Hello dear friend! This is my prayer for today. My prayer for us as I write my last post is that our focus will be on Jesus. He is the one I want to set my eyes on in 2023 as I am now caring for my husband who has ALS.

Hi friend! How are you doing today? Are you at a point in your life where you are considering seeing a professional counselor or psychiatrist? Is it something you are cautious about, can’t afford, or are afraid of?

Hello friend! Happy New Year! Since the year is just beginning, I want to share books I’ve read on aspects of mental health and mental illness that you might enjoy, be challenged by, and learn from. I hope you pick at least one of them to read.

praise of myself or others but praise of God.

You might already be incorporating praise in your spiritual life way more than I have been. I’m heavy on thanksgiving but light on praise.

Hi friend! I’ve been thinking a lot about stress lately because I’ve felt under stress more than usual. It got me to thinking that you may be too since the holidays are near.

Hello friend! Have you ever felt alone in your battle with mental illness? I have. I felt alone in my battle with bipolar disorder when I lived in a small town in Arizona in my mid-to-late-thirties because I didn’t know anyone else who also had a mental illness, and I longed to know others with bipolar disorder who struggled as I did.

Dear friend, do you want to give up on life today? Are you at the end of your rope, having exhausted all your options?

Are the tears falling? Do you feel sad, blue, and gloomy?

I don’t have an easy answer for you today.

Hello friend! Do you remember First Lady Michelle Obama starting a national campaign on exercise called “Let’s Move” during Barak Obama’s years as President of the United States? If not, you’re probably a lot younger than me or weren’t tuned in to the news. I think that was a great, innovative idea for a first lady, don’t you? She was concerned about the high obesity rate among children, accompanied by high blood pressure and Type 2 Diabetes.

The book of 1 Thessalonians says, “. . .in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This can seem unrealistic and unreachable at times. Does it mean we need to give thanks for everything?

Today, I want to speak love into your life. The best way to do that is to know, to truly know deep inside how much God loves you. Maybe you don’t feel it. But He knows every beautiful thing about you, and also, every way you fall short of His desire for you to love Him.

Hello friend! Do you need endurance? I know I do! When I was in my late forties, I needed endurance badly because a series of medication changes triggered a manic episode that led to depression and sleepless nights.

Hello friend! Did you read about my new puppy in my post on fear? I said that I was afraid of the puppy taking time away from my writing, afraid of constant barking, and even jumping on me.

Hello friend! Do you battle depression? I have, and it’s hard to describe how devastating it is to your entire self—your loss of hope, loss of joy, even loss of motivation to live life anymore.

Hi Friend! I’ve been wanting to write on fear and was at a loss for words until now. Then it hit me that I live more fear based than I realized when I thought of how I’ve been afraid to have an indoor dog. Afraid of the dog taking so much time and attention away from my writing. Afraid that close contact with a dog would contaminate me because I have a low immune system from my kidney transplant. Afraid of constant barking, and yes, even jumping on me. So, I told Dwight no after I’d promised him we’d get a dog when we moved to central Texas.

Imagine yourself reaching down into a cold, clear mountain stream to search for a precious stone in the middle of the gravel. You spy one that stands out, and it’s so beautiful, it looks like a nugget of gold. You have it examined and assessed by a professional and find out that it is true gold. Worship is the valuable piece of gold in the Christian life.

Do you love music? I do! All kinds, especially Christian contemporary songs and hymns. My mother loved hymns and feared that this new generation of millennials would grow up without them. It would be a surprise for her to know that many millennials go to churches that worship with hymns. But what does this have to do with mental health?

Hi dear friend! Do you feel discouraged today, as in feeling brokenhearted, downhearted, or sad? One way I find hope is in knowing God loves me and doesn’t condemn me when I have feelings of discouragement—that I will never get better, or accomplish anything significant, or make it through my day. One thing you can be sure of—discouragement is not from God.

I believe in Him, am forgiven by Him, and He gives me eternal life. But I haven’t always followed Him. I believed in Him as a youngster, but my heart grew far away from Jesus during my Middle School years and Freshman year of High School.

It all started with a severe back injury at the first of January. After a while, I noticed that I couldn’t wear any of my pants anymore except some oversized black stretchy pants. I took Tylenol for the back pain—the recommended maximum dose of 4,000 mg per day. Sometimes I would take 3,000, but mostly 4,000.