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)
The Hope for Troubled Minds Spring 2024 Book Tour was a success! Tony Roberts and guest speakers were at locations in Indianapolis and Columbus, Indiana, in Hebron and Louisville, Kentucky, and in Media, PA.
Details at this link: Book tour details
Hardcover, paperback, and Kindle books are available for order now: Purchase Hope for Troubled Minds
Revealing Voices podcast has begun Season 7, along with more Haikasts, and links to hosts appearing on other podcasts of interest.
How to Help a Loved One Who’s Losing Hope
Living with a loved one who is in decline and has been giving up hope can be overwhelming, to say the least. When you want to change their behaviors, but you can't, frustration and tension can soon set in. No one wants to be in the depths of depression, or riddled with anxiety. If you're in a better place, you can be the one to help fight with them and for them. Here are a few ideas of what to do if you are with a loved one who is going through a rough time internally. If you are that loved one, these are for your toolkit too: Pray For Them At the most hopeless seasons in my life, I've been lifted up through prayer. I firmly believe that has been a game-changer in my life in the midst of and despite my mental illness. Hope has never [...]
No Reason to Lose Hope
This post was originally published on KatieRDale.com here. On a Facebook group post, a person expressed how they were losing hope in their mind. While I cannot disprove their perspective, I disagree with that philosophy. Here’s my take: Your heart is the primary hope-cultivator, not your mind. Hope starts in the heart, and your heart is the seat of will and desire. When hopelessness moves to your mind, you have a case of despair. When you can’t think or condition, practice, apply, and motivate yourself out of a clinically depressed state of mind (where medications are needed), your heart isn’t going to follow. You have to reset your mind with therapeutic modes of healing (ie. medicine and therapy) to get back into working order. Like a tandem bicycle, your mind and heart have to be aligned in spirit to work together to get out of despair. If one is [...]
Proving God: A Testimony To His Presence Amidst My Mental Illness
A while back, I met Tony Roberts in the circles of online mental health advocacy. Funny, but I don't know exactly how. I suppose I'll have to ask him. After meeting virtually and guesting on his and Eric Riddle's podcast, we collaborated by guest posting on each other's blogs. With Tony taking a sabbatical and me filling in at the moment, I revisited the guest post he contributed on my BipolarBrave blog six years ago. Today I want to contribute to the Delight in Disorder blog with Tony's words from that post in 2018. I hope you are reminded of Tony's grit, his unwavering faith, and the One who has continued to care for Tony and those of us clinging to the thread of our Savior's garment. Katie's Note: Tony and I collaborated to guest post on one another's blogs. Check out my guest post The Secret To Finding Sanity [...]
A Check Up From the Neck Up
It's 3 o'clock in the morning. I am listening to the Beatles while eating baked oatmeal and drinking raw milk. I am wide awake as the world sleeps. What better time than now to do an assessment of my mental health and update on Delight in Disorder Ministries? After our successful Spring/Summer Hope for Troubled Minds book tours, I returned to my Tiny House on the family farm in Upstate New York rather depleted of psychological and physical energy. I had scheduled a Sabbath rest from public speaking for the month of July. A good friend encouraged me to consider applying to present at the NAMI NY state convention in November. The application deadline was August 1. As the deadline approached, I found myself stymied by the application, almost emotionally paralyzed. I received much encouragement from friends and family. In the end, I decided to take a hiatus from [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]