My approach to this podcast has changed, and so the name will change soon too. I’m still Grace, a Christian ministering to those on a mental health journey, but I’m no longer referring to myself as a “Bipolar Christian” because my identity is not in a diagnosis, but it is in that I am a child of God. I look forward to posting more regularly in the coming weeks, and I hope to bless you with my little stories and point you to the perfect Healer, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of life: Jesus Christ.

How do we cope with stress and trauma? Do we call on our loving Father when we are wounded? Can He empathize? God’s word says He bore all of our suffering. Do we trust that Jesus will lead us in a blessed life and transform us day by day? Does His love or grace have a limit? Let’s call on the Lord and be saved; including from our own thoughts.

God’s word is living and active, and it never returns to him void. We must speak the truth outwardly, not just through service, but my mentioning Jesus Christ by name, and acknowledging Scripture as the only source of truth. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. We must speak boldly so that others can hear about and experience that life in Christ. No more waiting! We must read the word, pray, listen to God, and SPEAK THE GOSPEL!

If we don’t bring our thoughts, prayers, and thanks to the Lord, it is easy to fall into a pit full of fears. My fear became paranoia, leading me from my home, to a hospital, then to a crisis house. It was one day in that house that I didn’t expect, when God confirmed in me my ministry. All I had been through helped me in that one moment to minister to another resident. God’s plan all along was for me to learn to be faithful in giving my thoughts to him, and for him to guard my heart and mind with Christ’s perfect peace.

We find peace at the feet of Jesus. We are drawn into His family. We are healed in His presence, and invited to take part in His victory over sin and death. I found myself in fellowship with believers I met in my dizzying hospitalization a couple of years ago. God drew near to me as I did to Him, and surrounded me with a network of family, in the people I least expected.

Living in a house with 13 people diagnosed with mental illness preventing them from working, initially, I was terrified. But finding a church, sharing Jesus in the house, and being diligent to read God’s word became second nature and so so crucial. It is in the quiet moments we need to dwell on God’s nearness, and at all times.

Jesus lived a perfectly righteous life, and we can’t apart from him. We must humbly kneel before our God and Father, obedient to the point of death, and enjoy making his name great. Our example for life is in Christ. May we be that example to the world, honoring his name as we bear it as children of God.

“Come to Me, all who are weary, and I will give you rest.” Jesus laid down his life and was obedient to the point of death on a cross. We must be found at Jesus’s feet. It is where we learn how to and why we live. Thrive on His living water (the Word) and Him, the bread of life. Let’s let Christ reign in our hearts, and watch what he does when we share His love and ministry to the world.

While hospitalized, I was pinned down by staff who administered a shot to calm my body, twice. On a third occasion, I was pinned down in a hospital while no one at all was touching me. What is that!? I still don’t know. But I’m so glad God never traps us. We have freedom to love or leave, but he is the safest place we can be. Let’s always run to him.

It is crucial to be in prayer and in the Word of God so that we are ready to wield off the lies and attacks of the enemy. Jesus’ purpose on this earth was to live a perfect life, allow the wrath of God to be taken on his shoulders, and bring us into glory with him by giving eternal life to us who could never have deserved it. If God sent his son to suffer and die, so must we die to our flesh, and be partakers of suffering with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We must be watchful and in prayer. Jesus is coming soon, and he has called each of us to listen, obey, repent, and endure as we share his Gospel. He is coming back soon!