PERMISSION TO SPEAK FREELY

It started with one simple question:

"What is one thing you feel you can't say in church?"

The response that Anne Jackson received was phenomenal.  She had struck a nerve with believers and nonbelievers alike.  Using the responses she received, plus her own personal experiences, she wrote, PERMISSION TO SPEAK FREELY.

Growing up in Southern Baptist churches, a preacher's daughter, it became apparent to Anne that what Christians say and do in church is completely different from what the Bible tells us:

"Themes of grace, forgiveness, and love are woven

in and out of the tissue thin pages.  But proof of the opposite

is more often what so many of us experienced

if we spent any amount of time at church or around church people"

She did not see or feel the love and grace that she read about in the Bible. This made a big impression on her as a young child...a negative one. And it was the actions of those "Christians" from her early childhood that changed the course of her life.  Anne set out on a journey to try to escape the loneliness she felt and the pain and confusion she was experiencing.

• Alcohol
• Pills
• Addiction
• Sex
• Abuse

She was searching for that "safe" place we all long for.  A place where she could talk freely about her loneliness and brokenness without feeling rejected or shunned.  Did she find that safe place?  Well, I'm not telling.  You'll have to read the book to find out.

But, I am going to be honest with you...I cried while reading this book...a lot! Now, the average person may not become so emotional while reading this book, but I felt such a connection with this dear author and the suffering she experienced.  I have walked a similar path with my daughter, Hollie.

I don't want you to think this book is all about church-bashing, because it's not.  Permission to Speak Freely is a beautiful book filled with art, poetry, true confessions, the word of God, and so much more.  Anne writes this book to let all of us know we are not alone in our:

• Shame
• Brokenness
• Fear
• Pain
• Loneliness

In this book, Anne confesses all of her darkest secrets, as a "gift of going second". The idea is that if you confess (a secret) and you are the first to do it, then 

"...there's somebody on the other side of that confession who could very well be keeping a secret too.  

So when you go first, you're opening up this amazing opportunity for trust..." 

"When people go second, it's not an easy thing, but because you've already broken the silence 

- you've already released some of the shame in that confession - 

it makes it a little bit easier."

The gift of going second. I don't know if this is a new concept or not, but it is the first time I have heard  about it. (I don't get out much.) But I started thinking...I have confessed a lot of stuff here on my blog (with Hollie's permission of course). I have talked about her struggles with cutting, drugs, date rape, attempted suicide, and abuse, and in turn, other mothers with struggling teens have commented or emailed me with their teen troubles. It became easier for them to admit they also had a troubled teen, because someone else had already confessed.

Permission to Speak Freely is a book we can all relate to, especially if you have ever felt the need to keep silent in church. 

What is my confession? When I was going through these troubled times with Hollie, I would go to church with a smile on my face like nothing was wrong, when in reality I was a single mom, who needed guidance and support, but I was afraid of being judged...so I kept quiet.

What is one thing you feel you can't say in church?
 

In the back of this book are a couple of websites that can be very useful if your teen or someone else you no is struggling.  One is TO WRITE LOVE ON HER ARMS "TWLOHA is a nonprofit movement dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury, and suicide." http://www.twloha.com/.  Another website, http://www.dirtygirlsministries.com/, helps women overcome pornography addiction.

Anne Jackson is an author, speaker, and activist. A contributing writer to various blogs and magazines, she is also the author of Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic.  Anne is a cyclist who rides for the Ride Well Tour, a cross-country cycling tour raising awareness and funds for Blood Water Mission.  An advocate for Compassion International, Anne and her husband, Chris, live near Nashville, TN.

                BLOG: http://www.flowerdust.net
                TWITTER: http://www.twitter.com/FlowerDust

             FACEBOOK:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/flowerdust

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com <http://booksneeze.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

PLAN B - What Do You Do When God Doesn't Show Up The Way You Thought He Would?

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a Plan B? Do you know what a Plan B is? Well, I really didn't either.According to Pete Wilson, pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee, a Plan B is when you realize your life and dreams aren't going as you planned or maybe you feel like your life is crumbling around you.  Plan B situations can include:

• The death of a child
• A serious illness
• Not getting that dream job you worked so hard for
• Divorce

These Plan B situations usually leave you asking, "God, where are you?" or they may leave you wondering, "why did God let this happen (or not happen)?"

In his new book, Plan B, Pastor Pete Wilson points out that "throughout life, you will face one situation after another that will be completely beyond what you can handle", but he uses scripture and real life situations to show that God is always present in your life, and God is always in control, even when you are in the midst of a Plan B situation.

While reading Plan B, I started thinking, "have I ever been in a Plan B situation?"

• Two miscarriages
• Death of my father
• Divorce

Of course, if you read my blog, you may be thinking I have been thrown into quite a few Plan B situations when Hollie was a teenager:

• Self mutilation
• Drug use
• (near) drug overdose
• Rape
• Attempted suicide

And as a single mom having to deal with these situations, I often felt God had abandoned me.  I had raised Hollie going to church, teaching her from the Bible, and the next thing I know, I'm telling the judge that my child is incorrigible and needs to be put on house arrest, and the whole time I was thinking, "Hello...God...where are you?".  And every time I had to call Pearl Police to pick Hollie up and bring her home, I would be thinking, "OK God, why are you letting this happen?"  I was struggling to keep Hollie from destroying herself, and many times, it all seemed so hopeless.  I thought God had disappeared.

But...had God really disappeared?

Reading Plan B made me realize that God never left me alone.  I just didn't "see God in my circumstance". God is always present, and he is always in control of every situation, no matter how hopeless it may seem.   Pastor Pete reminded me that "God does his best work in hopeless situations".

Hollie now wants to be a youth minister.  She asked me one day if I thought God allowed her to go through these bad situations (Plan B's), so she could help other teenagers going through the same thing.  Reading Plan B helped me better understand that God used all these Plan B situations to prepare Hollie to serve him.

Plan B offers you hope, guidance, and insight when your world is looking rather bleak and is a book I'm going to keep around if I ever have for when I have another Plan B episode in my life.

"While life is uncertain,

God is not.

While our power is limited,

God is limitless.

While our hope may be fragile, 

God is hope himself."

Watch the video below of Pastor Pete discussing Plan B situations.



PlanB Promo from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.


Click on any of the blue quotes "links" above to be taken to Without Wax.TV, Pastor Pete's website.

"Pete Wilson is the lead pastor of Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tennessee.  Pete aspires to lead churches to become radically devoted to Christ, irrevocably committed to one another, and relentlessly dedicated to reaching those outside of God's family." You can obtain your copy of Plan B from any local bookstore or online at:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0849946506/ref=s9_simh_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1YHG11WJWN0PYVY02EGV&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846



 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

BOOK REVIEW

Have Christians rejected pilgrimage?

"The Israelites knew it. David knew it. The writer of Hebrews knew it. John Bunyan knew it. "Blessed are those whose strength is in You. They have set their hearts on pilgrimage" (Psalm 84:5). We are strangers and pilgrims here. We're passing through this place, on a sacred journey to somewhere else." A best selling author, Charles Foster explores the art of pilgrimage; a chance to move one step closer to our ultimate goal through prayerful awareness, study, and meditation. In the foreword to the book, editor Phyllis Tickle warns that every single person who reads the book will totally disagree with at least something that the author writes.

I am probably not the best person to write a review on The Sacred Journey. It delves into the history of the roads Jesus traveled in his journey while here on earth and how we, as Christians, should learn how rewarding pilgrimage can be by following Jesus' example. Although, we do not have to travel to Jerusalem or other far away places. We can find ways to demonstrate pilgrimage in our on neighborhood. He quotes from a wide variety of sources, both Christian and non-Christian,

History is not my favorite subject, so this was a hard book for me to read, and I had a hard time staying focused while reading. But, that doesn't mean this is a bad book. And if you are a history/philosophy buff, this is a book for you.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://booksneeze.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”