Hope and mental health. They seem quite linked, but what helps them both to dance together well? I recently had a picture pop into my head. It was a headstone, in a cemetery, and engraved into the old tired stone was the name of the deceased – Hope. Not […]
depression
193 posts
We carry so much load, but what if we were unburdened? Perhaps the donkey might learn to dance light and free. It’s an image that tells a story. The story of a heavy laden down camel carrying a load of straw and the little proverb ‘the final straw that broke […]
Our brains can keep reminding us. ‘My Sin is Ever Before Me’ writes the poet, but what if we had a purifier? It’s ever before me. It’s in my face. If there was a common theme, I get from many of those who email me it is the sense […]
I’ve got too much going on in my life, but I want to keep my life simple, so I discard the complex. He’s a fictional character and I like the freedom he has. His name is Jack reacher and is the creation of Lee Child. Jack Reacher has the […]
Being caught in a trap was felt by the poet who wrote ‘The Snares of Death Encompassed Me’, but they had a way out. I was recently watching one of those ‘survival’ reality T.V. shows where people are thrown into the wilderness and they have to survive. The show […]
We all have painful experiences in life, but redeemed pain is more impressive than removed pain. What good can be found within in our pain? Sometimes I am given a gift voucher. It has no value tangibly in itself. It is but a piece of plastic the size of […]
I Can’t Take the Pain Away I can’t take the pain away I don’t have a magic wand I don’t have a time travel machine To wish us back to nought It’s the clugginess Of this earth bound clay That grips around the soul One day, we know not when […]
We all have pain and we want the pain to stop, but the pain is telling us something. What if we could identify the pain and stop the suicide slide? It’s pain and we want it to stop. It could be physical pain from body ailments, but it could […]
The practices of your week and day may drain your life, but what practices restore your soul? ‘Oh, that’s so good for the soul’ Sometimes I hear people say that. Sometimes I say it myself. It’s that moment when you feel a restoring of something drained out of you. You […]
Life and activity can drain our mental health, but there are places to restore. Take notice and soak in them. There is a place I want to go to. The gardens are beautiful. Full of colour all year round. Fruit trees are full of ripe fruit ready to be eaten. […]
The stress load was too much to handle, but they knew what to do, so they took action and calmed the stress load down. It was just getting too much, and I could feel it in my body. This was the experience from last weekend when I had a […]
The cold wind of rejection can bite deep, but we are not alone. God knows rejection and can give us perspective and a new home of acceptance. I don’t think there is such a cold wind as the wind of rejection. I don’t want you in my life. You’re not […]
We build walls; we build personas, but are we weak enough to receive truth into our innermost being? That is where strength comes out from weakness. I don’t want to be weak. I don’t to be known as someone who has nothing to give. I want to move into my […]
If you’re always watching the wind or looking at clouds, you’ll never step outside your door. But with quiet practice, we can give generous attention to what truly matters. I tried something new last night. Something I haven’t done for a very long time and building up to that […]
I want to forget some things. But does God forget? Does God choose not to remember and if so, how does this help me heal? I once visited the ancient ruins of Olympia, Greece. The tour guide told me that in the entrance to the athletic stadium there were once pillars […]
We don’t want trouble, but when Jesus says ‘You Will Have Trouble’, there must be something to help us through. There are some promises I would like God not to keep. I’m not sure if you can still get them or not, but you used to be able to buy […]
When your world is a mess, it may seem lonely, but God is always holding us. I am held by something far bigger than myself. Currently, you are travelling at a speed of about 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) per hour. That is the speed of the rotation of the earth. You don’t […]
You’ve been through a storm, and there has been major upheaval. Please, take time to steady the ship and restore direction. It was a wild and unsettled time in my life. It was like my little life boat had run into a big storm and I had held on […]
There are all sorts of people in this world, and there are also all sorts of balls. If you could describe yourself as a ball, what type of ball would you be? Wrecking ball to table tennis ball. I have vague memories of the first ball I ever had. […]
They make me feel … (add in your emotional extreme), but there is a space between stimulus and response. Use it. I was watching the news the other night and the first item was about a mother complaining about how a politician made her daughter feel. She claimed that the […]