[__ Prayer __] I think I've found a church...

[Christ_empowered]

--maybe--. LOL.

Seriously, though; I consulted The Internet, and I found a large(ish), non-denomational church 'round here. I've seen bumper stickers for this church on some cars here, locally. I assumed they were Southern Baptist, so I never thought anything of it, but...

looks like a Pentecostal-flavored, non-denominational church. I checked out their website, and I'm impressed. Their beliefs statement reads like something straight out of the AoG, they've got all kinds of outreach ministries, they have classes and such for all age groups, and...

yeah. I'm hoping and praying this will be -the- place for me, and hopefully my parents, also; they need a good church just as surely as I do.

OK. I realize that "making it work" will require some things out of me, too (like..showing up...always a good thing, showing up...), but I"m actually rather excited about this place. I -know- , at a certain level, that there is no such thing as a "perfect church," etc., but this place looks big enough to offer all kinds of outreach to all kinds of people, small enough for people to get to know each other, and they seem to have the whole "sound doctrine" thing going for them, too.

So...that is my prayer request, I guess. That I can be given the courage to actually -go- there, even if I have to go alone, and that, if it is God's will, that I can join up, grow, be challenged, etc.

Now that I think of it, this is also something of a Praise Report. I was, for a long time, too wretched, too pathetic, too much of a "weakling" to do much of anything, to go anywhere without being an object of condemnation and/or pity (sometimes the two mixed together...not fun...). Now, I"m far from perfect, but I am healthy, smart enough for life, remarkably...normal, and more importantly...increasingly -whole-, as a New Creation in Christ Jesus. The Lord has brought me far enough that I -can- go to church, no major problems, and start growing as a member of The Body of Christ.

OK. Thanks, as always.

 

[Eugene]

showing up...always a good thing, showing up

Praying for you brother.

 

[Pegasus]

Praying brother this church is loving as you are a loving brother in Christ.

Recommend as soon as possible to sit down with the pastor and give your testimony. This way they can pray for you and ensure you get the ministerial support you should have.

 

[Christ_empowered]

thank you both. Its an interesting thing, "recovery from 'severe mental illness' "...on the one hand, I don't need heavy meds, hospitalization, all that jazz. Somehow, my IQ estimate has gone up a bit. My family and I have reconciled. I'm even remarkably healthy, physically. And yet..

at a certain point, one has to take a step back and realize the limitations of one's life. Is "Bipolar I w/psychotic features" or "Schizophrenia" biologically rooted? I don't know, honestly. I do know, now, that my...affliction...means, at best, a quieter life, a simpler life, a less complicated life. Those are the positives, of course. Its not all doom and gloom. The downsides are...I may always be on disability (God willing), much more dependent on my family than most adults (and I'm blesed that they have the time, money, and inclination to keep me safe and free), and I may never be what the world around me considers "normal," I may never really "impress" people. That is...what it is.

This place looks like high quality. I think I'll talk to my dad about a lil visit on a coming Sunday, and see where things go from there. I think he'll understand me wanting him to go with me, at least the first couple times.

Thanks again.

 

[Pegasus]

thank you both. Its an interesting thing, "recovery from 'severe mental illness' "...on the one hand, I don't need heavy meds, hospitalization, all that jazz. Somehow, my IQ estimate has gone up a bit. My family and I have reconciled. I'm even remarkably healthy, physically. And yet..

at a certain point, one has to take a step back and realize the limitations of one's life. Is "Bipolar I w/psychotic features" or "Schizophrenia" biologically rooted? I don't know, honestly. I do know, now, that my...affliction...means, at best, a quieter life, a simpler life, a less complicated life. Those are the positives, of course. Its not all doom and gloom. The downsides are...I may always be on disability (God willing), much more dependent on my family than most adults (and I'm blesed that they have the time, money, and inclination to keep me safe and free), and I may never be what the world around me considers "normal," I may never really "impress" people. That is...what it is.

This place looks like high quality. I think I'll talk to my dad about a lil visit on a coming Sunday, and see where things go from there. I think he'll understand me wanting him to go with me, at least the first couple times.

Thanks again.

My church has a wonderful "road to recovery" which is geared as a support group. Participants range from traumatic life experiences as you have noted in the past to people who have besetting sins they want to chuck like smoking, eating disorders or just need support living in a household where most are not believers.

We also have small group Bible study groups of 3-10 people led by a mature Christian (mine is led by a retired pastor). They have become a second family as I am comfortable sharing God's triumphs in my life but also share my failures.

It is the type of intimacy we should have as a body of believers.

 

[Shine the Light]

thank you both. Its an interesting thing, "recovery from 'severe mental illness' "...on the one hand, I don't need heavy meds, hospitalization, all that jazz. Somehow, my IQ estimate has gone up a bit. My family and I have reconciled. I'm even remarkably healthy, physically. And yet..

at a certain point, one has to take a step back and realize the limitations of one's life. Is "Bipolar I w/psychotic features" or "Schizophrenia" biologically rooted? I don't know, honestly. I do know, now, that my...affliction...means, at best, a quieter life, a simpler life, a less complicated life. Those are the positives, of course. Its not all doom and gloom. The downsides are...I may always be on disability (God willing), much more dependent on my family than most adults (and I'm blesed that they have the time, money, and inclination to keep me safe and free), and I may never be what the world around me considers "normal," I may never really "impress" people. That is...what it is.

This place looks like high quality. I think I'll talk to my dad about a lil visit on a coming Sunday, and see where things go from there. I think he'll understand me wanting him to go with me, at least the first couple times.

Thanks again.

Well, may God bless you as you courageously take this step.
You are defined by God's love-His child through faith in Christ, and that is what He sees when He looks upon you.

 

[Christ_empowered]

thank you. I just...well, once again, I've written a whole long, rambling post on...where to go from here. I doubt I can become a member of this community, and I don't think I can really become a member of any community, honestly. "Mental patients" don't matter to most people, and we're expected to live in poverty, etc.

Ugh. Rambling. Thru it all, God is good, of course. I'll try to get into a good church, and then maybe one day...I'll be able to move, maybe? I don't know, not yet, anyway.

Thanks again.

 

[brujaq]

thank you. I just...well, once again, I've written a whole long, rambling post on...where to go from here. I doubt I can become a member of this community, and I don't think I can really become a member of any community, honestly. "Mental patients" don't matter to most people, and we're expected to live in poverty, etc.

Ugh. Rambling. Thru it all, God is good, of course. I'll try to get into a good church, and then maybe one day...I'll be able to move, maybe? I don't know, not yet, anyway.

Thanks again.

Don't let one of those busy bodies get under your skin, chances are there's one or two there .. One of the last churches I visited a lady sitting behind me had a conversation about my pony tail .. How I needed a haircut, she was right and I turned laughing and said ''you're right'' .. I introduced myself and shook her husbands hand .. Years ago something that small might have bothered me .. Now stuff like that is almost cute ..

 

[Christ_empowered]

wow. I really am thankful for the ongoing prayers, support, encouragement, etc. I get here at CFnet. The Lord has brought me a long, long way in only 5 years, and I"m (obviously...) thankful for His work in my life, above all else.

Just...a thought...that's run thru my mind, at times...

my current counselor--I trust him--has --all-- of my records, and he says it looks like I had mental troubles from a young age. My people "weren't important" enough for a lot of the snobs and private practice people I dealt with in years past, so I get labeled with everything except for mental illness. ODD, ADD, NPD, on and on it went.

So...could it be that whatever it was that ailed me....is part of the reason God has seen fit to spare me so, so much, and then bring me out of darkness and into the light once I believed upon Jesus? Don't get me wrong; I know Jesus forgives those who accept Him and ask for forgiveness. From what I understand, even Jeffrey Dahmer got saved, towards the end, and I"m glad.

What I"m wondering is...well, around here, people say "someone up there likes him," because clearly...God has had His hand on me, my whole life. Even when I went thru things, they never were -as- terrible as they could have been. Do you think maybe having...something...wrong, that made (and still makes it...) hard to understand the world around me, from a young age...maybe that's part of the reason The Lord saw fit to spare me things that -should- have been fatal (overdoses, blows to the head, brain operations, etc.) ?

Just a thought. I'm almost exactly 10 years out form the 2nd, and last stint in a mental hospital, the one in which they gave me the shock and the lobotomy. I had a 95 IQ, obvious brain damage, health problems, scarrred follicles (that=no regrowth, btw), rotting teeth, my parents were -never- going to forgive me, on and it went. And now...

"high IQ," whatever that means, no obvious brain damage, I"m healthy, "too much hair," teeth are OK, and...my parents and I have reconciled. God is good! And...the AoG people were/are right, of course;

"nothing's too hard for God."