Depression and Anxiety

“Look, I’ve given you two choices today: you can have life with all the good things it brings, or death and all the bad things it brings.”  Deuteronomy 30:15

            I have battled depression and anxiety for over thirty years.  I have taken anti-depressants and gone to counseling.  I have battled to live and prayed that I would die.  I have struggled at times with thoughts of ending it all. 

            Thursday night, the children at our church were learning about the Crucifixion.  We were using the Jesus Storybook Bible and the story tells how God poured all our sickness and sadness into Jesus.  On the cross, Jesus bore my depression and He defeated it.  As I walked home from church, I prayed.  I told God I was tired of faking it until I made it.  In the short distance to my house, God let me know that I did not have to face the scary depression and anxiety alone. 

            Friday morning I was reading The Daily Guideposts and the devotional was written by Rhoda Blecker.  The verse above offers two choices--life with the good or death with the bad.  As I read the verse, I decided to choose life. 

            Father God, when things of life-depression and discouragement seem so overwhelming, remind me that I have two choices-Life or death and that I need to choose life.  Amen.

Three Weeks to Launch

    In three short weeks we will launch our seventh year of Sarah's Butterflies.  Seven launch dates to celebrate what would be Sarah's 7th birthday.  For seven years, Sarah has been a resident of the streets of gold.
     I choose to trust God and to lay down the burdens of grief and embrace the ministry of Sarah's Butterflies.  Why?  I do that because if I had Sarah, I would be concentrating on planning her seventh birthday.  Launch dates are like planning her birthday party as we launch around her birthday.
     This year I need all volunteers to remember WHO we are honoring when we do this.  I don't mean Sarah as much as I mean God.  When we pass out a bag, we need to wish them God's blessings.

Sarah's Butterflies Kick-Off

    Sarah's Butterflies will have its annual kick-off on November 15, 2015.   The ministry of Sarah's Butterflies began as Sarah's Toybox in 2010.  We have distributed over 1,000 Blessing Bags and over 200 school supplies bags.
    The impact of the ministry is growing in ripples.  Each year we spread further from base to bless.  We are reaching souls for God.
     Come out with us on December 26th to help spread hope.  We will meet at Love Christian Center on the corner of Hamilton and Bond at 9:00 to sort, pack and distribute.

Faces of Loss

     A few years ago, I posted a story to Faces of Loss about Sarah's death.  I used a post from this blog and submitted it.
     A few months ago, they posted it and recently I was contacted about reading my story so that it can be an audio version.  I am going to do that this afternoon.
      I wrote that story in 2012 hoping to help some other family dealing with infant loss.  Sarah's death was sudden and unexpected.  None of us could have fathomed what November 15, 2009 held for us.  In one sense it was the end-the end of Sarah's life.  It was also the beginning-the beginning of her eternal life in Heaven.  It also signaled the start of making Sarah's life count.
     Sarah might have only lived for 3 days but those three days were packed with family loving on her.  She was photographed more times than some celebrities.  Sarah should be sleeping at home right now and getting up soon so that she can head off to Kindergarten but she is in Heaven with Jesus and she is safe.
       While Sarah is in Heaven and I am left to miss her, I choose to make the world a better place because Sarah Elisabeth Richardson lived here.

Blessings Abound on the Hope Tour

    The photos above show some of our 55 wonderful baggers in action.  We packed nearly 400 snack bags and 82 school supply bags.  We had  6 different churches represented yesterday.  The family of God came together to meet needs.  We distributed the bags yesterday and today.  Our convoy was 12 vehicles long at the start of distribution.  Today we had two vehicles in our convoy to deliver the final 50 bags.  Love abounded the last 2 days.  I have awesome friends and family who help me spread hope.

Ways to help us bless Farrell

     We will need lots of school supplies.  Right now, Wal-Mart and Staples both have sales on school supplies.
      Yesterday I spent $50.38 at Wal-Mart and got 40+ notebooks, 10 post-it pads, 36 boxes of crayons, 10 boxes of colored pencils, and few bags of pencils.
      If we are to give the children in Farrell and Sharon with much needed school supplies in December, we need more supplies.

Donations for Sarah's Toybox

    I realized I neglected to put the information about the foundation.  The Sarah's Butterflies Foundation is under the umbrella of the Community Foundation of Western PA and Eastern Ohio.  The address for the foundation is  Community Foundation of Western PA and Eastern Ohio; 7 West State Street Suite 301; Sharon, PA 16146.