In the past few years, I have realized that there are a lot of churches out there who want to help people who struggle with a mental illness, but they don’t know how. Before Michael’s struggle with bipolar disorder, I had no clue how much a person’s mental illness could affect a whole family. It is so important to have a support system and the…
Have you ever wished you could have just one more hour in the day? One more hour to finish school work. One more hour and I could exercise. One more hour to talk with my friend before she has to leave. We live in a culture of instant gratification. We don’t like to wait. There are other times when we all long that time would…
Last week as I was getting ready to go to the dentist, my daughter came into my room exclaiming, “Mama, we have a problem.” Taking one look at her, I busted out laughing. She had a round hairbrush stuck in her hair. Once I quit laughing I begin trying to untangle the knotted mess. The more I worked, the more she screamed and the tears…
Many of you may be familiar with Ann Voskamp’s book, 1000 Gifts. I haven’t finished the book yet, but so far I love it!!! I heard her share at SheSpeaks, and I was challenged to live a life of gratitude. We can get so focused on our circumstances that we fail to live lives of thanksgiving before the Lord. God tells us to give thanks…
Standing on the white sandy beach after dark, gazing into the stars I was in awe of God’s majesty and His goodness to share glimpses of Himself with us. I was thrilled to finally be at the beach! What a gift! Then to my dismay, the pier closed and we had to find another way back to the condo where we were staying. We could…
When my husband died five years ago, I remember sitting in the counselor’s office and telling her that I was praying, asking God to turn my weeping to laughing and my mourning to dancing. She said, “Natalie, those are two extremes. Maybe you should hope for something in the middle.” After living with Michael’s bipolar disorder, I understood what it meant to live in the…