Elisha House (Niagara Life Welland Centre)

Hiding the Secret

Posted Jul 22nd, 2019 in Sexuality, Rhonda Wiersma, Suffering

Sexual abuse is being talked about more and more. Recently the hashtag metoo movement has come out, seemingly giving people more willingness to share their own stories of sexual assault or abuse. However, one thing haunts me particularly about the way we talk about sexual abuse. We usually only think about girls and women being sexually victimized. But did you know that many boys and men are also sexually abused?

Anger

Posted Mar 26th, 2019 in Rhonda Wiersma, Anger

We all have it, to one degree or another. For some of us anger comes quickly and burns hot, while others of us conceal our anger in a pressure cooker. Anger is an often-misunderstood emotion. We read in James 1 that we ought to be “slow to anger…because the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (19-20). Frequently an attitude like this leaves us more willing to sweep our anger under the rug

God in the Dark

Posted Sep 5th, 2018 in Rhonda Wiersma, Salvation, God

Most of us are familiar with the experience of doubting God. Sometimes this doubt is simply a temporary passing of questions when difficult circumstances arise; at other times doubt takes hold of our hearts for reasons known or not known, but yet we cannot shake that awful feeling of doubting God.

Gossip in the Counselling Room

Posted May 30th, 2018 in Relationships, Rhonda Wiersma, Helping Others

I was asked recently, “If I share sensitive or damaging information about people that are in my life, or in my past, am I guilty of gossiping?” What a great question! At first, I wasn’t sure how to answer than respond with “I don’t think so…but let me look into that.” In a quest to answer this question, I have decided to share what I have learned in the process of learning about gossip.

What To Do When...You’re in it for the Long Haul

Posted Mar 1st, 2018 in Relationships, Rhonda Wiersma, Helping Others

In our last post on “What to Do When…”* I will be talking about hanging in there for the long haul. This is where the tough get going when helping gets hard. And it is hard to hang in there for the long haul when the problems feel that they never stop growing or stay stuck. How do you keep going, especially when you as a helper feel discouraged or feel lost for direction?

What to do When...Your Friend is Facing Chronic Illness or Chronic Pain

Posted Feb 8th, 2018 in Rhonda Wiersma, Helping Others

In this second blog post in our series I will be addressing how to help your friend who is experiencing the debilitating and life changing effects of chronic illness or pain. I wish to express that if you are reading this and involved in someone’s life that is experiencing long term pain and illnesses, you are in a privileged place. I know that it might not always feel like it, but you are.

What to do When… Your friend is in Crisis

Posted Jan 18th, 2018 in Rhonda Wiersma, Helping Others

Frequently I get emails or get pulled aside and asked “how do I help?” I get where this question is coming from because helping people is difficult; at times we get hurt in the process or we just aren’t sure what to do or say. We sometimes feel powerless or helpless in the face of suffering.