I am like the woman who is hemorrhaging and touches
Jesus’ cloak and found healing.
I am like the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
I am like Hagar who had an encounter with El Roi-the God who sees and received dignity and meaning.
I am like Sarah who held onto hope, for nothing is too hard for my Lord.
I am like the woman at the well, who met the Man who loved her despite her sins and uncovered her need for Him.
I am like Tamar, because the beauty of my story is in God’s power to bring positive from negative,to bring good out of tragedy, and blessing out of less than honorable events.
Tamar and all these women in the Bible give me hope, because Jesus loved these women. And like these women God also invited me out of the shadows and into His arms, He called my name, I was thirsty and He gave me His living water, He called me to live. He takes me in His arms and draws me close. And as I learn to dance in the arms of my Lord I go where He leads, turn where He directs, follow in His footsteps, and grow in His love….
Jesus is my living hope…He took me by the hand and walked me out of the dark and into the light….no longer afraid…but rather He continues to offer me hope… for healing and for freedom….because in the arms of Christ I am given grace, dignity, peace and a righteous confidence. Because I finally see that since the day I was born, God has been passionately in love with me…and His invitation is life!
“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you.”
2 Kings 20:5
His beloved daughter,
Tamarshope/Connie
I came across your site while searching for Dan Allender’s “False Guilt” book. I am about to blog on False Guilt.
Anyways, looks like a great site. I will be back.
Blake
Blake, welcome and glad that you popped in. Dan Allender is an amazing and annointed author, one of my favorites. The Lord has used his writings to bring understanding and clarity, which also enabled me to find the courage to remove the bandaids that covered my wounds and to open them up to the work of the Holy Spirit.
We hope you will be back and share your journey with us.
Blessings.
God bless you both and your ministry through this site.
(brian from John Dobb’s chat room)
Thank you Brian – good to ‘meet you’!
Peace,
Lisa
Ditto for me too Brian…thank you for the blessing!
I too am a survivor…just found your site. I will be back soon to read.
Welcome Janice – I’m looking forward to hearing more from you!
Welcome to our blog Janice and I too look forward to you sharing with us.
If you will send me your mailing address I will send yu a cpy of my new book dealing with verbal abuse. The title is “You Are A Door Prize Not A Doormat” also visit my website.
Dr. Jay Grady
your website and candid sharing is very refreshing, the church is so caught up in the appearance of health rather than health itself. Our bleeding hearts have no safe places anymore — thanks for being one of the rare safe places to go. a wounded and friendless being
Hi, your website is very refreshing because of the open and shear real quality it holds. Thanks for sharing so beautifully about such harsh and ugly wounds – wounds I too possess but have been unable to fully deal with as of yet. I have begun to bring my pain to the cross – Halleluiah to our Lord, a man acquainted with sorrows and suffering.
God Bless
Daniela, thank you for leaving a comment and for your vulnerability in sharing of your heart….too many women and men are the “walking wounded” and too many feel that they have no one to turn too, no one who will listen, and no one who would understand the depth of their pain~know this dear heart, you are not alone…I look forward to hearing more from you…please feel free to share more of your story, more of your journey….
Praise the Lord that indeed we have one who walks with us through the pain and brings his healing balm to our wounds as we bring each one to Him!!
Good web site. I think one area of abuse many forget are those verbal and emotional abuses that pastors go through. Yes many pastors have been abusive, but so to have many good meaning people towards the pastor.
Having been in the ministry for 30 some years, I have heard and seen how mean Gods people can be to a pastor. Many a tear has been shed, a great deal of confidence shattered, feelings of betrayal and as well failure for the men and women on pastoral leadership. They are gifts from God who often feel the sting of abuse from many areas of life. I know! Keep up the great work, we need healing to.
Thank you for your encouraging words~ yes, sadly Pastors, their wives and families are not exempt from verbal and emotional abuse…our churches should be a “safe” place for all involved, a place where we are built up and not torn down, a place where words of life and not death are found…
Emotional abuse is most always a component of physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, but it can also stand alone.
In all cases of abuse, including verbal and emotional, the perpetrator uses intimidation, humiliation, isolation and fear to diminish their persons sense of self and sanity.
It still shocks me when people think they can verbally vomit over another whenever they want, and whenever they want without any regard for the other person … that they have the right to yell or scream, to insult or make mocking/sarcastic comments….others use extremely negative criticism, having total disregard for feelings….while others are more subtle using manipulating words….
Even when people agree to disagree it can be done in a way that offers dignity to the other…
This is a good reminder to all of us to pray for and encourage our pastors…..they are deserving of our time as they pour themselves and their time into so many lives….
Came upon your site in a crisis with a verbally abusive father. I’ve only read a few pages, but intend to read more…you really put things into perspective for me – gave words to thoughts I had but didn’t know how to express. Accepting the fact that I am powerless to control how others think is something I need to learn, now, at the tender age of 48, and remembering to put things into God’s hands instead of trying to take them into my own is a big step for me. It’s going to be my first priority from this day forward. Thanks for being here!
Jenny, I am so sorry to hear about your Father….words are so damaging and devastating….I pray that God will use my story and my words to encourage and affirm you, and to give you hope…with God we can stand up on the inside in the face of discouraging and hurtful situations, trusting always that He has our back and that He will give us the strength to do what needs to be done…
Praying for you….