The counseling field covers many areas of life including but not limited to spiritual health, mental health, communication, relationship building, work, and self-care. This connects you with the concept of your overall mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual spaces. We tend to forget this includes our daily work in our overall well being. If you are searching for meaning and purpose, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what is next, or struggling with identity, relationships, or making meaningful connections in life, Cheryl may be a good fit for you! She can also address areas of mental illness, working toward mental health. Children, adolescents, adults, families, and couples are also areas where she can provide counseling.
As a Christian therapist, Cheryl desires for you to find whole healing in your physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual health. Her approach is integrated from a variety of models in the field of counseling including cognitive behavior therapy, interpersonal therapy, narrative, solution-focus and areas of Adlerian therapy. Cheryl is a licensed professional counselor and earned her Master of Science of Clinical Counseling at Central Methodist University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Christian Counseling at Central Christian College of the Bible. Additional credentials include Mental Health First Aid Responder Trainer, National Board Certified Counselor, Community Health Worker Trainer and Supervisor. She has integrated herself in community work, maintaining relationships with other providers as resources for the individuals in the community she serves. She looks forward to meeting you where you are and helping you discover where you are going, what holds you back, and the presence of your faith in your journey. Cheryl currently provides counseling through Timber Lake Counseling, Moberly, MO. She is also an Instructor of Christian Counseling at Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, MO. For more information or to inquire about counseling, contact her at cheryl@tlcc.church or 660-676-2795.
Bethany Wybert is a licensed professional counselor in the state of Missouri. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Christian Counseling from Central Christian College of the Bible and a Master of Education in Licensed Professional Counseling with an emphasis on Marriage and Family Therapy from Stephens College. Bethany is currently a doctoral student at Liberty University studying Traumatology.
She has over 10 years of experience providing counseling services for issues such as depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, relationship conflict, divorce, parenting, sexual abuse, and trauma. Bethany is trained in Gottman Method Couples Therapy and utilizes Gottman Method techniques in her practice with couples.
More Resources Coming Soon!
April 2023, Bethany Wybert
Join Us for the 3rd Annual Mental Wellness Connect and Suicide Prevention Prayer Event: Faith, Hope, and Life
On April 29th, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Timber Lake Counseling will be hosting the 3rd Annual Mental Wellness Connect and Suicide Prevention Prayer Event: Faith, Hope, and Life. The aim of this event is to connect the community with churches, organizations, agencies, and businesses that can provide resources and guidance to assist in suicide prevention and encourage mental and spiritual wellness. Our hope is to help individuals feel supported and empowered in their journey towards wellness.
At this event, you will have the opportunity to meet with experts in the field of mental health and suicide prevention, connect with others who share similar experiences, and find resources that can help you or someone you love. We want to create a space where people can come together to share their stories, find hope, and feel inspired to take action towards their own wellness.
We are inviting churches, organizations, agencies, and businesses to host a free booth at our event and showcase their services for you.
11am-Vendor visit, Fire Truck and Ambulance visit, face painting, door prizes and more.
12pm-Prayer Event: Faith, Hope and Life, Speakers Mary Jo Colley and Myrna Whitley will share their lived experiences.
1pm-Conversations for Suicide Safer Home and Luncheon. Register here for the luncheon: Church Center App, Sign-ups or under Events at tlcc.church.
Email: cheryl@tlcc.church, ccares@rcccpmo.org, OR rogerchristy@rcccpmo.org for more information.
By working together, we can create a community that supports mental and spiritual wellness, and helps prevent suicide. We hope to see you at the 3rd Annual Mental Wellness Connect and Suicide Prevention Prayer Event: Faith, Hope, and Life.
March 2023, Cheryl Botkins
We are reaching the end of Sleep Week, which is highlighted
the first week of daylight savings time. During this week, education and
encouragement is given for best practices of sleep hygiene as our bodies adjust
to loosing just one hour of sleep. But, it makes a world of difference on our
circadian rhythm from our physical body responses and our thinking patterns. If
you liked waking up with the sun rays, too bad. You get dark again for a little
while longer until the sun makes its full transition to the northern
hemisphere. Your melatonin attempts to adjust and you must work on challenging
your negative thinking patterns about getting one less hour of sleep and
getting up in the twilight hours. Regardless of your ability to transition with
the time change this spring or just needing some help in getting into better
sleep patterns, here are some recommended sleep hygiene guidelines to help you with
restful slumber:
·
No screen time at least 30 mins prior to bed
time, an hour is better. The brain is stimulated by the screen, movements on
it, and the energy it puts out. Decreased brain stimulation near bedtime helps
the brain to know its time to rest.
·
Darken rooms or lessen artificial light by 7pm
in the evening. This will cause your natural melatonin to be stimulated.
Melatonin is a biological process that occurs in your brain to cause you to
feel sleepy and have a restful night.
·
If you are tired during the day, limit naps to
only one and it should be 15-25 mins. This is just enough rest to allow the
brain and body to get a quick recharge. If you sleep much longer, you will
begin a regular sleep cycle. It is not good to stop a sleep cycle once it
begins and it may prevent you from a restful night’s sleep to follow.
·
Avoid heavy meals after 7pm or caffeine after
3pm. The body must digest what goes into it. If you consume too much prior to
bed, your body focuses on digestion rather than restful and restorative sleep.
This includes alcohol intake. While many believe alcohol causes you to feel
sleepy, it has the opposite effect on your physical body. It is a sugar and
therefore causes a stimulation to your body, which will have to work overtime
during the night to rid the toxins instead of allowing a restorative sleep.
·
If you wake in the night, pray, complete a word
search, or read with a dim light for about 15 mins, then work on going back to
sleep. Don’t over stimulate your brain during these wakeful moments of
interrupted sleep.
Lastly and most important, take your thoughts captive to
Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5), allow your mind to be transformed by it renewing
(Romans 12:2), and pray before bedtime to be reminded of God’s promise to
sustain you: I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. (Psalm
3:5). Should you need additional help processing ruminating thoughts that keep
you awake at night, reach out for counseling or talk to a trusted friend to
overcome these strongholds. God has created our body for appropriate sleep and
will sustain us as we adjust from irregular sleep patterns. Blessings, Cheryl
January 2023, Cheryl Botkins
Our counseling ministry continues to bless and be blessed. One area of focus that touch many lives is our GriefShare and Surviving the Holidays to help many individuals and families through the loss of their loved ones. This was made possible with our interns from and partnership with Central Christian College of the Bible’s Christian Counseling program. Bethany Wybert, LPC and Cheryl Botkins, PLPC offered therapy and counseling both to congregation attendees/members and community members, serving over 100 individuals, families and couples combined. We focused on several outreach events to decrease stigma and support mental health through a suicide awareness training, a mental health fair, and a marriage focus. In our partnership with Caring Community Partnership, Moberly, MO, we have connected with several community focused initiatives to bring awareness and services to those struggling with mental health, substance use disorder, spiritual health, and social determinants of health (such as access to care, housing, etc), connecting with Community Health Workers. In our own church family, our counselors tended to quick questions, conversations, referrals, and resource connections to many inquiries and are happy to be available to this need.
January 2022 article from Cheryl Botkins, Counseling Minister:
While driving one beautiful afternoon this fall when the leaves were gorgeous colors and the sun reflected in their vibrance, I was talking with God about the process of my dad’s death and my husband’s grandmother’s death. And He pointed out to me the beauty in the leaves, and they too are dying! He reminded me that death is not a terrible thing, even though it feels terrible. He let’s us experience the death of leaves with a beauty beyond us.
In a recent email conversation with Doug Delp, I shared with him the loss of my husband’s grandmother and the healing experience God granted me with the leaves. I stated, “Earthly death has never been a more beautiful experience.” To which he replied, “Your words bring me joy” and shared Psalm 116:15 (ESV) with me: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the deathof his saints. We both acknowledge that many do not share this same story and experience of losing someone they love and care for very much. My dad’s death in February of this year was hard and I am grateful for God keeping me through the process of grief.
My most difficult loss, and grief showed its ugly side, was the loss of a boyfriend in high school. I was 16 years old. I can honestly say, God redeemed my hurt and pain as an adolescent and shifted my perspective of loss, dying, and death. Again, your experience is not mind and your space of healing may not be similar. However, I want you to experience hope in your hurt. I believe God desires this for you as well.
Pregnancy was not a pleasant experience for me with my oldest born 10 weeks early, 12 weeks of bedrest with the second, and my third had a rare cranial issue that planted him “wedged” in my pelvis and miserable for the final 8 weeks. Loss of and change of expectations, jobs, locations, homes, health, and relationships with friends and family are among other things I have grieved. I know I am not alone in my losses and many of you have likely experienced grief and loss with your very own personal stories.
Thank you for reading a brief snapshot of mine. I hope you see that you are not alone in your time of loss, even if it feels this way. During this time of year, we may feel a sense of loss when we remember who and what are no longer with us. I hope to bring you comfort in your time of discomfort as I have been comforted in mine. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)
Grief Share is a direct way for one to process their grief and find hope and peace in their loss. You are surrounded and supported by others who have also experienced loss. You are surrounded and supported by others who have also experienced loss. While bereavement can include intense sadness, rumination about the loss, insomnia, poor appetite, and withdrawal, the intensity ebbs and flows and typically gets better with time and proper processing of the loss.
Timber Lake Counseling Ministry is offering Grief Share on Mondays at 6pm starting January 31st, 2022. Click here to sign up.
Part of Doug’s conversation with me (and Dale Samp) was a sharing of the fruits of his ministry in hospice work, specifically with grief and anticipatory grief. He has provided many articles and helpful short reads as resources to us at Timber Lake. If you are interested in the following, please call or email me and I will gladly share with you.
- Dealing with Sadness-Grief Recovery
- Breath & Serenity Prayers
- 10 Things to do to help in the Holidays
- Helping Others Help You
- Is Hospice in the Bible?
- Scripture for Near Death
- Sharing Life Threatening News with Loved Ones
- Five booklets by Barbara Karnes, RN:
- Gone From My Sight, The Dying Experience
- The 11th Hour, A Caring Guide for the Hours to Minutes before Death
- My Friend, I Care: What You Need to Know about End of Life Comfort
and Pain Management - A Time to Live, Living with a Life-Threatening Illness
Loss isn’t always a bad thing, but it is a hard thing. Yes, we grieve what we no longer have, and we are sad about it. Rightfully so. Know you are not alone, and you have others, the Holy Spirit, and your church family who desire to walk alongside you. Let us share in your hurt and prayers, resources, and time together in the coming year and help you find a shift in your hurt.
Many blessings,
Cheryl Botkins
Click on the below icon for the group you would like more details and to register for.
Fall 2023 Groups will meet Tuesdays from 6-730p.