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Chris Morris Writes

Redefine Normal // Rediscover Hope

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I spend my time writing about how to balance faith and difficult times. I have both mental illnesses and chronic illnesses, but I’m learning to thrive anyway. I guess that’s why Redefining Normal is part of the code here, because it’s been part of my journey.
My BooksLearn more
 

Mental Illness in the Bible book by Chris Morris

Did you know that many of the major characters in the Bible had mental health problems? Many people think that mature Christians shouldn’t struggle with mental health issues, but a closer look at what the Bible has to say in its stories gives us a different picture entirely. Depression, anxiety, and having a real bad moment litter the pages of Scripture, and are included in the stories of people like Moses, David and (yes) even Jesus. If you want to learn more, you can pick up this free book at no obligation.

Get this free ebook when you subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Get inspiration directly in your email in-box to encourage you to keep fighting and never give up.

Redefine Normal

Rediscover Hope

Welcome to my little corner of the internet! Unless you happened upon this site by some cosmic accident, you’re probably looking for some hope and guidance in the midst of a chronic condition or mental illness. If so, you’re in the right place. This is precisely the focus of my site. Everything here is written to help those in the mental illness and chronic condition communities redefine normal and rediscover hope. Let’s talk about these two things for just a moment. What does it mean to redefine normal? It means that nobody but you gets to tell you what’s normal and what’s abnormal. You are the arbiter of your own life, and you get to decide that.
For you, maybe a normal day is not getting out of bed until noon because of chronic pain, and having to very carefully calculate where you spend your limited energy. If so, I honor your normal here. More power to you! How about rediscovering hope? So many of us struggle to fell there’s any objective reason for hope in our lives, because to be honest our lives stink a lot of the time. It’s full of difficulty and complexity, hard conversations and unmet expectations. But we can find the keys to having hope despite all these setbacks. I spend a lot of time talking the nuts and bolts of hope, so it’s more tangible and touchable and feelable and meaningful.

Chris’ Latest Posts

We’ve All Got Issues—Practical Ways to Address Mental Illness Struggles in the Church

I have the privilege of sharing my site again with a good friend. Meet Janeen Ippolito: Janeen Ippolito is an award-winning author of bestselling fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She’s also a mental health/chronic illness survivor and a veteran of Christian ministry who believes in church environments that uplift and grow…

We’ve All Got Issues—Practical Ways to Address Mental Illness Struggles in the ChurchRead More

Until Then (A Guest Post)

I have the honor of sharing my page today with Jessica Seale. Here’s a little bit about Jessica: Jessica Seale is a writer and online mentor from Southern Middle TN. She writes novels, scripts, and essays, mostly on the topics of mental health. She is graduating with her MFA in…

Until Then (A Guest Post)Read More

Musings on Psalm 139 & Mental Health

Doesn’t mental illness prevent someone from being able to accomplish the tasks God laid out beforehand for them? No, not in the least bit. Let’s take some time to examine a wonderful passage of Scripture, bit by bit, to see what God says about the secrets of our hearts, those…

Musings on Psalm 139 & Mental HealthRead More

Not Disqualified but Called

Elijah seemed to battle symptoms of bipolar disorder. King Saul was apparently struggling with major depressive disorder. Nebuchadnezzar glorified God as the giver of all good things after what looked like a seven-year bout with schizophrenia. Paul wavered somewhere between suicidality and circumstantial depression. The footprints of mental illness can…

Not Disqualified but CalledRead More

God’s Voice Vs. Other Voices

I’m super excited to share my website with Katie Dale today. Here’s her bio, so you can get to know her a little: Hey there! I’m Katie Dale, familiar with the storms of mental illness, and I blog about my faith and how it has informed my brain-based disorder at KatieRDale.com.…

God’s Voice Vs. Other VoicesRead More

Depression Is NOT Disappointment

Leslie was trying to make it work with her husband. They had been struggling for years. Counseling didn’t seem to help, because neither of them was really willing to change the things that needed to change for their marriage to be better. They had talked with their pastor, but none…

Depression Is NOT DisappointmentRead More

Depression is NOT Grief

One of my best friends Alfred called me and told me the terrible news. His dad has suddenly passed from a brain aneurysm. Alfred didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know how to respond, this wasn’t supposed to happen like this. His dad was mostly healthy, and this was…

Depression is NOT GriefRead More

Depression is NOT Anger

Suzanne just thought it would work out differently. She applied for that job, knowing she was more than qualified for it. She rocked the interview, and even got immediate feedback from her interviewer telling her to expect a phone call with a job offer in a couple days. When the…

Depression is NOT AngerRead More

Is Depression a Sin (Hint: NO)

Too often, those in the church are quick to call depression and other mental illnesses a sin, calling the sick to repent and return to God. It breaks my heart to see this response, because there is no other type of illness where this would be acceptable. Never in a…

Is Depression a Sin (Hint: NO)Read More

Interview on This Undivided Life Podcast

I had the privilege of being interviewed by my friend Troy McLaughlin on his podcast This Undivided Life. We talked about everything from my favorite meal ever to where God is in the midst of depression and suicidal thoughts. If you’ve ever wanted to hear more of my story, this…

Interview on This Undivided Life PodcastRead More

Is There a Difference Between Anxiety and Worry?

Ask your average Christian if anxiety is a sin, and they can quote you a number of verses that point to an obvious yes. For the sake of brevity, let’s just focus on the words of Jesus in Luke 12:25-26 – “Can all your worries add a single moment to…

Is There a Difference Between Anxiety and Worry?Read More

Jenny Hill Unsplash

When Running Becomes Dangerous to My Health

I recently had to make the difficult decision to stop running. Now, don’t get me wrong – I don’t love running, but it was a good way to get my exercise in. It was also a pleasant way to spend some time with my son doing something together.   But…

When Running Becomes Dangerous to My HealthRead More

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Is This For Me?

Found out more about this site and see if it’s a good space for you to hang out.
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Life with Psychogenic Seizures

Psychogenic seizures is one of my primary diagnosis, and it impacts me every single day. Learn how here.
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Two Things I Learned About the Church in the Psych Ward

I have spend time in a psych ward twice in my life. I learned a lot about myself and the church both times.
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What People Are Saying

Mary Demuth

Whispers in the Pews “I cannot imagine Jesus scolding someone with a mental illness, telling them to just get over it, try harder, memorize more verses. No, He would listen. He would love. He would be filled with compassion. And even He was deemed mentally ill in his time, his… Read more “Mary DeMuth”

Mary DeMuth
https://www.marydemuth.com/
Marty Kaiser

Perfectly Abnormal “I highly recommend this book to any person or family trying to deal with a chronic illness. In its pages you will find practical help to move forward, and hope to experience a life worth living. Over the past few years I have witnessed the pain and sorrow… Read more “Marty Kaiser”

Marty Kaiser
http://revealvineyard.com
Mary Demuth

Perfectly Abnormal “Perfectly Abnormal is one of those books that should be required reading for churches longing to provide a welcoming environment for all their members. And it should be required reading for any human who wants to love, empathize, and walk in the shoes of another. I so appreciated… Read more “Mary DeMuth”

Mary DeMuth
http://marydemuth.com

Whispers in the Pews “Compassion is the antidote to stigma, and it only begins when we hear the stories of real men and women who suffer from mental illness. Chris Morris is doing the church a tremendous service with this book. It should be required reading for anyone who considers… Read more “David Edward Cummings”

David Edward Cummings
PhD, Professor of Microbiology, Point Loma Nazarene University, Host of the SoulCare Podcast, Elder at Pathways Community Church, Santee, CA
http://davidedwardcummings.com/

Whispers in the Pews “Chris Morris has compiled honest and raw stories that give sight into the heart of many Christians who have battled, or are battling, mental illness. Whispers in the Pews brings to light that mental health matters and how it hasn’t always mattered in the Christian community,… Read more “Shawn Elizabeth George”

Shawn Elizabeth George
Inspirational Author, Writer, and Speaker
https://www.shawnelizabethgeorge.com/
Rett Syndrome

Whispers in the Pews “I am ridiculously excited for the stories in this book to be shared. There is an incredible need to discuss the reality of mental illness and how the church can improve how it addresses this.”

Colleen English
President & Founder of Rettland Foundation
http://rettland.org/
Jeff Goines

Whispers in the Pews “Finally, someone is speaking out on a deep and important issue that simply does not get talked about enough in our faith communities. Thank you, Chris, for your honesty and bravery. May these words move us all to deeper and more compassionate action.”

Jeff Goins
Bestselling author of The Art of Work
https://goinswriter.com/

Follow Chris’ Instagram

chrismorriswrites

Mental health author & advocate for the church. I am convinced God isn’t done with anyone due to a diagnosis. See links in bio for a free mini-book!

Chris Morris
I am thrilled to share with you that ill@be starti I am thrilled to share with you that ill@be starting a podcast next month! Starting April 3, every Monday you can listen to Resilience & Other Things wherever you get your podcasts. 

This bite-sized podcast will run no more than 12 minutes each week. We will talk directly about how faith and mental health can coexist. 

Some of you already know my story, hit for those of you who don’t, I’m a Christian who has struggled with depression and suicidality my entire life. I visited the psych ward twice, tried to die by suicide once, and thought about suicide so many more times. 

That’s what I’m bringing to this podcast: hard-won, battle-tested truth about how to survive (sometimes just barely) and thrive (hopefully most days) when facing a mental health disorder. 

Sometimes I’ll share a snippet of my story. Sometimes I’ll talk about how bad theology can shackle us to poor practice, and how to unchain ourselves. Sometimes, I’ll bring practical guidance that helped me rebuild my life after my attempt. 

I make two promises to you for every episode: It will be real, without any psychoreligious babble; and it will be short. 

I’m excited to share more as April draws near. In the meantime, I hope this whets your appetite for more. 

#podcastersofinstagram #mentalhealthmatters  #faithandmentalhealth
A new Pew Research report says, “Forty percent o A new Pew Research report says, “Forty percent of US parents are "extremely" or "very" worried that their children will struggle with anxiety or depression at some point, a new survey finds.”

This might not come as a surprise to you—it tracks with what I’ve been seeing lately. 

But for all of us who are parents of kiddos or young adults, we have to ask ourselves what can we do about this? We can’t just sit on the sidelines and hope our kids aren’t impacted. 

It all starts with talking. Have open conversations with your kids about their mental health, grounded in your unequivocal love for them no matter what. Remind them that you’re for them, no matter what they’re going through. Ask if they find themselves more sad than usual or more nervous than usual. Offer to get them counseling or medical support if they need. 

But…talk to them. Nothing can be helped if it stays undiscovered.
I had so much fun and learned so much at the first I had so much fun and learned so much at the first ever literary retreat for Mary Demuth Literary. For me at least though, this was the only dance party lol. So grateful for new friends 

@pastorswivestellall
@chrismorriswrites
@christenkrumm
@christymboulware
@courtneywarrenhome
@jodi.grubbs 
@kristenstrong
@marydemuth
@revsummerjoy
@wordsbycarriestephens
@leslieporterwilson
@dmateerauthor
@fearlessunite
@ddshrodes
Had the absolute privilege of spending the last se Had the absolute privilege of spending the last several days on a literary agency retreat with @marydemuth and about 15 other authors. 

It was so life giving and refreshing to my spirit! The people Mary has gathered as her authors are all so tender hearted and warm and open and loving, it’s impossible not to walks way feeling blessed for getting to know them some. 

Highlights are too many to count, but include a lovely dinner conversation with @jodi.grubbs, @revsummerjoy reframing platform as setting different tables for people to partake of what we’re offering and a dance party reel that will be forthcoming with @pastorswivestellall. (No worries, I still lack all rhythm).

I’m excited to take some of what I’ve learned this week and apply it to my writing life and social media presence. I’m not entirely sure what that will look like yet, but it will be better for sure.
I had the absolute honor of being interviewed by @ I had the absolute honor of being interviewed by @drdaltonsmith for her podcast "I Choose My Best Life". We talked about how God deals with depressed individuals when he encounters them, some myths that the church upholds about mental illnesses, and what it means to be resilient. I'm thrilled to share this with everyone, as this podcast was one of my dream podcasts to be one when I started thinking about podcasts a year ago.

Find the link to my interview in my bio, and tell me what you think about the conversation right here!
I'm doing a pre-moving inventory reduction sale on I'm doing a pre-moving inventory reduction sale on all my books right now! You can get a signed copy of any book I've written to date cheaper than Amazon. 

If you're interested, click through to this website and I will hook you up! 

ChrisMorrisWrites.square.site 

You can also find this through the Links in my profile.

#bookrecommendations #buymorebooks #movingsale
Watch me share the BEST NEWS EVER alongside my lit Watch me share the BEST NEWS EVER alongside my literary agent @marydemuth. I promise, it’ll be worth your time.
I'm excited to tell you about free virtual trainin I'm excited to tell you about free virtual training for ministry leaders this October called the Church Mental Health Summit. It’s specifically for Churches that want to learn more about how to support mental health in their community and I’m going to be part of it!

This is a 1-day virtual Summit on October 10th that brings together industry leaders, pastors, and clinicians from around the globe. Speakers are offering practical and engaging sessions that will strengthen you and share how to support those who struggle with mental health. 

For example, I’m going to be talking about RESILIENCE & Other Things I Learned in the Psych Ward.

Here are the details for the summit:

When: October 10th, 2021
Where: Online ChurchMentalHealthSummit.com
How much: Free!
Registration: https://church-mental-health-summit-22.heysummit.com/?sc=dNhzoijW&ac=lr2BJmu0 (Find the direct link in my bio)

This Summit couldn’t come at a better time. I think we could all use some support in helping our churches and communities who are struggling. 

The Summit is FREE for the day, but with over 50 speakers there’s not enough time to catch everything. The all-access pass is only $79. That’s over 13 hours of amazing training!

There is more I would love to share, but I’ll let you check all the details for yourself. 

Register for your ticket to the Church Mental Health Summit at the link in my bio. 

Take Care
Check out a new essay I wrote on Psalm 139 and men Check out a new essay I wrote on Psalm 139 and mental health. I think you’ll find it encouraging and challenging.

You can find the essay through the links on my bio. 

#mentalhealthawareness #mentalillness #mentalhealthandfaith #writersofinstagram
Came across this in my random internet scrolling a Came across this in my random internet scrolling and it really rung true for me. We aren’t burdens if we are struggling. Whoever told us that is just plain wrong! We are human beings experiencing struggles, and we are still worthy of love and acceptance.
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Mental Health and the Bible

Did you know that many of the major characters in the Bible had mental health problems? Many people think that mature Christians shouldn’t struggle with mental health issues, but a closer look at what the Bible has to say in its stories gives us a different picture entirely. Depression, anxiety, and having a real bad moment litter the pages of Scripture, and are included in the stories of people like Moses, David and (yes) even Jesus. If you want to learn more, you can pick up this free book at no obligation.

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