Is the Church Sending Wrong Message to Women of Abuse?, by Cherry Simpson

Susan Murphy-Milano Says so beautifully in her new blog about what Rick Warren, the Southern Baptist megachurch pastor chosen to offer the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration, says the Bible does not permit a woman to divorce a spouse who is abusing her.

Rick Warren photo by AFP/Getty Images

Rick Warren: Abuse is no excuse for women to seek divorce The New Agenda A women's rights blog called Warren's views "alarming," especially in light of recent statistics showing a 42 percent rise in reports of domestic violence from 2005 to 2007.

Because It Matters in Freedom in Christianity by Danni Moss writes "Rick Warren and Saddleback Church on Domestic Violence"

Listen for yourself by going to and scroll down to #32 and click to listen in his own words.

Watch for public out cry to this - Many women's advocate groups are up in arms and not going to stand for this kind of putting innocent women and children in harm's way.

I am writing and commenting on each blog and ask for your support in this also.

There are certain times in a Christian's life when he or she will have to determine which command of Scripture takes preference. Abuse within marriage is one such case. On the one hand, the Lord states, "What God has joined together, let man not separate (The Sixth Commandment). Yet he also says, "You shall not kill" (The Fifth Commandment). We recall that the Fifth Commandment also applies to ourselves in that we shouldn't put our life or the lives of our loved ones at undue risk.

If a woman (or man) feels that the physical or verbal abuse she is suffering in her marriage is putting her or her children in harm's way, she needs to take action. If repeated attempts to address the situation fail, she may even consider divorce. In such a case she is seeking to give glory to God by applying the Fifth Commandment which commands us to protect human life. By patiently yet firmly attempting to work out the situation with her husband and get him the help he needs, she is seeking to give glory to God by keeping the Sixth Commandment which commands us to honor marriage. Should her attempt to do so fail, divorce may be the God-pleasing option. It is assumed that in all of this she is seeking the help and advice of a pastor or Christian counselor who honors and respects what God's says in his Word.

Because the abusing person has willfully persisted in his sinful behavior, he has violated the marriage bond and deserted his wife. He is the guilty partner even though his wife may be the one who actually seeks the divorce.



Please join us at Peace4 the Missing
Missing Persons Awareness and Support Network
http://peace4missing.ning.com

Mothers are Vanishing: The Choice, Divorce or Murder?

Mothers are Vanishing: The Choice, Divorce or Murder?

Please join us at Peace4 the Missing
Missing Persons Awareness and Support Network

Shattered Pieces of Spousal Abuse

In light of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I am sharing this more personal post of the story of me.

Once Upon A Time...there was a Little Me...So innocent, so fragile...so pure...

Perfectly created, perfectly shiny...perfectly new...

Perfect neat or naughty...perfect messy, perfect happily just being me...

Such a free little girl who danced through her life, giggling without reason, loving without hesitation, trusting without any reason not to...perfectly loved in an unconditional way...perfectly safe, perfectly protected from what someday would come my way.

Free to imagine how great I'd become, to daydream almost always, to be scared of the night and terrified of forever...free to be silly, free to spill my milk, to sometimes be flighty, usually messy and often late...a fragile piece of blown clear glass with nothing to hide, nor to hide from...free to be perfectly imperfect me.

One day older plus many days more...my perfect, some older, fragile glass self was gently taken off my safe shelf.

And my happy go lucky, ignorant youth, happily skipped into a far from perfect, fallen world.

So I got chipped a little, scratched a lot, but polished up quickly without too much harm due...until...there was you.

Did you notice my beauty then, the first time we met? How truly transparent I was? I had nothing to hide then nor anything yet built up on me to hide it with...do you remember how pristine the glass was before the first time you touched me?

And...I can't help but wonder...did a part of you ever pause before you put that first smudge on me? Did you not know then how ugly you'd find the dirty, cracked glass of your creation? Or had you always planned to break your promise to be ever so gentle with easily breakable, delicate me?

And the last time you left me, when right before you left...well, why didn't you just leave? Why did you first have to find me...to hurt me again.

You grabbed me from that dusty shelf that I was hiding on, why did you hate me? You eagerly, almost with pleasure shook me and then you...you smashed me on the floor.

I used to wonder...what made you so mad at me? Whatever was it that made you not even want me enough to keep kicking me around? Of course then I remember, the word that I said, to bring on even greater rage from you...you really don't like it all, do you?...When someone says 'STOP' to you...

So you threw me and I violently crashed...I exploded, I shattered...you decided to put an end to my story that day. The delicate work of clear blown glass, the little me I once was...now just a million different pieces of sharp and jagged glass, each one bleeding their own unique shade...right there, where you left me, upon the dirty floor. Did you ever consider pausing before you quickly walked away? Did you ever think about cleaning up that mess that you had made?

But you don't write my whole life's story and it wasn't your decision to say The End.

So the millions of pieces of shattered glass upon the floor each now displaying the millions of forever stained shades from the colors they bled before...they got up, they moved on, they live now, so damn much better than before.

Did you think that I'd just be swept up, quickly thrown away? Did you think that was the last of the once prized trophy you tried to destroy that day?

And now...if you could see me, how stunned you'd truly be, so taken aback by my intricate beauty, by the better me, now me. It's really quite a miracle, it even surprises myself...to live my cherished presence, to love who I am today...because, well...there's just so much more to me now, in part because you smashed me to the floor that day. Who would have thought, not you, I'm sure...the result of your destruction...would end up blooming into something greater than we could have ever imagined?

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't easy and it took more than just me...to create this breathtaking showpiece that you still most likely just haven't the sight to see. I've finally come into myself, more so of who God always intended me to be...only His Design could turn a million shattered pieces into a whole, complete...perfectly perfect me.

And now...when the light shines through me, the colors that I once bled...they reflect a million different shades of light...an iridescent mix of me, the reflection of how I choose to display the entirety of me.

Sometimes, this gift, this light...it shines outside of me, magically finding and seeking the darkened paths of those most in need. And I am so blessed to have this light, to be able to share it...the joy, the gift to do so...well, to you...I can't explain, but...it gives back so much more, makes such an even brighter me!

So that's me...perfectly imperfect. The clear, transparent glass you once destroyed now lives out loud with so much to give, reflecting God, shining forth His Grace in a myriad of amazing, most colorful ways...

It's just..beautiful...and...It's Me!

Perfectly Imperfect Mosaic Me

by Sara Huizenga Lubbers