To be inspired.

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Christianity, Data recovery, God, Hardware, health, people, recovery, Religion and Spirituality, Storage

Today I was really inspired by one of the ladies that I mentor. It’s always amazing to be in conversation with someone who is in the midst of recovery and hear in their voice strength and perseverance. Conversations like that remind me why I do what I do. I truly believe that everyone in life finds their own path, but on that journey God places people to walk certain parts of it with us. We are NOT meant to do this alone. It is an honor to mentor women as they walk through their own process of recovery. The joy I feel as I celebrate successes with them reminds me that recovery while it is at times painful and difficult other times is rewarding and fun. I used to think that there could be nothing more gratifying than taking my power back from my eating disorder – but I think I’ve found something – helping others take their power back.

There is nothing more beautiful than watching someone realize how beautiful they themselves really are.

My name is Erin and This is Where I Stand.

 

 

 

Faith for the faint-hearted…

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acknowledge, Apple, Beth Holloway, bible verse, Christianity, Control, faith, glorious, God, heart, IPhone 5, jesus, Lord, paths, Prayer, Proverb 3:5-6, Religion and Spirituality, straight, Syncope, trust, understanding, verse, weary, wonderful

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

On days when I feel really weary I love returning to this verse to remind myself that I am not the one that is in control and in charge of everything. No, God, the wonderful glorious God has got my back (and yours too!).

Praying on my knees for all our readers today,
Erin

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A Poem: Redirection

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Christ, Christianity, erin elizabeth, Erin Elizabeth Casey, Evangelism, God, jesus, Opposing Views, Religion and Spirituality

Redirection

By: Erin Elizabeth Casey

I remember the day I started dancing
I was little and really we were jumping and prancing
But I also wanted to be in swimming
And do an art club too
My whole life I’ve always wanted to be better than you

It’s not that I don’t like you; I actually want to be your friend
I’m just super insecure sitting in my skin
I’m driven by this horrible dictator inside my head pushing me to win
I want to be everything and more than what is possible to be
And that way everyone will see all of that stuff instead of me

I hate admitting this; it’s embarrassing is so unattractive
But all people really see is my ability to be proactive
Which is actually destructive to my very soul
Because I’m on this quest to make myself whole
And I’m getting mixed signals and messages all the time
Like me getting anything less than an ‘A’ is a crime

I get that my former being was obsessed with the desire to impress
But now I am much more concerned for my health to progress
I still get in modes where I want to be the best at everything and more
Obsessed like it would actually give me a key to Heaven’s secret door
But you and I both know nothing of the sort is real
For it is before Christ we must kneel
And He is the one I must work for
For he alone loves me down to the core

I’m still tempted to try to be better than you
But most of the time I’d rather work together to get through
Life is not a competition to see who wins at the end
No it is a time to walk, do work, and spend time with you, my friend
It will all be done one day or night
When Jesus comes to end the fight
So I’m going to stop focusing on doing everything and more
But rather loving people straight down to their core

My name is Erin and This is Where I Stand

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On my knees.

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Catholic, Christianity, faith, Francis of Assisi, God, heart, jesus, Lord, love, Master, mission, Pardon, peace, Prayer, Prayer of Saint Francis, Religion and Spirituality, Saint Francis of Assisi, St. Francis of Assisi

In times of quiet reflection and prayer this Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi often makes it’s way to my mind and heart, and each and every time refreshes and prepares my soul for the journey ahead.

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console,
To be understood as to understand,
To be loved as to love;
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
It is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

 

 

My name is Erin and this is Where I Stand…. (or kneel) 

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A Poem: Focus

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#believe, Anorexia, Anxiety, art, awareness, be you, beautiful, beauty, bipolar, borderline personality disorder, Christ, Christian, Christianity, Denominations, depression, Dialectical behavior therapy, Eating Disorders, encouragement, God, health, hope, inspiration, love yourself, mental-health, Poetry, recovery, Religion and Spirituality, strength, support, The Girl Of My Best Friend, treatment, understanding

Focus

By: Erin Elizabeth Casey

What do you want in life?
What is your goal?
Who do you want to be around?
How will you keep your feet on the ground?

Focus

Focus on truth and not lies
Look at people straight in their eyes
Get to know who they are on that day
Be careful in the words that you say

Focus

Everyone is worthy has a purpose including you
Encourage yourself and others too
God made you to be Christ’s hands and feet
To bring light down here on the street

Focus

Your time is limited so take it and run
Enjoy hours, minutes, and seconds under the warm sun
Learn from trials and trouble too
Those things are going to change and mold you

Focus

On life
On joy
On love
On being you
And loving others too

Focus

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Grace for Today.

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Christ, Christianity, deep hole, Divine grace, faith, God, god comments, jesus, Pain, religion, Religion and Spirituality, spirituality, suffering pain, top of my lungs

I rarely write about my faith for Where I Stand. I think partly because in some of my most difficult and trying times I met individuals who told me that my struggle with my own brain was a result of my lack of faith, my own sin, or being disconnected from God. Comments like this broke me in a way that is hard to explain as I was looking up from a deep hole that was my own misery of depression, self-hate, disordered eating, fear, shame and disgust.

This planted a fear in my heart of sending others that same message. Today it’s time to face that fear.

I want to scream from the top of my lungs that your struggles, your illness, and your broken heart are not a result of God punishing you for some “wrongdoing” of your own creation. That idea and thought that people put in my brain that spoke lies to my heart comes from a dark place – a place that is untouched by the light of the Father. Those messages were lies spread by “bullies of the faith”.

You do not “deserve” and you did not “earn” pain, trial and suffering. All darkness in this world exists apart from God. We are faced with trials and suffering, pain and heartbreak because of the world.

It’s NOT your fault.

I have about twenty five journals filled with prayers crying out to God begging for relief and comfort. At times I wondered “what did I do to deserve this?” and “Why is God doing this to me?” The truth however was that God was breathing for me during those times. Each day he gave me grace (sometimes as simple and small as a hug from a friend) that allowed me to endure the pain.

The world is filled with heartbreak, pain, and fear. Some people told me that God was the giver of these things; the reality was he was my refuge from these things.

This post is not to convince you, convert you, trick you, or tell you that God makes any of this easy. I’m writing this to you to tell you that God won’t leave your side. I’m alive today because he didn’t leave mine.

You are loved.

My name is Erin and This is Where I Stand.

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The 3 main components of self care!

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#believe, Anorexia, Anxiety, be you, beautiful, beauty, bipolar, borderline personality disorder, Bulimia, Christianity, daily prayer, depression, God, health, jesus, keep going, mental-health, move your body, Physical exercise, physical move, Prayer, prayer meditation, proper nutrition, recovery, Religion and Spirituality, tender love and care

1. Physical

Move your body – sports, exercise class, dancing, walking, taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Set a goal for yourself to get exercise on a regular basis.

Give yourself something good to eat three times per day! To help your body get the proper nutrition it needs.

2. Mental/Emotional

Be accepting, kind, easy to forgive yourself. Ask yourself how would you treat a good friend you needed some tender love and care? Then treat yourself that way.

Have reasonable expectations. This doesn’t mean the end of motivation or working hard. The point is to stretch yourself, not to break yourself.

Invite people in your life to engage in multiple activities with. Get enough people in your life that don’t expect you to do all the work of keeping up the relationship.

Do a variety of things for fun and stimulation – some things that you can do alone and some things  that you can do with others.

3. Spiritual

Develop a practice that exercises your mind and soul – however you define that.

Find something that builds spirit and faith, allows you to explore your values and priorities, and contribute to the well being of others – daily prayer, meditation, attending services, bible study, etc.

Find something that is spiritual that can be done with joy and because you find strength in it – not out of obligation.

Is it selfish to take care of ourselves?
NO

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Trust.

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choice, Christianity, Churches of God, current-events, Denominations, Eating, eating disorder, encourage, God, health, hope, human-rights, medicine, mental-health, politics, religion, Religion and Spirituality, strength, trust, understanding

Trusting God can seem impossible sometimes.But I ask you: What other choice do we have?

If you know me, you know that I am a go-getter. I pursue what I want or what I believe I should. So, you could imagine that when life does not go as planned, it’s easy for me to lose hope. It’s easy for me to turn to God and say “Hey, um? Seriously?” The truth is though, that God’s plan is greater than ours… ALWAYS. It’s easy to Thank God when everything goes well, but what do we say when it all starts going on pot? Thank you seems hard. Am I right?

 I’m a woman of purpose. For me, my actions big and small need to be working for a mission or a purpose. And  reminding myself of that by going through all of what God has brought me though and taught me reminds me that I can trust him.

 It’s actually pretty great that all of that responsibility does not rest of me. The most I can do is my best in each moment that I am in. God will handle the rest.

 God has seen me through dark days of despair, sexual assault, family wounds, my eating disorder, finding and fighting for recovery, treatment of all kinds, k-12, college, relationship stress and those little moments in my past where I didn’t think I was going to make it. That is a history of Him being there for me. That is a history of him walking with me through the ups and the downs. Today, it reminds me that I can trust God.

 After all He is with me always.

P.S. He is with you too.

 

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Verse of the Day

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Bible, Christ, Christianity, God, Holy Spirit, hope, jesus, Love of God, Religion and Spirituality, Romans, Suffering

Dove of the Holy Spirit (ca. 1660, alabaster, Throne of St. Peter, St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican)

 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans5:2-5

About Prayer and Medicine

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Anorexia, Anxiety, beautiful, borderline personality disorder, Bulimia, Christianity, december 21 2012, depression, eating disorder, God, going through the motions, health, hope, keep going, medicine, Mental disorder, mental-health, Personality disorder, Prayer, recovery, religion, Religion and Spirituality, spirituality, treatment, understanding

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  Mark 11:24

I believe in prayer. Furthermore I believe in the power of prayer and the sacredness of communicating directly with God. In the days of deep depression and illness trapped in my eating disorder all day long I would write letters to the Father. While going through the motions of each day and walking from class to class I would ask Him to keep me going, keep me functioning or sometimes just ask for answers. The peace and comfort and joy that knowing God brings, the feelings of His presence and seeing His work in world kept me alive. It kept me from taking my own life.

I believe in medicine. I believe in treatment. I believe that doctors, knowledge, treatments ect. are good and therefore created by God. I don’t think I would be here today if it weren’t for the providers who have worked so hard with me. But ultimately they came from God, as did their gifts and eduction their aspirations.

Prayer and Medicine are NOT mutually exclusive. They are connected.

Some suggest that mental illness can be gone with either medicine alone or prayer alone. I ask you this: If you, or the person you loved most in the world had brain cancer and you had to choose between prayer to the Father or life-saving surgery which would you choose?

You wouldn’t want to choose. You would be praying, working with everyone you could, praying some more, having other people pray… Just because people thing psychology or psychiatry or mental illness or personality disorders are different than other types of medicine does not make it true. People believe things that are not true all the time; and the idea that mental illness is less dangerous or fatal than a tumor is as misguided as the belief that the world was going to end December 21, 2012.

I Stand for Prayer and Medicine.

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