First of all, I think recovery groups work miracles for many people. I have seen many people achieve and maintain sobriety in groups like NA and AA. I have no problem with the recovery groups and I often use the principles I learned in them in ministry and counseling. It is a great tool. That is what recovery groups are; they are a tool. Just like any tool, they do not work in every situation. In other words, what works for one person may not work for another. It is important to have several tools in your toolbelt, especially in sobriety.

It took me 4 years to find a medication combination that worked for my depression/bipolar/adhd/anxiety. After being on the medication (sometimes inconsistently), I can say I am medication free. I know God can heal, but just because he can does not mean that He will. Ultimately, it is for his glory. I always viewed my healing story as one where I would have to take medication for the rest of my life. Every time I tried stopping my medication, I got really sick and my depression got really bad.

The summer after freshman year of high school, I started using drugs recreationally. I could attribute it to the peer pressure I endure, but in reality, it was my choice, and I wanted to do it. It started off recreationally and over the years led to a pill addiction. I could tell you the list of drugs I have done, who I’ve done them with, and the crazy stories I got from using, but that only glorifies the bad choices that ultimately led me to my breaking point. Instead, I’m going to share with you my experience, strength, and hope by telling you who I was, what happened, and who I am now.

If you’re a friend a mine, you have probably gotten a couple of texts like this recently. They may seem random, but they are not. In one word, I am crying for help. I’ll never admit to you how much I am actually struggling. This is not necessarily a pride thing, but because I feel like I am bothering you and that I am not worth your time.

A journey through recovery from bipolar depression is like surfing on the ocean. There are waves and seasons in life. Sometimes the waves seem higher than you can manage. Sometimes there are no waves and you are just wading in the water. You have to learn how to surf and manage those waves. When you are in the midst of a wave that seems like a juggernaut, your depression starts talking, and talking loudly. It tells you that you are unlovable, a screw up, worthless, and more. Your reality becomes a distorted perspective of reality. Here are some lies my depression tells me when I am surfing a large wave that seems to have no end.

There are several sources for somebody with Bipolar Depression to learn to love themselves from self-help books to the Bible to therapy to more. However, there are limited sources available for people who love somebody with Bipolar Depression. You could be a family member, a significant other, or a friend and not know how to respond in love to somebody struggling with Bipolar Depression. I know sometimes it is difficult for my family and my girlfriend to know what I need when I am going through an episode, and it is difficult for me to articulate what I need at that moment. Here are some tips for how to love somebody with Bipolar Depression.

So many people live in the bondage of fear daily for many different reasons whether spiritual or material. They live in fear that they are not good enough. They live in fear that they will relapse. They live in fear that they can’t pay their bills this month. Fear surrounds us. Fear is a liar.

Love and fear cannot coexist. In the same way, worship and sin cannot coexist.

Many know the Church of the Nazarene as the church that believes you can lose your salvation. That is an erroneous oversimplification of a doctrine in the Church of the Nazarene. I think we can all agree that salvation is not like some kind of object that we can misplace or leave somewhere. When you use the phrase “lose your salvation,” you are not understanding the belief that the Church of the Nazarene holds to. In fact, it is a phrase that is not much used in the Church of the Nazarene and other denominations with a Wesleyan theological perspective. The language of “losing” just is not sufficient.

Righteousness changes based on the relationship and expectations. The expectations I have for a relationship with my friends are different than the expectations I have for a relationship with a wife. In any of those relationships, righteousness would be living up to the expectations that is yielded by the relationship. When the Bible talks about being righteous, it is for those who live up to the expectations that God has set for His people. These are found in the Law and then is given to us through relationship with Jesus.

David was anointed the next king, but Samuel just leaves. Although David was anointed, it was not yet in God’s timing for him to take the throne. He still had to prepare himself. God does not call the prepared but prepares the called. David had to wait, maybe even for years. Sometimes God tells us to wait. Waiting is not doing nothing.

Leprosy made a person a social outcast. Leprosy is commonly thought today to be when your body is decaying. In reality, it could be a number of different skin conditions. One of the main reasons leprosy was perceived as “unclean” was that it was typically associated with death since you might be perceived as a sort of “walking corpse” with a skin disease with your skin flaking off. It may not have been “curable,” but it was not necessarily permanent either. One could not be touched in fear of contracting leprosy. Lepers were seen as highly contagious, similar to chicken pox.

It is 12:10 in the morning. Why am I awake? I experience very vivid nightmares. Now, these nightmares are not like scary movies. Those things don’t keep me awake. What keeps me awake is the memories of people leaving and the memories of me losing everything I worked for. Tonight, my dream consisted of mentors and role models leaving my life. That is a nightmare for me. I wake up in tears and catch myself talking in my sleep.

David was anointed the next king, but Samuel just leaves. Although David was anointed, it was not yet in God’s timing for him to take the throne. He still had to prepare himself. God does not call the prepared but prepares the called. David had to wait, maybe even for years. Sometimes God tells us to wait. Waiting is not doing nothing.

 I have always been pretty open about my struggles with my mental health. This by no means is a demonstration of confidence. I always have the trepidation of being judged or getting bad feedback from being so transparent. Ultimately, I have seen time and time again how my testimony has helped people. Every so often, I share a bit of my testimony on social media or in a sermon. Every time I do, I have at least one person contact me later saying that they have been struggling with the same thing and it was refreshing to know other people do to. The devil likes to tell you that you are all alone.

Learn 3 trips to help your exercise of the Sabbath

"...We must not belittle those of 'that' political party... We must be careful not to demean our brothers and sisters by saying, 'if you are a Christian, how could you ever vote for them?'... What are we supposed to do when we don't see eye to eye politically with people? ...Actually begin genuine conversations and get to know each other... God may use these conversations to stretch and to grow your understanding of what it means to be a kingdom culture people in this environment...explain yourself in a way that honors Christ and listen in a way that honors your relationship with Jesus."