Showing titles in Counseling

A powerful look at the gospel for the addicted, Hope in Addiction helps us think about what it means to be the church in light of this growing—and heartbreaking—epidemic.

In Companions in the Darkness, Diana Gruver looks back into church history and finds depression in the lives of some of our most beloved saints, including Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Without trying to diagnose these figures from a distance, Gruver tells their stories in fresh ways, taking from each a particular lesson that can encourage or guide those who suffer today. Drawing on her own experience with depression, Gruver offers a wealth of practical wisdom both for those in the darkness and those who care for them.

After twenty years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, a global pandemic, protests against racial violence, and frequent shootings, more Americans than ever are living with the effects of trauma. The good news is that Jesus was born and died in a traumatized world, and his story speaks forever to wounded people worldwide. Army veteran and Episcopal priest David Peters explores Jesus' life story through the post-traumatic lens with which the Gospel writers first wrote it.

When I returned home from my latest deployment in the U.S. Army, my life began to fall apart. One night, after heavy drinking, I placed my 1911 pistol in my mouth and thought a prayer—silence. I deactivated the safety and began to slowly squeeze the trigger. BANG! I dropped the pistol, and I looked around me, but there was no blood. The bang I heard was the Bible on my desk falling and hitting the floor. I fell to my knees and asked God for forgiveness. I surrendered to Jesus Christ and asked him to help me. He answered.

It is true: heartache, grief, suffering, obstacles, they all come in waves. There is no controlling life’s storms; there is only learning the way to walk through the waves. In this audio Bible study, bestselling author Ann Voskamp hands us a map that makes meaning of life, that shows the way through to the places we’ve only dreamed of reaching, by a way we never expected.

The first book to link the science behind Tiny Habits to faith and trauma recovery.

For the abortion-wounded… If you are an abortion-wounded woman or man, you will find your story in the pages of this book. You will read the words you’ve always wanted to express but never had the courage or the community to express them in. Your faith will be built up to receive the Jesus who doesn’t condemn you, but rather wants to rescue you from the thoughts and feelings that torment you. There is hope for authentic Christian community. For our abortion-wounded brothers – your heart matters ... your losses matter. Come, lock arms with us and find your healing and your voice. For...

Many people are struggling with mental-health conditions, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and life in our image-conscious culture. But when it comes to helping, it can be tricky to know where to begin. This wise, compassionate, and practical book is written by Steve Midgley, psychiatrist and Executive Director of Biblical Counselling UK, and Helen Thorne, Director of Training and Resources at Biblical Counselling UK. It will help listeners understand and respond with biblical wisdom to people who are struggling with their mental health.

Domestic oppression…what is that? Did you know that domestic oppression is the seedbed for every other form of abuse that takes place within families and churches? And did you know that the quantity of people who suffer under domestic oppression within the church is staggering in its pervasiveness? In Behind the Veil: Exposing the Evil of Domestic Oppression and Providing Hope, pastor and biblical counselor Warren Lamb pulls back the veil on an evil that has been too long misunderstood and overlooked in Christian circles. In Behind the Veil, Pastor Lamb draws on his thirty-plus years of ...

Do you get anxious when you have to make a decision? Do you overthink, overtalk, and overanalyze? When anxiety surrounds every decision, the result can be decision-making paralysis. Learning to trust God, even when the path is not clear, will give you courage to move forward one step at a time. Anxious with Decisions will help you see that God offers you something better than certainty and the absence of risk when you’re faced with decisions both big and small.

This substantive collection from noted scholar Serene Jones explores recent work in the field of trauma studies. Central to its overall theme is an investigation of how individual and collective violence affect one's capacity to remember, to act, and to love; how violence can challenge theological understandings of grace; and even how the traumatic experience of Jesus's death is remembered.

We all want life change, but achieving it is hard. As Christians, we know we’ve got God’s help. Jesus has made it possible. The Holy Spirit even lives inside us! And yet, too many Christians are stuck in the mud when it comes to life change. What’s going on? Can things ever get better? Can my life ever turn the corner?

"The thought of pushing God away doesn't seem a good option; surely I need him on my side", is often peoples' first response. And, they are right, but this is what most people are doing each day. For some reason, they think it's okay to take matters of God into their own hands. They feel it's their right to worry, doubt, judge others, seek revenge or hold bitterness in their hearts. When you hold onto these negative thoughts and feelings, they slowly fill the mind and heart.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by life, barely keeping your head above water? Don’t despair! You hold a life preserver in your hand. You’re just one choice away from correcting the trajectory of your life. Your journey toward freedom begins the moment you choose to stand up and face your life with courage.

Even though each woman’s story is different, the challenges that follow an abortion can be similar. How can you find healing and renewal for where you are now? How do you process the variety of emotions you may be experiencing, such as anger, grief, or perhaps numbness? Camille Cates has spent many years counseling women, helping them to answer those questions. In Moving Forward after Abortion, she helps you to see that God is forgiving, gracious, merciful, and loving, and offers comfort to those who come to him to experience restoration instead of brokenness.

Mrs. Hallelujah shares how the childhood trauma that kept her bound for years vanished at the sound of praise! Find out how it’s done in this dramatic rendition of Praise No Matter What Happens. Praise opens the door and allows God to fill the inner depths of the heart. Imagine what this one principle can do for your life, your health, and the people you come in contact with every day. May it motivate and affirm a way of thinking about God beyond the unfortunate events you face, for He is the answer to every problem no matter what happens.

A woman marries a man, not his ministry. But all too often her husband’s calling complicates their life together. What if ministry life isn’t what she bargained for? What happens when her children make mistakes? How does she deal with church gossip, or even slander? As a pastor’s wife of almost 50 years, Jani Ortlund addresses these questions, along with many others, as she offers encouragement and guidance to ministry wives. Jani reminds listeners that God works out his delightfully good purposes in and through their sacrifices.

Between alcohol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs, pornography, gambling, and eating disorders, fully 25 percent of the population of the United States is addicted to something. Those addictions are taking a massive physical, emotional, spiritual, and financial toll on individuals, families, and communities. The problem can feel insurmountable. But there is a solution, at once ancient and supported by the latest in neuroscientific research.

A seasoned author and masterful storyteller, Tricia Lott Williford encountered the public trauma of the death of her husband, but she held quietly the private trauma that happened at the same time: grooming, manipulation, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse by a person of trust. Tricia and her therapist, Jana Richardson, LPC, have written a resource to help others recognize the veiled dynamics of abuse, where it starts, how it escalates, and how survivors can break free and find freedom.

In 2012, Steve Austin, then a pastor, nearly died by suicide. His experience launched him on a journey that opened his eyes to the widespread problem of mental illness and how those who live with it are often treated in congregations. He began to wonder: If church folks had talked openly about mental health, therapy, suicide prevention, recovery from abuse, and other difficult issues, would that have changed his story? In Hiding in the Pews, people with mental illness - some of whom might be pastors themselves - will find comfort as they learn they are not alone.