Jenny, Michelle, and Freida are blessed to call Mary our friend. Her passionate joy for the Lord and for helping women achieve their dreams is extraordinary. She lives out her words in a very real and honest way, sharing her weaknesses and strengths with those around her. You can’t help but be touched by everything Mary shares. She is a true teacher and a blessing to all she comes in contact with. Recently Michelle was blessed to be a part of Mary’s journey to write a book that will change the life of sexual abuse victims and those who love them. Not Marked is a book no one would publish but was so desired by readers that they completely funded it. Is that God’s Mighty Hand or what! It also includes the bumpy, healing journey that Mary as well as her husband Patrick has been on for their entire marriage. Everyone knows someone who needs this book. Be sure to enter the rafflecopter contest at the end of the blog for your chance to win a copy of Not Marked.
“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1: 26-29, NLT)
You know the dream, right? You’re sitting in your high school Calculus class, taking some sort of terrible test, and you look down and realize you’re wearing no clothes. Bucknaked You runs through the hallways, trying to shield yourself, though your antics prove useless. No matter what you do, or how hard you try to locate uniforms in the locker room or handmade clothes from Home Ec, you can’t find clothing anywhere.
The only solution is to rouse yourself from the dream, heart beating wildly, and reassure yourself that the naked episode was only an existential nightmare, and all will be well. Clothed You will live in your new day, a blessed set of fashion covering up all the naked (or as they say in the South, nekkid).
Not Marked is my bucknaked dream. It’s that sinking feeling that every part of me is being exposed to strangers and friends, and I can do nothing about about it. The book’s been written. Printed too. And as of Monday February 10th, it will release to the big, wide world. It won’t be a dream from which I can awaken.
I share my sexual abuse story in that book. I’ve shared it many, many times, so doing so again is not necessarily hard for me.
And, oddly, that’s not why I feel exposed. It’s the rest of the book–how I learned to heal, the faulty coping mechanisms I’ve used, the addiction I battled, how my husband and I have wrestled through my healing, how it’s not been easy or simple or quick or complete.
Not Marked is my healing journey broken wide open.
So as I move through this week, trying to be tender to myself, telling myself to breathe-breathe-breathe and NOT freak out, I have one request: Would you pray for me? That I would let go of this fear of being exposed? And that God would use this raw story for His glory? That many would read the message of this book and find healing?
Normally I’m the one praying for you, but today I felt it necessary to ask you for your prayers. Thank you in advance. Your prayers make you an important part of this book, and I’m grateful for that. — Mary Demuth
You can purchase Not Marked by clicking HERE
You can read Mary’s testimony by clicking HERE
Click Below to enter Givaway
You can link up with Mary on the following pages.
On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/notmarked
On Twitter at @marydemuth
On Pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/mary_demuth/
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