MAZE OF CONFUSION Lost in a maze of confusion and desperation, suicide seemed to be the only solution. I had a life of chaos spent searching for my purpose in life. My search including a God I knew was there but did not know how to seek Him. Was He really there, and if so, why couldn't I find Him? Many songs came out during the 60's and 70's that described me perfectly. Some of the words were; How do I get off from this merry-go-round, my head is spinning, lonely girl, caught in this game, lost as a lamb, and who am I? I cried every time I heard these songs because I could relate to them all. I knew I was caught in a web of despair but did not know how to become free or find hope by trying to find my way out of the maze alone. God sent a light from above through a dream He gave me that I believe was the hand of an angel. She took me by the had and helped to guide me through the maze to a path that began to bring me peace and hope. I followed her in my dream to a pathway that was leading me to God. She said, do not be afraid. God loves, God cares, God hears. From there I became involved in Bible Studies, support groups and church meetings. He sent wonderful people to me that helped me grow as a Christian woman. He has used my past over and over again during the past thirty-five years to help others find HOPE and peace in a dark and confusing world. My siblings and I were raised in a dysfunctional home where there was addiction, abuse, alcoholism, incest, homosexuality, molestation, adultery, anger, and oppression. He took our lives and recreated us and made something beautiful of our lives. Why? Because He is real. HE LIVES! There is hope, we just have to want it. H-Hope O-Offers- P-Promises- E- Everyday. HOPE also Opens Painful Eyes so we can truly see the wonderful plans He has for all of us no matter what our past was like.

MAZE OF CONFUSION Lost in a maze of confusion and desperation, suicide seemed to be the only solution. I had a life of chaos spent searching for my purpose in life. My search including a God I knew was there but did not know how to seek Him. Was He really there, and if so, why couldn't I find Him? Many songs came out during the 60's and 70's that described me perfectly. Some of the words were; How do I get off from this merry-go-round, my head is spinning, lonely girl, caught in this game, lost as a lamb, and who am I? I cried every time I heard these songs because I could relate to them all. I knew I was caught in a web of despair but did not know how to become free or find hope by trying to find my way out of the maze alone. God sent a light from above through a dream He gave me that I believe was the hand of an angel. She took me by the had and helped to guide me through the maze to a path that began to bring me peace and hope. I followed her in my dream to a pathway that was leading me to God. She said, do not be afraid. God loves, God cares, God hears. From there I became involved in Bible Studies, support groups and church meetings. He sent wonderful people to me that helped me grow as a Christian woman. He has used my past over and over again during the past thirty-five years to help others find HOPE and peace in a dark and confusing world. My siblings and I were raised in a dysfunctional home where there was addiction, abuse, alcoholism, incest, homosexuality, molestation, adultery, anger, and oppression. He took our lives and recreated us and made something beautiful of our lives. Why? Because He is real. HE LIVES! There is hope, we just have to want it. H-Hope O-Offers- P-Promises- E- Everyday. HOPE also Opens Painful Eyes so we can truly see the wonderful plans He has for all of us no matter what our past was like.

Forgiven but not forgotten: Mabel's Journey Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. (Romans 12:19) Is it possible to forgive and forget when others intentionally hurt us? The author posits that it's possible to forgive and forget if God is at the center of the rebuilding process ....and the following steps are practiced.... - Praying for the ability to recognize perpetrators' motives. - Acknowledging that perpetrators have issues with jealousy, envy, sense of entitlement, or whatever in your God-given wisdom you determined their problem to be. - Asking God to renew a right spirit within perpetrators, as well as ensuring that you do not possess similar characteristic. - Dialoguing with offenders to increase awareness of the painfulness of their actions. In praying, through God you are able to forgive.....realizing that the battle is not yours...but the Lord's. - Accepting apologies, and praying with perpetrators immediately thereafter to remove the yoke of unforgiveness. Mabel is a young girl, whose parents' reckless decisions dealt her a cruel blow in life. She embarked on a journey, trying desperately to escape a dysfunctional and abusive home, but the journey took her through ill-treatment and neglect. It was only through others that she learned to bask in droplets of mercies and at times showers of blessings. Mabel practiced the art of forgiving, so as to lessen the crippling weight and burden of unforgiveness, but just as she thought she would triumph and master the art of forgiving and forgetting, disaster struck.

This work explores issues of forgiveness and reconciliation in countries that had experienced political conflicts, civil war, and even genocide. It attempts to move beyond mere discussion by examining case studies and the initiatives taken in dialogue and reconciliation. In many cases, religion can be a force for peace and play a significant role in resolving conflicts. This work also examines the relationship between justice and forgiveness, emphasizing that there will be no peace without justice and no justice without forgiveness. Human justice is fragile. Thus, respect for rights and responsibilities must include forgiveness in order to heal and restore relationships.

【A story by USA Today bestselling author becomes a comic!】For years, Andreas Xenakis had a single-minded determination to find Siena DePiero and exact his revenge on her for ruining his life. Siena, once a rich socialite, now works as a waitress to make ends meet after her father’s company went into bankruptcy. The two meet once again and the attraction they felt all those years ago comes rushing back. Andreas is determined not to let his desire for Siena get in the way of his revenge, and Siena is overcome with the guilt of what she did to him. So when Andreas makes Siena an offer that is too tempting to turn down, what will they do? Will Andreas’s anger overcome his desire for Siena? Will Siena summon the courage to tell him the truth?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER What do you do when God’s timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention hurtful, and his promises doubtful? Lysa TerKeurst unveils her heart amid shattering circumstances, inviting you to live assured when life doesn't turn out like you expected. Life often looks so very different than we hoped or expected. Some events may simply catch us off guard for a season, but others shatter us completely. We feel disappointed and disillusioned at best and overwhelmed and hopeless at worst. We quietly start to wonder about the reality of God’s goodness and why he allows us to suffer and experience grief and loss. Lysa TerKeurst understands this deeply. But after many tears, godly counseling, and prayerful seeking, she's also discovered that our disappointments can be the divine appointments our souls need to radically encounter God. In It's Not Supposed to Be This Way, Lysa invites us into her own journey of faith and, with grit, vulnerability, and honest humor, helps us to: Stop being pulled into the anxiety of disappointment by discovering how to better process unmet expectations and other painful situations. Train ourselves to recognize the three strategies of the enemy, so we can stand strong and persevere through unsettling relationships and uncertain outcomes. Discover the secret of being steadfast and not panicking when God actually does give us more than we can handle. Shift our suspicion that God is cruel or unfair to the biblical assurance that God is protecting and preparing us. Know how to encourage a friend and help her navigate hard realities with real help from God's truth, the Bible. Look for additional biblically based resources and devotionals from Lysa: Good Boundaries and Goodbyes Forgiving What You Can't Forget Uninvited You're Going to Make It Embraced Seeing Beautiful Again