Hope for the Hurting

Do You Ever Feel Like You are Falling Behind?
Do you ever feel like you’re really hustling to get ahead, but you just can’t see any growth? Maybe you feel like you’re falling behind in all the major areas of your life. Jennifer Dukes Lee shares how feeling as if she was falling behind led her to embrace a new and life-changing philosophy she shares about in today’s post.

Rest Requires Trust in God
Earlier in life, God called me to rest before I even knew what the word meant. What I learned in my searching was that rest requires trust in God. And, in order to rest and truly trust God, it meant I would have to surrender control to Him. These 5 scriptures helped me learn to trust God enough to rest.

How To Navigate Grief and Loss
In the past two years, I’ve lost over 20 friends and family members, and right now I have several friends who are in the midst of grieving losses of friends and loved ones. Grief and mourning don’t just apply to the loss of people we love, but also the loss of dreams, hopes, expectations, possessions, jobs, and so much more. In this post, my friend, Donna Fagerstrom, author of Every Mourning, shares how to navigate grief and loss.

How To Grieve
When it comes to grief, there is no normal, because everyone grieves their own way. I’m often asked how long the grieving process takes, what are different ways to deal with grief, and how to support a grieving spouse or other loved one. In today’s article, I share 4 supportive ways to deal with grief.

How to Handle Difficult Times
In this world, you will face trials, difficulties, hard times. God warns us of such. At times it will seem like you are surrounded by a flood of difficulty. Other times you may feel as if you are walking through the fire of hardship. The question is, how do you handle difficult times?

Compassion Fatigue
How do you empathize, support and give Godly advice to people who are chronically ill without taking responsibility for their burden? Dr. B shares tips on how to avoid compassion fatigue when your compassion for others crosses over into bearing a burden that is not yours to carry.

5 Tips to Laugh in the Face of Suffering
Have you ever been able to laugh in the face of suffering? Rhonda Stoppe and her husband had experienced difficult times before and learned about the faithfulness of God amidst the storm. But, as she faced a surgery, physical therapy, pain and recovery from an accident, she wrestled with discouragement. She knew the joy of the Lord would be her strength. But, she had to figure out how to fight for joy. During this difficult time, she learned 5 Tips to Laugh in the Face of Suffering.

What Do I Do When I Can’t Forgive Myself?
Have you ever struggled with forgiving yourself for things you did in your past? Feelings of shame can stop you in your tracks as the enemy of your soul reminds you of your mistakes. How do you overcome shameful feelings and move on with life? What can you do when you can’t forgive yourself?

The Importance of Forgiveness in Recovering from Trauma and Past Mistakes
In her journey of recovering from childhood trauma and past mistakes, BJ Garrett learned about the importance of forgiveness: what forgiveness is and what forgiveness is not. Walking through forgiveness lifted shame and released the burden of unforgiveness which led her to a startling discovery that changed her life.

Getting Outside: It Does a Body Good!
At the beginning of the year, many people make a commitment to make health a greater priority. One of the most important steps is committing to getting outside. Physical exercise, sunlight, and vitamin D all play a vital role in improving and/or maintaining our health, energy, sleep, and mood. Read more for 7 different ways getting outside improves your health.