Category Archives: GENERAL INTEREST

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GOD and US

PAUSE and CONSIDER No. 4

CONTEMPLATIVE THOUGHTS

Make Jesus part of the conversation without speaking a word.

My hope is real. This world can’t deliver hope when and where I need it. Jesus offers hope to any who believe in him. He walked the Earth giving care and ministering to the multitudes. Jesus was both God and human. He is hope personified. My hope is found in Jesus, the Christ.

God desires to nurture our inward places that he might lead us by the still waters where we feel safe, loved and whole.

PROGRESS
I get so stinking proud of my friends when they make progress in their personal lives. First comes the understanding, then the vision, next, ownership of their stuff, healing of emotions, letting go, embracing change, over and over again they cycle. They can see their own progress.

GOD
God made a way through the Red Sea. Remember that, when you need Him to make a way through an impossible situation. God-sized interventions are His specialty. We are privileged to trust Him for the journey. Allow God’s healing grace to flow through every moment of every day. Amen.

A CHAMPION
I have ten completed manuscripts that I re-edit and carve into every so often. I like all of them but don’t want to vanity publish any of them. Does this make me abnormal?
Won’t you pray with me that I can get some of these into print? I need a champion to champion my cause. What is my cause? To speak life to all interested in listening and learning insights on wisdom, deeper spirituality, quiet space, hunger for meaning, and one memoir.

TRUTH EXPOSED
The truth shall set you free. Lots of truth in that truth, don’t you think? Blindness hides the light of truth. Remove the blinders. Expose to the light. See clearly without bias or misguided directives, perceptions, or conclusions.

GRATEFUL AM I
I appreciate people who put into my life. Their kindnesses, wisdom and grace bless me. I think of the laughs, tears, patience, long conversations, prayers, advice, friendship, and am grateful. I know I am accepted, respected and loved by those who do life with me. Thank you. GBU.

SPEAK
Speak life, without shame.
Speak truth, without blame.
Speak love, without hesitation.
Speak hope, without limitation.
Speak grace, without reservation.
Speak peace, without conditions.

DAD
My father taught me how
-to ride a bicycle,
-to drive a tractor (age 9)
-to work hard and do well,
-to think for myself,
-to treat people right,
-to tell the truth,
-to do my best,
-to save money
-to love my neighbor,
-and to honor God.
Call me blessed.

GOD
How lovely are them that bring good news. What joy. What love. What devotion. How beautiful are the feet of them as they go where the need is, to spread the gospel of Christ to a world that comprehendeth it not. Bless them, Father God.

God is good, holy, just,
loving, kind, tender-hearted,
life, bread, wine,
hope, peace, truth,
energy, indwelling, power,
wisdom, understanding, freedom,
grace, light, fullness.
God is enough.

HOPE
We must acknowledge people’s pain while also offering hope for better days ahead. We have a platform for doing so when our own lives have been scarred by hurtful experiences, and we are dealing with it and moving forward in our recovery and healing. This gives validity to our message of hope.

I once had a student who I had concerns for. I was wondering if she was being sexually abused, but I didn’t know what to look for other than the obvious signs. I asked a special education teacher for advice. She gave me some specifics and then shared a story about a speaker she heard that had impacted her.

The speaker was a survivor of horrible abuse. She said that no one ever told her that it was wrong the way she was being treated. It was hurtful that no one validated her, even after it was known.

That was the takeaway the my teacher friend gained. Her comments stayed with me. Hope is the first step toward healing. I think we bear responsibility in offering solidarity in the healing journey. This can be of great benefit to all. Glad you are adding to this poignant conversation.

SCRIPTURE
For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. — I Corinthians 5:7,8
Jesus is the bread.

SUPPLICATION
Praying for you right now. I thank God for you, my dear one in Christ. -May Christ’s light dispel the darkness. -May His life renew and set free from every encumbrance. -May the peace of God minister to your spirit and divinely touch and heal your physical body, like happened with the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. -May the Light of Life be everything to you. Grace to you, in the loving and enriching embrace of Jesus Christ, your healer, friend and guide.

God’s love is the greatest healer of them all. At least, I see it that way.

Your love, O Lord, endures forever. -Psalm 138:8
So glad for this truth.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.” Psalm 103:2
Greet the new day with a psalm.

Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Be heartened.

Psalm 90:17
Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us.
Shine, Jesus, shine

It is amazing what God will give us when we stand there with open arms and say we’re willing to receive it.

Smile with kindness as you go about your day.

People should not believe everything they read or see, just saying.

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WE TOO: A Book about Sexual Abuse and the Christian Community

STUNNING . GRIPPING . HEARTBREAKING

Mary E. DeMuth has done it. She’s gone the extra mile to expose without attacking the elephant in the protestant room. This book is of critical importance. I previewed this book as part of the We Too launch team. We Too is powerful. Its subject matter is difficult to read, but I strongly urge you to do just that. The message is much needed. I’m glad Mary DeMuth has taken it on. She’s brave to do so.

MY BOOK REVIEW

We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis by Mary DeMuth, Releases August 13, 2019, Harvest Hill publishers

Mary DeMuth, advocate for the sexually abused, has written a clarion call to the church. You can’t ignore her purpose or passion in alerting the Christian community that it’s time to WAKE UP. She means it. This book is a cumulative work with lots of citations. The girl did her homework. But it’s also personal. DeMuth’s own heart-breaking story chronicles the trauma and devastation of being sexual abused. Past abuse follows the survivor wherever they go.

Sexual abuse is monstrous. DeMuth skillfully peels back the layers to expose the truth about assault, predators, victims, PTSD, sexual abuse in the church–historically and institutionally. She painstakingly covers all the bases so we aren’t left in the dark, nor are we uncertain as to where this is heading. The church is taken to task by DeMuth, and rightly so. She challenges the system that has long protected the abuser (perpetrator) rather than the abused (victim). You don’t believe this? Google it. Many examples exist of institutional abuse on the Evangelical watch, which includes missionary settings, Christian schools and universities, youth groups, and churches. I used to be in denial–I didn’t want to believe this could be true–but it is true, and it is epidemic.

DeMuth verifies how the survivors of abuse are often further traumatized by those who simply do not believe them or fail to address the issue head-on. This allows the perpetrator to move on to their next victim, as they often do. There are also the coverups–which reek of dishonesty, deceit, and greed (or fear). For those who think this only happens in other places and not in their neighborhood, think again. They are sadly mistaken. We as Christian people cannot live in denial any longer. The truth is at our doorstep. It is of greatest urgency that we call a spade, a spade. With grave intention, we must believe and protect the hurting, vulnerable, and wounded among us. We’re not in Kansas anymore.

One caution is in order. This book may trigger you if you have sexual abuse in your present or past. You might want to have someone who has spiritual depth of insight walk through this journey with you.

You may purchase We Too on Amazon here.