What if this is not the worst-case scenario? What if it is the best-case scenario? How would your view of your current circumstances change? What if every person you encounter is simply doing the best they can with what they have? What if every person who misunderstands you and causes […]
Mental health
209 posts
That little phrase ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ is not actually in the Bible. In fact, Jesus had a rant about those who equated having the body externally clean with being close to God. In Jesus words they were like ‘manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but […]
It is one of those memories that is special to me. I was very unwell as a child with eczema and asthma. My parents asked if our pastor and a few others could come and pray for me. They were following the advice we find in James 5:14. We had communion […]
There are some people that I struggle to like, let alone love. They are those that preen. Those who seem so full of their self-importance, strut around like peacocks, and who want everyone to notice them. You can see it so obviously with some, while with others, it’s more like […]
The change was barely noticeable unless you knew them well enough to know that this was significant. It was a small change in their behaviour, a problem that had plagued them for most of their life, but now it was gone. They wanted a miracle, like the over night delivery of […]
I don’t think I could ever be a politician. I look at what politicians have to put up with and know I couldn’t handle it. Adulation one day, then a knife in the back the next. All those negative voices. People wanting to tear you down, and being ready to […]
Rebuilding Walls have weakened, crumbling, sinking low to ground, sagged like our spirits as they view the sorry edifice before us
This was never going to be a typical funeral. This was the celebration of a life well lived by a mother to 11 children. A strong farmers wife who not only milked the cows, preserved the fruit but also cared with deep love for each of her children. One of the […]
Sometimes the knife of life drives right to the core of your being. It wrenches around till your bleeding in grief. Your speechless in shock, numb in movement and it feels like the very essence of life has been sucked out of you. You mourn because there is no other worthy […]
Something happened here but it didn’t happen overnight. As a gardener I have been working on an old homestead garden for two days every week for around two years. When I first started, the garden was in bad shape. Over grown with weeds, dead trees and sick looking plants it […]
The rawness of the meat was either inviting or disturbingly unappealing. Stories shared, honesty held as holy, the powerless being empowered. For some it was too raw, too up close and uncomfortable for them to receive the gift God was offering. To take in this gift there would have to […]
The steering wheel was dancing around in hands like it seemed it had a mind of its own. Vibrating in little jolts, this way then that, I knew exactly what the problem was. My steering wheels were out of alignment. It was like one wheel wanted to go one way whilst […]
I’m not a dancer, but I am a musician. I believe that our Mental Health is closely linked to the rhythms we keep. I have played guitar since I was thirteen and one of the little practice exercises I used to do in the early days was to play a […]
Guest post from Cyndy Lavoie Years ago I was struggling with anxiety. It had come on so fast (within just a few months), and so strong that I was seriously considering going to the doctor for some medication to help. When I am anxious I feel it in the […]
Letting go The more difficult the problem the tighter we tend to hang on as if by grim determination we should squeeze the answer out like the last toothpaste from an already-squashed,
Step 11 in the 12 Step Recovery tradition brings some challenges. For many people who try to follow the 12 Steps, Step 11 is a step they either love or hate: “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understand God, praying only for knowledge of […]
It was so delightful that you could smell the perfume of joy sweep the room. She was in her 30’s and had been diagnosed with a psychotic illness. Voices in her head were her constant companion. She was into some New Age stuff mixed with Catholic teachings and a liberal dose […]
I loved to watch planes as a child. On the farm in which I grew up on we would often get fertilizer spread by aeroplane. It was exciting to see that noisy plane swoop low over the fields and hills and see trails of white powder spreading over the landscape. […]
Often I travel over some sharp twisty roads. One of these roads has a large hill, and just on the other side, there is a beautiful view with a fence that has been driven through. The driver didn’t take notice of the early warning signs. There are signs to tell drivers […]
I need space. I could put this another way in that my ‘I’ needs space. I need space away from all the pressures of life. As I begin to write this, I am sitting in my truck on the way to work. It is dark outside, but I am alone and enjoying […]