Holy Discontent!

What a week this has been with all the celebrity news and of course, the Jon and Kate+8 drama (I do not follow the show but have heard so much about it on Facebook and in the news that it just leaves me appalled the way they are dragging their children through this media circus)! Today while I was at Church we had the treat of taking a break from our regular message series and got to watch a message from Willow Creek Chuch and got to watch the message from their annual leadership conference which inspired the book "Holy Discontent: Fueling the Fire that Ignites your personal Vision."

I found a review on Amazon.com that really illustrates what the message of the book is about. Here is a Snippet of it "Hybels doesn't come across as an expert but rather as a fellow traveler cheering us on to find our holy discontent, develop it, and keep it alive. If you find yourself frustrated by injustices in this world and wanting to do more than just complain about it, Hybels encourages: 'Figure out what you can't stand. Channel your holy discontent energy into helping to fix what's broken in this life."


The teaser for the book asks this question: What is the one aspect of this broken world that, when you see it, touch it, get near it, you just can't stand? Very likely, that firestorm of frustration reflects your holy discontent, a reality so troubling that you are thrust off the couch and into the game. This is what inspired me to write this post today. I have had the moments in my life where I got to this point and these inspired me in my life. Here are the areas in my life where I have had that Holy Discontentment put on my heart.

1) Fighting Legalism in Churches--As someone who has been rejected by a Church in the past because of Legalistic issues, I find it very important for Churches to reach out and be supportive of people, not judgemental. When I say this I mean political or otherwise. As a Christian I do not believe I have to be a cookie cutter image identical to everyone else. I am not perfect but I also do not feel shaming people for their faults is going to convince them to walk into your church door. It's judgement and non-caring attitudes I feel that have causes a lot of churches to close their doors. Today only 30% of Americans attend Church. I am doing my part to help my Church reach out to others in the community.

2) Mental Health& The Disabled--I get so tired of people telling others who suffer from depression or other mental health issues or physical disabilities to "Snap Out of it". You would not say that to someone who has diabetes or Parkinsons. I also get frustrated when politicians go and cut funding in these areas but open entertainment halls or baseball stadiums. This area is one I focus on through my career but I believe my career has a dual purpose. It's not just a paycheck for me, it's to help others but to have someone who cares out them and is willing to take the time to sit with them and listen.

There are more but these are the big two in my life. I already asked the library to purchase the book for me so I can dive in and learn more about this issue. I know this is not your average, "New Things" post but it has been an important new thing for me.

-Jackie

Day 275 (January 8th)--Mental Illness is NOT a result of aging

Today I had an opportunity to attend a training sponsored by the Department of Human Services on the above topic. I have been to some trainings before which were snoozers but this one was a great training. I learned so much from this training there is no way I could put it all on here but here are some of the main things.

-(This is something I knew already but...)Mental Illness and Dementia are not the same thing. Dementia is a physical diagnonis and Mental Illness is a disorder that is diagnosed under the DSM IV.

-Seniors deal with Mental Illness differently so you cannot treat them the same way as you would a 20 year old with the same disorder. A lot of Seniors came from the age where "you help your family before you help yourself" (eg World War 2 survivors and survivors of the great depression).

-Younger patients have the highest diagnosis of Depression. Elderly patients have make up the largest percentage of those diagnosed with Anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress disorder.

-Seniors tend not to go in for treatment as medicare has a HUGE deductible for mental health services.

-If you give a Senior a number for a crisis number, they probably will not call it. They do not like to ask for help. The want someone to come alongside them and help them.

This was a great training for me to attend. I hope my co-workers get the opportunity to attend a session like this. =)

-Jackie

Day 223 (November 17th)--A new form of First Aid

Today I went to a training my supervisor signed a small group of us on concerning Mental Health issues. It was really interesting. One of the breakout sessions I went to was called Psychological first aid. It was covering how to provide assistance to those who have recently experienced a traumatic situuation. Like First Aid, I received a card when the course was over but this card is a pocket guide to carry with me and go over when I may be in this situation. I really enjoyed the trainings I went to and just wanted to share with you one interesting point that was brought up in the keynote speakers time.

"I worked with a patient who was diagnosed with late onset schizphrenia. Prior to this she had been hospitalized and treated with cancer. She stated 'I was treated well when I had cancer.' When you or someone you love has an illess such as cancer people send flowers and come to visit. When you or a loved one is suffering from a mental illness, one tends to feel isolated. The flowers do not come and the visitors are few and far between."

(NOTE: This was a point that had a big effect on me. This is not a point to debate whether mental illness is as serious as other physical diseases. Thank you.)

-Jackie