Silent Screams: A Treatise on Sexual Violence - Couverture souple

Diane Langberg said in her book Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse, “We who call ourselves Christians blaspheme the name of Christ if we pretend that the evils of the Holocaust or the rape of little girls and boys are less than they truly are.” She had grown up in a secure and healthy home and had been warned as a new counselor not to believe “hysterical” women, who told her of the horrors they had experienced. I’m so glad she chose not to take that ungodly advice. She says that salvation that doesn’t take this kind of evil into account is no salvation at all. I whole heartedly agree with her sentiments. There are still so many today that stick their holy heads in the sand of their blessed Scriptures and ignore all the passages about the evils of this world. They pick and choose the good and pretend as if the evil didn’t exist. Well, as a former victim and now survivor of childhood sexual abuse and domestic violence, they might want to call me one of those “hysterical” women, and as a Christian counselor of other victims, I just want to pull their little holy heads out of the sand and say, look, this is real people in a real evil world. This book is a compilation of my previous writings on the topics of childhood sexual abuse and rape. It’s certainly not comprehensive with my limited understanding of the issues involved, but I hope it will be of some benefit to those who read its content. It covers topics such as those a victim might need to read and other topics that might interest those who counsel and advocate for them. It includes some stories of victims who I’ve met, and others who I’ve only read about, but who have all cried out their silent screams and found no one listening. I found in my own search that though there were organizations out there in the secular realm, there were not very many Christian organizations to help Christian victims heal. It’s my hope that all those out there who are searching for answers to their heartaches will know that at least I’ve heard them, and will do what I can to help them, as long as there is breath left in me. My own story is in my previous book, A Little Redneck Theology, if readers of this book find it helpful and want to know more about me and why I began my ministry, Go Fish Ministries, inc. which may be located online at http://gofishministries.wordpress.com.

First and foremost, I am a mother of eight wonderful children and nine grandchildren, of whom I am very proud. I am also a bi-vocational ordained evangelical minister, and a Christian Counselor. I received my B.S. degree in 2004, studying primarily in the areas of Psychology, with minors in Religion and English. I received my Masters Degree in 2009 in Psychological Counseling with an emphasis in Christian Counseling. My personal online ministry is geared toward victims of sexual and domestic violence, including victims of childhood sexual abuse, whether currently or in the past. It is now located on the international web at http://gofishministries.wordpress.com God has brought me through such diverse tribulations as sexual, physical, and mental abuse, being a victim of a drunk driving accident, spousal pornography addiction, adultery, divorce, remarriage, a very brief, though unjust, incarceration, and having experienced multiple miscarriages, being unemployed long term, and various other trials. God’s word tells us that “All things work together for good to those who love the Lord and are called according to the purposes of God." Since I have this hope, I believe that God has blessed me with the ability to share what I have learned of these issues to the Christian community, and I hope to be able to use my personal experiences as a ministry of God’s grace and in the comforting of the people of God with the truth of God's mercy. I claim II Corinthians 1: 3 & 4 as my calling, which states: “Blessed be God, the Origin of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Origin of mercies, and the God of comfort; who comforts us in all our troubles, that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble, by the comfort we ourselves have been given by God.”