Posts with the category “un-broken”

The following guide is designed to serve as a potential framework for your discussion. Feel free to use it as is, or adapt, as the Spirit leads.  Read More

Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” Matthew 26:45-46By now Jesus is ready to face what is next, and he confronts Judas and the armed men coming to arrest Jesus. It was a display of hardiness.Psychologists have studied har...  Read More

When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing. Matthew 26:43-44It could be that Jesus was more at peace by now and less in need of his disciples’ social support. He went back to the prayers that had been helping him. His request of “may your will be done” is a type of prayer t...  Read More

Sleep is a big deal for our health across multiple body systems. “Adverse outcomes of insufficient sleep and/or sleep disorders are weight gain and obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, accidents and injuries, stress, pain, neurocognitive dysfunction, psychiatric symptoms, and mortality” (Grandner, 2017, p. 1). That list is worth re-reading and saying, “I need to be kind to myself and get adequate and regular sleep, or go to a sleep medicine clinic if that is not happening despite my best efforts.”  Read More

In the first-century Greco-Roman world there were particular attributes of the ideal man (Conway, 2015), although it is unclear what percentage of men actualized them. One attribute was mastery, being overall non-men, and having high self-control. Another was achievement, proven in competition with other men. Being masculine was also a moral quality, as being seen as manly was always positive, even when women displayed the characteristic; conversely, being effeminate was always seen as morally negative.  Read More

Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane and said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Matthew 26:36-37This week, we look at Matthew’s telling of Jesus in Gethsemane, in chapter 26, verses 36-46. The first verses describe Jesus looking for a private place to pr...  Read More

The following guide is designed to serve as a potential framework for your discussion. Feel free to use it as is or adapt as the Spirit leads.  Read More

Years before I was born, my mother’s oldest brother found a secluded location and ended his life. So, I grew up under the shadow of this event. In my mind’s eye, I can still see the picture of this uncle on my mother’s dresser.Many have proclaimed that anyone who has committed suicide has committed the sin of murder with no opportunity to repent, and therefore, they would be lost for all eternity....  Read More

What drives suicide? What gets inside of a person that leads them to carry out a plan to end their life? What part of the person takes over and pushes for this result?In my experience, three basic scenarios drive a person toward suicide: loss of purpose, loss of hope, and when one part of the person is trying to prevent another person from harming someone else.When a person loses their purpose for...  Read More

When a son or daughter, brother or sister, or close friend takes their own life, we naturally want to assign blame. We want to know what could have been done to prevent this from happening. So, it’s common for us to blame God for not sending someone to prevent the problem. We blame ourselves for not paying closer attention to what was happening in the person’s life and stepping in to prevent this ...  Read More

It took real courage for Elijah to go to Israel’s king and declare that there would be no dew nor rain for the next few years. Kings did not tend to accept lousy news well in those days. The phrase “shoot the messenger” comes to mind. But Elijah was faithful to his calling and delivered God's message to Israel’s king.Then God miraculously provides for Elijah by sending food by ravens until the bro...  Read More

What to do When You Suspect Suicidal ThoughtsIf you suspect a loved one might be struggling with Suicidal Ideations or SI, what can you do? Directly asking someone you care about if they are about to end their life can come across as a bit harsh and accusatory. However, the question must be asked, and I find it helpful to soften the question like this: Are you having any thoughts of wishing you we...  Read More

END OF WEEK 3                                                                                                                                                    Small Group Discussion GuideThe following guide is designed to serve as a potential framework for your discussion.  Feel free to use it as is or adapt as the Spirit leads.OPENWhat are your thoughts about demon possession and mental health ...  Read More

On my desk sits a copy of one of my favorite books,  Steps to Christ by Ellen G. White. If you just let the book open, it will do so with pages 72-73 showing and the pages almost falling out. The chapter is called Growing Up Into Christ, and I  often reference a quote on these pages because it  speaks to my heart and my struggle so well. It’s a  long quote but a powerful one. Allow me to share it....  Read More

One of the hardest things about beginning the  journey out of the darkness and into the light of  feeling whole in our mental health is the ability to be  vulnerable. Vulnerability can be tricky, especially  when we don’t feel safe or deeply fear rejection. However, as mentioned in week one, our secrets keep  us sick, so we need to begin to share if we will start  the journey towards healing. One ...  Read More

Though the devil and his agents may not be something we fear, we must be aware and fight back wisely.  We must also not invite the devil into our lives to gain a stronghold.You may respond to that last statement with a “No duh! Of course, I’m not inviting the devil anywhere.” But let me explain the different ways this happens that are ever so subtle.For many years, someone close to me had been hur...  Read More

Regarding Jesus and the conversation of mental health and demon possession, I think it’s essential to reference two things we mentioned in our opening week.  Our mental health issues must be confronted on every possible level: mentally, spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  There are often no single causes and no quick fixes.  Two, we all have disorders, ways in which we’ve learned to adapt t...  Read More

Through the gospels, Jesus regularly encounters demons that have possessed human beings. Let’s look briefly at one of these stories that shares elements with most of the others involving Jesus and demons.The story is found in Luke 8, where we’re told that Jesus and the disciples had landed on the shores of what is called the region of the Gerasenes, located on the other side of the Sea of Galilee ...  Read More

Was demon possession in Scripture just mental health issues?  If it was demons, are demons the root of all mental health issues?  Crosswalk family, I will be honest: this was a tough week for me (Paddy) to write and reflect on.  I’m not sure how I got the privilege to write on it.  I’m not an expert in the matter, and when I reached out to folks who were way more educated than I am, they all point...  Read More

The following guide is designed to serve as a potential framework for your discussion. Feel free to use it as is or adapt as the Spirit leads.  Read More

Luke 4:12-13Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.When Jesus responded with his statement and refused to jump off the temple, one interpretation is that he rejected the idea of willingly putting himself in danger where he would need a divine miracle to save him. Pargament and his c...  Read More

Luke 4:9-11The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:“‘He will command his angels concerning youto guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their handsso that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’There are various ways to interpret the intent of this tem...  Read More

Luke 4:8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’In rejecting the temptation for earthly omnipotent power, Jesus appealed to the commandment that we are to put only God in what Pargament (2007, p. 33) describes as the sacred core. Closely linked to the false gods of power and fame (described in the following three verses) is making a false god of the self. As ...  Read More

Luke 4:5-7The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.”Jesus’ temptation here was for power and influence. As previously mentioned, false gods are poor substitutes for the ...  Read More

Luke 4:3-4 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell  this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on  bread alone.’ The appetite for food is something that we all  experience. We have to eat to survive and thrive. However, eating can become problematic. Eating  disorders or being overweight are relatively common  for the U.S. population. Not all a...  Read More

Luke 4:1-2 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was  led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty  days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing  during those days, and at the end of them, he was  hungry. When we are hungry, we are more susceptible to  moral shortcuts. In an experiment with college  students after fasting for 12 hours, the hungrier they  were, the less ...  Read More

The following guide is designed to serve as a potential framework for your discussion. Feel free to use it as is or adapt as the Spirit leads.  Read More

“And I am certain that God, who began the  good work within you, will continue his work  until it is finally finished on the day when Christ  Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6 NLT On the wall in my office hangs a picture of Crazy  Horse Monument in South Dakota. Crazy Horse was a Native American leader, and the sculpture  was commissioned to celebrate the spirit of the Native American warrior and hi...  Read More

For roughly 6-8 months of my own diagnosis, I  could only think about surviving the next hour ahead of me. It was all I could do to get through a day, and it was exhausting. But after time and  with a lot of hard work with all my care professionals, I realized that my anxiety no longer controlled every moment of every day. I  started to find a healthier rhythm to life, and for the first time in a ...  Read More

Several years ago, I was talking to a member of  my faith community who had been stuck in a  pattern of thinking for quite some time. Years  ago, she had hurt another person and was  struggling to forgive herself for what she had  done. After years of beating yourself up, it’s hard to  start thinking differently. You likely need a  mental health professional to help you identify  your negative thi...  Read More

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray  about everything. Tell God what you need, and  thank him for all he has done. Then, you will  experience God’s peace, which exceeds  anything we can understand. His peace will  guard your hearts and minds as you live in  Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6-7…verse of the  week) The most common response I received from  people when I was diagnosed was to pra...  Read More

As I exited the church I worked for one Saturday,  I saw a woman sitting at the back of the  sanctuary. She looked like something was  weighing on her, so I stopped, introduced  myself, and asked her if everything was okay. She said, “Yeah, I don’t think I can return to this  church.” Worried that someone had said or  done something to her that led her to that  conclusion, I kindly asked, “Why, wh...  Read More

First, thank you to my wife, Tricia McCoy, for her  contribution to this week’s thoughts. Tricia is a  licensed social worker who serves as a mental health  facility counselor.  Secondly, I write about what I know, as you’ll see  unfold as I contribute to the first week of this series  guide. About 17 years ago, I was diagnosed with a  mental health challenge that threatened to take my  life. By t...  Read More

According to the National Association of Mental  Health, 1 in 5 Americans will report suffering  from a mental health illness. In truth, it’s likely a  higher number because people often  underreport when it comes to mental health for  a variety of reasons like shame, fear, or  embarrassment.One might think the numbers can’t be as high  for church-going Christians. The assumption is  that those wi...  Read More