Christian Counseling

The following questions come from the book: Recovering from Churches That Abuse, by Ronald Enroth, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Zondervon, 1994.   1. Does a member’s personality generally become stronger, happier, more confident as a result of contact with the group? In an abusive church, the use of guilt, fear, and intimidation to control members is likely to produce members who have a low self-image, who feel beaten down by legalism, who have been taught that asserting oneself is not spiritual...Read Full Story

My husband of 8 years has left me and our 2 children. I have never worked outside the home and doubt it would be worth it to try. By the time I pay for child care, I'll have nothing left for rent, utilities, food, and all the rest. I'm scared to death. What will happen now? I don't want to be a welfare mom, but I see no other alternative. I'm a Christian, but I'm scared. How will I provide for my children? ~ JillDear Jill, exactly what scares you? Are you afraid God can provide for you only...Read Full Story

100 Interactive Activities for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Recovery Sales Price:      $44.37 FREE with Super Saver Shipping    Save:      $10.58 (19%) Product Description Ages 8 & Up. Energize,empower and educate your group participants with these 100 interactive activities. Designed for clients dealing with mental health and substance abuse recovery issues. Treatment components common to both are incorporated. The 14 broad categories in this manual are: Anger Management, Assertion...Read Full Story

While it’s probably not a good thing to get too bogged down in the “who am I?” and the “who are you?” questions, they do come up in our minds every now and then. We can’t help it. Who am I? Who are you? God only knows. But, thank God, God truly does know. It took me a long time to admit I was “sexually-broken.” I knew from an early age that engaging in sexual activity with a person of the same sex was wrong. I knew it instinctively, but I also knew it spiritually. God’s Word was clear on...Read Full Story

How does a survivor of abuse, any kind of abuse, find help? Well, you could use the search engines, and click from link to link, of course. But what if you're a Christian and you want to make sure the resource is biblically based? I offer these ten resources to help. Each source has other sources, so be sure and click on the links!1. Christian Survivors MinistryChristian Survivors came into being due to one survivor's realization that a need existed on the internet to have a place where...Read Full Story

This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. -- 1 John 5:3-5It seems like I have always worked somewhere, whether selling donuts door-to-door, delivering cherry-limeades window-to-window, writing stories day-to-day, or sitting in staff meetings week-to-week. I've...Read Full Story

I am going through counseling for abuse recovery, and it seems the more I open up, the worse I feel about myself. I read your book, so I feel like you will understand what I'm talking about. I'm 42 years old, and for all those years I have acted like nothing happened to me. My counselor says I have been "stuffing my feelings" all those years. When does it get better? When will I like myself? It seems like it's never going to happen. ~ Doubting [real name hidden]Dear Doubting,What you are...Read Full Story

I found this review at bukisa.com Thank you, Kate! (whom I do not know)http://www.bukisa.com/articles/38949_book-review-gods-battered-childBy Kate / Mar 02, 2009 / 10 Views / "God's Battered Child" is a wonderful and inspirational book by April Lorier. This isn't fiction, but a true account of April's life as an abused child and how she used her experience to do Christian ministry and become a public leader.God had a provision for April Lorier, but as a severely abused child, that was...Read Full Story

"Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!"-- Lady Macbeth, from Shakespeare's Macbeth I wish -- though I don't believe in wishes -- that I could take a number two pencil and write down on a blue-lined piece of three-hole-punched notebook paper the moments of my life, label it "draft," study it a bit, and then turn the pencil around to the pink side -- the eraser -- and smudge away forever a line here and there . . . many lines, major smudges. Study it a bit more, swipe away with my hand the little black...Read Full Story

It is often in the small things that we feel pain. A paper cut. A sticker on a barefoot heel. A stubbed toe. A hangnail. An empty mailbox. A silent phone. A leaf drifting to the lawn in a season of change. A slow-fading photo. A sigh. A looking away. A turn. A train in the distance. A secret. A reflection in a mirror. A splinter. A memory. This is not to discount the greater pain of a car wreck or a tumble down the stairs . . . or the death of someone you love. Broken bones and...Read Full Story