praise Archives

Depression and How I Dismantled It

Susan Ely Uncategorized September 12, 2018September 14, 2018depression, Gratitude, praise 4 Comments

“The opposite of depression isn’t happiness; it’s vitality.”

Depression used to drain the life out of me.

Four years ago, on May 12, 2014, my life radically changed, but the seeds for that change were sown in January 2013. Here’s a partial journal entry from that day:

Decimating mountains of fear
Obliterating depression
Pulverizing despair
Dismantling lack
Annihilating anxiety
Building hope muscles
Training my mind to think positive thoughts
Rebuking the victim mentality
Shaking off discouragement
Stomping on old habits
Parting ways with the pity party
Stepping out into the future.
Lack is not part of my vocabulary
Stressed is not in my thesaurus
Blessed is how I describe myself

I am rich: rich in favor, finances, in spiritual wisdom, in relationships, in all my endeavors.

I WAS MISERABLE.

How to Cling to Hope When You’re Hanging by a Thread

Susan Ely Uncategorized September 5, 2018September 15, 2018Faith, hope, praise, trust 4 Comments

My hope was to lighten up the blog this week with a funny post about my struggles with aging and the lessons I’ve learned from wrinkles and grey hair, but we’ll have to save that one for later. Based on the overwhelming number of urgent prayer requests in my inbox the past few days, I sensed the Spirit nudging me to go in a different direction.

But I got to thinking about those wrinkles and grey hair; they’re a road map of our journeys. They tell our stories, if only someone would take the time to listen. I’ve listened to some heart-breaking stories recently. Your stories.

How to Recuperate From Any Loss (without losing your mind)

Susan Ely Uncategorized August 29, 2018August 31, 2018beauty for ashes, cease striving, encouragement, lamentation, praise, recover, recuperate 11 Comments

“It takes years for the land to recuperate from a fire, but even in the darkest of ashes eventually something can grow.” Lemony Snicket, The Beatrice Letters

Some things are easier to recuperate from than others. As an introvert, I require blocks of time to recuperate after social engagements. My body is currently recuperating from a morning spent bent over doing yard work. Ow. Ibuprofen, ice packs and heating pad help me to recuperate.

Those are simple problems with simple fixes, it’s just a matter of doing what I’ve learned works for me. But how do you recuperate from the big stuff?

Recuperate is one of those RE-words that is defined by other Re-words. It means to recover from financial loss or from sickness or exhaustion or to regain health or strength.

Webster’s 1828 Dictionary combines the categories and simply states: