When going through Mental Health struggles, you have to give yourself permission to receive, especially from God. Every Tuesday morning, I travel to a garden in a small rural area called Clevedon. I leave early to beat rush hour traffic but also to get a few moments on the top […]
recovery
197 posts
To heal, we need to humbly accept the truth of our human fragility. Medication can help us heal. There is a soap opera here in New Zealand called Shortland Street. In the very first episode, a nurse tells a doctor a simple sentence that has become, believe it or not, part […]
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 […]
It always happened. After a relapse, he would always say ‘I’ll never do that again, I’m trusting in Jesus to help me’. Charged up by some sort of white-knuckled determination and singing a few Jesus songs off he would go. Sure enough, though his grit would grind out and he […]
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 […]
‘If it wasn’t for sin I would be out of a job’. This was a little quip I came up with when I was a pastor. The life of sinfulness and helping people through the mess kept me employed, gave me a living. It does for many of us, especially those in […]
I didn’t realise life would be such a fight. I thought life was meant to be like a gentle stroll along a flower strewn pathway, chatting with best friends. Well that’s what I was designed for wasn’t I? In reality though I am in a fight, and you are too. […]
Fatigue seems to sap out any reserve you might have to go on. I remember visiting him in the Intensive Care Unit in our local hospital. After a huge overdose of pills he had woken up to discover he was still alive. His attempt at suicide had not succeeded. His […]
It’s OK to be angry, and seriously I think we could get more angry, about a lot of things, and it would actually help. In fact the Bible tells us to be angry!
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 […]