My Name is Hope

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For me, 2015 is the year of HOPE. My Word of the Year. After several tough years I needed something to hang onto...a hope that God would use what I had been through for His glory and my good. To hope in Him that He will see to the end the story He started writing so many years ago in my heart. 

Hope is so essential for those that deal with anxiety and depression {like me}. I have struggled my whole life with these complex emotional issues. There are good days. There are bad days. There are even a few horrific days sprinkled in the midst of it all. Through it all I have learned more about learning into God in the midst of the raw emotions.

I recently read My Name is Hope: Anxiety, depression, and life after melancholy by John Mark Comer. He takes a look at the spiritual and emotional causes of anxiety and depression and gives tips on how to deal with them. He points out that anxiety and depression are linked according to the Bible which has totally been true for me. My anxiety causes depression. I loved reading his insights on the inner workings of both...Here are just a few things he had to say...

Anxiety is temporary atheism. Anxiety is when you stop trusting God...

Anxiety is mental. Depression is emotional.

Learn the art of praying your guts out.

For all our intelligence, ingenuity, and brilliance, we remain a violent, hurting people. We don't know how to repair the soul. We never have...No technology, no government, no self-help book has the power to reassemble the broken pieces of the human heart. God is the only hope for the desperate.

It takes time to undo years of sin, abuse, and dysfunction. The greater the wounds, the longer it takes to heal.

If you struggle with either anxiety and/or depression John Mark's book is worth the read! 

To read more of my posts on anxiety and depression, click here.