based support. I want to see this movement securely in place to continue long after I’m gone. Because it’s a valuable ministry, a ministry that all Christians […]
Read More...In the previous post I quoted from 1 John 4:17 in the Message: “God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us.” That helps me see why Living Room used to do me so much good. It also helps me see […]
Read More...How I would love to go back to those days of wellness and joy I described in the previous post! Today things are drastically different. Not too long before I left the church in 2016 where I had experienced the great love and happiness I have described so far, I was diagnosed with features of […]
Read More...LIVING ROOM MEMORIES 72 (June 9, 2007) Studies have been done about the benefits of faith to our health, including our mental health. Most of them have found that religious people have a greater ability to cope than people without a faith. One of the top researchers in this field is Dr. Harold Koenig of […]
Read More...LIVING ROOM MEMORIES 68 (May 7, 2007) The mental health service at church surpassed my expectations. It was so wonderful that I spent the rest of yesterday in a bit of a daze, trying to process it all while listening to the CD that was made. The speakers from the Living Room group spoke openly […]
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