Declaration Against Depression

The National Institute of Mental Heath says:

An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older — about one in four adults — suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people.

A mental disorder is just that--a DIS-order, NON-order, an ALTERNATE-order. By mental disorder I mean: depression, eating disorder, panic or anxiety disorder, learning disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder... and the list can go on and on. I have read that America has a prevalent number of mental disorders compared to other countries. Could it be that disorder is just a manifestation of the pain of living--the pain of want?

Everything has a disorder attached to it. So either America is obsessed with disorder or they are consumed by it. I argue that it is a little bit of both. This post will address how we are consumed by disorder--by pain, discomfort, unhappiness, stress, lack of joy or motivation, depression. I need not go into detail about the mass amount of drugs that we are pumping into our bodies, countless "self-help" books and counseling that we turn to deal with the pain of living. I am one of those who has been consumed with the painful reality of living in this imperfect world where babies die, women are tortured and wars kill millions of young men everywhere. I know that everyone would agree with me that we live in a broken world of hurting people--emotionally, physically, spiritually and mentally.

God is a God of order,

not confusion and not mental disorder.

As I was getting fed up thinking about all of this I wrote a "Declaration Against Depression" based on Scripture that gives me hope in a hopeless world. By saying these words out loud, I felt a cloud of despair, frustration and feeling overwhelmed leave me. It was replaced with peace, joy and the positive attitute that life is good because God is good and God is Life Everlasting.

Be blessed as you claim these words for yourself.

I, (insert your name), declare freedom against the enemy of depression in my life that is stealing the joy of Jesus Christ away from me. I declare that I will fight daily to die to my fleshly desires and feelings that are not in agreement with the Word of God. I will work as unto the Lord so that I will have more than enough. Because of the LORD's great love I am not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I surrender my body to be used for righteous purposes. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You. I laugh at the days to come because I have been covered by the blood of Jesus and have been made perfect in His love. I will use my freedom to love and not to sin. I will make good and healthy choices that are aligned with who He says I am—not the world, not my feelings. The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. No power in the sky above or in the earth below–indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God or the promise of a future of hope that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. I have the peace of God living in me. I will not be destroyed for Jesus has overcome this life. My job is to love extravagantly. God is pleased with me when I worship, love and obey Him and since I am commanded to be joyful always and give thanks continually that is the life that I am going to live in Jesus Christ! AMEN!

A Version of the Truth-- Book Review

The front cover of A Version of the Truth by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack describes it as "The Devil Wears Prada meets Walden Pond." Naturally, I am drawn to both of those books, so I pick it up. Plus it has a cute cover as you see and I am a sucker for packaging!

It is a coming of age story and romance about a 30-year-old woman named Cassie, a nature-lover whose husband just died in a car wreck. He was a jerk anyways, so it is actually more of a relief to Cassie--kinda like Kate Chopin's Story of an Hour, but the narrator doesn't die. She takes a job at a university and things change...

It is such a quick and easy read and except for the occasional curse word and casual sex, I highly recommend it for those women over 18 of a good moral foundation. It is one of those books that after you finish it you exclaim, "What a good book!" and bask in that feeling of a happy ending. (Which I needed after watching the movie, Salt with Angelina Jolie.) So, Courtney and Jessica, I do have one copy for loan. I think that you would really enjoy this one. My rating: A-

What is Real?

We have all heard the phrase raw emotion, but what is real emotion? Is it the same? Is it an impossibility—an oxymoron—a paradox? I argue that we embrace the idea of a paradox. Afterall, God Himself is a paradox. Real emotion is real. What is real is what has happened as evidenced by physical, emotional or mental witnesses. It is not what is wrong or right, but what is real. Though they may be wrong, they can still be real and deserve to be acknowledged. So I have been journaling about it and googling about the idea of things real and came across this quote from The Velveteen Rabbit:

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Being real is messy. It takes a long time, because what is real isn't just a simple answer. Being real is about having real emotions. We are alive because we can feel and we feel because we are alive.

What's more is that Jesus said that He came to heal the broken hearted. He didn't come to tell us that we shouldn't be broken hearted, but to heal us. God cares about our emotions. He created them. And expressing our emotions in a constructive way creates room for God to heal us.

All of this may be prompting a book, so please, share your insights and ideas!