Welcome to "WELLBLESS"  ~  I hope that your visit here will be a blessing!
This is the website of Carl Geo. Austin, M.A., LMHC ~ Author and Licensed Mental Health Counselor

 

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."  
II Cor. 4:16-17



        Glad you found my website. My mission is helping people better understand mood disorders such as clinical depression and bipolar disorder. In these pages you will find clinically focused articles that will be helpful in understanding mood disorders. There are also articles on related problems such as addictions, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit disorder (ADD/ADHD). These topics and more are expanded on in my book The Unwelcome Blessing.

The Unwelcome Blessing deeply discounted ($4.99) is now available for download on an e-book Kindle version

    The "Personal Reflections" and "Adventures in Missions" pages on this site are about my own spiritual journey. My main interest is the nexus of psychological problems and spiritual warfare, and how this is reflected in God's perfect economy. For many more musings on this and other topics one can access my blog: www.diospsytrek.wordpress.com  Also, check out my video blogs on YouTube under the name "diospsytrek".


My latest book Jesus v. satan: The Message of the Wilderness Temptations is now avilable from Amazon.com as well as from this website. It examines the devil's three temptations of Jesus found in Luke 4 and Matthew 4. I expand on the significance of the ever present temptations of materialism, power/control and trust/safety in the life of a Christ-follower. It is a sequel to my earlier book on spiritual warfare Satan's Top Ten Tricks.

        Believers shouldn't get depressed, should they?  That's what many Christians think. But what about Elijah, Jonah, David, Solomon and Jeremiah. They suffered thru periods of emotional turmoil that certainly sounds like clinical depression. Do you suppose that they (and us) were somehow blessed by the trials God gave them?  And what was Paul's "thorn in the flesh?"  Was that affliction not a blessing in disguise?  The Unwelcome Blessing sheds light on this paradox and explains much more about pain in the life of a believer. 

            There is HOPE!  You will find it in this resource book written for depressed and bipolar believers and their loved ones. Sometimes our best hope lies in medication, but the biochemical hope that God offers should always be combined with both counseling and the wisdom found in God's word. As it says in Isaiah, "those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength."

    Not only is there hope but there is also VICTORY over the darkness of spiritual oppression. Many Christians believe that the Holy Spirit living in them renders them immune from Satan's attacks. Well if Satan were so bold as to tempt Jesus (Luke 4), what kind of toast can he make out of us with his trickery? We need to be vigilant and we need to know Scripture. Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Because of Satan's deceptions, believers need to put on the full armor of knowledge to resist the his schemes (Eph. 6:11-18). My book Satan's Top Ten Tricks gives insight and guidance in that struggle. A Christian marrige and family therapist describes the book as "life changing." In it's workbook exercises it adapts easily to a small group study. It was discussed by eight men in a Northland Church home group. They met for six weeks and shared stories of spiritual conflict, hope and ultimately of victory. The personal temptations and universal struggles outlined in this book's exercises promotes group sharing and accountabilty. 

     
    The Unwelcome Blessing and my other books are now available to order through Amazon Books online.  Here's a quick link to make ordering simpler for you:  Buy The Unwelcome Blessing now  >  > 

 

 

    
    
 

     

   

"God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;
He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm."

William Cowper

/l/900/982_s.jpg

All articles and other written material on this site are copyrighted by Carl Geo. Austin and can be reprinted for commercial use only by the written permission of the author. 
Copyright © 2008 Carl Geo. Austin, all rights reserved.