Copyright (c) 2020 D. Douglas PhD All rights reserved.   Directory of Articles by Awakening Stage Recovering from an abusive relationship involves finding safety and the empowerment for self determination. There may be reversals and cycles but the goal is to develop resilience and balance. Refer to the graphic above, then find inspirational posts arranged by stage below. 1 The Torment Where is God? My Favorite Things Broken Pieces (Poem) Beyond Understanding - God can give you the peace you seek 10 Ways To Nourish Your Soul - Healing trauma through self-care Dream Thieves - Rebuilding Y ..read more

    Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Exodus 20: 3    I grew up in a very patriarchal household.  What father said was law and dare anyone question it.  I told myself I wouldn’t stand for that nonsense when I grew up and that wasn’t a secret to anyone who knew me.  Yet, I somehow ended up with the same type of person as a marriage partner.  When the topic came up he never disagreed.  But he didn’t agree either.  Little did I know that the lack of fruitful discussion on the topic before the vows was a tactic to avoid setting off my alar ..read more

  Mark 9:17 – 22; John 17:20  If you are struggling in the aftermath of a destructive relationship, you are not alone.  Starting from scratch amidst brokenness is an uphill battle.  But through this story, I want to encourage you and let you know that this is just a season.  God is faithful to restore the broken places and He will see you through.    I’d been given an ultimatum.  “You have 90 days to vacate the premises.”  As I put down the phone, my head reeled from the sudden news.  My life had collapsed around me.  I’d come to the deva ..read more

  Guest Post By Jason William Karpf    Isaiah 61:3 NLT  To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.  Ashes. The sign of destruction. Growing up geographically in Southern California, I saw ashes as the recurrent symbol of the brush fires that would obliterate the wilderness ringing the megalopolis, raze homes in ..read more

    Job 14:7-9 ERV “There is always hope for a tree. If it is cut down, it can grow again. It will keep sending out new branches. Its roots might grow old in the ground and its stump die in the dirt, but with water, it will grow again. It will grow branches like a new plant. There was an old tree, in an old yard, in a place I knew long ago. It wasn’t very large …barely taller than a man. It was twisted and gnarled. It’s trunk grew at a precarious looking slant out of the ground. Yet its branches all stretched up towards the sky. I always looked fo ..read more

    I am warrior. I can’t tell you exactly when it happened - the day I decided to fight for my life, to fight for revelation of truth, the day I became ‘warrior’. I didn’t always have that spirit. I remember days of anguish, hopelessness, regret, loneliness. I remember pain. I remember the ache in my heart that felt like a vice on my body - a constant pressure that gave me no rest. I remember sleepless nights and a jumble of thoughts as I tried to grapple with the wreckage that had become my life. I couldn’t paint a picture of the future. It felt like I woke up every morning to a c ..read more

Ah, love at first sight. It’s the stuff of stories old and new. As the Greeks put it, theia mania is “the madness from the gods,” a love passion striking without warning, wounding its victims and overwhelming them with desire. We tell our children stories of princes and paupers with love so strong as to bridge their great divide. Songsters bellow Summer Nights and Enchanted Evenings. But I’ll tell you one more story if you’ll give me an ear. One you probably know quite well. It’s the story of a young fighter whose supernatural strength was only exceeded by his greatest weakness, an appetite ..read more

Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.” 2 Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.” 3 But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. 5 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brou ..read more

     I have a confession to make… I’ve really struggled with this one - hope. Why? Because with hope there is the possibility of disappointment. I am learning faith in God and I can see how far he has brought me in just the past few months. I am coming to understand His love for me. But hope? That is a tough one. Now, I’m not talking about hope in heavenly things. I hope in the resurrection of the righteous. I have the expectation of heaven through Jesus’ sacrifice. The verse I wrestle with is Psalms 37:3-5, 7 3 Trust in the Lord and do good;      ..read more

This post is going to upset a few people. That’s ok. My hope is to bring a sword that will cut out evil at its root and free captives who, like me, couldn’t see the love of God because the idol of self looms so large in places of power, in those who call themselves christian. As christians, the bible is our guidebook. It contains the answer to all our problems if we look deeply enough. In all my research - reading hundreds of pages, studying interviews, listening to sermons- I’ve noticed that the church has a very difficult time tackling narcissism. I prefer to use the term narcissism in this ..read more