depression Archives

Why Did the Samaritan Cross the road?

So why did the Samaritan cross the road? Perhaps he wasn’t afraid of the sky falling in. Let’s not be chicken with people like us. I happened to call an acquaintance of mine a few days ago. He does some jobs for me every now and then. As we talked, […]

Mental health Relationships Spiritual Formation

A Time to Grieve and A Time to Prepare

Grief and loss are always on the horizon, but we can prepare to grieve well. This can help with the grief we are carrying now. I am pruning roses at the moment. It’s winter here in New Zealand as I write this post, and one of my tasks every winter […]

Mental health Spiritual Formation

Am I Worthy of Love?

Life can wear us down, and we question if we are worthy of love. But we need to look to a deeper story going on than feelings of the present. It was gone. Something had gone from them. And they felt it. No longer cared about their appearance, their diet, […]

Getting Well Staying Well Spiritual Formation

When The Little One Stumbles

We have all been a little one, a child, and we stumble, but we can grow from the stumbles, and we can learn new truth and find new hope. I’ve heard many stories of abuse, but some of the worst are when subtle little lies have, with organized precision, been […]

Mental health Spiritual Formation

When the Lesser Dreams get Shattered

It was a dream, but now it was shattered. Perhaps a new dream was to be discovered, and so we dug deep into what truly mattered. It was happening again. The dream was being shattered. The marriage was over, the pregnancy test was negative, a redundancy letter handed out, and […]

Depression & Low Mood Faith & Mental Health

When You Find Yourself in a Dark Hole, Start Digging

When you’re in a dark hole, it can feel like there is a loss of hope, but you can dig yourself out with some wisdom and encouragement. It was a hole that I had fallen into. I was in a deep dark hole where the sun didn’t seem to reach. […]

Mental health Mental Illnesses

When the Emotional Pain is too much

Emotional pain can bump our lives into behaviors that can hurt us further. But we can make a change by learning to listen to the pain, where it’s sourced, and what it wants us to do. He was in pain. I could see it, feel it, and totally understand it. […]

Helping Others Mental health

Building a New Confidence from the Ash

There was no self-confidence. It was gone like vapor from ash. But something reignited when we looked at the pebbles and not the mountain. It was like I was looking at an empty shell. They were there in the room with me, but there was very little confidence within them […]

Depression & Low Mood

When You’re Feeling Stuck in a Dark Hole

Sometimes we can find ourselves stuck in a dark hole and feel like we are going down, but there is hope when we open ourselves to the connection and support from others. One property I work on as a gardener is a small farm, and I get to use a […]

Getting Well Staying Well Spiritual Formation

Can you Be Kind to Yourself?

We are all in a daily grind of struggle, but when you listen for the voices of demand, you can learn to be kind to yourself and others. You can find rest. This person deserves a medal. Sometimes I listen to a person sharing something of their lives, and I […]