Depression

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

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

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

The Top Christian Books About Grief and Loss

April 27, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

Grief. It is such a simple word yet it holds sooo-o-o much emotion, doesn't it? A few months ago someone at Rest Ministries asked me what books I would recommend for some different areas of grief, and in looking at my list from years past, I realized sadly that many of them had gone out of print. So I started compiling a new list. To add to the books I was aware of, I asked a group of Christian women authors of a group I am part of, AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association). They eagerly told me what books they recommend to people (many of them are also counselors), and what books they had written of specific areas of grief. Some of these books we have even carried in our Rest Ministries bookstore over the years such as, The … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Books, Church Leader, Depression, Friend Has Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Loneliness, Overwhelmed, Person w/ Illness, Support Group Leader, What's New? Tagged With: A Grief Observed, advanced writers and speakers association, awsa, books on grief, God, grief, Grief Loss and Bereavement, husband, Illness, loss of child, loss of loved one, Pain, resources on grief, Rest Ministries, San Diego, Suicide, widowhood, wife

Devotion: When Illness Creates a Habit Of Disappointment

April 25, 2012 By admin 10 Comments

"They are distressed, because they had been confident; they arrive there, only to be disappointed." (Job 6:20) After a long period of continued decline with my health the disappointment of my situation seemed to stamp itself upon me. There is something terrible about continually expecting disappointment, always preparing for more problems. It's like anxiously awaiting rain under a stormy sky. I believe disappointment has the power to imprint itself upon us, because even after I saw gradual improvement with my condition, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Sometimes it feels as if the nerve endings of our soul is frayed. Continued friction from additional hardships and trials can leave us in a state of mind where we are … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Depression, Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic Illness, cronic pain, disappointment with god, habits

Devotion: How God Can Use Your Affliction to Bring You Closer to Him

April 22, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

"It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold” (Psalm 119:71-72). From my journal during a recent health battle I wrote the following. . . The nausea and back pain are getting worse. All I want to do is sit by my fireplace, put some heat on my back and open the Word. I love how the Word instantly calms my anxiousness and restores my inner peace. Why is it then that I only seem to read my Bible and pray when I’m sick, tired, or frustrated? Dear God, I know how important it is for me to spend time with You daily, but yet I do not do it. I know that when I do make my quiet time with You a priority my day starts off … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Depression, Devotionals, What's New? Tagged With: afflication, Bible, Chronic, cronic, God, good to be afflicted, Health, Illness, Lord, management of pain, Ohio, Pain, pain diary., Psalm, West Michigan

What I’d Like to Tell My Pastor About Living with Illness

April 13, 2012 By admin 10 Comments

Living with chronic illness is lonely. Everyone around us seems to be enjoying health, happiness, and the ability to at least pursue their dreams. But many of us feel lonely, scared, and disappointed. We are faced with so many insecurities and we are living with an illness that we have not been able to pray away, cry away, or confess away. So we turn to our church for guidance, for acceptance, for unconditional support during the most difficult time in our life. But churches are made up of people—all of us imperfect. And our church does not always give us what we need; in fact, sometimes, the people say things that hurt us even more. "Everything will work out fine. Just keep praying." "If you just came to Bible study I am sure … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Explaining Illness, Friend Has Illness, HopeKeepers Resources, Hurt Feelings, Loneliness, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, Person w/ lll Spouse, Share Your Story, Spiritually Struggling, Support Group Leader, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: care pastor, Christianity, Chronic, Chronic pain, Church, church disabilities ministry, Conditions and Diseases, Congregational, congregational care, Denominations, disability ministry, Disabled, disabled ministry, disablity, God, Health, Illness, Jesus, Joni Eareckson Tada, joni erickson tada, joni tada, Lord, Online Communities, parish, parish nurse, pastor, pastoral care, pastors, Prayer, Religion and Spirituality, Rest Ministries, small groups, Stephen Ministries, stephen ministry

What is the Purpose of Trials In Our Lives? Sermon Offers Encouragement

April 3, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

"The promises of God are what give us hope in the midst of affliction. . ." Pastor Thorn As we approach Easter, I understand that many people are feeling it hard to rejoice. If God is love and cares about us, why are we going through such physical pain and other hardships? I recently came across a sermon at entitled "Trials (Part 1)" given by Pastor Joe Thorn at Redeemer Fellowship. It looked like a good one and I asked Debbi Farmer if she would listen and let me know her thoughts. Below is her review on this podcast sermon that you can listen to here on Trials. It is an MP3 file. If you hear a fantastic sermon on suffering, illness, pain, etc. that is available to listen to online, feel free to write up what it is about and why it … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Depression, Overwhelmed, Podcasts, Spiritually Struggling, What's New?, Worry Tagged With: Chronic pain, Easter, hardships, Illness, online sermon, Podcast, purpose in suffering, redeemer fellowship, Sermon, sufferers, trials, what is joy, why does god allow suffering

New Thinking About Suicide Blog Offers Eternal Hope

March 30, 2012 By admin 4 Comments

A few months ago a friend of mine, Linda Evans Shepherd, announced to our group of Christian women writers that she was starting a blog specifically to reach out to those who were considering suicide. I have to say that anything Linda touches is done well and with complete passion and heart behind it. Her most recent web site, Finding God Daily, has a wonderful collection of articles about all the places we can find God! But would I be able to make a commitment to write an article or two a month about suicide? What do I know that may encourage someone else? And I just have a Bachelor's degree in Sociology, while many of the writers are professional counselors. But then I got an email from someone at Rest Ministries pouring her heart … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Caregiver, Church Leader, Depression, Fear, Founder's Blog, Links, Medical Professional, Need to Know, Person w/ Illness, Spiritually Struggling, Suicidal Thoughts, Support Group Leader, Teen w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Assisted suicide, Christian, chronic pain and suicide, considering suicide, do you go to heave if you commit suicide, end my life, God, how to commit suicide, lisa copen, Mental Illness, National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Psych, Rest Ministries, San Diego, stop the pain, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide, suicide statistics, taking my life, thinking about suicide, wednesdays and suicides

Oh, The Emotions You Can Find in a Walk-In Closet

March 22, 2012 By admin 5 Comments

By Lisa Copen A walk in closet I have not walked into for . . . years. My husband uses most of it, but my clothes--in about 10 different sizes--sit on the bars. The wire baskets hold old t-shirts. An Old Navy shirt, size small, mocks me with the year 2004 on it. The day previously I started throwing them into bags. I have become sick of the clutter all over my house and have been purging for months. But this closet has overwhelmed me. I had no plans to take care of the closet this weekend. . . and I have discovered that this works best for me. This way, any effort is a step in the right direction, but I don't have to use up all my energy on it. I can pace myself. But Saturday morning I started bagging items up, and in less than two … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Fashion, Founder's Blog, This is Me, What's New? Tagged With: Closet, Clothing, Foot, Footwear, Old Navy, San Diego, Shoe, Shopping

Are You Willing to Wait to See God’s Plan In Your Illness?

March 15, 2012 By admin 2 Comments

“But if all of you are prophesying, and unbelievers or people who don’t understand these things come into your meeting, they will be convicted of sin and judged by what you say. As they listen, their secret thoughts will be exposed, and they will fall to their knees and worship God, declaring, ‘God is truly here among you’” (1 Corinthians 14:24-25, NLT). God used that passage of Scripture over six years to speak to me. He told me that my writing would bring people to Christ! I was searching and searching for an excuse to find a reason to write because writing was too difficult for me. I was so broken. My faith was not where it needed to be. My best intentions were a waste compared to my own disobedience and lack of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Depression, Loneliness, Person w/ Illness, Spiritually Struggling, What's New? Tagged With: Biola University, Christ, El-Shaddai, God, Jesus, Lord, NLT, Repentance