Books
Surprised by the Healer:
Embracing Hope for Your Broken Story
By: Dr. Juli Slattery and Linda Dillow
July 6th-July 18th
God wants to heal us; He is Jehovah Rapha, the Healer. He knows how deeply flawed both the world and we are. But He doesn’t want us to stay hurt and broken; He wants to mend our wounds, restore our hearts, and make us new. He wants to redeem every single area of sin and perversion and align it with His design; this includes our sexuality. Unfortunately, this area of brokenness often goes ignored and misunderstood. Sexuality is one of the most important aspects of humanity that is built into the core of who we are. Whether you are single, married, male, or female, our sexuality gives us a beautiful picture of the gospel. So, when that area of ourselves goes neglected and untreated, it affects so much more than we can imagine. As said in the book, “Sexual brokenness is the deepest form of brokenness, and as such it requires the greatest depths of healing and restoration.” These two ideas are the core of this book: that sexual brokenness is incredibly damaging, but still, nothing is too broken for God to mend.
Surprised by the Healer is an amazing book that follows the stories of nine women who experienced brokenness in their sexuality, but received hope and healing. The women were Marian, Hope, Lorraine, Ann, Angel, Amy, Rita, Kathy, and Alaine. These women allowed the Healer to restore them, whether from sexual abuse, marital infidelity, or even physical ailments. And for many, the LORD also equipped them to be able to help and support others as well. They were all heart-wrenching and devastating in many ways, but also so encouraging and uplifting. The stories were also followed by points from Juli and Linda that related to the testimony. They offered remarks on forgiveness, honesty, and truth that helped me understand how to apply what these women learned in their journey in practice.
One of my favorite stories was definitely Angel. She was a drug addict for 23 years and a prostitute for 6 years. In 2008, she ended up in jail, where she met Becky, a woman who came to share her faith in Jesus and the Bible with inmates. That woman had such an impact on Angel that Angel sought her out after her release. One thing that really stood out to me was something Angel said about Becky: “It was like I met Jesus when I met Becky.” This sums up our whole existence on earth in a few words. We are here to serve God and show Jesus to others so they can grow to know Him as well. The relationship and connection come first. Before the rules, convictions, and callings, we need to know and love Jesus for ourselves. What brought Angel to Christ was nothing but the love and being of Christ that she saw through another believer. That is why it is so important when we interact and speak with those who are in bondage, especially in their sexuality, that they know the love and character of Jesus. If they know that, they can know that He wants to heal and redeem them and draw them near to Himself. But for every person in the book, including Angel, they needed to have a right view of God and His Word to have a correct view of themselves and their sexuality.
As Christians, we often believe our sexual sin and brokenness are too dirty and broken for God to repair. We don’t allow Him full access to these areas, so we don’t experience complete wholeness. But God is more than capable, powerful, and merciful to handle anything we could ever throw at Him. However, the key is relationship and surrender. Once we have a genuine relationship with Christ, we develop an understanding of him, His Word, and, therefore, ourselves. But that is not enough; we must also surrender to His design and direction. We will be healed and renewed, and we will allow Jesus to take over.
Gay Girl, Good God:
The Story of Who I Was, and Who God Has Always Been
By: Jackie Hill Perry
July 7th-September 28th
Gay Girl, Good God is the testimony of Jackie Hill Perry from lesbianism to redemption in Christ, but it is not just that. It is a tool that offers wisdom and understanding for those struggling with same-sex desires and those who seek to help and understand them. However, it is ultimately a work of art that displays God's love and power at work in and through someone’s life. I enjoyed every moment of reading the book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested.
Jackie grew up with an absent and distant father who continually let her down emotionally and physically. There were countless broken promises and hurtful words that perpetuated the belief that men were untrustworthy and incapable of love. She became unfeeling and built up an emotional wall to protect herself from pain. To avoid getting hurt, she didn’t allow anyone or anything to penetrate her heart, good or bad. Around age 6 or 7, she was molested by a teenage relative. She believed that males only viewed women as a body to conquer during intimacy. In middle school, she had her first relationship with a girl; she knew that it wasn’t right, but it felt right to her. It was something she had wanted for many years, so she did what felt most natural to her. In 2007, Jackie began dressing as a stud, which is a lesbian who dresses and acts as the male in a relationship. She had always been described as a tomboy, so it only seemed right. She quickly realized how differently she was looked at and treated as a lesbian, but in her community, she was accepted. Her LGBTQ community embraced her and saw her as family. But amidst her sinful life, she still heard the Lord, who was calling her to Himself. Jackie realized she wanted to answer the call, but she asked God for help. She knew she could not do it alone; she needed Him to rescue her. She later decided to move away and fully pursue Christ, and she began to tear down the lies and build her faith. She broke up with her girlfriend, she started wearing different clothes, and she embraced biblical womanhood as much as she knew how. In 2009, she met her now-husband, Preston, and they became quick friends. They got to know each other as people and enjoyed each other. But once they started dating, so many feelings and traumas resurfaced for her. Being with a man still didn’t feel quite right, but even though she tried to push him away, he continued to love and pursue her. So they got married in 2014, and the journey continued.
Not only did I love walking through Jackie’s story, but I also loved that she provided practical advice and wisdom throughout and afterward. She helps heterosexual believers understand what homosexual people feel and go through because how we handle conversations between these groups is so important. We can love without compromising truth. But what is so tough about addressing same-sex attraction is that many people attach it to their identity. This is something that Jackie had to wrestle with as well, separating her sin from her being. We can’t allow feelings and desires to justify living in sin. Something she said that further emphasized this was, “Desires exist because God gave them to us. But homosexual desires exist because sin does. Same-sex desires are actual. Though born of sin, they aren’t an imaginary feeling one conjures up for the sake of being different. But the actuality of the affection doesn’t make them morally justifiable. It is the mind, when conformed to the image of sin, that moves us to call evil good simply because it feels good to us (pp. 22-23).” Same-sex desires are real, but that does not mean that they are right.
Rethinking Sexuality:
God's Design and Why It Matters
By: Dr. Juli Slattery
September 28th-December 19th
There is such a disparity in the church and in the world. There is so much pain and confusion, and it only grows by the day. Our world is so sexually broken, and we cannot ignore it any longer. The church is largely silent on issues we have the authority to address. We have access to the One who created everything, including us and sex. And we have His words to guide us forward, but we are too uncomfortable to lead the charge. We need to begin rethinking sexuality. In this book, Juli Slattery offers hope, truth, and clarity to Christians who want to reclaim God’s design for sexuality. She breaks down long-standing cultural paradigms, helps us to see God’s bigger picture, and shows us that the battle is not ultimately against people or problems, but against an enemy who wants to separate us from God. Juli doesn’t just want Christians to argue about issues; she wants us to love and show grace as we encounter the pain of our and others’ sexual brokenness.
This book was most definitely my favorite and is honestly the heart and idea behind my project. We need to tear down the lies and restore the truth of sex and sexuality that God created for us. There were so many things that I learned, so many things that convicted me, and so many things that encouraged me. I loved Juli’s honesty, and her commitment to truth was so inspiring to me because, whether talking about herself, others, or God, I believed God was leading her. One thing that really stuck with me was the idea that marriage and sexuality are a picture of God’s covenant love for us, a picture of the Gospel. She describes God’s covenant love as loyal and unconditional, unlike our conditional, selfish love. She said, “As we study sexual wholeness and brokenness, we see the testimony of our greatest spiritual needs: intimate knowing, passionate love, and fidelity.” For example, sexual desire is not actually bad like many of us believe; it is a reminder of our need for human connection. I had never heard of this concept before the book because sexual desire is sometimes seen as negative and dirty. But, it is a gift from God. We just have to steward it properly. It is sinful to act on our desires, but we can channel those feelings into healthy ways to pour into other relationships. I also love the beautiful idea of sexual intimacy being a mystery, as Paul outlined. We know that it is so important for sex to be a part of a healthy, God-based marriage because it connects a husband and wife in so many ways, not just physically. They become one, truly knowing and loving each other in a way that no one else can. But there is also so much more that a husband and wife don’t know and need to figure out together, not just with themselves, but in connecting with God in that as well. I just think that is so beautiful and fascinating, and yet another way we see God in our sexuality.