EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUAL FOOD Consider what it must have been like to be Jesus—hated as he was, though having done so much good. How unfair it must seem to those who feel the hatred of others! Sometimes it helps to consider Jesus and his suffering. To try and sort out the great chasm between the […]
Read More...EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUAL FOOD Effective spiritual food for individuals dealing with emotional pain or mental health challenges often includes a view of Jesus that might not be heard elsewhere. This example shows him listening to a lonely person’s heart, feeling their pain, in tune with their loneliness. How good it would be to show a […]
Read More...EXAMPLE OF SPIRITUAL FOOD In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and mercy he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. Isaiah 63:9 Why did Isaiah refer to Jesus as a “man of sorrows?” (Isaiah 53:3) […]
Read More...SPIRITUAL FOOD I’ve been preparing to explain what the best kind of spiritual food is for a person suffering from a mental health condition or emotional pain—a person often not accepted by the world, a person who may feel unloved and unlovable, a person who very much needs God. But the thought has come to […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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 […]
Read More...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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