Huh - just seeing the title, it appears that this blog post will again have a "fight" flavor to it. Why? Because at the core of me is a fighting warrior tired of a world that compacently accepts violence and the presence of sex abuse.
I see hundreds of people turn out for a walk against breast cancer - and yet the numbers of victims of breast cancer are not near the numbers of victims of sex abuse!
I see hundreds of people turn out for a walk to support issues around mental health - and yet many of those issues originate in the trauma of sex abuse.
I see hundreds of people turn out for a walk about autism, cystic fibrosis and now Alzheimer's.
What the heck?!? We issue a call for people to Stand Up against sex abuse - and we have little response! I'm sick of the powerless feeling. I'm sick of the shame keeping us from addressing it. I'm sick of the passive acceptance of sex abuse as something we have to "prevent"! Let's not tolerate it!
STAND UP! When we asked 300 people what their first response was when they heard about sex abuse, the word most used was "sick". I'm calling you to move beyond that first response! Yes, it is "sick", but let's get angry about it. Let's take this down. Let's Stand Up and battle the mindsets that allow sex abuse to exist.
If you are in the Cincinnati area - join us on August 17th, in Ault Park as we walk and STAND UP OHIO. This will be unique! You won't just walk, although showing up alone will make a statement. But you will have the opportunity to visit 3 action stations where you will help unearth and combat cultural norms and mindsets. We are attacking at the root! COME UP TO A HIGHER PLACE AND BATTLE WITH US!
rsvp: connections2602@gmail.com or http://standupohiowalk.brownpapertickets.com
Showing posts with label struggle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label struggle. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
Occupy your land
This journey of restoring authentic identity is a battle! Think of it this way: someone has crossed a boundary and has invaded your territory. This invader has imposed new rules of thinking and behaving and your healthy sense of identity has been submerged under this tyrant.
You have decided to declare war on this invasion and throw out the rules, thoughts and behaviors the invader left behind. These rules, thoughts and behaviors cripple you and unless defeated, will define your life.
You are going to stop running from "knowing what you know", turn around, face the reality of what you experienced and "occupy your land." It is a place of great strength to stand by your core, recognize your innate value and take it back - occupy it!
It is an action. It is a reclaiming. Draw your weapons of restoration by taking responsibility to fight the battle, recognizing the impact of the invasion, identifying your power of agreement and internalize the new truth. Occupy!
It is victory that is possible!
www.beyondrecoverytorestoration.com
You have decided to declare war on this invasion and throw out the rules, thoughts and behaviors the invader left behind. These rules, thoughts and behaviors cripple you and unless defeated, will define your life.
You are going to stop running from "knowing what you know", turn around, face the reality of what you experienced and "occupy your land." It is a place of great strength to stand by your core, recognize your innate value and take it back - occupy it!
It is an action. It is a reclaiming. Draw your weapons of restoration by taking responsibility to fight the battle, recognizing the impact of the invasion, identifying your power of agreement and internalize the new truth. Occupy!
It is victory that is possible!
www.beyondrecoverytorestoration.com
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Put aside the story assigned to you!
Her eyes tell me she doesn't fully grasp what I'm sharing. As a young child she was repeatedly molested by family members and she has deep beliefs about her value and who she is. Hearing that she isn't what happened to her - that the story the molester assigned to her isn't hers - rocks her foundation.
The beliefs based on trauma are so deep that she feels threatened when I offer an alternative. I get it. We build our relationships and our world based on internal capacities defined by our experiences. And it limits us and how we interact and move. When I suggest that there is more to her, she feels rattled and wonders about this hope. Can she really become all she was created to be?
Hope comes in strange packages. It can come in a song, in a whisper from your heart, or in the words of a speaker. Hearing it is not enough. The next step is up to you. What will you do with the hope offered? Will you explore it? Will you do the hard work of internalizing it and shifting what you think?
Put aside the stories others have written for you and discover who you really are!
The beliefs based on trauma are so deep that she feels threatened when I offer an alternative. I get it. We build our relationships and our world based on internal capacities defined by our experiences. And it limits us and how we interact and move. When I suggest that there is more to her, she feels rattled and wonders about this hope. Can she really become all she was created to be?
Hope comes in strange packages. It can come in a song, in a whisper from your heart, or in the words of a speaker. Hearing it is not enough. The next step is up to you. What will you do with the hope offered? Will you explore it? Will you do the hard work of internalizing it and shifting what you think?
Put aside the stories others have written for you and discover who you really are!
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Peace in Restoration
Yesterday morning, as I was driving to witness the recording of a song written for Connections, I was in touch with a deep abiding place of peace, contentment and expectation. I was reminded about the scriptural teaching that says God provides the "peace that passes all understanding". I began to sink into that concept from a Restoration perspective.
At that moment, in my car, thinking about where I was going, I knew that this act was yet another step in walking out my destiny. Fifteen years ago I made the first step to open Connections, without money and without participants. I had a vision and passion and a friend who said she would make the journey with me. My entire life changed. I became single again, expereinced my parents walking away, finances became a continual struggle, and I went back to school. And I found me!
At the core of who I am is the passion to enable people to become all they were created to be and step into their destiny. I did not know that Sandra had been writing and singing for years with the dream of recording a song and becoming the artist she knows she is. When our paths crossed, Sandra, without expecting anything in return, wrote, "I Won't Let it Own Me", a song that epitomizes the message of Restoration. She had no idea that Connections would be able to pay for the recording and start-up distirubtion of that song. She stepped into destiny when she willinging allowed God to use her passion for His purpose.
Yesterday, I knew that the provision I was bringing to the recording of that song was directly unlocking Sandra's destiny while fulfilling mine. Part of my destiny is to assist in the unlocking of the potential in others. The peace and contentment I felt was in the knowing that my restored identity was accomplishing its purpose. Not everything has changed in my situation. I'm still single, still out of touch with my parents, and still financially challenged. But the peace and contentment of being connected to my God created identity and walking in destiny is unexplainable and so very awe-inspiring it takes my breath away. Thats "the peace that passes all understanding."
At that moment, in my car, thinking about where I was going, I knew that this act was yet another step in walking out my destiny. Fifteen years ago I made the first step to open Connections, without money and without participants. I had a vision and passion and a friend who said she would make the journey with me. My entire life changed. I became single again, expereinced my parents walking away, finances became a continual struggle, and I went back to school. And I found me!
At the core of who I am is the passion to enable people to become all they were created to be and step into their destiny. I did not know that Sandra had been writing and singing for years with the dream of recording a song and becoming the artist she knows she is. When our paths crossed, Sandra, without expecting anything in return, wrote, "I Won't Let it Own Me", a song that epitomizes the message of Restoration. She had no idea that Connections would be able to pay for the recording and start-up distirubtion of that song. She stepped into destiny when she willinging allowed God to use her passion for His purpose.
Yesterday, I knew that the provision I was bringing to the recording of that song was directly unlocking Sandra's destiny while fulfilling mine. Part of my destiny is to assist in the unlocking of the potential in others. The peace and contentment I felt was in the knowing that my restored identity was accomplishing its purpose. Not everything has changed in my situation. I'm still single, still out of touch with my parents, and still financially challenged. But the peace and contentment of being connected to my God created identity and walking in destiny is unexplainable and so very awe-inspiring it takes my breath away. Thats "the peace that passes all understanding."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)