Faith Archives

Getting Well Staying Well Mental health Spiritual Formation

Step Out of The Boat and Find a Stone

There is a comfort zone in the familiar, but there is a calling to step out of the boat and find a little something to stand on. There’s always a call to step out of the boat. The other day I was cleaning some items off a pinboard and came […]

Getting Well Staying Well

Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?

We are happy to accept good from God, but what about trouble? There is something deeper available when we center on clinging to God. As a gardener, I work in all kinds of weather. Rain, sun, and wind – both light and strong. In the extremes, I complain. The furnace […]

Faith & Mental Health

Do you Need Space and Time to Heal?

We want change, and we want it now, but deep change requires the granting of space and time. So grant it to our self and others. It was all becoming too much. Pressure from others to ‘get over it,’ to ‘let it go,’ and ‘sort your life out’ was beginning […]

Relationships & Connection

True Repentance doesn’t Demand or Expect Forgiveness

To demand or expect forgiveness is like a chess player trying to manipulate the board, but that’s not true repentance. Instead, repentance submits itself to the poetry of waiting, praying, and hoping. They thought they could use the Bible to manipulate and control. Verses were hurled, and they were told, […]

Mental health Spiritual Formation

To Reap in Joy you Need to Sow in Tears. Psalm 126

The only way there is through. To reap a joy, we sow a tear, but it’s work, hard work, so we don’t travel alone. We journey with safe others. I knew there had to be an ocean of loss behind the lifestyle mask they were wearing. For all the stories […]

Getting Well Staying Well

Are You Afraid of Who You’re Becoming?

The change felt good, but they were also afraid of who they might be becoming. Then they learned that they were not alone and to trust the train they were traveling on. It’s always scary when you don’t know what’s on the other side. Who am I becoming? What will […]

Spiritual Practices

The Gentle Approach to Heart and Mind Change

There is a gentle approach to how the heart and mind can change. Instead of the force of a flood, it’s a refreshing rain. Let’s learn to absorb the goodness. There is something very special to me about a nice soft rain shower in the middle of a dry summer. […]

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. […]

"A conceptual image illustrating the concept of a 'mental health room' with a focus on creating a safe, protected inner space."

Relationships & Connection

Six People To Put Out Of Your Mental Health Room

Six people you don’t want help from, and there could be more; therefore, it’s time to detach from them and have them leave your emotional room. There are some people that I am wary of getting help from or even suggesting others get help from. They may be well-meaning, have […]

Mental health Mental Illnesses

Three Bible Verses to Reassure when You feel Stress

There are times we feel stress, but there is the hope of reassurance when we meditate on some Bible verses. One of my favorite bible characters was someone who seemed to need consistent reassurance when under stress. He was anxious, unsure, and seemed to want to argue with God. I […]