IN THE NAME OF JESUS More than anything, I’d like to help caregivers understand what it’s like to experience the pain caused by stigma—to get into the heart and mind of the sufferer. Only then will they know how important it is to fill their needs. But the one who wants to give care needs […]
Read More...LIVING ROOM Something I found in a blogpost from April 2011: My thoughts have been going back lately to the Good Friday service exactly five years ago in 2006 when my pastor invited me to read a bit from my not-yet-published A Firm Place to Stand. With the reading I shared some of the emotional battles I […]
Read More...GROWING Written in my blog, in November 2009: My moods continue to go up and down. And when I feel ok, it’s as though I’m walking a tightrope, trying to maintain my balance so I don’t fall one way or another. Amazing how many symptoms there are to watch out for. And each time one […]
Read More...FOLLOWING JESUS “The good news of the gospel comforts us because the mission of Jesus from beginning to end was, and is, to rescue outcasts. Throughout his ministry on earth, Jesus consistently acted to include the very people that had been left out. Jesus rescued women, children, foreigners, sinners, the “unclean”, outcasts, the sick and […]
Read More...What can happen when we – through Jesus – bring healing to people living with mental health challenges? Along with us, they will grow in faith. They will gain hope for a better future. They will be more confident, feeling better about themselves.. They will have the courage to try new things – to grow. […]
Read More...People with mental health challenges live with the following: They are looked down on, They are not understood, Their truths not believed, They are shunned, rejected, excluded, They are made to feel ashamed, Their intellect is often underrated, Their opinions not respected. They are not taken seriously in the way well people are. This should […]
Read More...HEALING THE EFFECTS OF STIGMA I only wish I were younger so that I would have more time to speak to the wrongs I see in the world – to help a well-intentioned world see that there is something important missing in their efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness. What is missing […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS I have a good friend who is a troubled person, having suffered a lot of abuse as a child and later as the wife of an abusive husband. She suffers recurring emotional pain because of this, yet I admire her for the courage she has had to survive. I love […]
Read More...IN THHE NAME OF JESUS From a person with bipolar disorder. My roller coaster ride wouldn’t stop. I didn’t feel so depressed that I didn’t want to do anything. Just felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. Trouble with me is that I feel a need to reach out and draw comfort from others. Yet that […]
Read More...IN THE NAME OF JESUS I have a friend who has a wide variety of interests. Using the internet, he studied various languages—not because he had to, but because he enjoyed it. And he wrote poetry—compassionate stories about peoples who were unjustly treated. He loves reading the Bible—not just bits and pieces here and there, […]
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