written by Paul Olsen as a eulogy for his brother It is no secret that my brother, JT, struggled with severe mental illness for most of his life. He had Borderline Personality Disorder, a diagnosis considered difficult to treat. But, it would be tragic if we defined him by his…
“Salvation comes by grace, and grace comes by art, and art does not come easy.” …
She came into my office and unfurled the map. Circled in red pen were the communities she knew, home to the people she loves. “I want to bring the kind of counseling CrossRoads offers to my part of Illinois. They don’t have anything like this.” she said. Patty had been…
A few years ago, I reluctantly took up running. Not exactly marathon running – more like couch to 5K running. It worked great for a while . . . . and then it got cold. Really cold. I have some genetic limitations – my people are Floridians. After a long…
There is a particular glory in the way God weaves stories together as the Great Storyteller. Somehow, He’s able to use both deep sadness and great joy to bring about His will. In August of 2014, Becca Brand started the Master of Counseling program at Covenant Seminary after serving an…
When the sun shines brightly to warm the earth, on what would normally be a cold January day, I am beckoned outdoors. As I walked through the wooded trails near our home with a friend, I was chattering on about some trivial thing when I stopped short, realizing my friend…
My world has expanded greatly since becoming a counselor. Each month I spend some time with people who are providing medical care in Africa, building friendships in an Islamic mosque, pioneering new work in India and building a new community center in South America. In the course of our sessions,…
We are thankful for all the people God has brought through our doors this year and for the ways He has provided financially for our ministry, and we continue to match people with the counselors they need regardless of what they can afford. Thus far in 2017, we have: Held…
Debbie grew up in the richly diverse community of University City, where ethnic and racial variations have always been a welcome presence. Gaining some insight into the purpose of God’s plan for her life, she realized that these life expenses have enabled her to connect with individuals from a wide…
She came to us because DCFS had told her she was in danger of losing her children. She loved her children, and having grown up in foster care, she couldn’t let that happen. Never being able to trust that anyone would stay, she had developed a manipulative way of relating…
