Church Abuse Recovery... a basic roadmap for overcoming loss
When you’ve experienced church abuse, or any significant loss, it’s easy to get stuck in a form of exile where you feel lost and disoriented. This post offers a brief roadmap to help people find the path to recovery.
Talking Grief: Anderson Cooper and President Biden
In November of 2023, Anderson Cooper sat down with President Biden to talk about grief on Anderson’s “All There Is” podcast. Take time to face your grief and let God use it to change you into the person you are meant to be.
How to Recover from Loss, Grief, and Exile
Experiencing loss is like being sent into exile emotionally. The grief of loss can make you feel cut off from your life as you knew it. Here are five things you can do to return from your exile.
Facing Your Nakedness - Day 26
When everything has been stripped from your life and you stand alone and “naked” what do you do? Where do you find your worth? What can you learn about yourself? Facing your nakedness can be a turning point for you.
Companions of Comfort in Exile - Day 18
When you’ve experienced a setback (exile) it’s natural to experience isolation and loneliness. But God never abandons us. He sends us companions to comfort us.
Denying Your Loss - Day Ten
When you experience a loss or setback, it’s easy to go into denial rather than face the painful emotions of anger, fear, and sadness.
Holiday Grief: Is it time to let go?
The holidays magnify the pain and grief of our losses, especially the loss of loved ones. But for that very reason, God can use the holidays to bring healing and a new life to the bereaved.
Grief: Can There Be a Hidden Blessing? (Henri Nouwen)
Mourning is not a place to live but a process to move through to a place where life is good again. Henri Nouwen offers his wisdom on how to approach loss.
When Suicide Takes A Loved One
When suicide takes a loved one, it’s a painful, confusing time. These words, spoken at a funeral of a victim of suicide, might help you if you have lost a loved one.
How Do You Deal With The Loss of a Child?
Nothing can be worse than losing a child. How does one recover from something like that? This brief post points the way to how to grieve and move on from the loss of a child.
Tragedy and Loss: Don't Over Spiritualize It
When you suffer a tragedy it’s easy to want to connect some spiritual meaning to it. But be careful not to over spiritualize a tragedy.
Tragedy and Loss: Should We Blame God?
This is part two in a three part series on tragedy and loss. In this post F. Remy Diederich looks at our need to blame someone in the face of tragedy, even God.
Tragedy and Loss: Facing the Questions That Haunt You
There are natural questions that haunt us after the loss of a loved one or another tragedy. But be careful what you believe in these moments. It’s important to not try to have all the answers.
Seven Steps To Help The Hurting
When a friend hurts, do you know what to say… or what NOT to say? Here are seven ways to help the people who are hurting in your life.
Grieving Your Loss - Day 28
When bad things happen, the natural response is to deny it, or strike out against it, or try to make a deal. These are all stages of grief. It’s important to work through the grief cycle so you can claim your new life.
Two Halves of Life (Richard Rohr) - Day 23
Richard Rohr speaks about there being two halves to life. In order to successfully enter the second half it requires a stripping of much of what you’ve worked hard to achieve.
Finding Wisdom in Exile - Day 22
When we experience a setback we often fear the worsts case scenario… losing everything. But Richard Rohr helps us to see that losing everything can bring freedom.
The Anger of Unmet Needs - Day 17
When you have a need that no one wants to meet it can cause anger. That anger can deepen your sense of loss and exile.
The Bittersweet Feelings of Loss - Day 16
Experiencing and recovering from a deep loss brings mixed emotions. In this post we hear from the mother whose son is recovering from a brain tumor.
The Emotions of Setback and Loss - Day Nine
A setback, coupled with loss, is what leads to exile. There are three main emotions associated with setback and loss. Don’t run from them. Embrace them to learn what God wants to show you about yourself.