Dreams of Loved Ones Lost

If you or someone you know could use some encouragement and support on the grief journey, please join us Tuesday, May 5th from  7-8:30 p.m. in the Young Adult Room at Riverlawn Christian Church, please enter at the kitchen/gym entrance on the West side of the building. We will be discussing dreams and visions of our loved ones and what the bible has to say about it. Ages 18+ are welcome and you do not have to attend Riverlawn to be part of the group.

Joining you in the journey...
Jami and Janet

Remembering Our Loved Ones

Join us for Journey Through Grief Support Group Tuesday, April 7th as we share memories of our loved ones. We will meet 7-8:30 p.m. in the Young Adult Room at Riverlawn, please enter at the kitchen/gym entrance on the West side of the building.

Feel free to bring pictures of your loved one to share! We're looking forward to our time together!


Joining you in the journey...
Jami and Janet

Loss Cliches & Unresolved Grief

Grief...

You can’t go over, under, or around it, you must go through it!

Join us for Journey Through Grief Support Group on Tues., March 3rd at 7 p.m. in the young adult room at Riverlawn Christian Church. We'll be talking about Loss Cliches and Unresolved Grief and strategies for enhancing loss recovery.

For more meeting information, click here. 


Blessed to be joining you in the journey,

Jami and Janet

No Time Limit For Grief...

Journey Through Grief meets Tuesday, February 3rd at 7 p.m. Click here for more info!

How Am I Doing in My Grief?

by griefminister

You know you are getting better in grief when:

• You move from survival mode to beginning to return to your life and hope for the future.
• You quit letting grief just happen to you and decide to take a more proactive stance in how you mourn.
• You move from anger, frustration and irritability toward adapting to your new reality.
• Thoughts about your loved one bring you more comfort than sadness.
• You not only accept help from others but you begin reaching out to others in grief or crisis.
• You begin to see your grief and mourning as a way to honor your loved one’s life and to express your continuing love for them.
• You move from constant emotional turmoil and being negative to enjoying life once again and being positive.
• You understand you hurt yourself by dwelling on the past and all of your regrets and guilt about your relationship with your loved one. You work toward forgiving yourself.
• You quit obsessing on what lies ahead for you and your children. You quit living in worries, fears and anxieties about things that may never happen.
• You quit focusing on the death and how your loved one died and begin focusing on how they lived, the love you have for them and what they gave you that can never be taken away.
• You let yourself have fun and enjoy life.
• You begin to realize that you can and will survive the experience of grief.
• You accept your loss story and use it to help you heal and to help other mourners.
• You gain strength and encouragement knowing how you have moved through the changes of grief. This strength and encouragement gives you confidence for the changes that still lie ahead in your grief journey.
• You accept that sadness and depression are a part of grief that will change over time.
• You decide to quit taking yourself and life so seriously. You know your loved one would not want your life to be totally ruined because they died.
• Your dread of holidays and special days becomes less and less.
• You start focusing on the things in your life to be thankful for.
• You decide to always remember your loved one in meaningful ways that will honor their valuable life.

By Larry Barber - http://www.griefminister.com

Resolving To Press On...

Hello Friends,

There's hope for the journey as you resolve to press on in the new year! If you or someone you know could use support in grieving the loss of a loved one...join us for the Journey Through Grief Support Group Tuesday, January 6th at 7 p.m. in the Young Adult Rm. at Riverlawn Christian Church. 

Feel free to share this invitation with someone you love!

Joining you in the journey,

Jami and Janet

New Year's Resolutions for the Bereaved

By Tanya Lord

This year I resolve to: 

• Not put a time limit on my grief. Loving someone means loving them for my lifetime whether they are physically present or not.

• Tell their stories, the happy and the sad - they will live on through me.

• Encourage others to share memories.

• Teach others that they cannot "make" me cry, tears are only an external expression of how I am feeling all the time.

• Understand that crying or otherwise expressing my pain is healthy and normal. "Doing well" means expressing my feelings.

• Understand that others will not understand my pain and it isn't fair to expect them to do anything but listen.

• Recognize that asking for help from those that love us is really a gift that we give to them.

• Help others, reaching out to others in pain will help me to heal.

• Do something nice for myself every day.

• Know that if today I cannot do everything that needs to be done, tomorrow is another chance to get it done.

• Cry when I need to, laugh when I can and not feel guilty about either one.

• Let go bit by bit of the guilt, regret and anger because I know that holding on to these emotions can be so damaging.

• Take a risk and let others into my life and heart.

• Take care of my physical, emotional and spiritual health.

• Reinvest in life a little bit each day.