I Stand for Sexual Abuse Victims

by Mary | Find joy today, Heal from the past, Not Marked

I ache when I hear or read about sexual assault. I simply cannot handle it. It’s even worse when I see the church perpetrating it or covering it up. When I learn about a powerful person perpetrating against the weak, I’m back in the schoolyard, wanting to duke it out...

I’m stepping out onto the field for sexual abuse victims

by Mary | Find joy today, Heal from the past

I watched the movie 42 last week, and I cried several times. God used the movie to speak to me profoundly, and in some ways I’m not even sure I can put words to paper about the change in me. You see, God has shown me something way down deep. I ache and writhe...

The Scar of Sexual Abuse

by Mary | Archive

I’m over at Rachel Held Evans’ blog today sharing my story in more detail. It’s not a tale of spiritual abuse, but of sexual abuse and the scar that followed me the rest of my life. Note: trigger alert. It begins: On a recent run, I watched as two...

What to do if you’re in a spiritually abusive situation

by Mary | Heal from the past

A little bit ago I wrote about spiritually abusive ministries and how you could spot them. I had a lot of interaction there, particularly people telling me their stories. As I thought about it, I realized I raised an issue without giving some feedback about how to...

The Grief of Church Hurt

by Mary | Archive, blog

“Great is the art of the beginning, but greater is the art of ending. “—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow You may or may not know, but we are walking through a season of transition as we’ve left our church of 23 years and are looking for a new church home. All...