Working at an alternative high school was never on my list of short-term or long-term goals. After teaching seven years in public high school, I…
I recognized the name as I glanced over the temporary roster for third period sophomore English. No! I spent a few moments in private ranting…
Even though you may not have personally heard the words “Your services are no longer needed” or “The company is downsizing” or “You’re fired,” chances…
Recommended Reading When God Doesn’t Make Sense by James Dobson (Tyndale House Publishers, 1993) This is a practical book for those going through difficulties,…
“This is your thirty-day notice.” My young boss tilted back in his chair and stretched out his legs in front of him. “Your job is…
Have you heard that novelty song from the early sixties about the reluctant cavalry member who begged to be excused from the Battle of Little…
Wednesday, January 29, 1997, was one of those days that becomes a point of reference for the rest of life, when events are explained as…
When my mother took her life, she took a part of mine, too. It felt as though she had rejected me, along with her faith…
“I have a problem about wanting to die.” I struggled to get the words out while sounding casual. After months of thinking about suicide, this…
“I don’t know what to do!” The caller’s voice was racked with anguish. “I can’t go on this way, and I can’t go back and…
Techniques CONTACT people have used to save lives: Be supportive. Let the troubled person know he has done the right thing in talking to you….
When Eleanor James’ father developed esophageal cancer in 1990, questions about compassion for the dying and assisted suicide leaped out of the news and became…
Footnotes Eleanor James, Christian American, “When Dad Asked to Die,” March/April 1997, p. 31, 32 International Anti-Euthanasia Task Force (online report), http://www.iaetf.org/jk.htm, p. 1 Dr….
“What a wonderful life I’ve had! I only wish I’d realized it sooner.” — Colette [1] On a warm May evening in 1996, Jamie*, a…
Footnotes Believing in Ourselves: The Wisdom of Women Copyright © 1992. Armand Eisen, Andrews and McMeel a University Press Syndicate Co. CD-ROM “Suicide,” Microsoft Encarta…
“Can you come with me?” my mother’s tearful voice asked over the phone. “Grandpa’s dying.” The hospital had sent her father home with medication to…
There’s a natural process to death that assisted suicide may cut short. In her book On Death and Dying (MacMillan, 1969), Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross devotes…
A rainy day in Texas. The winter wind blew briskly on the wet gravesite. Those of us standing there sang “Amazing Grace” with more true…
I stood behind my bedroom door, fists clenched. “I’ll show them,” I vowed. “I’ll show them I don’t need them. I’ll show them I can…
I was dusting the top shelf when I found it: a brown paper bag resting neatly on top of a row of theology books. Ironic,…
Overcoming Porn Addiction Confront your offending spouse with love and honesty (Ephesians 4:15). Confess your sins to each other and forgive one another, each owning…
Pornography. Just the harmless pastime of curious boys and sex-deprived men — or so I thought. My perception of pornography changed dramatically when a friend…
If you or someone you know is struggling with pornography, the following organizations offer help for overcoming addiction and for helping an addict’s family cope…
I stared in the mirror at the bruises covering my thighs, abdomen, and breasts, then crumpled onto my bed. Those dark bruises on my body…
Why does it seem so few people come forward for healing from homosexuality? Why do some simply declare it cannot be done and resist even…
Pulling my arm back, I heaved a brick through the jewelry store window. A burglar alarm stunned me with its loud, insistent ring. I jumped…
The snow was falling as my husband and I drove through the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico. Some snow covered the ground, but we were…
“She was the largest and most luxurious ship afloat. On her maiden voyage, she epitomized the leading edge of the technology of the time, inspiring…
I was unmarried and pregnant. I knew abortion was wrong, but my boyfriend, Bob, insisted I have one. He was a musician, a “free spirit”…
The menacing topic came up in college. I arrived late to class and spotted the bright red letters penned on the dry erase board: ABORTION….
We had just gotten home from church when the phone rang. It was the Medical Center South. A nurse in ICU said she had been…
Life after abortion: Is there really such a thing? Although this thought didn’t consciously run through my mind, it burned deep within my heart. I…
The following will help women tell their husbands, children, and other loved ones about their abortion. Pray long before sharing. Ask others to pray for…
Some of the effects women experience after an abortion are: the inability to get pregnant depression projection (taking care of someone else’s child) not wanting…
“I know you’re frightened about being hospitalized, but remember that God cares about you. Here is a Bible verse that has helped me cope with…
Christy (not her real name) wept as we spoke on the phone. She is bipolar and deeply depressed. “I feel nothing. I can’t worship, and…
“Please help me, God,” I prayed silently. Tension squeezed the muscles in my upper back, crawling into my shoulders, climbing up my neck. I smiled…
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly a fourth (24.9%) of the adult population in the United States will struggle with an anxiety…
Everyone experiences anxiety, whether it’s dreading tomorrow’s math test or fearing a dangerous situation. However, anxiety disorders cause anxiety out of proportion to the situation…
In February 1996 my ex-husband Frank Velez, a former deputy sheriff from Los Angeles County, was released from prison. He had served ten years for…
Contrary to what some think, mental illness isn’t the same as mental retardation. Retardation stems from a learning and intellectual disability. Mental illness is a…
Manic-depression Manic-depression usually results from a personality disorder. Extreme stress can also trigger it. Mild cases can be treated with medication, psychotherapy, and rehabilitation. Symptoms…
Don’t think you can handle it alone. Contact a mental health organization, such as NAMI, and call a friend or neighbor to help. Don’t leave…
Insanity is used as a defense against responsibility for a crime. The first modern test of insanity was the M’Naghten rule (1843). It held…
Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 800-826-2950 Grief Recovery Helpline 800-445-4808 Information Referrals & Crisis Helpline 800-233-4357 National Depressive and Manic-Depressive Association 800-826-DMDA (3632) National…
The door swung shut behind me, and the automatic lock clicked on. Shoes and socks, watch, purse, and even my wedding ring were confiscated at…
As the train rumbled past the East Coast countryside, taking my daughter and me to New York City for a vacation, my thoughts were as…
“Gayle, your husband called me,” my gynecologist said over the phone, “and he seems very worried about you.” “About what?” I asked, well aware of…
“It’s organic, and there’s nothing you can do about it.” My shoulders sagged as I absorbed my doctor’s statement. My problem was not burnout, PMS,…
If you think you’re depressed, be sure to get help: See your doctor. He can test for illnesses that can cause depression, such as low…
The Bible never says it is a sin to be depressed. Several strong men in the Bible who followed God became depressed: the prophet Elijah…
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than 17 million Americans suffer from depressive illness each year. About twice as many women are…
Early in my career, a concerned 22-year-old mother named Karen approached me and asked if her daughter’s imaginary friend was an early sign of “insanity.”…
I sat in a corner of the mental hospital, my legs shaking up and down. Diagnosed with alcoholic’s psychosis, I was considered clinically insane. I…
Life is a deep black hole and I’m stuck. Physical problems bombard my body — or do they exist only in my mind? I’m drowning…
The hospital emergency room bustled with activity around nine o’clock on a weeknight. My mother and father checked me in to triage. I stood between…
Janice [1] opened the closet door, knelt, pushed shoes aside, and crawled into the farthest corner, shutting the door behind her. In the dark, she…
Love him, my mind demanded. Tears dripped from my chin, wetting a pale blue nightgown I still wore late afternoon. The stubbornness of my heart…
Postpartum depression is nothing to be ashamed of. After a woman gives birth, changes in her hormone levels can spark a host of rollercoaster emotions….
Have you heard about the man who had a plane to catch at an early hour? Having set his alarm, he sat on the edge…
Have you ever read about the gymnast who, after earning a gold medal, chose to accept the silver instead? Have you ever witnessed someone stating…
The gospel is a regal thing. Jesus said, “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God . . .” (Luke 4:43). Abraham…
By this time in his life, Abraham was used to obeying God without question. So when the command came in the night “Go to Moriah…
For many people, holidays are a time of joy and nostalgia. But for others, holiday sights and sounds open painful wounds. The widow, with every…
My mother is going blind. What was once a tiny black hole in her vision grew until she could no longer see out of that…
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew…
We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14, NIV)….
I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (John 10:9, NIV). Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and…
While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her born, a son (Luke 2:6, 7,…
The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the…
I am the vine; you are the branches. . . . apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5, NIV). Think positively! Inch by…
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation (Revelation 3:14, NIV). And so it is. So…
But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1, NRSV). I was a new teacher…
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said,…
And let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith . ….
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering (Isaiah 53:3, NIV). “You don’t know how I feel!” Becky…
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John…
Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel” (John 1:49, NIV). Parade day in our town is…
“The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned”…
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58, NIV). Jesus was a radical, a revolutionary, a rebel —…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). Children sing “Sticks and stones may…
The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners”…
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the…
Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12). A young male made the news this week in…
I am the Root and Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16, NIV). Simply speaking those words, repeating His name, soothes my…
I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry . . . (John 6:35, NIV). People were milling around…
“You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this” (Acts 3:15, NIV). When did Jesus, the…
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will…
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11, NIV). A lone figure: agile, muscular, bearded; calm,…
The whiskered knight eyed the crowd outside the stone church. A massive stone occupied the ground beside the knight, bearing an anvil in its midst….
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel — which means, “God with us”…
Pity the poor innkeeper. This character involved in the birth of Christ has received a lot of bad press in the past two thousand years….
The man called to them from where He stood on the shore. “Friends,” He said, “you do not have any fish, do you?” Peter glanced…
What if they’re right? I wondered again. Holding the letter in my trembling hand, I was even more unsure of my decision. The elders from…
When I was born, he was in high school. When I was in kindergarten, he was starting his first real job. My first broken heart…
Marriage is an enormous commitment. After the wedding, when the blush of romance is over, real life sets in. Marriage never fixes problems in a…
“Hey, how does this one sound, honey? ‘For he is our peace, who hath made both one. . . . ‘” Tripp, my new husband,…
“You expected me to love you — just for existing.” My soon-to-be ex-husband left me to ponder these words as he walked out the door….
On a Tuesday, my husband of ten years told me (over the phone, mind you) that he no longer loved me and that he wanted…
As we waited in the doctor’s office to find out if my husband’s melanoma (the deadliest kind of skin cancer) had spread, I looked at…