Charisma Magazine

Many women go through life wounded and broken. But no matter the source of the hurt, Christ can repair the damage

 
I grew up around a lot of negative lifestyles. For years as a child, I experienced grief, abandonment, abuse and homelessness. Some people think that if you ignore past hurts, they will just go away. But the anger and the core feelings that are born in an abusive environment can strangle an individual's emotional and developmental growth.

Many women have had to deal with the kind of mistreatment that was intended to control and subjugate them. Abuse of any kind breeds fear and damages the soul, made up of the mind, will and emotions. Ill-treatment devalues a woman and wears down her self-respect.

What we need most is the ability to discern the will of God every day, in every situation.

Whether it's in business, politics, sports or stand-up comedy, experts tell us that timing means everything. Prayer, too, can be a matter of timing.

Failure to understand God's timing regarding a matter we are praying about can lead to spiritual disappointment and missed opportunities.

Struggling with the voices in your mind leads to weariness. You can silence them instead with God's Word. The tactic of the enemy is to bombard your mind until you are so exhausted spiritually that you lose your grip. It is time to stop simply coping with the voices that create mental weariness. God is calling us to conquer in the battle for our minds.

When we dress provocatively, we dishonored God and display a lack of regard for his holiness. We can also become a distraction for our brothers in Christ.

I'd been traveling all weekend, and my flight from California to the East Coast got in at midnight. All I wanted to do was go home, drop my suitcases and hit the sack.

But the story my husband had waiting for me made me drop my jaw and want to hit--well, not the sack!

Watching a child's spiritual development is rewarding. Here's what you should know if your youngster displays a prophetic gift.

Do you have a prophetic child? I empathize!

My two grown children, Mary and Daniel, both began exhibiting their prophetic gifts at an early age. I know from firsthand experience that raising a prophetic child can be a unique, wonderful, and sometimes difficult challenge.

Do you wonder why God has to make it so hard on you? Why doesn't He make you good without making you miserable in the meantime? Of course He could, but He does not choose to do so.

He wants you to grow a little at a time and not burst into instant maturity. This is what He has decided, and you can only adore His wisdom—even when you don't understand it.

I am awed by what suffering can produce. You and I are nothing without the cross. I agonize and cry when the cross is working within me, but when it is over I look back in admiration for what God has accomplished.