Christmastime is often lauded as "the most wonderful time of the year," but it can feel more like the most stressful. Between a to-do-before-Christmas list as long as your arm and an abundance of festive activities, it's all too easy to let self-care go out the window. But the truth is that taking that extra moment to quiet can be the difference between a holiday season that leaves you exasperated and one that leaves you restored and renewed for the new year.

It was another family gathering. Despite my determination to act more grown up, I was barely in the door before someone said something that triggered me. I immediately became obsessed with finding reasons I could blame them for the crummy way I felt. Does every holiday have to be like this? Arggghh! I thought. Not again. I was so sure I was making progress, but I am not acting like myself and I feel hopeless about ever changing.

Betsy Stalcup, Executive Director of Healing Center International, interviews Sam Stalcup about his experiences on the long road to healing from Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). We were blessed to hear his words and pray it will bless you too.

For more than four decades, I have been recovering from a traumatic injury that happened when I was just twelve years old. During the tenth week of the Forming class, I took one more step towards recovery, but before I tell you about how God touched me during Forming, let me tell you my story.

Last week, The Daily Telegraph released a podcast of Prince Harry that was picked up by various news outlets in the U.S. including the Washington Post in my hometown. I read various versions of what Harry said online, but was then blown away by the actual recorded 30 minute interview which you can listen to here.

Weddings are some of the most joyous occasions, but as someone who struggles with anxiety, they can also be sources of tremendous stress. I’ve been in many weddings now, and they used to be punctuated by extreme distress—complete with feelings of inadequacy and devastation whenever the slightest thing went wrong. But recently, I have been learning more and more at each big, panic-inducing event to implement skills that I have learned through HCI so that I am inviting Immanuel into the ugly moments as well as the happy ones.