The reality is, with motherhood often comes loneliness and exhaustion. I work with a lot of moms through WinShape Camps, and many of them feel that way, especially when they’re in the thick of challenging seasons with their children. Polls suggest that nearly all — between 80-90% — of new moms experience either periodic or permanent feelings of isolation. Some mothers only feel this way for a short while; others feel it for a very long time.
California megachurch pastor Greg Laurie recently shared several key signs that the return of Jesus Christ is imminent with his congregation.
The director of the box office hit movie Sound of Freedom is distancing the film from QAnon, saying in a new interview that he was troubled when subscribers to the conspiracy theory began using the film to advance their beliefs.
The viability of any democracy depends on the degree to which the people trust the processes and institutions by which they are governed.
In the 22nd week of surrogate Brittney Pearson’s pregnancy, she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Because the necessary treatment could harm the baby, her doctors recommended inducing labor early and allowing the baby to be cared for in neonatal intensive care while she started chemo. However, the gay couple paying Brittney Pearson to serve as their surrogate did not want a premature baby with potential developmental or health problems. They wanted her instead to have an abortion.
Pearson offered to put the baby up for adoption, but the men refused because, according to Pearson, they did not want a child who was genetically related to one of them somewhere “out there.” According to Pearson, the men threatened both her and her doctors with a lawsuit if she did not abort her child. Because of California’s radical surrogacy laws, which allow financiers of a surrogacy arrangement to be granted legal parental rights of the baby before he or she is born, they likely would have prevailed.
The CDC lists anxiety and depression as significant factors with regard to suicide; teens and their parents are especially at risk. Serious illness such as chronic pain, criminal/legal problems, job/financial problems or loss, impulsive or aggressive tendencies, substance use, current or prior history of adverse childhood experiences, violence victimization and/or perpetration, and a sense of hopelessness are the other factors cited.
The recent apparent death by suicide of a beloved pastor in Texas made the issue more real for me. It caused me to reflect on other pastors I’ve known over the years who died in the same way. And to relive memorial services I have conducted for suicide victims and their families, among the most painful experiences of my life.
These reflections raise a formative question: Does our faith help to prevent suicide? If so, why? If not, why not?
Members of Gen Z may rarely read their Bibles, but a significant percentage nevertheless are curious about Scripture and the teachings of Jesus, according to a new report from the American Bible Society.
