Did I imagine when I started?

So often people ask me, "Did you imagine when you started Living Room that it would grow the way it has?" I know they expect me to say that "No, I totally hadn't expected it."

However, you know, I can't say that I didn't expect it. I think I did. I knew this was a big thing God was having me do. I knew that this was His work, not my own. So often I forgot that little detail, trying to do it on my own. And then, the fear and stress that resulted! The only way I could get my courage back was to remember that I was only God's footsoldier. Put one foot ahead of the other as God led. Be His instrument.

With God all things are possible. It's truly no surprise that Living Room has become what it is. And I pray that it will continue growing, giving Christian support to people living with mood disorders.

I want to share a dream I have and hope you will give me some feedback on it. I would love to start an online Living Room - in the form of a blog. The blog would deal with the kinds of topics we deal with at my Living Room group. Interactive discussions.

But I have fears. What if it doesn't work? What if I have trouble posting - as I've had trouble on this blog?

It would be a much different blog though, discussing how God can help us live our lives with mood disorders. I'm keen on these topics and have done a lot of work already developing such topics. I will ask how God has helped you...or not helped you. We will have to be honest.

Would you like a blog like that? It would be called Living Room Support.

I get so many emails from people wanting a group in their neighbourhood - needing a group. This will help serve their needs.

We are not alone forum - Oct 20

A must-not-miss event is coming up in Vancouver, Canada. If you're reading this and you live in the area you should definitely consider going.

WE ARE NOT ALONE

Saturday, October 20, 8:30am to 3pm.

A forum for faith communities to talk about mental illness

Are you:

• recovering from a mental illness?
• caring for someone living with a mental illness?
• part of a community of faith?

Keynote speaker: Craig Rennebohm, chaplain to homeless people living with mental illness and author of Souls in the Hands of a Tender God

http://www.mentalhealthchaplain.org/MHC_chaplain.htm

For more information and to register go to the Sanctuary Mental Health Ministry's website at http://sanctuary-ministries.com/we-are-not-alone-forum/

I read Craig Rennebohm's book and loved it. In the words of Ezra E.H. Griffith, MD, American Journal of Psychiatry:

"Since 1987, Craig Rennebohm has ministered to people who are homeless and struggling with mental illness. In Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, he tells the evocative stories of those who desperately need psychiatric, psychological, and spiritual support, like Mary, who surrounds herself with bulging trash bags, and Jerry, barred from every shelter and meal program in Seattle. With gentleness and grace, solid knowledge and wisdom, Rennebohm reaches out to each of them, and their stories become like parables that explore mental illness and the spiritual heart of care and recovery."

Maybe I'll see you there?