New Faith-based Book "The Power of Hope" Helps Readers Overcome Depression
Nashville, Tenn. (PRWEB) September 21, 2016 -- For nearly 20 years author and speaker Patty Mason has been sharing with audiences throughout the nation how she found hope and overcame crippling depression through Jesus Christ. Her passion and deep-seated conviction is to help others break free from emotional pain, and show them how to experience joy in their everyday lives.
Mason, founder of Liberty In Christ Ministries, has spoken to thousands of people in person and has been interviewed on radio and TV programs about her personal battle with depression and how she was set free from it. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), depression affects more than 18 million American adults each year, making it a major health issue.
“As a young wife and mother of three, depression was a constant battle, bringing on overwhelming feelings of sadness, anger, even rage, and hopelessness. It crippled my mind, heart, spirit and soul and destroyed every part of me,” Mason said.
“For a long time, I wore a mask that told the world I had it all, when inwardly I was dying. Even accomplishments left me feeling empty. But I had an image that I had it all together, and I didn’t want anyone to look down on me.”
The Power of Hope, her new book to help with depression, is a seven-session workbook designed for individual or small-group study that helps readers discover the hope God has given them to overcome every circumstance, both now and in the days to come.
Mason’s other books are Finally Free, which is her personal story, and Experiencing Joy, which focuses on how to have true joy no matter the circumstances.
“About two years ago someone came to me and asked me to write a Bible study on depression. As I pursued this idea, I wanted to come up with a more positive approach, so I shifted the message to finding hope—hope in the midst of depression and hope in hard times,” Mason said.
During her battle with depression Mason made every effort to find answers and get better, but nothing helped. Unable to free herself from the emotional turmoil, she turned to family, friends and doctors, but no one could help her. As a result, hopelessness flooded her heart and she gave up, convincing herself the only way out was to die.
“I longed for a good friend—someone to talk to—someone who would listen and encourage me,” Mason said. She eventually reached the point where she began praying that God would take her life to end the pain.
At her lowest point she felt prompted to attend a Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) meeting, where she heard a speaker share about what it’s like to have a lack of joy and no real purpose in life. The speaker went on to say that the only way to find pure joy was through Jesus. Afterwards, Mason met with the speaker, and within a few minutes the heaviness lifted and all of the darkness that had consumed her life was completely gone.
“This woman did not possess the power to heal me, but I believed God did,” she explained. “I had everything this world deems valuable, yet nothing made me happy; nothing made me whole; nothing gave me the sense of life, love and purpose I was searching for.
“At my lowest point, Jesus came into the turmoil of my personal madness and set me free. And when He set me free, He gave me a miraculous and powerful testimony—a testimony of hope, of love and deliverance, of His healing power and His unfathomable grace.”
Today, Mason’s message to those suffering from depression is simple: “You are in a safe place with God. Bring Him all your pain, and allow Him to start working in your life to bring you out of that pit.”
The power of hope, she believes, comes from the fact that regardless of how one feels or how dire the circumstances, there is always hope for a new life.
“I am living proof that God can and will redeem a harmful past in order to give hope to others,” Mason said, emphasizing, “Our hope, our joy and our victory is only in Jesus Christ.”
Based near Nashville, Tenn., Liberty in Christ Ministries is a faith-based, nonprofit ministry dedicated to offering biblical truths and resources to overcome the destructive and demoralizing effects of depression and other crippling emotions that can leave one feeling trapped and alone. Its website is http://www.libertyinchristministries.com.
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Patty Mason, Liberty in Christ Ministries, http://www.libertyinchristministries.com, +1 (615) 472-8743, [email protected]
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