“What did you say?” were the thoughts running through my head as I was interviewing a former prostituted woman. Ally-Marie had grown up in New Zealand and as a little girl, she attended a church where men in that church sexually abused her and the leaders covered it up. “The […]
Read More
If it isn’t traumatic enough to experience abuse or being raped, on top of this atrocity is the shame that so many victims carry for years, if not a lifetime. Shame tells a horrible lie that just maybe my abuse was my fault. It whispers other lies like, if I […]
Read More
This is an all too common saying that we speak to a person who has messed up and now they are reaping the consequences and there’s not really any hope for the situationThis is a lie!!! Yes there will be consequences for some of our bad decisions, but that does […]
Read More
To stop & ask questions to someone who is suffering can be a sign of care. In some cultures, this might be considered rude or intrusive, but in God’s culture, it reveals love. I’m the first to admit that I don’t always do this well. I’m afraid to ask as […]
Read More
“Life is short have an affair.” This is the slogan of a website that encourages cheating. Ashley Madison is an online dating service for married couples who want to cheat. They promise security of details so that their partner does not find out. The problem was they were hacked into […]
Read More
Instead, it would seem like, on the whole, it’s a place where we hide behind masks and pretend we have it all together. We allow the shame of our past to dictate our present relationships. The Bible doesn’t tell us to pretend. In fact, I love the rawness of the […]
Read More
“I’ve healed from the trauma of being raped but not from the trauma of the silence of my family.” At the age of 4 Pita was raped by his 15 year old next door neighbour. Unfortunately, when he told the adults in his family they all pretended like nothing ever […]
Read More
With some of the highest abuse rates in the world, the Pacific Islands need healing. There are so many stories of brokenness and the good news is that Jesus wants to heal, not just individuals but whole communities. Recently I preached on 3 ways we can begin the healing journey. […]
Read More