Lauren Sparks

The Sparks Notes

Praying God’s Word Wednesday #24

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Tomorrow is National PawPaw Day.  Now, I am well aware that this day refers to the PawPaw fruit, but to me, PawPaw is my grandad.  And my grandad is one of the best men I know.  His godly influence trickled down to my parents who influenced me.  And now I’m praying that I am that same godly influence to my kids.

 

While praying to be this kind of example, my fingers found Acts 28:27 in my Bible.

 

For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes – so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.  NLT

 

My prayer for myself today:

 

If needed, replace the pronouns with the appropriate ones for the person or people that you are praying for.

 

If you are reading this, I am praying for you.  And don’t forget to share this on social media or with a friend who could benefit.  It would mean so much to me.  If you don’t want to miss a Praying God’s Word Wednesday, subscribe over on the right hand side of this page.

Lauren

Let’s Talk About Mental Health

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Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka are the latest prominent figures to speak publicly about their mental health.  I appreciate anyone who uses their platform – big or small to draw attention to the rising mental health epidemic in our country.  These conversations were hidden in dark corners for too long.  The more we bring these issues to light, the more awareness we have.  The more awareness we have, the better we can recognize early signs and seek help.  Not only for ourselves, but also for others.

 

I have suffered from low level depression and anxiety.  As a result, counseling has been a great help to me.  In addition to my own struggles, family members with different mental health challenges spur me to try to stay informed.  But there is so much I don’t know.

 

Even though I’m no subject matter expert, I couldn’t let World Suicide Prevention Day pass without at least sharing a few resources I found this month.

 

Websites and Articles

 

  1.  Why Olympian Athletes Break Down and Why You Could Be Next – an article from Relevant Magazine by Debra Fileta
  2.  Watch Those Calories!  A Digital Diet for Mental Health from The Gospel Coalition.  David Murray expounds on how our online activities contribute to mental and emotional issues.
  3. Am I Actually Depressed or Just Sad?  by Andrea Jongbloed for Relevant Magazine.  A good primer on recognizing the difference.
  4. How Do I Know if This Counselor is Right for Me?  from Beth Claes and The Gospel Coalition.
  5. KatieRDale.com – formerly BiPolar Brave.  Katie writes with frankness and truth about her struggle against Bipolar disorder.  Spend some time clicking around and reading about her experiences and insight.
  6. hopefortheheart.org  June Hunt’s organization has been around for 35 years and the resource offerings keep getting better and better.  Check out the books, articles, videos, radio program and therapy options with licensed professional counselors.

 

Helpful Numbers

 

Text HELLO to 741741 to connect immediately with a crisis counselor 24/7 for free.  Or chat online at crisistextline.org.  And most importantly, if you are having thoughts about self-harm, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or simply dial 911.  Don’t hesitate.

 

And now for this week’s featured post from the link up!

 

My fellow link up host Maree Dee is writing about suicide prevention this month, and doing it much better than me.  She has some great tips for how you can get informed and involved, and some great resources in Suicide Prevention:  Will You Be the One to Save a Life?  Thanks so much, Maree.

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