Regarding My Divorce: I Don’t Want Grace, I Want Love

Let me start off by saying, when I say "I don't want grace", I do NOT mean it in the overarching sense of my faith. I NEED grace. I depend on grace. Every moment of every day is only possible because of grace. That statement "I don't want grace, I want love" is about my… Continue reading Regarding My Divorce: I Don’t Want Grace, I Want Love

New Music From Jeff S: Through The Darkness

Preamble from Jeff Crippen and Barb Roberts:  We are happy to congratulate Jeff S on the completion of his new album. There are a couple of songs on the album that could be the theme song for this blog and were written with that in mind. Would you, dear reader, help us decide which one… Continue reading New Music From Jeff S: Through The Darkness

When The Bottom Falls Out

I recently interacted with a few people who went through a phase of their recovery that was a lot like what happened to me, and I can't help but think there are more out there that might find it encouraging to know they are not alone. So here is my version of what it was… Continue reading When The Bottom Falls Out

A Challenge And Response To Jeff Crippen

As most of you know, ACFJ is heavily moderated in order to maintain a safe environment for abuse victims who come here looking for information and compassion. We let the following comment go through because Jeff Crippen felt it was the kind of comment that would allow him a useful response. The back-end team of… Continue reading A Challenge And Response To Jeff Crippen

The Giving Tree: A Picture Of Abuse

I was just reminded of the book "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein. It's a book from my childhood often lifted up as a book about true giving, teaching children to be selfless. If you are unfamiliar with the plot, this is what the Wikipedia entry has to say: The book follows the lives of… Continue reading The Giving Tree: A Picture Of Abuse

Only Hope Remains

Note: This is a repost from my SongBlog that I thought abuse survivors might find encouraging. Hallmark Christianity — it's everywhere from billboards, mailers, Christian music, to the pews (or chairs!) on Sunday morning. If you would ask an outside observer to describe what Christianity looks like based on the images we project, I suspect the answer… Continue reading Only Hope Remains