To acknowledge ourselves as having a mental illness can make us vulnerable. If you read the website of Time to Change, the anti-stigma campaign, you can read about others who have experienced discrimination because of their mental illness, who have been told that they are “faking it” and that they have a flaw in their […]
Well-Beloved
April 28, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Recently, we bought our cat some food. She didn’t like it (cats!) but the name struck me. It was by a brand called James Wellbeloved. What a wonderful name! I would happily give up my (rather cool, I think) surname to be called Wellbeloved, it’s even better than the surname of someone I know, who […]
Hope is the Thing with Feathers
April 20, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A poem that I thought you might like: Hope is the Thing with Feathers Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune–without the words, And never stops at all, And sweetest in the gale is heard; And sore must be the storm That could abash the little bird […]
Letting Go of the Past
April 4, 2013 by 7 Comments
I have done lots of things wrong in my life. While I’m not in the same league as Paul (‘the chief of sinners’) I have done things I should not, said things I should not, treated others badly. As a Christian I understand that all sin leads to death – and that therefore I need/ed […]
Stripped Bare
March 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Standing before the throne of God can be a terrifying experience. All the pious platitudes, the polite faces we put on in church circles don’t matter any more. My respectability is seen to be a sham, I cannot hide my face. All that I am – good and bad – is open, is in the […]
Thoughts on Prayer
March 15, 2013 by 4 Comments
Ideas of what I should, and should not, pray about are a problem in my life. I freely confess that I am not a good “pray-er” – I never seem to know what to say, I am sure I fail to say things I am supposed to, and I can’t even manage to close my […]
Night Prayers
February 16, 2013 by Leave a Comment
I thought I would add again some more prayers. These are from the Carmina Gadelica, a collection of traditional prayers, poems and chants from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland collected by Alexander Carmichael between 1855 and 1910. More on the book, from Wikipedia. Check out my other posts on prayer: A Prayer When Depressed, […]
Prayers from Time to Change
December 20, 2012 by 1 Comment
As I mentioned in another post, I recently came across some worship ideas from Time to Change (pdf). I really recommend looking through this resource as it contains prayers, readings, a suggested sermon and so on. I am being a little bit naughty here, as I’m going to reproduce some of the prayers they have in […]
Skies Full of Promise – Some Prayers
December 6, 2012 by 4 Comments
I have recently found some excellent resources for something called “Blue Christmas” – services celebrating those for whom Christmas is not a happy time, those suffering, and those grieving. When reading some suggested services for this celebration (links at the bottom of this post) I came across some prayers which I thought might be helpful […]
Within Our Darkest Night
November 27, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It has been a while since I posted a song I think appropriate for times when we are feeling bad. I recently found a Church of England website called Mental Health Matters which has some resources for services and so on for people with mental illnesses. They listed a Taize chant called “Within Our Darkest Night” […]
Believer's Brain 