We can have an overreaction to life’s events, but when we search out what’s behind the reaction, we often find history-based pain. Let’s help the prickly pear. It was a reaction I wasn’t expecting. I had made a few jokes, and their response wasn’t to have a simple laugh with […]
Spiritual Growth
91 posts
Quick answer: A “shadow” is any unresolved pain from your past — a hurtful parent, an old shame, a generational pattern — that quietly warps how you see yourself and God today. You begin to remove it by turning to look directly at what’s causing it, naming it honestly, and […]
Words have power. Self-deprecation is to pray against the self, but we can learn to pray for the self and so develop healthier thinking patterns. It was the words at the end of his sentence that caught my attention. ‘I’m so stupid; I always do things like that’. You […]
We can get into thinking ruts, but the right word at the right time can lift us out and move us into new and better thinking. So we need to be searching for the Rhema words. It was only a short sentence that he said, but the words seemed to […]
Even in winter, the children still ask if there are strawberries to pick. I manage a large vegetable garden at a primary school here in Auckland, and it always amuses me when the children ask me if there are any strawberries. They don’t yet fully understand the concept of seasons […]
We all want immediate results. A change to our situation, but Mental Health recovery takes time, so let’s be patient with ourselves and others. ‘I wish this would go away’ were the unsaid words messaged in the face of despair, looking at me. I had seen that gaze many times, […]
The heart can be full of anxiety from a young age. But there is hope when we are feeling helpless and vulnerable. Kandace Rather tells us how God’s love healed her heart. I remember the first time I felt panic. I was in third grade, and my mom had just […]
Comparisonitis kills joy. Comparing yourself to others robs you. Instead, explore who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. I’m just recovering from a severe case of comparisonitis. I think I caught the most recent dose from the Internet, but this disease has […]
Life will blunt your edge. The knocks, the scuffs, the micro-abrasions and who you are gets dulled. Having a daily sharpening practice keeps your mental health having a fine edge. I was getting frustrated. I was cutting down a tree with my chainsaw, and it was taking forever. The teeth of […]
When we have realistic expectations, we can build resilience and an internal wisdom that is gentle with our humanity. We can grace ourselves and others when there is a failure to meet expectations. What caused the breakdown? Was it a genetic weakness? The piling up of expectations? Lack of sleep, […]