Tag: abuse

Would you say it to her?

Earlier this week I watched a Facebook live address from the Governor of Virginia, as he announced plans to remove statues and symbols of the Confederacy in Virginia’s capital. As I tried to pay attention to what he and the other speakers were saying, I kept getting distracted by the comments. Some were in support of what the Governor was announcing, but many were angry. Angry about his decision, angry about what they believed was misinformation, or historical inaccuracies. But

Today is the day

Today’s the big day. It’s the day I’ve been preparing and praying for since I wrote the first words on July 25, 2014. Almost five years to the day and my book Forgiven and Restored is published. It’s real, it’s out there for the world to buy and read. Five years of writing and rejections and praying and giving up and trying again and more rejections and working hard and crying and saying “thank you God”. And then there was

I don’t belong here

When I was 13 years old I was molested by my then-step-father. There are really no words to adequately describe the fear I felt that night. While my short-term memory fails me every day, I can still remember that night in vivid detail. What I remember most are the thoughts going through my head “How do I get out of this? How can I get away without making him angry? I should not be here. I don’t belong here.” Somehow, God

Mamas and their daughters – hope for healing

I recently had lunch with a good friend to talk about planning a women’s retreat. As we discussed ideas for the teaching sessions, we ended up on the topic of mamas and daughters, and how there seems to be a large majority of women carrying around hurt, anger, unforgiveness, and/or resentment when it comes to this special but complex relationship. It’s a topic very near and dear to my heart — as both a daughter and a mother of two girls.

Speak your truth

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” – John 8:32 Today I read this blog post by a woman named Laura. It’s her story about finally coming forward and reporting the sexual abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her grandfather. I cried as I read Laura’s story. I cried as she described wanting to dance on her grandfather’s grave. I cried the moment she and her cousin decided to report

God calls the broken to be his chosen

It was a bitterly cold Tuesday night when I met Jared. We were both volunteering at the temporary homeless shelter that our town sets up every year from November – March, the coldest months in the Shenandoah Valley. Our church was that week’s location for the shelter and Jared and I introduced ourselves to one another in the kitchen as he brewed pots of steaming coffee and I began to cook enough baked beans to feed a small army. I