God Has a Plan

              I recently overheard a conversation in which the person said, “I’m ready to die. I want to see Jesus.” My heart broke for this individual, but as I listened I discovered the individual was in so much physical pain that she was willing herself to give up. Thankfully, she was talking with a […]

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Joy in the Fruit of the Spirit

The opposite of depression is joy. We live in a world that says it should be all about “me, me, me.”  However, true joy comes from caring for others and putting them first. Joy is the second fruit of the spirit listed. True joy can only be obtained with God’s help.  This is the joy that is the deep, everlasting […]

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Change only comes with God’s Help

Depression almost destroyed me.  I worked hard to make a lot of changes and overcome numerous obstacles and road blocks. Yet, I still struggled.  I was only able to make the changes I did because of one reason. That is God’s help. I never stopped asking for His help.  Even when I wondered if He heard me and cared I […]

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I have to love myself before I can love others

“You have to love yourself before you can love others,” is a popular saying. I’ve discovered that is true.  The most difficult person for me to learn to love was myself. I could forgive others for hurting me and letting me down but I had a very difficult time forgiving myself. I didn’t have an “a-ha” moment of when this […]

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Understanding I have worth

Slowly as I pulled back the layers and made the necessary changes, I noticed more changes. I began to have more self-confidence.  With self-confidence my self-esteem seemed to improve. There were often times I had to push myself to step out and take a tiny step.  Sometimes this was to just do something different, such as eat at a different […]

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Changing Self Talk

“You’re stupid,” crept into my mind.  For years this was the soundtrack that continuously played in my head. “No you’re not.  You just made a simple mistake,” I said. “Wow, I am changing,” I thought. I wasn’t sure how to change my self-talk for a long time.  Slowly, I began repeating acclimations and positive reinforcements.  I wondered if it was […]

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Seeing the Change

After asking “God please help me to find the joy only you can provide,” I began to see a change. I’m not saying that I’m perfect and life never gets difficult.  There are times when life is very hard and the circumstances do bring me down. However, I was discovering that even when things did not go my way, I […]

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When Joy Won’t Come

So what do we do when joy won’t come? Often, we have to force ourselves to keep putting one foot in front of another and move forward.  Instead, we may want to curl up in a ball and just be left alone. It is important to understand that depression is a serious disease.   First and foremost, please see a medical […]

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Finding Joy in a Sad World

We live in a world that says “don’t worry, be happy.” When we are depressed, happiness is hard to find.  Not because we don’t want to be happy, but because it doesn’t come. There are some that are able to fake happiness for a time, but eventually the old feelings of sadness will creep back in. There are others, like […]

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