Things have been a bit hectic here recently, getting ready for Christmas. Tonight, Christmas Eve, we are finally ready. The presents have been bought and wrapped, the turkey is cooking, the vegetables are ready, we are ready for Christmas day. Christmas can be a hard time for those of us with mental health problems. Amidst […]
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 […]
Hope in Hopelessness
December 18, 2012 by 2 Comments
Writing a speculative piece for elsewhere earlier today, I described how I felt that God gave me hope during my worst illness, that when I came to believe in him, I felt a change. God is indeed our hope and our deliverer, and trusting in him makes things better. But not always. There are times […]
Biblical Figures and Madness
December 16, 2012 by 10 Comments
I have quite regularly heard those who argue against Christianity say that Jesus, Paul, and other Biblical figures were mentally ill. Indeed, there were people who thought that at the time they were preaching – Mark 3:21 records that Jesus’ family thought he was insane and in Acts 26:24 Festus accuses Paul of insanity. It […]
Fear Not
December 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment
I have been meaning to write a little about Christmas. I know this can be a hard time for many, particularly for those who have little money yet see others feasting all around them, or few friends and family around them to celebrate with. There are, of course, also people who have lost loved ones […]
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 […]
To Touch, Or Not
December 3, 2012 by 2 Comments
When I was younger I had a marked fear of being touched, to the point where, if someone touched me unexpectedly, I would freeze up and be very uncomfortable. This presented some problems, particularly when I visited churches where the peace was exchanged and, especially, some of the continental churches were congregants kiss one another […]
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” […]
A Prayer When Depressed
November 25, 2012 by 1 Comment
This is in the nature of an experiment. I have never written a prayer before, and I don’t claim to be very good at it. I have read some lovely prayers, and I sometimes get people searching for prayers for the mentally ill, so I thought I would try to write some. It may not […]
Words Matter
November 24, 2012 by 6 Comments
As Cher sang, “words are like weapons, they wound sometimes.” [1] We can hurt or help with our words, as well as our actions. All of us have been in situations where, in the heat of the moment, we have said things we do not mean, things calculated to wound, to harm the person we […]
Believer's Brain 