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Emotional Health

Emotional health is vital for mission. Being on mission means doing the work of justice, healing, beauty, and evangelism. That healing starts in our own hearts.

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I’m Too Busy to Do It All

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I’m too busy to do it all. The more “behind” I am, the more angsty I get, and that’s not pleasant for anyone. For me, being too busy is almost synonymous with being worried.

In contrast to my own short-on-time angst, I know certain people who radiate a sense of peace. I often wonder, how do they do that? They’re not superhuman, and it’s not as though they have fewer responsibilities than I do. Somehow, they’ve managed to find a solid spiritual center in the middle of the demands of life. That’s the kind of spiritual center I want in my life.

Recognizing Anger and Shame

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Jesus’ teaching is that the kind of heart that reacts to others in anger is a heart that will lead me toward God’s judgment. Anger is a sin that fails to honor the precious people whom God has created. When I routinely directed anger at Katie over money matters, I was failing to see her as the kind of being to whom such anger simply should not be directed. She is too precious for that.

Finding God in Sadness

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Somehow, my pain had become a place where I could experience God’s love. It was as though I needed the warm-up of paying attention to my emotions more intentionally for a few months before it was even possible for me to experience something like that. As I got to know my emotions for myself, I now could share them with God. I could find God in the sadness.

Seven Signs of an Emotionally Healthy Church

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One news story after another has revealed lurking cases of abuse in faith communities that, from the outside, looked vibrant and whole. These stories can be disorienting. They leave us asking difficult questions. How can I know if a new church community is a safe place? When is it right to extend my trust to the leaders of a church? If I’m serving in leadership, how can I tell whether my own community is a good place for people to find their spiritual footing?

I’m Hurried and Overwhelmed. Help!

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We can feel hurried for many different reasons. Life, work, relationships, responsibilities. There’s a standard iPhone ringtone that still makes my skin crawl whenever I hear it. It was my morning alarm during a few months of intense stress when chimes signaled the start of. a cortisol-packed morning routine. Turns out, I’m not the only one familiar with that minor trauma.” The hurry from that season is still with me in the feelings that ringtone invokes.