Delight in Disorder Ministries
Tony Roberts, Chief Shepherd
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
(Psalms 37:4)
Revealing Voices podcast celebrates their seven year anniversary!
Season 8 is underway with new episodes, Haikasts, and “Healing Stories” – testimonies of the people, places, and things which contribute to a sober, sane, serene life, and the foundation of faith that makes it all possible.
Desert Dispatches – Devotional Emails Launching in March!
Join our mailing list to receive these spiritual reflections. These brief meditations on life in recovery amid dual diagnosis are designed to lift your spirit no matter where you are in your journey. See this page to join the list!
7 Years of Revealing Voices
On March 1, 2018 our Revealing Voices podcast debuted. Since that time we have released over 100 episodes informing and inspiring those impacted by brain illnesses and other mental health conditions, pointing to an inclusive faith as a balm to promote the healing process. This week Eric and Tony sat down miles apart geographically yet sharing one heart’s vision for episodes for the coming year. As Jake and Elwood Blues said, “We are on a mission from God.” To accomplish this mission we have gotten the (garage) band back together. Eric will continue to share Haikast episodes, blending the poetic words with words about his life pursuing mental health and overall well-being. Meanwhile, Tony will produce “Healing Stories” — testimonies of the people, places, and things that contribute to his sober, sane, and serene life. These will be laced with faith, the foundation that gives him a reason to [...]
Desert Dispatches
A new devotional email series will begin next week. Starting on Ash Wednesday, March 5, 2025, I will be sending out spiritual reflections called "Desert Dispatches". These brief mediations on life in recovery are designed to uplift your spirit no matter where you are on your journey. If you would like to receive these messages, please use the form linked below to sign up. This will be a separate mailing list from our newsletter, and you can subscribe or unsubscribe at any time. https://delightindisorder.org/desert-dispatches/
Six Months Sober, Sane, Serene
To my Delightful friends — Good News! Six months sober, sane, serene! I’ve been sober for: 0.50 Years 6.00 Months 184 Days 4,423 Hours Posted on Empower Alumni page — “As God would have it, I connected with Empower Health Group on Day 1. Y’all have journeyed with me each step of the way. Only God knows what lies ahead. I don’t know what the future holds but I know Who holds the future. And thanks be to God and those I’ve met at Empower, I know I am not alone.” Posted on Facebook — To all my FB friends who supported and continue to support me in recovery — I first accepted my Higher Power (God) over 50 years ago when I asked Jesus to be my personal Lord and Savior. Since then I have been in a desert wasteland facing many temptations to put addictions to people, [...]
Here I Am, Send Me
This morning I went to the midweek Eucharist service at St. James and Andrew (Greenfield, MA). Pastor Jimmy asked me to do the Isaiah 6 reading which includes the amazing transformation of the prophet from crying out, “Woe is me, I am lost.” To boldly declaring, “Here I am, send me.” Isaiah’s call is the call of every child of God. What once was lost is now found. God makes worthy what we once deemed worthless and cleanses our hearts and minds of impure motives. God presses a burning coal to our lips, inspiring us to speak the truth in love. I graduate from rehab a week from tomorrow (February 13). I will shift from treatment to recovery service in the Greenfield community, Western Mass, and beyond. I am living out my ordination vow to serve people with “intelligence, creativity, imagination, and love.” Pray for me, if you would. [...]
How to Handle the Holidays with God’s Love
Welcome to the Holidays! The stress of the holidays. We’re still pressured to spend money on gifts, or gather with family we may or may not get along with. Just the idea of the holidays, with the loss of loved ones over the past years from sickness, tragedies, or simply the circle of life, is tough. We may not feel like it’s anything close to the norm we’ve known in years past. However, as Christians, we are called and set apart and distinctly expected to “live worthy of the calling” (Ephesians 4:1) we have in God, with or without mental illness. On top of the worldly stressors, our personal lives have the constant wearing of symptoms, perhaps. Is it still possible to live as a Christian with a mental illness and expect to “live worthy” of such a calling? God commands it, therefore He’s going to make it possible. [...]
What Every Pastor Ought to Know About Serious Mental Illness
Pastors and church leadership are number one on the frontlines to those who seek help for these kinds of issues with these kinds of diagnoses. It is crucial to educate the ranks of church leadership so that we can catch the “least of these” in the crises they may present and refer them to the right solutions. There is evidence that pastors don’t feel very well equipped to handle mental illness and therefore need discernment to appropriately address these situations. I want every pastor to know what to expect, how to communicate, and what to do when they arise. Within the wake of Covid’s circumstances, the matters of the mind have risen to a more visible level. This is good for generating awareness of general disorders and the stressors concerning situational depression and psychological or even spiritual oppression. However, it has not changed the significance nor moved the needle of [...]