Sep 13
One of the most common questions I get from the trauma-affected children I serve is, “Why did God allow [insert really awful, tragic experience] to happen to me?” I imagine it’s a question that most pastors, ministers, chaplains, and those Christians who share their faith with others face. It’s fundamentally a relational question, not a …
Jun 13
Parenting a child with emotional disturbance or another mental health issue, being a foster parent, and adopting a child from a trauma background… all of these can seem like living in tornado alley! (view the video and you’ll understand the reference!) I am so thankful for my friendship and partnership in mission with ML Rutherford, …
May 15
Five Minutes with Chris Haughee: Helping Kids Heal covenantcompanion.com/2018/04/16/five-minutes-with-chris-haughee-helping-kids-heal/ By Guest AuthorApril 16, 2018 Chris Haughee is a Covenant chaplain working at Intermountain Residential, an intensive residential program for children who demonstrate behavioral challenges with campuses in Helena and Kalispell, Montana. Chris and his family attend Headwaters Covenant Church in Helena. Who are the children …
Apr 30
I stay near the pit (inspired by Rev. Samuel Shoemaker’s poem, “I Stand by the Door,” and Psalm 40) © Chris Haughee, 2018. All rights reserved. I stay near the pit. My cry was heard and I was lifted from it. And while my feet are steady on the Rock and the path is …
Sep 13
By the time she was 16, “Alyssa” had been kicked out of her house several times by her drug-addicted mother. She bounced between her home and a few different group homes. Her mom told her she was worthless. Alyssa was referred to Intermountain by her school’s counseling staff. She was a kid who was trying, …
Sep 04
Pat Hays has written a devotional book that gives wonderful insight into the joys and struggles that parenting a child with emotional special needs presents. Her book, My Tears in His Bottle: prayers from the heart of a special needs’ mom, contains excerpts from her personal prayer journal as she worked through the last fifteen …
Aug 23
The following message was delivered at Trailhead Christian Fellowship Church on 8/13/17. I could tell I had settled into the role of Chaplain at Intermountain when the following diagnoses no longer startled me: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Reactive Attachment Disorder of early childhood or infancy; Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Combined Type; Anxiety Disorder; Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent; Neglect …
Aug 01
For our last chapel gathering in July, we covered the BIG question: “How do I communicate with God?” The children were engrossed in the retelling of the story of Gideon, and how God called and worked with the reluctant hero of faith. God called Gideon a “Mighty Warrior” while he was still a meek and …
Jun 21
This week Intermountain’s Jewish Mentor and educator, Janet Tatz, retires from nearly a decade in supporting Jewish children in residential treatment. For the last five years, I have had the pleasure of working alongside her to ensure that every child on Helena’s campus has the spiritual and cultural support needed to do the hard work …
May 10
Maybe you are familiar with the story of Cain and Abel? It’s hard to think of a Bible story that has more potential triggers for retraumatization or difficult feelings for children from hard places and circumstances than this story of jealousy, murder, and judgment! As the story goes, the first family is living out its …
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