spiritual formation Archives

Robbed

We’ve been robbed in more ways than we know. It wasn’t the usual snatch and grab. This was more a subtle insidious taking of life. In the early stages of their depressive illness, they had been put on the new wonder drug Valium. With strong tranquillizing effects, life was muted. Then […]

There are No 'Ordinary People'. Creativity Must Have Its Outlet.

Uncategorized

There are No ‘Ordinary People’. Creativity needs an Outlet.

6 comments

Under the thin veneer of supposed ‘ordinary’ is a power of creativity and life. There are no ordinary people. If you saw her in the mall you wouldn’t take a second look. This was probably intentional on her part. Average height, weight, with modest clothes she would slip into the […]

Mental Health is ... Knowing Where To Let the Balloon Pressure Out

Spiritual Formation Uncategorized

Mental Health is … Knowing Where To Prick the Balloon

2 comments

Pressure within is building. How do you let it out without destroying precious relationships? You prick the balloon in a safe controlled planned out way. You need to let it out or it will eat you up.

Spiritual Formation Uncategorized

The Trickster of Christmas

1 comment

The Christmas story is one that takes us into a world of mystery. Virgin birth, singing angels and puzzled parents. It also offers us a glimpse into a party going on with surprises created to delight. He stepped out of the dingy cave for a brief moment of fresh air. […]

Faith & Mental Health

Three Mental Health Assurances For When The Wire Brush Scratches

Life can be hard, and maybe even harsh at times, but in the end, something beautiful and good can emerge from the struggle. Love is like that. It was an old climbing rose that hadn’t been well cared for. When I started to do some gardening work on an old […]

Getting Well Staying Well

Do You Need A Permission Slip for Mental Health?

6 comments

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 […]

Spiritual Practices

Beginning to Become through Contemplative Practices

3 comments

I’m pleased to share a guest post from Laura Cavanaugh of Sacred Pilgrim. I discovered Laura through her daily Lectio Divina podcast. Such a beautiful podcast that I highly recommend to you. The first time I tried centering prayer, I cried. I mean cried. Sobbed, really. I was finishing […]

"A metal plumb bob hanging steadily from a string, representing a centered and still mind amidst life's storms."

Getting Well Staying Well

How To Still Your Mind With a Plumb Bob

4 comments

There are times that my thoughts and feelings seem to swing like monkeys in a tree. My mind just seems to go everywhere. It swings into depression, anxiety and then back into depression. My mind seems to have a mind of its own. Recently I was speaking on a podcast […]

Spiritual Formation

Is Taking A Spiritual Bypass Harming Your Mental Health?

5 comments

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 […]

Getting Well Staying Well

52 Days to Better Mental Health

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 […]