I promised this list over a week ago, and I am finally sitting down to type it. It's been one of those weeks this week!
When our world exploded 9+ years ago, my first response was prayer--desperate, gut-wrenching prayer. My second response was research. I'm a researcher at heart, so that's my typical reaction to pretty much anything: research. What I discovered, however, was that there was really very little out there for families wanting to deal with abuse trauma in a Biblical manner.
Since then, thankfully, some excellent resources have come along. I'd love to hear from you in the comments or via the contact box in the sidebar if you are aware of other resources for Christian families seeking to deal with abuse trauma in a Biblical way. Here's my list for prevention/protection/trauma response resources:
Books
Rid of My Disgrace: Hope and Healing for Victims of Sexual Assault, by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb--Published 5 years after our journey began, this is the best resource I've found. The Holcombs deal with this subject Biblically and gracefully.
God Made All of Me: A Book to Help Children Protect Their Bodies, by Justin and Lindsey Holcomb--I have not personally read this book, but it comes highly recommended by people I respect. A book to discuss hard but necessary issues with children.
Thin Places: A Memoir, by Mary DeMuth-- Mary DeMuth's writing has ministered to me greatly throughout our journey. Her story is one of hope and healing through God's grace.
Not Marked: Finding Hope and Healing After Sexual Abuse, by Mary DeMuth--I haven't read this one yet, but everything Mary DeMuth has written has ministered to and encouraged me. On my list for this year.
(Two other books by Mary DeMuth that don't deal specifically with the topic of abuse, but that are excellent reads, are Everything and The Wall Around Your Heart. I highly recommend both.)
On Guard: Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse at Church, by Deepak Reju--This is another book that's on my list to read this year. It comes highly recommended, and every excerpt I've seen from it has been excellent.
I'm not as familiar with the next two, but the excerpts I've seen have looked good, and I hope to read these soon:
Suffering and the Heart of God: How Trauma Destroys and Christ Restores, by Diane Langberg
Mending the Soul: Understanding and Healing Abuse, by Steven R. Tracy
Online Resources
G.R.A.C.E. (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment)--I don't agree with everything they post/publish, but they have some excellent resources.
The Gospel Coalition--The Gospel Coalition is not a child protection ministry per se, but they do have a number of excellent articles, particularly regarding preventing and responding to sexual abuse in the church. I've linked to a search of child protection articles on the site.
The Safe Side--This site was recommended by a friend at our meeting last Monday. I haven't had a chance to spend much time on it yet, so I can't make an unqualified recommendation, but it definitely looks worth checking out.
Child Protection Resources at Ponderings of an Elect Exile--I'm in the process of updating, streamlining, and reworking some of the child protection information here on the blog, but this is an older post that contains many of the links to articles here on child protection, trauma, and related issues, plus additional resources.
In addition to updating and reworking some older posts, I'm also in the process of creating new content on these issues based on the information I shared at last week's meeting. If you are interested in this subject, please follow us via Facebook, Twitter, and/or Pinterest, or find me on Instagram as Jenbh68. You can also sign up in the sidebar to receive new posts by email. And I would love to hear from you! You can leave a comment below or message me via the contact box on the right. Thank you!!
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