Dominic Cook’s Unique Testimony Reaches Those Suffering From Depression

hopeboy2

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...]

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

tell-pastor-about-illness

If you had the opportunity to sit down and really share about your pain, what would you tell the pastor of your church about your chronic illness and daily pain? Lisa Copen 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 … [Read more...]

New Thinking About Suicide Blog Offers Eternal Hope

thinkingaboutsuicideblog

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...]

Q&A: What Do I Do About My Friend Who Keeps Bringing Me Down?

woman-sad-09

I have a friend who I've known for years.  We used to go out partying before my diagnosis, but now I've really become grounded in my faith, because God is the only thing that has gotten me through. She keeps saying she "knows the real me" and I cannot possibly be satisfied with this life I have now.  Whenever I share something I've learned while living with illness or about anything good in my life, she has something negative to say about how much I am missing out on in life because of my illness. I care about her, but I just don't know if I can continue to be around her right now if she keeps this up. - Kelly Hi, Kelly, Do you know someone who is the same now as they were 30 or even 40 years ago? They love to complain and stir up … [Read more...]

Movie Review: Soul Surfer Shows Courage. . . Through God Who Strengthens!

bathany-hamilton-dress

By Lisa Copen My 8-year-old son said it was going to be a boring movie. Afterward, he said it was boring. But during the film he was on the edge of his seat. After we came home, he went outside with his skateboard, and when he came in he wanted to watch videos on Bethany Hamilton's web site. The next morning, he took a break from video games to listen to every word Bethany said on the Today Show. "Soul Surfer" is easy to label an inspiring movie. Who wouldn't? A 13-year-old girl is out on her surfboard when a 14-foot tiger shark takes her arm and then leaves the scene. The rest of the movie we see how Bethany deals with the day-to-day challenges of living with one arm (who knew cutting a tomato could be so difficult?); learning to … [Read more...]

Soul Surfer The Movie Releases 4/8; The Biography of Bethany Hamilton

soulsurfersmall

SOUL SURFER is the inspiring true story of teen surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm in a shark attack and courageously overcame all odds to become a champion again. Based on the Bethany Hamilton bio, the Soul Surfer movie has already inspired millions of people worldwide through the love of her family, her sheer determination, and her unwavering faith in Jesus Christ. The biography of Bethany Hamilton is pretty amazing: Soul Surfer casting is an all-star team, including AnnaSophia Robb and Helen Hunt, with Carrie Underwood in her film debut, and Dennis Quaid. The Soul Surfer movie release date is April 8th. You can find out more details at the Soul Surfer IMBD web site, or www.bethanyhamilton.com , or read the biography of … [Read more...]

Teen Starts “Wear iT Wednesday” to Spread Faith Message

We thought this was a cool idea & it's always encouraging to see youth doing something for Christ. Although this isn't specific to illness, we thought you may want to pass it along to your own kids, gr&kids, youth pastors, etc. Maybe we should start a day where we wear a button or something to create more invisible illness awareness & where our true hope comes from too? _______________________________________ “Wear iT Wednesday™” is a grass roots movement which empowers Christian youth to show the joy of their faith as one community. Wear iT Wednesday™ is the idea of college senior, Chelsea Eubank. Chelsea’s vision is to register over 1,000,000 youth on www.wearitwednesday.com to gain their commitment to wear their favorite … [Read more...]

Resource Guide of 40 Pages for Young Adults

This web site, "Breakout" leads you to online reading material called “Breakout” The Complete Lifestyle Guide for Young People with Arthritis. What a wonderful website with an uplifting & positive message! You can sit in the comfort of your own home & read forty pages of useful information, without having to worry about going to a bookstore & spending time, energy, & money. It discusses a number of issues & challenges particular to young people with arthritis. Some of these include how to express your feelings, surviving school & university, leaning on your support system & many more. It’s an easy read that is interesting, interactive & unique in the fact that it is able to go much deeper than what is seen on the … [Read more...]

30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know

We've all seen the list "20 things about me" "50 thing about me you didn't know..." They can actually be interesting if you want to get to know the person better! We'll we've got one I haven't seen anywhere yet, "30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know." Just copy & paste it below & put it up on your blog, send it to your friends, paste in on Facebook (if it's too long put it in your "notes" section.) THEN... post a COMMENT BELOW with the link to where you posted it & we are going to choose 2 people to receive a prize Sept 5th, 2009. Let's spread the word about II Week this way & it's a wonderful way to share a little bit about your life. And don't forget to add the last paragraph for people know where to find … [Read more...]

Ill Teens with Spirituality Cope Best

300px-Calhan_High_School_Senior_Classroom_by_David_Shankbone

A new research shows that spirituality may help teens cope with the condition of chronic illness. The Christian Messenger states: Two separate studies were done by Michael Yi, MD, the associate professor of medicine, and Sian Cotton, PhD, research assistant professor in the department of family medicine. They investigated how adolescents might use spirituality as a coping tool for their illnesses like inflammatory bowel disease. They defined spirituality as “One’s sense of meaning or purpose in life or one’s sense of connectedness to the sacred or divine. “ Patients with IBD experience recurrent abdominal pain, bloody stools and diarrhea, among other serious problems, and have an increased risk for colon cancer. Some would … [Read more...]