Articles

How a Rapper Encourages Those Depressed to Rely on God

May 15, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Debbie Farmer Recently I read a letter from a young man named Dominic Cook (also known as "Dooch") who uses his pain to encourage others with his music. His testimony was such a blessing to me and I am going to share this interview with you now and hope that you too can also receive a blessing today. Dominic Cook (AKA: "Dooch") Please tell us about yourself and how you got into the music industry. Where to start, where to start. . . Well, I’m a 27-year-old, husband, married, and going on 8 years. I have been a Christian going on 7 years now and a father of 5. My youngest Joshua, passed away at 2 months old--a year ago. I have been doing music since I was 8 years old. It was the first thing I wanted to do and has been the only … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Fear, Loneliness, Ministry - Personal, Music, Profiles, Spiritually Struggling, Suicidal Thoughts, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: attitude about illness, Christ, Christian, dooch, God, God of All Comfort (Pure Gold Classics), hope boy, how to beat depression and loneliness, how to cope with depression and loneliness, Jesus, Major depressive disorder, New York City, rapper, testimony

Dominic Cook’s Unique Testimony Reaches Those Suffering From Depression

May 14, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Debbi Farmer Eventually, we will all feel blue. We will have days, even weeks when we are sad. Many can rebound from these emotions--but many cannot. We face tragedies and struggles that can turn our world completely upside down. And sadly there are times also when physical changes in our body can cause clinical depression even when life appears to the world to be running smoothly. When you have depression, it interferes with daily life and causes pain for both you and those who care about you. Depression is a common but serious illness. Many people with a depressive illness never even seek treatment. Helping someone with depression can be a challenge. If someone in your life has depression, they may feel helpless and you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Fear, Parents of Adult Children, Profiles, Suicidal Thoughts, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Depression, God, Health, List of people with major depressive disorder, Lord, Major depressive disorder, Mental Health, North Carolina

What Would Your Church Do? Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

May 11, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Lisa Copen Have you seen the T.V. show, "What Would You Do? With John Quinones"? In it, they have actors set up a situation and then wait to see if anyone gets involved. Do people stand up for the "underdog"? Will adults buy teens beer? Will people stop a drunk parent from driving? Results are very interesting. Below are some scenarios to help church leaders think, "What would our church do?" We always hope that we will do the right thing. We believe our church will make the best choices for all involved. But sometimes the lines get buried. Phone calls don't get returned because no one has an answer for the hurting person. Too often I hear from people who have called their church with stories like the ones below and the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Advocacy, Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, HopeKeepers Resources, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: bible study, Church Leadership, Illness, John Quinones, pastoral care, Sunday School, teaching tool, tutorial, what would you do, What Would Your Church Do? Illness Scenarios Teaching Tool

When a “Fire” Hits Your Life, Do You Know How You Will Respond?

May 10, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

By Shelby Boughman Some of you may know the codes for using the fire extinguishers in the event of a fire. The acronym PASS means "Pull, Aim, Squeeze, and Spray." Doing so will help you use the fire extinguisher properly so that you may fight whatever flames may be around you. Yesterday, the Lord gave me a new idea for this. Have you ever thought about other ways we can use this code? In Ephesians 6:16, Paul talks about a vital piece to the Armor of God by saying, “In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” The enemy is constantly trying to throw fiery darts and battles at us Christians, but we must stand tall and strong, fighting back at Him with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Coping Skills, Loneliness, Ministry - Personal, Spiritually Struggling, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: God, Gospel of Matthew, Jesu, Lord, Lord's Prayer, Prayer

Why Bother Living When I Am Facing a Serious Infection Without a Hand to Hold?

May 9, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

By Lisa Copen, this is a reprint from http://thinkingaboutsuicide.com where Lisa is a contributor. The web site is a good place to turn during those rough days to help you remember that God cares about you and is here beside you even when you don't feel like it. Have you ever wondered where God is when no one seems to hold your hand through those tough times? When you cope with health problems, you hold on and fight to stay positive, but there are days when you can easily wonder, "Why bother living when I am facing a serious infection without a hand to hold?" It was the seventh day of being hospitalized with the flesh eating bacteria and I felt so alone. The couple of people who had visited were friends my husband had emailed or … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Loneliness, Person w/ Illness, Suicidal Thoughts, What's New? Tagged With: Arthritis, Chronic, dealing with a serious infection or illnes, debridiment, depression and illness, God, Illness, life is just not worth living anymore, Lisa, lisa copen, loneliness, Pain, Rest Ministries, Rheumatoid arthritis, Suicidal Thoughts, Why Bother Living When I Am Facing a Serious Infection Without a Hand to Hold

Free Meal Delivery Printable Labels to Give A Special Touch

May 7, 2012 By admin 17 Comments

When one is chronically ill, and a friend wishes to help her, the first thing that comes to mind is to bring her a meal. In fact, since the most popular gift to bring is a meal, I wrote the book, Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend to get people to think beyond food. Having said, that, however, a meal is a gift of comfort. And even though we may be physically able to cook, it takes a burden off of us so that we can use the energy we would have spent cooking doing something else. I have discovered that many people who cook for the chronically ill are actually ill themselves. Though it is easy to understand new mommies and those who have just had surgery are in need of meals, those who see a chronically ill … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Beyond Casseroles, Caregiver, Cooking, Free Printables, Friend Has Illness, Invisible Illnesses, Ministry - Personal, Need to Know, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Chronic Illness, Conditions and Diseases, deacons, free labels for meals, Health, meal delivery, meals for family, meals for recovery, organize meals, organize meals for sick friend, printables, Rest Ministries, take a meal

God’s Surprising Timing: A Story From a Military Spouse

May 4, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, today, May 4th, we offer you this inspirational article from a military wife. Thank you to all the families who serve our country daily--including the spouses and children of the men and women who are soldiers. In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day remember to say thank you, not just to a solider, but to his or her spouse too! Lynn Burchfield I’m currently enduring a very challenging deployment, but I want to tell you about the amazing gifts from God that have not only helped me through, but brought my family back on a path to Him. Our son was born in April 2009 and I could not imagine being any happier. Unfortunately, an upcoming deployment was looming and I couldn’t help but … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Fear, Loneliness, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, What's New? Tagged With: Baseguide.com, deployment, faithdeployed, miliatry spouse, Military Spouse Appreciation Day, military wives, US soldier, wife

Is There Such a Thing as Being Too Nice?

May 3, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

By Leslie Vernick Do you ever find yourself saying "yes" when you want to (or should) say "no"? For example, several years back, a graduate student asked me if I thought she would make a good counselor. I knew her gifts weren't strongest in that area, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings. She left our conversation believing I thought she was capable. We all do it. We say "yes" when our honest response should be "no." But let's take a look at the cost of being too nice. We Hurt People It amazes me how unaware we are of how we injure people by being too nice. Isn't that why we're nice to begin with? We don't want to hurt people? When I wasn't completely honest with my intern, I unintentionally hurt her. She spent time, energy, and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Attitude, Coping Skills, Friendships, Hurt Feelings, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: being honest, Bible, boundaries, can you be too polite, christian faith, counselor, Debbie, Friendships, God, Jesu, kindness, leslie vernick, Lord, Lydia, manners, Oswald Chambers, setting limits, too nice, truthfulness

52 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend

May 2, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

By Lisa Copen Excerpt from Beyond Casseroles: 505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend Please do not reprint without permission "A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." ~Lois Wyse Ask, "What events in your life are changing and how are you coping with the changes?" Understand that she lives in a constant state of making decisions for which there is no guarantee that she is making the right choice. Put meals in disposable containers and attach a note saying "This doesn't need to be returned." Add stickers to envelopes for a cheerful touch. Arrange for your friend's kids to have a night with your children. Don't make a person into a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Beyond Casseroles, Books, Caregiver, Coping Skills, Explaining Illness, Founder's Blog, Friend Has Illness, Friendships, Need to Know, Overwhelmed, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: 50 ways to encourage a chronicall ill friend, 52 ways to help an ill friend, beyond casseroles, Catherine Marshall, Christian, Chronic, God, Health, how to help a sick friend, how to help an ill friend, Illness, lisa copen, ministering to a seriously ill friend, Rest Ministries

What Do You Want Your Faith-Legacy To Be? Donna Has an Idea with Scrapbooking!

May 1, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Scrapbooking Your Faith By Debbi Farmer One of my favorite hobbies is scrapbooking. I have so many memories that I want to keepsake for others to enjoy down the years. I am often looking for new resources to add to my scrapbooking technique. Perhaps that is why I found this book and web-site to be so fascinating and wanted to share it with you. Scrapbook Your Christian Faith: The Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy by Donna Riner Weber is just one of those many treasures that you have to share with all of your friends. I recently interviewed Donna Riner Weber about her book and website and discovered for myself how to scrapbook my Christian faith. What is Donna's story? One crisp, cool Friday afternoon in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Hobbies-Crafts, Joy, Loneliness, Ministry - Personal, Profiles, Reflection, Statistics, What's New? Tagged With: chronic illness. scrapbooker, faith-based scrapbooking, faithbook, keepsake, memories, purpose in illness, scrapbook legacy, Scrapbook Your Christian Faith: The Beginners Guide to Scrapbooking Your Spiritual Legacy, scrapbooking christian faith, Scrapbooking Your Faith: Layouts That Celebrate Your Spiritual Beliefs

“I Thought I Was The Only One” Printable To Share

April 30, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Have you ever heard someone share about their illness experience, whether in person or online, and you responded, "What? You too? I thought I was the only one!" How significant a difference it can make in our perspective and even our ability to cope when we know someone else understands some aspect of what we our feeling--especially when we thought what we felt was a bit unusual. Well, C.S. Lewis said many years ago, "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What? You too? I thought I was the only one!'" How many people could you share this with, who you consider one of those friends? This free printable is 300 dpi resolution (which means it will look good, not all blurry, when you print it out.) It is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Free Printables, What's New? Tagged With: 'What? You too? I thought I was the only one!, C.S. Lewis, cs lewis quote, Facebook, Faithful Provisions, frame, free printable, Friendship, Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, loneliness, Pinterest, printable, quotation, understanding

People Need the Lord, Reminder By Chonda Pierce and Bonnie Keen

April 29, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Happy Sunday! His is Risen! Yes, I know that is what people say on Easter, but just because the holiday of Easter has passed does not mean we still can't shout from the mountain tops, "He is Risen Indeed." As the relationships and the world around us spins and tumbles, and as the earth rumbles (lots of earthquakes lately!), I am reminded once again that Jesus' return continues to grow closer every day. This is a beautiful video of Chonda Pierce and Bonnie Keen, two amazing women I have been blessed to meet. As they sing People Need the Lord, lift them both up to the Lord as well. Both of these women have gone through extreme moments of deep depression and; have shared their struggles publicly in order to encourage others. (See Chonda … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Loneliness, Music, Video Articles, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: Calendar, Chonda Pierce, Christianity, Easter, God, Jesus, Lord, Religion and Spirituality