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Fresh Hope: Living Well in Spite of a Mental Health Diagnosis by Brad Hoefs (@bradhoefs)

By in Book Reviews, Mental Health | 0 comments

Fresh Hope by Dr. Michael Egger My rating: 5 of 5 stars When I was first diagnosed with a mental illness (bipolar disorder), I had an all or nothing approach that included Option A: a devastated life with mental illness, or Option B: complete and perfect healing by God. That was the only way I could think about it. And, in fact, I believe the church taught me to think about it in those terms. As I worked through the physical, mental, and spiritual aspects of mental illness, I came to realize there was a better choice. I could accept mental illness and overcome it through diligence on my part and faith in God’s part until I reached a point of recovery, which is not the same as healing. Recovery means living with it, but overcoming it with God’s help. That’s what I liked most about Brad Hoefs’ book, Fresh Hope. He emphasized recovery as the goal and that goal gives us hope and...

The Benefits of Exercise (Laughter Counts!)

By in Noah's Archives | 6 comments

Most of us start the year off trying to exercise more, if for no other reason than to lose the five pounds we gained from the holiday eggnog and pie. So it seems timely to share with you a paper my teenage nephew, Nathan MacQueen, wrote in December. It was a school assignment, so I expected to find a sterile explanation of health benefits from exercise. It wasn’t long, however, before I was laughing out loud. As a writer (and an aunt) I’m so pleased to see his personal brand of humor developing in his writing. I asked him if I could share this with you.   The Benefits of Exercise This paper is going to talk about some reasons that we need to exercise. Some of us need to exercise more than others. For example, if you work at a doughnut shop and they give you free doughnuts, you are more than likely going to need A LOT of exercise, but if you are a construction worker...

Ask God to Amplify the Results of Your Weight Loss Efforts

By in Crazy Grace Blog | 0 comments

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I’ve never thought about praying for God to accelerate my weight loss. I always took on the burden of weight loss as something I had to do on my own. But it makes sense, now that I think about it. I wanted to share this excerpt from Adam Hogue in which he talks about his near-death experience, obesity, and dramatic weight loss with the Lord’s help.   “I’m fat.” It’s one of the most self-destructive phrases with which people can attack themselves. Satan loves to throw this at people to empty them of all God’s joy. Such people try to lose weight but just can’t seem to do it, so they lose heart and lose faith, finding that they hate the image in the mirror. But God has a better plan for you—a plan to heal you and give you a future and a hope. Did you know that 95 percent of all people who have a weight issue could do something about it? So unless you...