Spiritual Reflections

Is My Mental Illness to Blame?

Line in the Sand Where does mental end and spiritual begin? There is no definitive line. You’re going to sin in sickness and be soul-sick in sin. The two (the heart and mind) operate in tandem. As a caseworker, I had a client at one time who was being seen at my clinic for mental health issues she had. Let’s call her Mary. Mary was also diabetic. On her way to town one day, while her husband drove her to an appointment, Mary started to frantically undo her seatbelt, screaming threats at her husband, and opened the door of the truck to fall out. She just about accomplished this act of defiance, but her husband’s quick response and grasp saved her life. At that time, Mary appeared suicidal. Mary appeared out of her mind. Arguably, Mary was in a state of rebellion. Mary appeared to be in a mental [...]

Is My Mental Illness to Blame?Katie R. Dale2024-10-17T05:34:33-04:00

Head-over-Healed (and a little Jesus Crazy) by Katie R. Dale

Head-over-Healed (and a Little Jesus- Crazy) Katie R. Dale Cured from chronic crazy? By no means cured. But healed, yes. By grace, I am ever grateful for the psychiatric medications that I take on the daily. Just the other morning I perused through my old medical records from hospitalizations at 16 and 24. The zany, fanatic, maniacal ways my mind could work! I can't even read my handwriting from back then in the black and white composition notebooks I kept. Most of the manic psychosis hijacked this ability to clearly pen my thoughts, and I stand amazed at the obvious (to me now) absurdity where my mind went. It was like I had been abducted and someone else was living in my body and brain…not far from what I believed happened while in that state of mind. Suffice to say, that person no longer exists. And I am so [...]

Head-over-Healed (and a little Jesus Crazy) by Katie R. Daletonyroberts2024-09-12T11:14:10-04:00

Pick up Your Pen and Write ✍️

“If you want to change the world, pick up your pen and write.” — Martin Luther. “There is nothing so tragic as the untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou. Writing has been part of my vocation for half a century. My writing has dropped off a good bit of late — both in terms of frequency and effectiveness. Recently I’ve been giving some thought to stepping away from my chosen/appointed vocation and finding something else to do with my time. After all, I am on disability and writing does not exactly provide me a stream of income. What difference would it make if I stopped? Couldn’t I be of better use doing something else? In lieu of just quitting, I have wandered the wilderness wasteland of Facebook. I have met many friends who have given me great support. But I have also concluded, at least for me, at least [...]

Pick up Your Pen and Write ✍️tonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:19-04:00

What I’m Thankful For: My Cross by Alisha Wolpert

When thinking about what I have the most gratitude for in my life, my cross immediately came to mind. By picking up my cross each day, I draw closer to my Creator, I learn to grow and be more like my Savior, and gain trust and reliance on the Holy Spirit. I have the choice and free will, gifted to me by God, to either take up my cross and offer my day to Him or I can try to make a go of my day on my own. The days I choose God are always on a different level and trajectory than the days when I rely on me and my own strength. I'm full of gratitude for having a cross to bear, because it shows me that God is still at work in my life and is standing beside me each step of the way. If I feel [...]

What I’m Thankful For: My Cross by Alisha Wolperttonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:19-04:00

When God Sends a Cardinal by Helen Sarver

There is an old folklore saying that, “When God sends a cardinal, it’s a visitor from heaven.” My mother was a collector of cardinal figurines and placed them in pairs throughout the house. For the most part, I paid little credence to her red-feathered friends until after her death in 1999. A week following her service, I was walking from the mailbox and a female cardinal landed on the front porch. She began chirping wildly, as if she was saying, “Good morning, Helen!” Another amazing appearance of my “cardinal family” happened in March of 2001, two months after my father passed away. My sister and I were in Florida facing the task of taking care of our parents’ house. I stayed at the house alone the final two days. As I left their house that final time, two cardinals were perched on the front porch railing. My eyes filled with [...]

When God Sends a Cardinal by Helen Sarvertonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:20-04:00

Eric Riddle is on the Verge

http://revealingvoices.com/index.php/2024/01/07/haikast-xi-on-the-verge/

Eric Riddle is on the Vergetonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:20-04:00

The Blessings of Gratitude

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ― Marcel Proust. Gratitude is a spiritual practice. It has a way of seeping into our souls - uplifting our spirits, refreshing our spirits, even invigorating our bodies. In my spiritual journey, I have been through seasons where I felt bitter and dark. At these times it is all the more essential to give thanks for the people, experiences, and things that bring us happiness and lighten our loads. What are you grateful for? I am thankful for many things. The one thing that stands out for me on this day is spiritual friendship. I have been blessed throughout my life to know people who are spiritually mature, who regularly pray for me, who I can count on to encourage me when I am laid low and put me in [...]

The Blessings of Gratitudetonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:20-04:00

Praying the Bible, day by day

My morning and evening prayers have me reflecting on pilgrimage. The Scripture reading this morning is about a significant and mysterious event in the childhood of Jesus. Mary and Joseph take him along on their family pilgrimage to Jerusalem. They then return home, or start to before they realize he is not with them. They had assumed, even taken for granted that he was in the crowd of pilgrims returning home. He was not. Lectio 365 asks us to consider times we take for granted that Jesus is with us only to discover we have left him behind. For me I lose sight of Christ when I overlook my daily devotional practices and get lost in the crowd of people and things and busyness of the world. Where do you find Christ in your daily life? + + + Love does not delight in evil but [...]

Praying the Bible, day by daytonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:21-04:00

My Unquiet Mind: A Recent Bout with Anxiety

Anxiety's like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you very far. ― Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippiansn 4.5-7) Have you ever had a panic attack? I had one this week. I was feeling fine, hopeful after getting the first sound sleep I had gotten in days. I was going about my morning routine, doing a devotional in fact. Suddently out of nowhere a tightness gripped my chest. My breathing became labored. I had no idea what was happening to me. I called the pharmacist. He reviewed my medication. He said nothing would indicate that [...]

My Unquiet Mind: A Recent Bout with Anxietytonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:24-04:00

Word of the Year: Eucharisteo – the miracle of thanksgiving.

Eucharisteo—thanksgiving—always precedes the miracle. ― Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9.10-11) Each year I select a word to focus on in my faith journey each day. Said better, God selects the word and I confirm it. Today the word came to me from Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts. The word Eucharist appears in various forms 53 times in the Greek Scriptures. Strong’s Concordance lays out three ways that these words can be used: 1. To be grateful, to feel grateful; 2. To express gratitude [...]

Word of the Year: Eucharisteo – the miracle of thanksgiving.tonyroberts2024-08-26T13:03:25-04:00