written by Rachael Keefe – reposted from her blog, Write Out of Left Field I gave up trying to be happy and joyful just because it’s the holiday season a long time ago. Growing up, I thought I was the only one who didn’t have the perfect Norman Rockwell (or, these days, Hallmark) family. Nearly […]
Good News for
Healing
When people think of faith and healing, oftentimes images come to mind of charismatic televangelists summoning healing for people on a large stage. Maybe you think of Jesus encountering the man called Legion in the hills and summoning the unsettling spirits out of him, driving them into swine. No matter what image comes to mind […]
Loving Depression
As a social worker and as one who wrote a master’s thesis on mental health in the church, I’ve done a lot of reading and thinking about these topics. I’ve preached sermons about mental health and healing, I’ve read articles about people who choose not to take medication for their mental health, and I’ve had […]
Fear Not
written by Rachael Keefe – reprinted from her blog, Write Out of Left Field. “You are going to hell.” I was about fourteen the first time someone said this to me. I had attended a youth group meeting with a friend at a conservative church. After the meeting one of the kids asked me if […]
The Second Greatest Commandment
It was about a month ago that I received a text message from an old friend. She shared that a good friend of hers’ son was in the midst of a mental health crisis and asked if I would be willing to speak with her. As is my custom I did not hesitate to reply, […]