My Savvy Sisters is an online magazine dedicated to providing resources, inspiration and guidance to women that will empower them to survive and thrive in life. We encourage self sufficiency, self love and resourcefulness. The publisher recently contacted me and asked for an interview which was a great joy for me to do.
The effort flourished into three articles, the first of which features the publisher's own account of her spiritual abuse story. Notably, she speaks about the experience that so many others who escape spiritual abuse report: the subtle and not so subtle curses of woe that will befall someone if they a group. Along with the griefs associated with leaving, spiritual leaders often predict that some evil will befall those who leave their group, partly in efforts to keep the member from leaving. For many group leaders, however, I believe that they tell these tales so often that they believe their own bad press. Te-Erika relates her own experience of this feature of spiritual abuse and how she triumphed over it, and she continues to use the wisdom she learned to help others in a new adventure that awaits her.
 |
| My scrapbook from Erika's work! |
On the heels of the Savvy Sisters interview with me which focuses on the dynamics of the process and how recovery begins, the online magazine features the story of Erika Martin that many readers here will recognize as “Stampin' Mama.” Erika sells the Stamping Up line of scrapbooking products, a medium she used to help process her own spiritual abuse experience after emerging from the Quiverfull/Patriarchy Movement. Please link over to read Erika's dynamic story of triumph and growth, one that I always find a great joy to read. If you're particularly inspired by the Savvy Sisters interview, you can find even more details about Erika's experience by clicking on the “NLQ Stories” tab at NoLongerQuivering.com.
Ah, but there are more stylish things to come...
Richard Gelina sent me an email to let me know that he'd just received the Stylish Blogger Award, and he tagged me as one of the recipients, as each person who receives the award must tag seven others with it. Richard's By His Grace, For His Glory blog is more like the kind of blog I'd rather write, and in many ways, he does all the stuff I wish I could still do! He's got all sorts of stuff on his beautiful blog, complete with his own photography which chronicles his Christian journey through life. Richard covers current events, his music, his family, as well as his thoughts about sermons he hears and the books he reads. Please go visit him, newly dubbed as Stylish, a title truly fitting.
As a stylish blog recipient, I must tell you seven things about me:
- I cheated on my gluten-free diet and ate pasta on Sunday. It was great!
- I followed my mom around when I was about five years old, bugging her to rehearse with me all of the words to “Victory in Jesus” until I'd memorized it. It's a miracle she that doesn't hate the song, because I remember being relentless.
- My ring finger was a size 6 ½ when I married and a 7 ½ now.
- I have 1/3 the number of shoes that my husband does.
- I love walking with walking poles, not just because they help me burn 30% more calories, but because they also amuse me.
- My favorite John Thompson's Modern Course for the Piano book was #4 because I like the songs in that one better than the ones in #5.
- I hate using earphones.
Nominations:
- In keeping with things stylish, I'm tagging Stampin' Mama Designs, Erika's website. You can join her virtual stamp club, find things there to celebrate Spring with craftiness, or link over to her Etsy Store.
The Wartburg Watch gets the next stylish tag, particularly for their creative inclusion of a coveted Star Trek T-Shirt while drawing attention to the problem of the teaching of the Pearls. I love the humor, much needed when dealing with the deeply disturbing issue.- A few weeks ago, Adele Hebert (independent scholar whose diligent work has helped writers like Leonard Swindler, author of Jesus was a Feminist) sent me an email stating that she thought that Waneta Dawn's Submission Tyranny blog was the best blog on the internet, so I'm tagging Waneta. Waneta is also the author of the stylish book, Behind the Hedge, a novel that chronicles a story of domestic violence. You can watch talk a little about characters in the book on YouTube.
- Hannah Thomas hosts Emotional Abuse and Your Faith, another one of those among the “best blogs on the internet” category. Declaring Psalm 112:4, “Unto the upright, there arises light in the darkness,” the subheading of her blog states, “Domestic Violence issues are not gender based, and it is my hope that this resource will help – and not render – your walk in Faith.” I love her easy-to-read and stylish list of links, particularly those that link to resources for those struggling with Domestic Violence. I like the stylish skirt that appears in the right hand corner of her header!
- The Patriarch's Bible parody blog deserves honorable mention as a stylish one for preserving the integrity of “The Accolade,” Edmund Blair Leighton's painting, which they feature in their header. (Not everyone finds that painting adequate. I had to take it down off my wall after I saw what was done to it.) “The Patriarch's Bible is a volunteer project designed to produce a Bible paraphrase and commentary in line with modern patriarchal theology.”
Hopewell Takes on Life is quite stylish, especially considering that the current post features a book about a little black dress! Hopewell has many things to say about a host of topics including many great book reviews, many that relate to the Quiverfull/Patriarchy Movement. And Hopewell gives away books from time to time, too. I especially love her review of the Return of the Daughters video.
Because Adele Hebert doesn't have a blog (unless she has one and she hasn't told me about it), I'm going to tag the Overcoming Botkin Syndrome blog as stylish to direct you to some of her excellent work. The blog also has a variety of information that specifically applies to what Hillary McFarland has described as the Quivering Daughter, the daughters of the Quiverfull Movement. I'm very grateful for Adele's contributions, and some of her writing is also featured in the Quivering Daughters book as well as at GodsWordToWomen.org. Well, since I was able to talk about the Overcoming BS blog and honor Adele, I've decided to tag Hillary!
 |
| Also available at Amazon.com |
Thank you to all of you for your stylish blogs and all of your dedication to writing about the topics that matter so much. You're also Savvy Sisters, too, (except for Richard, savvy in his own right). ;-)
