Five Christian leaders in Laos were sentenced to jail and fined on Feb. 2

 












 Print these prayer requests and keep them with you throughout the week.

 Five Christian leaders in Laos were sentenced to jail and fined on Feb. 2 after a Christian woman they had prayed for died of an illness. Mrs. Kaithong, Mr. Puphet, Mr. Muk, Mr. Hasadee and Mr. Tiang were charged with "treating [a person] without an official license causing her to die." The Christian leaders were each sentenced to nine months in prison and fined for allegedly claiming to be healers. The problems developed when authorities realized the woman's family wanted a Christian burial service. Authorities came to the family’s home to arrest the leaders and tried to force the family to recant their faith. 

Feb. 12, 2015 | Cuba
Pray for Pastor's Son, Detained in a Military Prison

Gabriel Jeyva, 19, was serving his mandatory military service when he was accused of forming a cartel against the Cuban government. When Gabriel's father, a pastor, went to the prison to visit him, the guards refused to let them speak to one another. "We know this is a form of persecution from the government, to hurt this young man because he is the son of a pastor," a VOM contact said. The Jeyva family is integral to a new church plant that VOM sources say is a "powerful blessing" in the community.

 Feb. 12, 2015 | Nigeria

 Islamic extremists attacked the village of Nunkwo, in northern Nigeria's Taraba state, on Jan. 28, killing 23 people and injuring another 18. More than 1,000 armed men, thought to be disguised as Fulani herdsmen, surrounded the village before opening fire on Christian villagers. The extremists looted and burned churches and Christians' property, but the local mosque was protected by soldiers posted in the village. Some of the Christians had been warned of an impending attack, so many of the more than 15,000 Christians in the village had left before the extremists arrived.

Borderline Personality Disorder part 2,Do I have it?

 

This blog originates from Canada. 

All Rights www.heretohelp.bc.ca

 

Could I have borderline personality disorder?

• I can’t control my anger. I often lose my temper or get into fights
  
• I feel empty inside most of the time
  
• I experience intense anxiety, depression or irritability, and it usually goes away in a few hours or a few days
  
• I do whatever I can to avoid being abandoned
  
• I can’t stop spending money, having risky sex, using drugs or other things that can hurt me
  
• I think about ending my life
  
• I harm myself
  
• I have a hard time maintaining personal relationships; I fall ‘in and out of love’quickly
  
• My sense of self changes all the time; I don’t know who I really am.
  

If you have several of these symptoms and you’ve noticed them for a long time, the best person to talk to is a doctor or mental health professional. BPD can look like many other illnesses, so you should never try to diagnose yourself (or other people).

 

Who does it affect?

About 1% to 2% of the general population has BPD. It’s usually diagnosed in teens and young adults, though it may also be diagnosed later in life. It seems to affect more women than men.

• Family members—You are five times more likely to develop BPD if a close family member like a parent or sibling has BPD. You also have a higher risk of BPD if a close family member has an impulse control disorder like a substance use disorder or antisocial personality disorder.
  
• Childhood trauma—Abuse, neglect, loss and other hurtful events that occurred in your childhood increases your risk of developing BPD.
  
• Age BPD is more likely to be diagnosed in your 20s. This is also the time with the highest suicide risk. Many people find that their symptoms become more manageable as they get older,² and many people recover by the age of 50.Researchers aren’t completely sure why people often feel better as they get older. One theory is that people become less impulsive as they get older. Another theory is that certain brain structures related to emotion change as we age.
  
• Other mental illnesses—Many people living with BPD have other mental illnesses. This can make it hard to diagnose BPD properly. The illnesses most often associated with BPD are mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance use disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, eating disorders, dissociative disorders and other personality disorders.
  

What can I do about it?

 For a blog which talks about my evangelical faith and how it affects my counseling those with Borderline Personality Disorder, please go this  link   
http://sbloemreflections.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-training-with-marsha-linehan_03.html




Treatment for BPD can be very effective. It may include a combination of therapy (counseling), medication and self-help.

Several different therapies may help:

• Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is often a treatment of choice. It’s based on cognitive-behavioural therapy and mindfulness. Cognitive-behavioural therapy teaches you how your thoughts and behaviours affect your emotions, while mindfulness teaches you to focus on the present moment. DBT teaches you to replace extreme and rigid ways of thinking with more open and flexible ways of thinking, and teaches skills like acceptance, problem-solving and tolerance.¹³
  
• Several newer therapies also show a lot of promise in the treatment of BPD. Mentalization-based therapy helps you understand your behaviour and other people’s behaviour, and the thoughts and feelings associated with the behaviours. Transference-focused therapy helps you understand how you see yourself in your relationships. Schema-focused therapy focuses on identifying unhelpful way of thinking, feeling and behaving.
  
• Other types of counseling may also help. Supportive therapy helps to improve day-to-day life skills, increase self-esteem and helps you understand your feelings. Interpersonal group therapy lets you share your problems and successes with others, and it teaches relationship skills. Family therapy helps family members understand the illness and teaches them coping skills.
  

Medication

Medications won’t resolve BPD, but they can help manage some troubling symptoms. Atypical anti- psychotics, mood stabilizers and certain antidepressants may help.

Self-help

There are many things you can do to help manage BPD. Learning about the illness can help you understand what’s going on. It’s always a good idea to get enough sleep, eat well and exercise regularly. Finding help for other issues like a substance use problem or another mental illness can also help you cope with BPD.


BPD can take some time to treat. It’s important to build a trusting and open relationship with a counsellor or doctor and keep a consistent, long-term treatment plan.

 Rev. Steve Bloem, B.A. M.M. is a certified DBT therapist.  He and his team were trained by Dr. Marsha Linehan at the University of  Washington in the years 1996 and 1997.  Steve and another team member started and held one of the first DBT programs in the Community Mental Health System. in the U.S.A.He is now in private practice in Palm Beach County, Florida. If you would like to know more about our ministry, Please go to our contact us form on our web site,
http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!contact/cito 

Where do I go from here?

In addition to talking to your family doctor, check out the resources below for more information about borderline personality disorder.
BC Partners for Mental Health and Addictions Information
Visit www.heretohelp.bc.ca for the Managing Mental Illnesses series, more info sheets and personal stories about personality disorders. You’ll find information, tips and self-tests to help you understand mental health. You’ll also find the Borderline Personality Disorder issue of Visions Journal.
Canadian Mental Health Association, BC Division
Visit www.cmha.bc.ca or call 1-800-555-8222 (toll-free in BC) or 604-688-3234 (in Greater Vancouver) f

 

 http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Minds-Healing-Youre-Losing/dp/0825421187/ref=tmm_pap_title_

 

 

 

 

 

 

 For footnotes, please go to:

 http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/factsheet/borderline-personality-disorder

 

 

Borderline Personality Disorder - Attention: pastors, churches, seminaries colleges; you must know this!

Rev. Steve Bloem, B.A. M.M. is a certified DBT therapist.  He and his team were trained by Dr. Marsha Linehan at the University of  Washington in the years 1996 and 1997.  Steve and another team member started and administered one of the first DBT programs in the Community Mental Health System. in the U.S.A.He is now in private practice in Palm Beach County, Florida. If you would like to know more about our ministry, Please go to our contact us form on our web site, http://www.heartfeltmin.org/#!contact/cito

In the past, people thought that someone with borderline personality disorder (BPD) was “on the borderline” between psychosis and neurosis (anxiety/depression). Today, we know much more about BPD, and there is more research on BDP than any other personality disorder.

But there is a lot of stigma around personality disorders. People living with borderline personality disorder may be given hurtful labels. But no one is ever just their diagnosis, whether they’re living with a personality disorder or any other mental illness. There is hope and there is help

Borderline personality disorder is a mental illness that affects the way to relate to other people and the way you relate to yourself. If you’re living with borderline personality disorder, you might feel like there’s something fundamentally wrong with who you are or you might feel ‘flawed’ or worthless, or you might not even have a good sense of who you are as a person. Your moods might be extreme and change all the time, and you might have a hard time controlling impulses or urges. You may have a hard time trusting others and you may be very scared of being abandoned or alone.

BPD is made up of five groups of symptoms: unstable behavior, unstable emotions, unstable relationships, unstable sense of identity and awareness problems.

Unstable behavior means that you often act on impulses or urges, even when they hurt you or other people. Some examples of impulse control problems are:

• Thinking about or attempting suicide
  
• Hurting yourself on purpose, such as cutting or burning your skin (self-harm)
  
• Risky behaviors like spending a lot of money, binge eating or problematic substance use
  

Unstable emotions mean that your moods can be extreme and change very quickly. Some examples of unstable emotions are:

• Extreme depression, anxiety or irritability that might last for only a few hours or days, usually in response to a stressful event
  
• Intense anger or difficulty controlling anger
  
• Intense boredom
  

Unstable relationships mean that you have a hard time maintaining relationships with other people. Some example of relationship problems are:

• Doing anything you can to avoid being abandoned or alone
  
• Feeling like you don’t know yourself or having very unstable sense of who you are and how you feel about yourself
  
• Intense relationships where you often impulsively shift between seeing the other person as ‘all good’ or ‘all bad’
  

Unstable sense of identity means that you don’t have a good sense of who you are as a person. Some examples of an unstable sense of identity include:

• Feeling like you don’t know yourself
  
• Having a very unstable sense of who you are and how you feel about yourself
  
• Feeling “empty” much of the time
  

Awareness problems mean that, from time to time only and often in response to a stressful event, you experience sensations or feelings that aren’t based in reality. Some examples of awareness problems are:

• Feeling like you’re separated from your mind or body (dissociative symptoms) or losing track of time.
  

There are many different combinations of symptoms, so BPD can look very different among people with the illness. To diagnose BPD, mental health clinicians look for patterns of behavior that last for a long time and have caused distress or problems with relationships or other areas of life, such as work.


 http://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/factsheet/borderline-personality-disorder 





http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Minds-Healing-Youre-Losing/dp/0825421187/ref=tmm_pap_title_

Suicide: Opening our Eyes to the Elephant in the Room

                                                                      

                                                                      

You will find that the title above rings true among many evangelical Christians today. In this post, I would like to take a moment to share some thoughts about how I felt when I was twenty nine years old, dealing with suicidal urges during my first episode of depression. Looking back, I have been able to better understand the demonic devices that the Enemy used in order to draw me toward suicide during those dark days.

I had no idea that the depression plaguing me was actually biological. At 29 years old, there was a stark differentiation in my mind between having a chemical imbalance and battling a more commonly understood physical ailment like the flu. In my ignorance, I failed to realize that clinical depression was a "whole body disease". It affected my gastrointestinal system, my sleep, appetite, and even sex drive. The fatigue was beyond anything I had ever experienced. In my weariness, I began to believe the doctors who said that my affliction was nothing more than emotional and mental "stress".  My mood went from moderate to severe in a very short time.

 

I was in the dark emotionally and spiritually, trying to alleviate my symptoms through nothing but increased exercise and meditation on Scripture. While Scripture did help me to persevere in the faith, my depression stayed.

I remember one night, while at a dinner with my wife and in-laws, I began to hyperventilate, sinking quickly into a panicked depression. I excused myself from the table and and did exactly what my doctor told me to do in such a situation: blow into a paper bag. After asking to be excused, I went into a restroom stall, blowing furiously into my brown paper bag. To my terror, breathing into the bag was an exercise in futility; it did nothing to lift my mood. I thought, “How pathetic am I?". None of the remedies suggested to me were fixing my problem. My inability to get better led to absolute hopelessness, which meant that...

At a certain point, suicide became a viable option to me, a way of escape. I remember thinking, while out to eat with my family, “I will go outside and jump in front of a car.” Then, at least, I would not have to live a life of agony. In my depression, I felt cut off from God. Like the Prophet Jeremiah, I found myself lamenting my existence from a deep cistern of despair.

I was also sure that I was a terrible burden to everyone. Now I realize that this is a common scheme of the devil, The Greek word for devil, diabolos means slanderer.  The demons were telling me that I was in a no man's land. They sought to isolate my lack of faith in God and insinuate that He did not care about me anymore. Remember this: Satan will heap insults onto your own feelings of failure self-loathing; he did it to me. He will attempt to discount the biological nature of your depression, telling you that your problem is spiritual. Our Lord Jesus Christ, said about him, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44)

Lastly, I began to believe that I was better off dead than alive.

Most people struggling with clinical depression believe that their families would be better off if they were dead. However, no matter who you are and what you have done; your family will never be better without you. They will feel sorrow, betrayal, anger, abandonment and confusion because of your suicide; their grieving will be long and hard. Statistics tell us that members of our own families (siblings, children, nieces and nephews) will, after seeing us end our own lives, begin to consider suicide as a solution to their pain and depression.

This is not the truth! Suicide is a sin, and just like any other sin it can become a temptation to us. However, for those of us who are in Christ's family, God will provide a way of escape from temptation.

As the Apostle Paul puts in his second letter to the Corinthians, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (I Corinthians 10:13).

Do not commit suicide! Get help!

This was taken from CAMI Leaders Guide and Broken Minds Hope for Healing When You Feel Like You’re Losing It, Kregel Publications, Chapter 4

        Polycarp serves food to his arresting soldiers

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

 

Polycarp was an old man (at least 86 years old) and probably the last surviving person to have known the Apostle John. His friendship with John was one reason why Polycarp was greatly revered as a teacher and church leader. 

As you read the letter below, look for parallels between this story and the Easter story in the gospels.More online about Polycarp   martyred

The paragraph below is from the Foxe's Book of Martyrs.  It is not

God breathed like Scripture but it is considered reliable history.

Polycarp, the venerable bishop of Smyrna, hearing that persons were seeking for him, escaped, but was discovered by a child.After feedting the guards who apprehended him, he desired an hour in prayer, which being allowed, he prayed with such fervency,that his guards repented that they had been instrumental in taking him. He was, however, carried before the proconsul, condemned,and burnt in the market place. The proconsul then urged him, saying, "Swear, and I will release  thee;--reproach Christ." Polycarp answered, "Eighty and six years have I served him, and he never once wronged me; how then shall I blaspheme my King, Who hath saved me?" At the stake to which he was only tied, but not nailed as usual, as he assured them he should stand immovable, the flames, on their kindling the  fagots, encircled his body, like an arch, without touching him; and the executioner, on seeing this, was as ordered to pierce him with as sword, when so great a quantity of blood flowed out as  extinguished the fire. But his body, at the instigation of the enemies of the Gospel, especially Jews, was ordered to be consumed in the pile, and the request of his friends, who wished to give it Christian burial, rejected. They nevertheless collected his bones and as much of his remains as possible, and caused them to be decently interred.   

   





Though her songs are not likely to be heard on your local Christian radio station, the music of a talented Christian woman is well known in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains. The Nuba people know Neima Abiad Idris as the “Peace Singer.” Neima, 49, was a wife and mother of six whose life was cut short by bomb shrapnel on Nov. 6, 2014 when an Antonov bomb struck her home village of Kadir, in the Nuba Mountains.

Neima’s life testimony represents the faith and courage of so many Nuba Christians. She was the mother of four sons and two daughters, and she is a hero and a martyr. She died because she wouldn’t run away from the genocidal terror that targeted her family and her community.
The Nuba people know Neima Abiad Idris as the “Peace Singer.


 http://www.persecution.com/public/newsroom.aspx?story_ID=%3d373339&featuredstory_ID=%3d343739&submitted=Y&_nc=635597567586492853#news_alerts

                                                             ”

All of Israel will be saved. Please dont read this if you are under thirty years old.

 One of the greatest occasions of grief in the history of mankind will be when the regathered, unbelieving national Israel will be surrounded by Anti Christ and all the non-Israeli armies of the earth. This will be at the end of the second half of the tribulation period known as "the time of Jacob's (distress) trouble" Jeremiah 30:7 ). Two thirds of Israel will have been destroyed by God's judgment (See Zechariah 13:8, 9). When the anti-Israeli confederation plunders Jerusalem, raping women and killing innocent children, Israel will be in unbearable distress. 

The Spirit of God   called the Spirit of Grace in Zechariah 12:10 causes Israel to have conviction of sin over their rejection and killing the Prince of Life as they view His pierced hands and feet. Their repentance for sin will be accompanied by deep sorrow, which includes weeping and wailing. Some of the strongest words in the Hebrew language are used in describing this mourning. The Spirit of grace also shows them that their unbelief can be forgiven as they accept God's gracious provision of redemption. As a result they call on the name of the LORD (Spirit of supplication). Romans 10:13 says, "And whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved." One third of the nation the remnant of Israel, will be saved both physically and spiritually. Now see Romans 11:25,26 A person cannot be saved unless they believe that they are lost in sin and darkness. Christ died for sinners. Christ died for Israel.

Oh, I was just kidding about under thirty, sb

  http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Minds-Healing-Youre-Losing-ebook/dp/B004EPYNLE/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

MENTAL ILLNESS AND THE BORN AGAIN CHRISTIAN!

From an early age, I would obsess and be depressed.

OK, now that I have your attention. Sitting in church as young as the age of six,  I can remember knowing God loved me but not "feeling" it. I spent years tormented by my own brain. Periodically I would fall into a deep depression. I wasn't "sad" I was depressed. I would obsess and ruminate over negative things. I felt God was punishing me for something.  I wouldn't cry.  I was numb. My depression manifested in multiple physical aliments. In my teen years I coped by staying busy and since I still lived at home all my physically needs were taken care of.  It wasn't until I moved out on my own and was forced to function at a higher level did I start to crash and burn.

My Secret

 I had no idea what was wrong with me. I was viewed as a "worrier" or others would describe me as "serious." Once, I became friends with someone they would often tell me their first impression of me was a self centered, conceited individual. What people didn't know was I had a full time job keeping my thoughts in order while at the same time attending college and going to work. I was ALWAYS in my head. I had to keep myself from going too far down the road of panic, fear and despair.

I finally went to counseling. I found a wonderful Christian counselor who helped me understand myself and how my past experiences triggered certain behavior responses. Things improved slightly but after a while my symptoms worsened. I told no one about this. I continued to work and would attend school and church. No one knew.  I continued to feel guilt and fear. I had thought that God was displeased with me because I didn't "feel" how everyone in church looked. No one else admitted to having the thoughts I had.  

I was obsessed with ending my life

Depression, being the insidious disease that it is, turned my thoughts to finding a way to end this life long battle with my brain. I thought that if I ran into ditch and made it look like an accident then my family would be spared the stigma of a suicide. I couldn't stop thinking this way. These imagines intruded my every waking moment. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't live this way. It was TOO hard. I didn't care what people thought of me.  I wanted out! Please keep in mind that my life was going along fine, family, career etc. This made the emotional pain even worse because I was constantly being reminded how bad other people's situations were. I didn't believe I could be helped. I didn't know about "mental illness" except it was something people joked and laughed about. I didn't think people like myself got "depressed" 
 

 I was desperate and picked a psychiatrist at random.

I had no one to go to and finally out of desperation I left work one day and drove to the first psychiatrists office I could find. My gastroenterologist suggested I try an antidepressant to treat a life long condition I had been coping with. The psychiatrist explained what was going on in my brain. He explained how medication changes your brain chemistry. He told me that there were many people like myself who got relief from medication. He also told me that mental illness is often genetic. I am adopted and at the time did not know what my genetic background contained. I had to try a few different medications until I found one that worked.

 

 How I felt was new and amazing.

 I cannot convey into words the feeling I had the first time I woke up and knowing that the cloud of depression had lifted. I had never felt like that ever! I understood why people cared if they woke up in the morning. My heart breaks for those of you out there who carry this burden. I grieve for the time I have lost in my life prior to getting treatment I have prayed for years for God to show me what purpose this experience should have. I know that I am here to tell this story. Some of you didn't read this far and some of you already know the story but for others who were able to make it to this point please know that God has brought to my church a husband and wife, Steve and Robyn Bloem.

Steve is an ordained minister who is also living with mental illness and has been subjected to the stigma that some churches endorse. Please take a moment and read some of Steve Bloem's blogs. Robyn and Steve are available to bring seminars to churches all over the country.  Some of you may be fortunate enough to have grown up in churches that openly talk about mental health. I was not as fortunate. While I don't think this was purposeful I do believe that because of the stigma it was just easier to avoid the topic.
 Please check out our book at 

 http://www.amazon.com/Broken-Minds-Healing-Youre-Losing/dp/0825421187

Broken Minds includes very readable large narratives by Steve and Robyn Bloem. It has helped thousands of people who are evangelical Christians and is read world wide. Broken Minds tackles the issue of mental illness from a Biblical perspective. It has been given academic status by Kregel Publications and is being used in seminaries and bible colleges across the globe. Broken Minds can be read with Kindle and E-books. If you purchase Broken Minds from us,the proceeds will go to Heartfelt Counseling Ministries. The copy you will receive will be signed by authors,Steve and Robyn Bloem. Please go to the link below.

Whispers in the Foyer an Honest Look at the
 Christian and Mentalhttp://sbloemreflections.blogspot.com/2011/05/whispers-in-foyer-honest-look-at.html

Broken Minds. Wow! What a great book-- a book that we’ve needed for such a long time. With clarity, Biblical faithfulness and grace, Steve and Robyn Bloem lead us from their personal experience to hope for the rest of us who have experienced, or loved those who have experienced, the pain of a "broken mind." This is a book that should be mandatory reading for every leader in the church. It is one of the most (perhaps "the most") helpful books I’ve ever read on mental illness."  
(Then on a personal note)
"I really do think this is a great book and will be making it mandatory reading for my practical theology classes."