Millie, my lions and me
In early June, a sermon was delivered by a mother-daughter team in Tiefengrund Rosenort Mennonite Church in Saskatchewan. The daughter, Abby, is 12. From time to time, the growing whiteness of my hair and whiskers seems to dictate that I offer opinions about how we do church. About how we obsess over smoothness and perfect…
‘Fear not’
In the past few weeks, a theme has emerged in my Advent singing and Scripture reading: fear. Fear is all around us. A recent book about a fearmongering president is on the bestseller list. Politicians and pundits stoke a public paranoia, using it to boost their own power. Credible scientific reports alert us to the…
Avoiding avoidance
Do you ever find yourself starting something and not completing it? If so, then you’re familiar with avoidance behaviours. Avoidance is the set of things we do to distract ourselves from the current task—the one that really needs doing. Perhaps your form of avoidance is cleaning your room, going out with friends, looking at social…
Guard your heart and mind
I memorized Philippians 4:4-9 more than 20 years ago when I was on bed rest during my pregnancy with my son Aaron. I had lost three babies before him—and one after him—so pregnancy for me was an obvious cause for anxiety. If truth be known, I am actually a professional worrier, so passages like this…
‘I am still holding out hope that I will be free of this one day’
What is it like being a young adult journeying with mental illness? Canadian Mennonite spoke with three people from Mennonite Church Canada congregations to find out. Melanie Kampen Melanie Kampen sought help for her anxiety when it got so bad last summer that she couldn’t get out of bed. A psychiatrist diagnosed the 26-year-old with…
