What happens in the world around us affects our mental health, for better and for worse. And, regardless of our political leanings, we are living in exceptionally stressful times. In fact, a recent Gallup poll published in April, 2019, found that Americans were more stressed in the previous year than in the past decade, and […]
Stress
You are Enough
After our church service yesterday, a friend of mine approached me and told me that she immediately thought of me during the sermon that our Senior Pastor was preaching. It was a sermon about the feelings of inadequacy that so many of us fight against and the constant barrage of messages that tell us that […]
The Sunday After Easter
As a parish minister, I always looked forward to the Sunday after Easter more than Easter itself. Of course Easter is wonderful, the celebration of the very heart of our faith. Of course wherever I served we had special music, Easter lilies, and my most well-rehearsed sermon of the year. And of course we had […]
Solitude
During this season of Lent, I am discovering the power of seeking refuge and solitude in bolstering my own mental health. While I have always spoken of the value of self-care, I admit that I don’t always practice what I preach. In the midst of a life that is much too busy, and many times […]
The Reality of a Child
I always wake my daughter up in the morning by gently touching her shoulder and giving her a five-minute warning that I’ll be back and expect her to be up and about. One day last week, when I touched her on the shoulder, she bolted upright in bed and sleepily told me “Mom, they shot […]