LENT 2023: PART 3 RESONATE
“Perhaps, the most courageous thing we can do as a people is to behold.”– Mako Fujimura Here in Türkiye, Lent began as our country was suddenly swept up in a massive disaster relief effort following devastating earthquakes. Grief, trauma, humanitarian / disaster relief aid, crisis debrief
Lent 2023: Part 2 Re-imagine
“So, here you are.Too foreign for home, too foreign for here.Never enough for both.”– Ijeoma Umebinyuo Life as an expat stretches our imaginations and experiences about people, the world, and God in refreshing ways. But if we’re honest, sometimes it also comes with a cost. For all
Lent 2023: Restart
Welcome to Lent 2023. As we follow the liturgical calendar, we invite you to join us for a three-part series with some simple mental health practices to help prepare our hearts for Easter. May this foster greater self-compassion, insight, and health in your life and ministry, wherever you find yours
Self-Compassion: Helpful for a Christian?
Steve Scruggs, Psy.D. I became a believer as a teen and was very taken by the gospel. I learned that my sins were forgiven, my fracture with God healed, and my standing as God’s child secure because of Christ’s work on the cross. However, I soon learned that many of my new friends who grew [&hel
Advent Week 4: Stillness
How has your spirit been this Advent season? Have you given yourself space to ponder the COMING HOPE, the celebration of a birth that would change the world? So much of life can feel like rushing from one thing to the next. So this week, in the midst of holiday preparations, traveling, or rush
Advent Week 2: Silence
“Advent leads to a growing inner stillness and joy allowing me to realize that He for whom I am waiting has already arrived and speaks to me in the silence of my heart.” Henri Nouwen Silence and stillness – a practice many of us struggle with in this hurried modern world. Phones, ema
Advent Week 1: Anticipation
This week marks the beginning of Advent leading us up to Christmas. In the liturgical calendar, this is a season of intentionality that we invite you into with us, wherever you find yourself in the world. We’ll be sending a weekly email for the coming four weeks with a simple advent / mental
Gratitude for All Seasons
Gratitude is an emotion, and certainly you’ve experienced it spontaneously before- perhaps when you received a thoughtful gift, an answer to a heartfelt prayer, a call from a friend when you’re feeling lonely. But gratitude is also a practice, the conscious act of turning your attention to what
HEART, SOUL, MIND, & STRENGTH
by Nick Steffen, LMHC, Pastoral & Clinical Counselor In the gospels, Jesus recalls the book of Deuteronomy when asked what the greatest command is. He instructs us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. While the conceptual understandings of these words may have shif
Let’s Talk About Anxiety, Shall We?
by Lisa Green, LPC-MHSP, Executive Director Let’s be honest, shall we? Anxiety is extremely prevalent in society today- and not just “out there” society, but among “us” as well. Globally, anxiety disorders are the mostly commonly diagnosed mental health problem, and the World Health Organi