Joy Bringer

Prayer for Restoration

Published on 2007-03-04 12:32:00

A Prayer for Restoring the Soul:Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ and I ask You to send angels to gather and restore my soul to its rightful place in me with the full power and authority of Jesus Christ. I ask You to send angels to unearth and break all earthen vessels, bonds, bands and bindings that have been put upon my soul, willingly or unawares.I ask YOU to have them to free my soul from all bondage by whatever means is required and I agree and say Father, that the power of

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-07-02 13:33:00

I want to remind you today of something I shared with you previously. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Well, guess what? You cannot love your neighbor or anyone else around you unless you first love yourself! I want you to answer this question out loud – do you love yourself as Jesus wants you to, with a healthy self respect? Do you tend to your own heart needs? Do you speak up when others cross the boundaries of what is acceptable to you? I want to tell you that Jesu

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-06-27 11:35:00

Let me tell you a little story that helped me. If you have a dog and by accident you step on the dog’s tail – what does the dog do? Yes it yelps and jumps up and lets you know that stepping on its tail HURT! As women in abusive relationships we allow our tails to be stepped on (so to speak) without yelping and letting it be known what hurts us. If that dog did not yelp and let you know it was hurt when you stepped on it you would probably continue to step on its tail without any concern. Do

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-06-26 22:54:00

I want to remind you today of something I shared with you in the last blog. Jesus said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Well, guess what? You cannot love your neighbor or anyone else around you unless you first love yourself! I want you to answer this question out loud – do you love yourself as Jesus wants you to, with a healthy self respect? Do you tend to your own heart needs? Do you speak up when others cross the boundaries of what is acceptable to you? I want to tell you tha

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-06-26 22:49:00

These words from a song always make me pray for you who are in abusive relationships and still hurting:"I heard that you were hurting, that you were suffering pain But I didn't dare just turn my head and look the other way For when your heart is aching, my heart is aching too Let me help you bear you burden, that's the least that I can do"These lines from the song "Standing In The Gap" truly express my heart and thoughts as I think of each of you. Your emails touch my heart and I continually lif

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-06-14 22:21:00

Another verse from the hymn, “He Lifted Me”, that I want to share with you today:“His brow was pierced with many a thorn,His hands by cruel nails were tornWhen from my guilt and grief forlorn,In love He lifted me.”Something that really helped me when I was spending more time crying than anything else, was the realization that Jesus “was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” – I don’t know how that hits you – but it opened my eyes to know that I was not alone in my grief.

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-04-28 11:48:00

Another verse of the hymn, "He Lifted Me"“In loving-kindness Jesus came,My soul in mercy to reclaim,And from the depths of sin and shameThro’ grace He lifted me.”I know we often think of salvation in regards to those words but for me it was from the depths of the sin and shame of an abusive relationship. I felt enclosed in darkness, until “with tender hand” HE lifted me! I want to remind you once again that you do NOT deserve to be abused! You are precious to the Lord. Please do not be

With Tender Hand

Published on 2006-04-27 20:36:00

The words “With Tender Hand” come from an old hymn written by Charles H. Gabriel“From sinking sand He lifted me,With tender hand He lifted me,From shades of night to planes of light,O praise His name He lifted me!”I am thankful that it is “with tender hand” that He lifts us. He does not “yank” us into line or “yank” us out of our situation but “with His tender hand” outstretched to us He gently lifts us out of abusive situations, as we are able to grasp that outstretched

Abuse Is Not Love - Love Is Not Abuse

Published on 2006-04-06 13:39:00

Abuse is notis not abuse! Nearly one-third of all Americans say they know a woman who has been physically abused by her husband or boyfriend in the past year. These women are our daughters, sisters, mothers and friends. Domestic violence is everybody's problem, and everybody needs to be part of the solution.Abuse is not Love - Love is not abuse—communicates a simple but powerful and indisputable message: a loving relationship should never involve abusive or violent behavior.This is a problem t

Abuse Information Quiz

Published on 2006-04-05 22:19:00

Abuse Relationship InfoWhat are the signs of an abusive relationship? How can you tell if you are being abused?Here are some questions to ask yourself.Does your spouse:Verbal Abuse* criticize you?* call you names?Spousal Abuse* get jealous easily?* disregard your thoughts and feelings?* prevent you from going to work or school?* control your finances?Emotional abuse* prevent you from seeing your family and friends?* pressure you for sex?Physical Abuse* hit, kick, push or choke you?* threaten to