Stronger than the storm

Thunderstorm with lightning above the sea at sunset

This week at our Life Group, we invited everyone to share one of their favourite Psalms, it was a fantastic feast as we read, reflected on and prayed Scripture.  On a side note, I’d encourage you to try doing this in your life/community/home groups sometime.  Anyway, one of the Psalms shared was Psalm 93 which… Continue reading Stronger than the storm

Free from anxieties

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In 1 Corinthians 7:29, Paul says “From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none.”  What does he mean by this? Well, we know from the rest of the chapter that he cannot mean either that they should separate from and divorce their wives or that they should commit to… Continue reading Free from anxieties

Serving with a limp – checking in on your mental health

We’re coming up to the third anniversary of my significant brush with anxiety and depression. It was back in November 2019 that I found myself signed off from work followed by quite a challenging and tumultuous period of time (and all of that before we hit COVID). I’ve told some of my story here and… Continue reading Serving with a limp – checking in on your mental health

Good questions about depression, anxiety and mental health

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to speak to a group of teenagers about mental health and to share my own story about experiencing depression and anxiety. After speaking for a few minutes, I opened the floor to questions. I expected an awkward silence and maybe some prompted questions from the leaders but… Continue reading Good questions about depression, anxiety and mental health

For those getting your A Level results today … this isn’t the one day that defines everything

It’s A Level results day.  These days, most A Level students will have already checked in online to confirm they’ve got into their Uni of choice, probably received an e-mail from their school with the results and unless they are wanted for the “jumping in the air” photoshoot probably gone back to bed.  We are… Continue reading For those getting your A Level results today … this isn’t the one day that defines everything

Continuing to trace the rainbow – Why I’m talking about mental health and why it matters

This morning I got the opportunity to talk to a group of about 60 who are here in Birmingham to take part in the Commonwealth Games outreach. The team are from Firestarters UK and consist mainly of teens from Scotland and Wales. It’s been great to see these young people taking steps to share their… Continue reading Continuing to trace the rainbow – Why I’m talking about mental health and why it matters

Your pastor has considered giving up

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That’s perhaps not the headline you wanted to read is it? However, this is the challenging reality. At some point your pastor/vicar/elders have thought  “I could just walk out the building after the service finishes, in fact, I could do it right now. I could shut the Bible, walk out and never come back here.”… Continue reading Your pastor has considered giving up

The pandemic – faith and emotional health

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Earlier this week, I shared the results of a survey that I had done among my twitter followers picking up on the impact of the pandemic. The survey showed that whilst quite a few people are able to talk positively about the impact on their spiritual health in terms of relationship to church family and… Continue reading The pandemic – faith and emotional health

A magnifying glass on my sin

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Back in 2019 I was becoming increasingly irritable and snappy.  I found that my patience was in short supply and that I struggled to find joy and delight in things.  Perhaps it was no surprise then when towards the end of the year I found myself diagnosed with Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder. Things had… Continue reading A magnifying glass on my sin