Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
pureHOPE
I've recently been put in contact with a wonderful ministry, pureHOPE. I had the opportunity to speak with some of their staff last week and they are wonderful people doing wonderful work for God's kingdom. Their mission is to "provide Christian solutions in a sexualized culture."
Visit their website and you will find great resources for you on this journey: a confidential helpline for those struggling with sexual addiction, a wonderful blog, resources for parents on raising children in a sexualized culture and more!
You'll find a direct link to their blog on my blogroll. Please join me in praying for pureHOPE and the people they will reach.
Visit their website and you will find great resources for you on this journey: a confidential helpline for those struggling with sexual addiction, a wonderful blog, resources for parents on raising children in a sexualized culture and more!
You'll find a direct link to their blog on my blogroll. Please join me in praying for pureHOPE and the people they will reach.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Praying Over Our Husbands
While cleaning out our office last week, I found a notebook of my husband's. I pulled it out to align it with the other binders on the shelf when a blue piece of paper fell out. I had penned Psalm 20:1-7 on this piece of paper for him a few months after his confession. Finding it today was a good reminder to keep praying this Psalm over him.
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; He answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary and grant you support from Zion.
May he remember all your sacrifices and accept your burnt offerings.
May he give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.
We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests.
Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; He answers him from his holy heaven with the saving power of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
- Psalm 20:1-7
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
One of My Struggles
One of the main goals that I have for this website is to provide you with encouragement and hope. But I also want you to know that I still wrestle with the fact that my husband has had a pornography addiction and that sexual purity is a struggle for him. I'm a woman just like you who has feelings, insecurities and baggage of my own. I've truly forgiven my husband, but it's sometimes hard to forget.
One of the things I sometimes grapple with is how to interact with men. To be very honest, I became very cynical of men in the months that followed my husband's confession. I saw them as weak and cowardly because as I searched for answers, I found that so many men are addicted to pornography. My heart continued to break as I realized so many marriages and families are affected by pornography, and I began to blame the men.
But God openend my eyes! In a counseling session with my husband I had my "Aha!" moment when I realized that his addiction wasn't about me and that it didn't reflect on me as a wife or woman. His addiction had been a coping mechanism for years before we even had met. After this realization, God tenderly showed me how in His eyes, this sin is no different than the sins I commit. He helped me to realize that men deserve my prayers and my encouragement, not my scorn or judgment.
This realization has helped change my heart, but there are still things I have a hard time with. Knowing that so many men struggle with sexual purity makes me feel as though I'm in on their secret. I've felt that I want to place a force field around myself (or maybe a trenchcoat) so that I don't cause anyone to stumble. I hope that doesn't come across as though I think I'm some knockout beauty, I don't! But knowing that my husband struggles with sexual purity makes me want to do whatever I can to help my brothers in Christ (and other men) remain sexually pure.
With that in mind, I sometimes don't know if I should hug men at church or the husbands of my friends. I feel awkward and uncertain when the opportunity arises. If I don't hug them, is that being rude? Is a handshake more appropriate? If I do hug them, does that cause a problem for anyone?
Do you have any advice for me?
I'm also interested in your struggles, I'd love to address some of them here on the blog. You can also leave a comment on the Prayer Wall or send me an e-mail: info@healingforyourheart.com.
One of the things I sometimes grapple with is how to interact with men. To be very honest, I became very cynical of men in the months that followed my husband's confession. I saw them as weak and cowardly because as I searched for answers, I found that so many men are addicted to pornography. My heart continued to break as I realized so many marriages and families are affected by pornography, and I began to blame the men.
But God openend my eyes! In a counseling session with my husband I had my "Aha!" moment when I realized that his addiction wasn't about me and that it didn't reflect on me as a wife or woman. His addiction had been a coping mechanism for years before we even had met. After this realization, God tenderly showed me how in His eyes, this sin is no different than the sins I commit. He helped me to realize that men deserve my prayers and my encouragement, not my scorn or judgment.
This realization has helped change my heart, but there are still things I have a hard time with. Knowing that so many men struggle with sexual purity makes me feel as though I'm in on their secret. I've felt that I want to place a force field around myself (or maybe a trenchcoat) so that I don't cause anyone to stumble. I hope that doesn't come across as though I think I'm some knockout beauty, I don't! But knowing that my husband struggles with sexual purity makes me want to do whatever I can to help my brothers in Christ (and other men) remain sexually pure.
With that in mind, I sometimes don't know if I should hug men at church or the husbands of my friends. I feel awkward and uncertain when the opportunity arises. If I don't hug them, is that being rude? Is a handshake more appropriate? If I do hug them, does that cause a problem for anyone?
Do you have any advice for me?
I'm also interested in your struggles, I'd love to address some of them here on the blog. You can also leave a comment on the Prayer Wall or send me an e-mail: info@healingforyourheart.com.
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