Fear

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

Devotion: Finding Daily Strength By Living Each Day of Illness in A ‘Manna Rhythm’

May 5, 2012 By admin 4 Comments

“I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day” (Exodus 16:4). “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life’ ” (John 6:35). I recently read the book, Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness by Edward Welch. Among other things, the author suggested getting in to a “manna rhythm” of daily living. That means several things to me. The Old Testaments relates how God provided manna for the Israelites in the wilderness, giving only enough for that day except on the day before the Sabbath, thus teaching them to rely on Him daily. Tomorrow’s provisions were not given today. As I deal with depression and other problems, living in a manna rhythm is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Fear, What's New?

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

Dear Fear: A Letter To My Fears When Living with Chronic Illness

April 26, 2012 By admin 3 Comments

By Melissa Svensen Dear Fear, We have known one another for a while now. You tell me lies all the time, yet I keep letting you back in my life. You overwhelm me with what ifs. What if you don’t ever get well… What if God does not want to heal you. . . What if you never accomplish your dreams. . . What if you never get to eat food that tastes good again. . . What if you have to live in chronic pain for the rest of your life. . . What if you can’t stick to the diet you need to follow to get well. . . What if your kids get the same illness as you, or something much worse. . . What if you can never feel intimacy with others because of your past abuse. . . What if people do not recognize your worth. . . What if your life … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Fear, Suicidal Thoughts, What's New? Tagged With: Chicago, Christ, Christianity, First Epistle of John, God, Interstitial cystitis, Jesus, John

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

Am I a Hypochondriac If…

February 23, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

By Lisa Copen We laugh as people say, "I think I may be a hypochondriac!" but is it really a funny matter? Not so much. Am I a hypochondriac if... I get up at 2:30 AM to google a symptom I am experiencing and I start imagining all the things it could be? It is unlikely. In today's age of having immediate information at our fingertips, it is much easier to just get out of bed and start searching than to wait until morning when the doctor's office is open and then we must decide to call him or not. In the days of our parents raising their children, rather than looking for search engine results in the middle of the night, they sat at the kitchen table with the Dr. Spock book attempting to figure out the cause of certain symptoms and if … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Articles - Read, Explaining Illness, Fear, Mental Illness, Person w/ Illness, What's New?, Worry Tagged With: am i a hypochondriac, Chronic (medicine), Conditions and Diseases, Cyberchondria, Disease, Health, Hypochondriasis, Magnetic resonance imaging, Rest Ministries, worry

What If This Is As Good As It Gets? Facing The “Chronic” In Chronic Illness

February 16, 2012 By admin 4 Comments

By Fiona Burrows I’ve recently had some treatment that it was hoped would reduce the level of chronic pain that I have or maybe even get rid of it all together. After more than 25 years of pain that for the most part hasn’t responded to different treatments and has been getting worse--it seemed strange when the specialist suggested that it could all be controlled by this follow-up treatment, and what I’d had done earlier in the year. I have become so used to living with chronic pain--I may not like it, but I’m used to it. I can’t remember what it’s like not to be in pain and everything I do, seems to have to be considered in light of that pain and how it will affect me. I guess you could say, I feel like chronic pain is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Fear, Person w/ Illness, What's New?, Worry Tagged With: Christmas, Chronic pain, God, Health, Jesus, Melbourne, Pain Mgmt & Illnesses, Prayer, Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, Sunroom

Devotion: Are We Really Meant to Fear God?

January 21, 2012 By admin 5 Comments

"The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them" (Psalm 25:14) "Why does God want us to be afraid of Him?" asked my sweet son recently. We were reading a scripture and it mentioned how we should fear the Lord. This is a question that most of us have asked at one time or another, and one we don't always get a satisfactory answer. I mean, God tells us He is our Father, our Abba, our friend, our protector. . . and then on the other hand He wants us to be afraid of Him? What kind of friend does that? When we live with a chronic illness we are up against all sorts of things that we can fear. We fear going to the doctor, we fear not going to the doctor. We fear taking the medications and dealing with side … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Fear, Founder's Blog, What's New? Tagged With: Abba, Bible, David, Fear the Lord, God, Lord, Psalm, San Diego, why does god allow bad things to happen to good people, why does god get angry or mad, why should we fear the lord

5 Ways to Stop Discouragement From Getting the Best of You

November 22, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

By Leslie Vernick Discouragement and disappointment are normal emotions we all experience, even as Christians. Peter felt discouraged with himself when he realized that he wasn't as courageous as he thought he was, even though Jesus had warned him that he would deny him before the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:31 and 74,75). We too can feel discouraged and even depressed when we fail to live up to our own or other's expectations. Job felt discouraged and frustrated with his friends. They didn't get it. Trying to be helpful, they only heaped more shame and blame on Job for his afflictions. We also can feel let down by our friends and family. They don't understand what we're going through or don't offer to help as we wish they would. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Depression, Fear, Parent of Ill or Disabled Child, Person w/ Illness, What's New? Tagged With: Anger, Chronic pain, coping skills, cronic pain, discouragement, Emotions, frustration, Illness, leslie vernick, leslievernick

Where Is The Justice?

August 18, 2011 By admin 3 Comments

46 million people are on food stamps, 15 percent of Americans. July saw the highest level of layoffs in 16 months, the steepest jump since the recession. The president promises that the next few months will be about jobs. The reporters says it's all about. . . Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. But talking about jobs doesn't make them materialize. People are still hungry. I read Jeremiah 33:2-3. "'This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it-—the Lord is His name: 'Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'" Life is messy. But God is still on the throne. He says to call to Him and He will answer and He will tell me … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Fear, Founder's Blog, Spiritually Struggling, This is Me, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, God, Google, Jesus, Lord, Psalm, Rest Ministries, San Diego

Q & A: How Do I Know if God Has Motherhood In My Future?

April 20, 2011 By admin 4 Comments

I have been married for four years and have multiple sclerosis. My husband and I have been trying to conceive for some time and it's not happening. I think I am capable of being a mom, despite my illness, but it's making me nervous to see the clock ticking--and for those of us with illness, it ticks a whole lot faster! I don't want to grow bitter about not getting pregnant yet, but my friends are having kids, doing family events, and now, not only do I feel ousted because my illness slows me down, but I am just not at soccer games and Chuck E. Cheese. How do I cope with all these mixed up feelings? Leslie Leslie, My heart aches for you. I remember my own similar journey for years back in the late nineties until the day our son was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Adoption, Depression, Fear, Founder's Blog, Help! Q/A, Parenting, Spiritually Struggling, What's New? Tagged With: Chronic, Chuck E. Cheese, Diet Coke, God, Health, Home, Infertility, Mother, Mother's Day, Parent, Parenting, Prayer, Rest Ministries