Category Anxiety

Rest is Not a Reward for Productivity

By Monday, January 9, 2023 Anxiety, Counseling, Depression, Family, Feelings, Humility, Identity, Idolatry, Life in general, Maternal Soul Care, Ministry, Pastors, Soul Care, Spiritual Grit, Spiritual Growth Permalink

It’s a new year and now is the time we hear a lot about “A new year, a new you!” The holiday season in the West is focused on activities, concerts, parties and getting as much done as one can to prepare for guests or to be out of the office. All this preparation is important to us for various reasons. For some, it can be a desire to celebrate the season with others. For others, there can be a desire to impress others or be perceived a certain way by hosting these activities, leading them, or landing that final ...

Continue Reading...

Author Q&A: The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care

By Tuesday, July 27, 2021 Anxiety, Book Reviews, Christian Women, Counseling, Emotions, Maternal Soul Care, Pastoral Counseling, Pastors, Paternal Soul Care, Self-care, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth Permalink

Today's guest post is an author interview with Counselors and Co-Authors, Eliza Huie and Esther Smith about their new book, The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care. Eliza Huie, MA, LCPC, is the Director of Counseling at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, VA and the Dean of Biblical Counseling at Metro Baltimore Seminary. She is the author of Raising Teens in a Hyper-Sexualized World and Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World and is the coauthor of The Whole Life. Esther Smith, MA, is a biblical counselor at Life Counseling Center Ministries and is a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Maryland. ...

Continue Reading...

3 Ways the Pandemic and the Transition Back to “Normal” May Affect Your Teen

By Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Anxiety, Counseling, Depression, Family, Family Counseling, Grief, Kids, Parenting, Pastoral Counseling, Self harm, Soul Care, Suffering, Suicide, Teens Permalink

Michelle has been on staff with Heart Song Counseling for over 8 years. Prior to moving to the Tampa Bay area, she served as a counselor for Heart Song in Washington, D.C. She received her B.A. in Speech and Communication Studies at Clemson University and her M. Div in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In her spare time, she enjoys running, spending long days at the beach and Clemson football. It’s no secret that the pandemic has impacted our teens in a myriad of ways over the last year. Some teens found themselves back in school full throttle, others ...

Continue Reading...

3 Ways Pastors Can Help Women and Families Experiencing Postpartum Depression

By Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Counseling, Depression, Family, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Ministry, Mommy Stuff, Pastoral Counseling, Pastors, Paternal Soul Care, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, PTSD, Reproductive Psychiatry, Soul Care, Women Permalink
Postpartum Depression

This post originally appeared on Careleader.org March 2018. As a pastor of a congregation with young families you may have small groups, a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry, Awana, and more. Your church may also be blessed to have a meals ministry to help individuals and families after a surgery or birth of a child. Your church is probably well equipped with support ministries for families to help disciple their children and to provide encouragement and teaching for parents. But how equipped are you to minister to families experiencing postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety? Did you know that 1 in 5 women will experience maternal ...

Continue Reading...

Worship: An Antidote to Anxiety

By Thursday, February 1, 2018 Anxiety, Christian Women, Control, Counseling, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth, Women, Worship Permalink

I don’t know about you, but when I’m struggling with feelings of anxiety or fear, worship is the last thing on my mind. Anxiety is something God’s people have struggled with for a long time with God’s Word on the topics of fear, worry and anxiety going back nearly as far as fear itself. One way that God draws our wandering hearts back to himself is through the gift of musical worship. Sometimes, when I feel too anxious, fearful or worried to read my Bible or find the words to pray, listening to God’s life-giving, truth-speaking, peace-giving Word that stands ...

Continue Reading...

When Anxiety Takes Over

By Friday, October 27, 2017 Anxiety, Counseling, Ministry, Missions, Pastors, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth Permalink

Today's guest post is written by Pastor, Professor and Missions Mobilizer Dave Shive. He is the author of Night Shift, released in April 2001. Based on Psalm 40:1-3, Night Shift is an easily understood and thoroughly biblical explanation of how God uses affliction to prepare His children for greater usefulness to Him. Since 2009, Dave and Kathy have served as full time mission mobilizers on staff with Frontier Ventures (formerly the US Center for World Mission) in Pasadena, CA. Dave and Kathy have been married for 49 years and live in Catonsville, MD. They have three married children, Dan, Mike, and Becky and are the proud grandparents of 11 grandchildren. You ...

Continue Reading...

Does My Teenager Have An Eating Disorder? Part 2

By Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Addictions, Anorexia, Anxiety, Binge-eating, Bulimia, Control, Counseling, Depression, Eating Disorders, Identity, Idolatry, Kids, Orthorexia nervosa, Parenting, Self harm, Self Image, Teens Permalink

You are reading the second post in a two-part series about teens and eating disorders. In the previous post we looked at the four main types of disorders with accompanying warning signs. In today’s post we will look at the next steps to take in helping your teen if an eating disorder is suspected. Counselor Michelle Horton, continues our examination into this topic.   So what do I do once I’ve identified an eating disorder in my teenager? First things first, get your child to their pediatrician or general practitioner. Your teen’s health could possibly be in serious danger. You will want to ...

Continue Reading...

Does My Teenager Have An Eating Disorder?

By Tuesday, June 27, 2017 Addictions, Anorexia, Anxiety, Binge-eating, Bulimia, Control, Depression, Eating Disorders, Orthorexia nervosa, Parenting, Self harm, Self Image, Teens Permalink

Today’s guest post is a two-part series on teens and Eating Disorders written by Michelle Horton, MA. Michelle is a biblical counselor with Heart Song Counseling in Tampa, FL. Michelle counsels on a variety of issues including PTSD, survivors of sexual abuse, eating disorders, addictions and emotional issues. In her spare time she enjoys running, spending long days at the beach and Clemson football. Does my teenager have an eating disorder? Maybe you started asking this question when you noticed your teen’s eating habits changing. Or maybe it was seeing their normally healthy, vibrant body deteriorating. Maybe you heard the sounds of ...

Continue Reading...

After Abortion Care: Why Churches Need to Care for the Post-Abortive Woman

By Sunday, April 23, 2017 Abortion, Addictions, Anorexia, Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Control, Counseling, Depression, Eating Disorders, Identity, Kids, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Mommy Stuff, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, PTSD, Reproductive Psychiatry, Self harm, Self Image, Sex, Sex Education, Sexuality, Soul Care, Suicide, Teens, Uncategorized, Women Permalink

1 in 4 pregnancies end in an abortion decision, a statistic that is no different whether you look inside or outside the church. Whatever the reason a woman has for having an abortion, the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional strains of the decision can result in repercussions for years to come. Whether it be triggers that remind her of the event or physical and emotional struggles that eventually come to light, the local church can (and should) be a place of safety where women receive grace and loving care to help them work through their struggle. In this fifth and final post ...

Continue Reading...

When Your Wife Has Postpartum Anxiety and Depression: One Husband’s Story

By Monday, April 3, 2017 Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Communication, Control, Counseling, Depression, Identity, Kids, Marriage, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Mommy Stuff, Parenting, Paternal Soul Care, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, Reproductive Psychiatry, Soul Care, Suicide, Teens, Women Permalink

As this series on maternal mental health continues, today we hear the testimony of one husband as he journeyed with his wife through her postpartum depression and anxiety after their first child. It is our hope that you will find strength and encouragement in Christ through the telling of Sarah and Kurt’s story. Read Part 1 of this post here. All names have been changed to respect the family’s privacy. What symptoms did you observe in Sarah? The symptoms Sarah demonstrated included: irritability, tiredness, anxiety, panic and anger. For me, it was important to learn to see past these negative emotions. In other ...

Continue Reading...