healing uvalde

God wants to do something special in Uvalde!


"Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest"  Matthew 11:28

Set Free Redemption & Restoration Group

Risen Community Church initiated a Set Free Restoration and Restoration group on February 27, 2024. This group meets once a month on the fourth Tuesday of each month from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m..  Pastor James Garza oversees the group and Dina Aguirre runs the groups. The group is open to anyone to attend who wants help in overcoming grief, grudges, and guilt. It will eventually become a weekly support group. For more information about the group, contact Dina Aguirre at 210-426-7482. 

may: LIVE CERTIFICATION TRAINING

Dr. Gardner will be presenting the three Set Free Seminars live in Uvalde on May 3rd - 5th at Temple Christiano. On Friday, May 3rd he will present the Basic Seminar from 6-9 pm, on Saturday, May 4th he will present the Intermediate Seminar from 9am-Noon, and on Sunday, May 5th, he will present the Advanced from 3-6pm. For more information, go to the Training Page or Events Page. The training is FREE but all participants must register. To register, contact Jim Gardner at 918-413-5475.

"healing the brokenhearted"

Dr. Gardner will be back in Uvalde on Saturday, May 25th and will be holding a public event at the Uvalde Library from 10:30 to 2:00 pm. He will be doing a workshop called "Healing the Brokenhearted" on how to find healing from grief and anger. Lunch will be provided at noon, then Dr. Gardner will give a live demonstration of how to overcome grief, anger. Seven local prayer ministers will be present to meet with attendees privately.  


Dr. Gardner will be available for free individual counseling sessions for those requesting it, from Saturday the 27th to the 29th.  In order to set up an individual appointment with Dr. Gardner, text him at:

918-413-5475 


welcome to this website!

Click onto these words to hear a Welcoming message from Jim Gardner, Ph.D.   /home/welcome


Welcome to HealingUvalde.com! This website was set up to help pastors and churches work together to bring healing to Uvalde through Jesus. My name is Jim Gardner, Ph.D., and I am a Christian and have been a professional counselor for 45 years.  I have learned a powerful, prayer-based way to help people find peace that I want to share with you. To learn more about me and me and my background, go to "About Us." 



May 24, 2023 Prayer Vigil

The Uvalde Ministerial Alliance organized a Prayer Vigil on May 24, 2023 on the anniversary of the 2022 shooting. Prayers were given by several pastors, interspersed with encouraging songs, for the families of the victims, for the survivors of the shooting, the teachers, the medical personnel, and the law enforcement staff who were directly impacted. This was a powerful, healing service. Look up "Uvalde Prayer Vigil" to find the full-length version of the vigil or click onto the video link, below. It was very inspiring and encouraging.      VIDEOLINK

churches are the key

"The church of the living God... the pillar and support of truth."


Families need healing

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."


forgiveness is essential

"Be angry, and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity."


HEALING UVALDE

Many people in Uvalde have some level of PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) which is the emotional reaction to a traumatic event, like the shooting on May 24, 2022. The five emotions that are most common with those who have experienced a trauma are grief, anger, sadness, fear and shame, and only Jesus can give you complete healing from these emotions. Jesus said, "Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). This website will help you learn how to overcome all kinds of negative emotions that rob you of peace in your life. 


  Which of the following feeling do you have when you think about the shooting in Uvalde?

  • anger

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  • grief

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  • shame

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  • hurt

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  • depression

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  • fear

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  • sadness

                   

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  • hopelessness

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THE TRAGEDY IN UVALDE


     On May 24, 2022, an 18-year-old high-school dropout, who was full of anger and hatred, shot and killed 19 third and fourth grade students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. This was the 27th U.S. school shooting in 2022, and the 213th mass shooting in the U.S. in 2022.


     On that same day, the President passionately advocated banning guns to stop the violence, though many researchers state that banning guns only increases violence. The Governor of Texas, on the other hand, strongly advocated increasing mental health services to stop the violence.


     The truth is that violent actions are caused by anger and banning guns will not stop violence in other forms, and mental health professionals have been unable to prevent acts of violence when they have had the opportunity to do so with mass shooters.

HEALING For All IN UVALDE

OUR GOAL IS TO HELP ALL FAMILIES IN UVALDE WHO HAVE BEEN TRAUMATIZED BY THE TRAGEDY TO FIND GENUINE HEALING OF THEIR NEGATIVE EMOTIONS SO THEY HAVE PEACE AGAIN.  THIS IS POSSIBLE ONLY THROUGH A FAITH-BASED APPROACH TO HEALING AS CHURCHES IN UVALDE UNITE TO MINISTER TO THE HURTING.

IS HEALING POSSIBLE?

    Many people in Uvalde have been traumatized by this tragedy and are struggling with feelings of grief, anger, sadness, and fear. However, traditional counseling is not effective in helping people with these feelings, according to research.

     In a 2004 “Report on Bereavement and Grief Research” 23 of the top grief researchers wrote, “Professional psychological intervention is generally neither justified nor effective for uncomplicated forms of grief.”

    Likewise, Ray DiGuiseppe, Ph.D., one of the top researchers in the field of anger management said, “Anger management classes, I think, are a Band-aid; they allow people to feel they have done something but they haven’t had any kind of real treatment.”

 

hOPE FOR THE HURTING

     Grief and anger are normal feelings, but if we get stuck in them, we will become depressed and hateful. Mental health counselors cannot help you overcome grief, anger, sadness or fear but Jesus can take them from you and give you complete peace. He offers hope to those who are hurting. In John 14:27 He said, “My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful”.

 

     Jesus also said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt. 5:2). He wants each person affected by this tragic shooting to find genuine comfort and peace in Him, and not live in a state of depression or anger or have to take psychiatric medications. 

OVERCOMING ANGER

Author Jim Gardner, Ph.D., with 45 years of experience doing cognitive therapy, concluded that it is no more effective than anger management in resolving anger. He reports that the following steps are very effective in enabling people to overcome anger.

 

STEP ONE:

Be completely honest about your anger by making a list of all the things you resent about someone.

 

STEP TWO:

Tell the Lord everything you resent about that person, then ask God to take your anger and carry it for you.

 

After releasing your anger toward one person, repeat these same steps for other people that you resent.

OVERCOMING GRIEF

Although traditional grief counseling is ineffective, the same process that works to set people free from their anger, can set them free from grief. Jesus will take your grief and replace it with His peace, if you will take the following two simple steps:

 

STEP ONE:

Be completely honest about your grief by making a list of all the things you miss about someone you lost.

 

STEP TWO:

Tell the Lord everything you miss about the person, then ask Him to take your grief and carry it for you. 

 

Dr. Gardner has used these steps with 100s of people over the last 20 years, and found that it sets them free from the pain of their grief.

FINDING TRUE PEACE

     A man in Uvalde was feeling a lot of sadness and anger after the shooting. He made a list of all the things that made him sad about the shooting and he identified 12 reasons for his sadness. Then he said a prayer and told the Lord why he was sad, and asked the Lord to take his sadness from him. His mind was suddenly filled with hope and his sadness was lifted from him.

     Then he made a list of 8 reasons for his anger about the shooting. He said another prayer and told the Lord why he was angry, and asked the Lord to take his anger from him. His mind was filled with positive thoughts again and his anger was lifted. He said that it was gone. A huge smile came over his face and he said that he felt joy and peace in his heart.

PRAYING FOR UVALDE

     Jesus wants each person affected by the tragic shooting to find genuine healing and peace in Him, just as this man did. Many people across the country have reached out to Uvalde and shown kindness and compassion to those hurting in Uvalde. But these kind gestures will never take away the pain in the hearts of those affected by this tragedy, nor will professional counseling.

    Genuine healing comes only from Jesus, as we learn how to give Him our anger and grief. Pray that each person in Uvalde will seek healing from the Lord, rather than from the world. And pray that each person will also give all of their anger to the Lord each day, and never “let the sun go down on their anger” (Eph. 4:26-27). This is the only thing that will stop the violence in our country. 

Romans 12:21

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

how to pray for uvalde

1.  Pray that Uvalde will seek and receive comfort and healing from God and not from the mental health system of the world.

2.  Pray that all churches will begin praying fervently for the safety of children in their local schools.

3.  Pray that this shooting will be a wake-up call for churches in Uvalde and begin a revival that will spread across the country.

4.  Pray that each Christian will do more than pray; they will make a personal pledge to never again "let the sun go down on their anger" (Ephesians 4:26-27), and teach their children that a forgiving heart is the only way to stop the anger and violence in America.

I felt an embrace!

My mother and two of my nieces died on August 11, 2006 in a violent car wreck. It was very traumatic for me and sixteen years later I still felt deep sadness about mom on the anniversary of her death. I had been crying all day, when I met with Dr. Gardner, and he told me that the first step in releasing grief is to make a list of the things I missed about her, so he helped me make a list of the things that I missed the most about mom. I missed her phone calls, hearing her voice and talking with her every night. I missed her sense of humor, her love and affection, her teaching me about God, her cooking, her singing, and her generosity. After a short while we had a list of 34 things that I missed about her.


Dr. Gardner told me that the second step in overcoming grief was to tell God what I missed about my mom, and he led me in a prayer in which I told the Lord all the things I missed about her. Then I asked the Lord to take my grief from me and carry it for me. After that, Dr. Gardner prayed and asked the Lord what He wanted me to know. As I sat quietly, I had a visual picture of my mother come to my mind; she had a big smile on her face and I saw her standing and looking very peaceful and calm, with a serene smile on her face. I also had the words come to my mind, “She’s ok.” It felt true to me and the sadness and grief I had initially, was gone. After carrying these intense feelings of grief over the loss of my mother for 16 years, I finally felt at peace about her.


On another occasion Dr. Gardner prayed with me about some sadness I had, and I actually felt an embrace from Jesus! I am a counselor myself, but I have never experienced such profound emotional relief. I can tell you from my personal and my professional experience, that Dr. Gardner’s techniques work. I want to help him spread this message throughout Uvalde and see people get set free from their anger, grief, fear and shame as a result of the shooting.


"I really do feel better"

Albert lost his wife of 20 years in June of 2021 and it hit him very hard. He said that he was very close to her and couldn't function after she died. Dr. Gardner explained that there were two steps for overcoming grief, and the first one was to make a list of everything that you miss about the person you lost. Albert said that she was his "soul-mate" and they did everything together. He missed her companionship, her love, her sense of humor, and 30 other things about her. After we made this list, he said a prayer and asked God to take his grief and pain from him. He said he felt relief and felt more calm.


Albert said that he also lost his mother in April of 2022, and this increased his emotional pain. We went through the same process as before and made a list of 28 specific things he missed about his mother. Then he prayed and asked the Lord to take his grief from him. When Dr. Gardner asked the Lord if there was anything that He want Albert to know Albert said, "She's home free; she suffered a lot, she's young again." He then said that he felt happy, and no longer had any grief. As he got ready to leave, he said, "I really do feel better."  Praise God that He truly "heals the broken-hearted."

i couldn't quit smiling

I grew up in Uvalde and attended Robb Elementary School as a child.  I was feeling a lot of sadness and anger after the shooting and spoke with Dr. Gardner. He helped me make a list of all the things that made me sad about the shooting and we identified 12 reasons for my sadness. He led me in a prayer and I told the Lord why I was sad, and asked the Lord to take my sadness from me. My mind was suddenly filled with hope and my sadness left me.


Then Dr. Gardner asked me why I was mad and helped me make a list of 8 reasons for my anger about the shooting. He led me in another prayer and I told the Lord why I was angry, and asked the Lord to take my anger from me. My mind was suddenly filled with positive thoughts and my anger left me. It was suddenly gone! I felt better than I had for a month! A huge smile came over my face and I felt joy and peace in my heart. 



church training resources

Pastors and churches that sign up to participate in the "Healing Uvalde" training program can train their church members in one of two ways. These resources are available free to churches that sign up for this program. 

OPTION 1: Online training from viewing the 2020 Seminars on the Media page of this website, plus view the ten Demo Videos, and receive 5 hours of personal prayer ministry.

OPTION 2: Training from Dr. Gardner's book, "Set Free Indeed" plus the 24 half-hour video series available on a USB drive to go along with the book, plus viewing the ten Demo Videos, and receiving 5 hours of personal prayer ministry.

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS: The ten video sessions of Dr. Gardner doing this prayer ministry with individuals, shown in picture 3, are also available for training. 


OPTION 1                                                             OPTION 2                                                DEMO VIDEOS