Phoebe* knew abuse as a child. Her father was loud and ruled the household with an iron fist. But Phoebe knew that someday her Prince would come and rescue her out of the abuse and carry her away to a lovely, loving home. When Phoebe met Bill, she was instantly drawn to his warm…
First there was the courting of Little Wife. All the pretty promises, all the exotic and romantic candlelit dinners, the gifts beyond reason, the shopping trips with unlimited budgets, the Broadway shows where Little Wife was dressed to impress. Oh the grandeur, oh the glory, oh the love! Little Wife was the princess in…
A Little Wife Christmas “Hurry, hurry, hurry,” Little Wife whispered to herself. With just two days left before Christmas, Little Wife was in a terrible bind. She wanted to buy the perfect gift for Big Man, but the stores were all out of the popular tech gifts, the 3X buffalo plaid flannel shirts, his favorite…
Jesus Goes After The Lost One If one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, doesn’t he leave the other ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? When he does find it, he joyfully hoists it onto his shoulders; and when he gets…
Ann carried a secret within her heart as she slowly seated herself in the pew. She cautiously looked around wondering if anyone noticed the bruise on her forearm. She tried to concentrate on words coming from the pulpit, but her mind wandered to the incidences of the past week. She was confused by the control…
October is here again! That means that once again we solemnly acknowledge that Domestic Violence and Abuse is real. We affirm that abuse is a sin. We remember that 1 out of 3 women sitting in the pews on Sunday morning have known domestic abuse in some form or other. We grieve for the…
Thirty years ago the Lord began a ministry to gather women together for mutual support and encouragement because of the mistreatment and abuse they were suffering in their marriages and homes. They decided to call it FOCUS Ministries so they would remember to: FOCUS ON CHRIST for ULTIMATE SATISFACTION Of course, the rest is history…
One of the worst things about domestic abuse is how it shrinks us – it makes us feel like we have no value, diminished and unimportant, shriveled and even invisible. Like the Babushka stacking doll, we feel smaller and smaller and smaller. Our once happy faces become sadder and sadder. The controlling nature of…
Mika realized that she was traveling down a road she did not want to be on. She had spent many years trying hard to fix a relationship that was toxic to her. Her longings for the dream of a happy, loving family had slipped away while leading her deeper into the oppression she felt. She…