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How a Rapper Encourages Those Depressed to Rely on God

May 15, 2012 By admin Leave a 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

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

Book Giveaways This Week

May 7, 2012 By admin 1 Comment

Oh, Don't ya love spring? The humming birds arrive, the flowers bloom, the clutter starts to appear when the sun comes out. Wait a minute. I am talking about myself here. I have been trying to declutter for months. . but I am finally hitting my home office here at Rest Ministries. I want space, open spots on my desk that don't have a pile. But I have so much good stuff! And some of those goodies are books. Most of these are books I have been given by the authors, the publishers, etc. and I just cannot keep them all. They are "like new" (I have read everything on my Kindle since 2008--much easier on my rheumatoid arthritis hands). So these little books are gems that I have barely broken the cover on. Each day I will post the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Announcements, Books, Events, Give-Aways-Contests, What's New? Tagged With: Amazon Kindle, Author, book, E-book, Facebook, Kindle

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

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

Devotion: When God Passes You a Note of His Love, It Weakens Illness in Our Life

April 30, 2012 By admin 6 Comments

"You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." (2 Corinthians 3:3) Do you remember passing notes in school? Us girls always seemed to have a need to put the most basic of thoughts or questions down on paper, fold them up in little shapes and maybe write the recipient's name on it; it likely even included a few doodled stars or hearts. Occasionally, we even passed a note along to a boy. Like the country song George Strait sings, "Yes or No", we would write "Do you wanna be my friend? / Check yes or no" and include the little boxes beside the yes or no. A yes. . . or a no. . . could determine … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Devotionals, Founder's Blog, Scriptures, Spiritually Struggling, Suicidal Thoughts, What's New? Tagged With: Christ, God, Jeremiah, Jesus, John, love letter from god, Matthew, Psalm, Rest Ministries

“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

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

Have You Ever Made a “Mentoring Mistake”? VIDEO

April 25, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

This is a great video of Jennifer Rothschild, founder of womensministry.net (who happens to be a former "cover girl" of our own HopeKeepers magazine that we once had. She is blind and shared some great encouragement with us). Here, with her friend Alicia, they discuss three mentoring mistakes many of us make. There is one tip about choosing to be"Clark Kent" -- not Superman? What is this about? It is a great reminder about not having to show the people we are mentoring us without the scars. Have you ever made a mentoring mistake? Have you delegated too much, or maybe not enough? Have you committed to mentor someone and then were not able to follow through? If you are able to confide in us, we promise not to judge because we have all … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Church Leader, Need to Know, RM Volunteer, Support Group Leader, Videos, What's New? Tagged With: christian women, Clark Kent, encouraging, how to encourage a friend, hurting friend, jennifer rothchild, jennifer rothschild, Mentor, mentoring tips, mentoring women, Mentorship, Ministry, Personal development, sharing, Superman, women mentoring women, women of faith

‘God Did Not Give Us Fear’ Printable to Share

April 23, 2012 By admin Leave a Comment

Chronic illness is full of so many fears, isn't it? If we allow the worries to go through our mind over and over it can just eat us up and rule our lives, influencing our decisions. God did give us power, love, and self-discipline. And, oh, what a difference this can make! Below is our latest free printable of the scripture, "For God did not give us a spirit of fear but one of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7, New Living Translation) I hope you enjoy it! This free printable is 300 dpi resolution (which means it will look good, not all blurry, when you print it out.) It is optimized for a 5×7 frame or can be printed smaller too. Click here or on the image below. Then right click on your mouse and choose “save as” and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Articles, Free Printables, What's New? Tagged With: 2 timothy 1:7, assurance, frame, free printable, god did not give fear, god did not give timidity, hope, print, printable, scripture, scriptures when confused, verse, verses