Are you burnt out from your busy schedule? Are you having a hard time maintaining focus on the tasks at hand? Do you struggle to have motivation to go from one thing to the next? These are just a few signs of many that you may need a mental health day. According to Harvard HealthContinue reading “How to Take Mental Health Days”
Tag Archives: spiritual growth
When God’s Answer is No
Have you ever felt like God is silent when you pray to him? Maybe you’ve gone years praying and never seeming to get an answer.
God’s Call to Discipleship
God calls us to disciple others in different ways in different seasons of life.
How Can I Help? Living Out Prayer
In my experience, the times when I have most needed practical help, all I got was a lot of, “I’m sorry you are going through that, I’ll pray for you.” Hearing this response over and over really stings when no one tacks on an additional, “How else can I help?”
What is a Truly Repentant Heart?
Do you have a truly repentant heart? What are the dangers of being unrepentant?
Finding Security: From the Tower of Babel to Jesus Christ
How has being understood and known caused you to turn from God? Let’s take a look at the well known story of the Tower of Babel from Genesis 11:1-9 to examine this question.
Finding Fruit in Patience and Surrender
Patience and surrender, when done right, will bear fruit in all areas of life.
Is Self-Love Biblical?
Today’s American culture promotes “self-love” as something we need to embrace in our everyday life. However, this way of thinking ignores what Jesus did for us on the cross and his purpose for our lives.
For When I Am Weak, Then I Am Strong
Suffering has been a natural part of life since Adam and Eve. We’ve all experienced suffering. Each person’s suffering is unique and affects everyone differently. We can learn from Paul through his letter we call the book of 2 Corinthians.
Running the Race of Faith
Steadfastness, or patience, in the original Greek is an active verb, meaning that we don’t wait on the Lord by sitting idly by. Steadfastness is acted upon by working hard through whatever lays in our path, much like one would train for a marathon.
Finding Joy in Life’s Trials
Joy is not a feeling, but rather a gift from God, given to us through the Holy Spirit. We must become intimate with God to learn how to utilize this gift, even when our life looks bleak.
The Christian Response to Controversy
How do we become a light for Christ in a world of sin? This is an especially difficult question when that sin is parading as light. I believe there are a few things Christian need to consider and hold closely to our hearts when interacting with non-Christians.
God’s Gift of Perseverance
Perseverance is a gift from God. We just have to have the right perspective. Let’s take a look into Biblical examples of perseverance, and then think about how God directs us to persevere.
The Dangers of Joking About Mental Illness
Joking about mental illness minimizes the seriousness of the disorders, shames those who are suffering from them, and prevents people from getting the help that they need. Not to mention, the Bible clearly says that making fun of anyone in any way is a sin.
How to Be Joyful When You Don’t Feel Joy
There have been many firsts of January when I couldn’t wait to say goodby to the previous year in hopes of a better tomorrow. For many, January first is a promise of a fresh start. We make resolutions and set goals. The problem is, just because we buy a new calendar doesn’t mean our problemsContinue reading “How to Be Joyful When You Don’t Feel Joy”
When Life Feels Hopeless, But God…
I woke up in the ICU trapped by tubes and wires coming out of my mouth and limbs. My arms were strapped down to the bed. I couldn’t process what was happening. Someone somewhere had my days old baby. Where was he? I struggled against the straps, but my husband leaned down over me toContinue reading “When Life Feels Hopeless, But God…”
Is it Okay to Ask, “Why God?”
“Why God?,” you cry out in anguish when your world seems like it’s crashing down around you. The question is one that I believe everyone has asked at least once in their life. Even those who don’t even have a relationship with God will look towards a greater being and ask, “Why?” I believe it’sContinue reading “Is it Okay to Ask, “Why God?””
How to “Be of Good Cheer” in the Darkest Days
How would you like it, if in one of your darkest moments, someone sat next to you and said, “Be of good cheer!” Yeah, me too. I think I would give them a look that said, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I’m having a really hard time and you’re telling me, “Be of goodContinue reading “How to “Be of Good Cheer” in the Darkest Days”
Is My Mental Illness to Blame?
In mental illness, we get a lot of things mixed up and turned upside down. Who, or what, is to blame when a symptom influences my thinking and leads me into sin? Is my disorder at fault? Or am I?
What is the Best Church for Me?
Breaking up with a church and finding a new one is a process that can be painful. Maybe you’re looking for a new church because you’ve moved. Maybe you just don’t feel connected to the church you are going to and feel led to move on. Or maybe, like me, you’ve been hurt and you need a place to lick your wounds and learn to trust again. How do you start over? What do you look for in a church?
Surrendering Dreams
When I got married, like most people, I had a lot of dreams about what my life would look like. In many ways my expectations went beyond just dreams; they were plans. Like many of life’s plans, mine have not worked out.
How to Find Forgiveness
Forgiveness is not a feeling…God commands us to forgive. It’s not an option. God takes forgiveness very seriously.
Check Your Heart: A Call to Repentance
Lord, forgive me, my first thought was a sarcastic, “Oh, those poor rich people lost their toys.” Ouch! That was harsh. Conviction immediately put a weight on my heart.
When Speaking Truth, Don’t Forget the Love
What happens when we speak the truth but forget the love? We miss the chance to glorify God. Believers are drawn away from him and nonbelievers turn their backs completely.
Healing Scripture for the Unsound Mind
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) For much of my life, my mind has been anything but “sound.” I’ve struggled with undiagnosed or misdiagnosed mental illness my whole life. My illness really started affecting me at around age 16 and came off and on like waves, getting stronger and stronger until I snapped twenty years later in 2019. For this reason, I’ve struggled with Bible verses like 2 Timothy 1:7.