What Do Easter Eggs and the Cross Have In Common?

Many Christians, including me, find ourselves saddened at how secular commercialism has overtaken sacred holidays. At Christmas we are bombarded by Santa and Reindeer that eclipse our Savior’s birth. Now before Spring has sprung, stores sprout bunnies and colorful eggs that over-shadow Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross. In fact, holy days have been so secularized  that many Christians refuse to sport eggs or bunnies during lent. I am inclined to do that but I just can’t. You see, I love little furry bunnies and multi-colored eggs and the Lord knew that, so He used them to lure me to Him many years ago.

I was eight years old living in the Sheol that I called home, with no father and a mentally ill mother. Her insane rants, accompanied with verbal and physical abuse were regular occurrences. At age eight, I became a little adult, caring for my siblings and myself and striving desperately to keep us out of my mom’s destructive path. Needless to say, I had little time to play. One day a neighbor came over and invited us to an Easter egg hunt at the little country church down the road.

“Do they give prizes if we find them?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said graciously. “Chocolate prizes!”

“Games and chocolate, count me in!” I replied gleefully.

I’ll never be sure why my mom allowed us kids to go. Perhaps it was to get us out of her hair for the day, but that day changed my life forever.

Before the egg hunt, we listened to a flannel graph presentation of the Easter Story. The teacher put flannel pictures of Jesus in Gethsemane, carrying His cross, and being nailed to it for our sins. I still remember how carefully the teacher drew tiny drops of blood on Jesus’s hands and feet, no doubt trying not to frighten her young audience with such a dramatic story, while still trying to make her very important point.

“Jesus loved you so much that He died for you,” she said with conviction.

Who is this Jesus, I thought, who would love me enough to give His life for me, when even my own mother did not seem to care for me?

After the amazing story, we hunted eggs. I found a basketful and was rewarded with a delicious chocolate bunny which I ate with great gusto before I even left the parking lot of the church! But I never forgot that story. My intense hunger to know this Jesus stayed with me and years later as a teen, I went back to that church and accepted Christ as my savior and have had the blessed privilege of living for Him for four decades now.

So what do Easter eggs and The Cross have in common? They both saved me in every way imaginable! Every spring I put crosses and brightly colored eggs all over my house. This year I even sported an Easter tree filled with lights, crosses, and a hand-made crown of thorns (ouch did that hurt!). These are all reminders that I am saved… saved from sin, saved from pain, and saved from repeating the same unhealthy patterns of the generations before me. These reminders of my salvation inspire my gratitude to the One who loved me enough to give His life for me. Eggs and crosses remind me of the grace for which I am forever grateful. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some delightful eggs to hide!

We have not blogged in quite a while. There are many reasons for this which we will gladly share with you!! Since our last blog we have spoken on five radio shows and one TV show doing interviews for our newest book—Becoming a Family That Heals. We facilitated a very successful Soul Healers Couples Intensive Weekend in Charlotte. Many couples reported great breakthroughs in their marriages. It is one of the most gratifying things we do to watch couples transform right before our very eyes! 

We then facilitated a Soul Healers Leadership Training on October 26 and used real-life couples to demonstrate the power of soul healing in front of a group of eager trainees. From there we spoke at Central Church of God’s Life Care Center on Nov 7. The topic was –Having the Family You’ve Always Wanted. We had a great crowd and felt the Lord really move in the lives of many people. As if our weeks weren’t packed enough, we renovated our new building by tearing out 8 walls and adding 2 to make room for our growth. We then took our 8 staffers to pick out paint and furniture and decorated 10 beautiful offices!!

It has been nothing short of amazing to see how the Lord has worked everything out from contractors, painters, security, phone, internet and delivery people to put together this wonderful office in 6 short weeks. So many people said it could not be done, but the Lord made a way! Every Thanksgiving we are thankful for His richest blessing, but this one brings us so much more to be grateful for.

Studies show that gratitude is good for the soul. If this is true, and we think it is, our souls should be in great shape! Add some shape to your soul and have a truly Happy Thanksgiving. We promise to blog more frequently from now on. We are pretty sure that we won’t have a month as busy as the last for the rest of our lives!

PS-We are having an Open House Saturday, December 5 from 2-5pm to show what the Lord has done in our new building: 6412 Bannington Dr. in Charlotte 28226. If you would like to drop in just email us at info@soulhealinglove.com and we’ll save some refreshments for you!

It has been a few weeks since our last blog. During that time we have been to the American Association of Christian Counselors World conference in Nashville where we spoke on Tortured Men and Angry Women, a problem we see regularly. It was well received. We are now working on a book about this problem called The Run Away Wife Syndrome. It seems that wives are the main initiators of divorce in this country, an alarming trend that needs to be addressed. We then spoke at the Licensed Professional Counselors of North Carolina conference in Raleigh and taught a full day on the Soul Healing Love Model. While there were many professionals at both conferences, the comments we liked the most were those that tell how the material has helped people in their own lives and marriages. Hearing about the Tortured Man-Angry Woman dyad set off light bulbs for many people giving awareness to how they were responding in their marriages. We went from Raleigh to Huntersville, NC where we spoke at a Baptist church. After all our travels, we are tired but filled with the joy of seeing couples and counselors learn healthy tools for communication.

In addition to our busy schedule, we are also moving our office!! (Like we need more stress!) Rodgers Christian Counseling bought a beautiful building off of Hwy 51 in South Charlotte. The address is 6412 Bannington Rd. We will be blogging more about it in the future I’m sure. Our staff is growing and the number of people who need help is also growing. We feel stressed but blessed. Today’s reading in our devotional book Jesus Calling gave us some respite, “Some of your richest blessings are just around the bend: out of sight, but nonetheless very real. To receive these gifts, you must walk by faith not by sight.”  This ministered to our busy souls and gave us peace to focus on each day, not fretting about the many things that need to get done in the future, so we can be Blessed not Stressed!

We have been traveling to promote the book and speaking at conferences for the last two weeks, and God has moved in a glorious way! We spent last week with 6000 people at the American Association Christian Counselors World Conference where we spoke and did a book signing. People all over are reading Becoming a Family That Heals, and we are on the radio every weekend on Focus on the Family’s Weekend Radio show along with many other shows across the country. It brings life to our souls to hear how this book has helped many people move to healing in their lives and in their relationships. The book has also been reviewed on many blog spots. Here is what Deenasbooks.blogspot.com said:

Normally, I’m leary of any psychology, Christian or otherwise. But this book is something I’ve lived in my own family, and I found it extremely helpful. And I wasn’t even looking for help…well, I was praying, but not LOOKING:-)

“Becoming a Family That Heals” isn’t what I thought it would be. When I first saw the title, I thought it was about being a safe haven for those who’ve been wounded. Instead, it’s about creating a safe haven for YOU and for your family. Within your own home.

Drs. Beverly and Tom Rodgers write from personal and clinical experience, which always gains my respect. I say don’t talk it if you haven’t walked it. And they’ve done both.

With compassion and understanding, the two walk us through a case involving Amy and Bill…I’m not finished, so I don’t know if they are a real couple or a case study created for the book.

I saw a lot of myself in Bill, and a lot of my spouse in Amy. When the authors discussed how like-wounded people can find one another, it reminded me of the first long conversation I had with Dave…if you want to know about it, email me!

I’d recommend this book to couples who are wanting some healing in their marriage, their family, or just a better way to live life as a family. I have a lot of respect for couples who are struggling, and I believe this book could hold some answers for them.

Learn about the Soul-Healing Love Method the Rodgers’ have been teaching since the 1980’s (I hate calling anything a method, but I suppose that’s what it is). It makes sense, and I plan on incorporating it into how I interact with my husband and my kids.

I’m giving “Becoming the Family That Heals” four out of five bookmarks, with a broken-yet-healed heart as a charm. As long as you’re living, hope is always there. With Jesus, that is!

Happy Reading!

It has been a busy two weeks answering calls from wounded listeners who heard us on Focus on the Family’s National Radio show and weekend magazine. We are on every Saturday this month on the section called –Tough Questions. We are discussing our newest book—Becoming a Family That Heals.

Here is what viewers have said, “This book speaks to what is going on with me and my family more than anything I have read. For the first time I have insight into my behavior.”       Beth from Texas.

“The book has blessed me tremendously and helped me see how to parent my own children in a healthier way.”        Bill from Virginia.

“I always knew that my childhood might have something to do with how I act today. My mom was very abusive, but when I became a Christian I was told that I should just put it behind me and move on. I now know that if I don’t deal with my past, and allow the Lord to heal it, it is sure to haunt my future. Like you say in the book, ‘You can’t heal what you can’t feel.’”        Amy from Michigan.

These insights make our souls dance and help us see that the pain we went through in childhood can be used to help others. It is indeed true that God does not waist pain! We will be doing a seminar on the book called—The Family You’ve Always Wanted—at Central Church of God, in Charlotte, NC, Saturday Nov 6, 9-12:30.

If you come, stop and tell us your story. We’d love to hear it!

We were awed and honored last week as we listened to ourselves on Focus on the Family’s National Broadcast. The response has been phenomenal. We have received calls and emails from people all over the country, places such as Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Washington, New Jersey and many more. People shared that they too were wounded and could relate to our pain. Many shared about their childhood trauma or their current family struggles. Perhaps the most common question they ask is—“Can I really be healed of my childhood pain?” Our answer is always—“YES!”  We are living proof that the Lord can heal even deep trauma.

 Jeremiah 30:17 says, “I [The Lord] will heal thee of thy wounds and restore health unto thee.” And He has done this in our lives over and over again. The following are the steps of healing taken from our newest book Becoming a Family That Heals (Focus on the Family, Sept 1, 2009).

Step 1. What are your soul wounds and where did the wounding start?

Step 2. What are the messages of your soul wounds?

Step 3.  What are your adaptations? (the behaviors you do as a result)

Step 4. Ask the Lord to heal your soul wounds.

Step 5. What does the Word of God say about you?

These amazing steps taken with the Lord holding one hand and the Holy Spirit the other can lead you to freedom. There is so much more about this precious freedom in the book. Go online at Amazon.com September 1 and order your copy. We are counting down the days!

This is a big week for me (Bev). The first shipment of our newest book Becoming a Family That Heals, which was published by Focus on the Family, will be mailed out to a select few, and we will actually appear on Focus on the Family’s National Radio Broadcast Friday Aug 20 and 21, a life’s dream come true for me.

It would also have been my mother’s 79^th birthday if she were still living. You will find as you read the book that she died years ago, but was dead in her heart for a long time before that due to her mental illness. Because of it, she could not connect to her children and often abused me and my siblings both verbally and physically.

For years I was afraid to have kids, fearful that I would commit the same atrocities with them. But then the Lord came, and He became my father and mother. The book is about that journey and how you can resolve your past issues and free your future. Now after 40 years of loving and serving the Lord I have a wonderful family with grown kids whom I love dearly. It took years for me to believe that God loved me when my own mother couldn’t but HE DOES! And that makes every week a big week for me. However, this one is just a little more special. I hope you get the book and find the freedom you may be looking for.

Sept 1, 2009 Big Order Day on Amazon.com.

Copy and paste the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Beverly-Rodgers/e/B001K8K3TE/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_T1_0

We walked by the checkout counter to see the latest debacle in the Jon and Kate Gosselin saga. Apparently Jon says, “He is not cheating. He is in Love.” What he does not know is that he is not in love, he is simply on drugs! When we become infatuated with someone there is a chemical cocktail that is released in the brain. It consists of, among other things, phenylethylamine which is a chemical cousin to speed, so you feel powerfully “high” all the time. As with amphetamines, the high is exacerbated by fear, danger, and risk, and affairs are all about risky behavior. So Jon Gosselin, along with Governor Mark Sanford, thinks he is madly in love with his long lost soul mate. These men are only high on what researchers call “the love cocktail.” And what’s worse: this high does not last! Like with most chemicals, the body builds up a tolerance to them, and the effects eventually fade. So these men are risking their futures, their marriages, and their children’s well-being because of a feeling that will not last.

Gentlemen, do your research (There is a detailed account of the love cocktail in The Singlehood Phenomenon, Rodgers and Rodgers, pp.118-124), and come to your senses! You are not in love with your soul mate. You are high on brain chemicals that won’t last. In a few years that “soul mate” will be just another woman, and your children will be in shambles. It’s not worth it! Proverbs 5:18 says, “Rejoice in the wife of your youth.” We pray that with God’s help you will start rejoicing today.

We are here in 110 degree weather in Phoenix at the Association for Marriage and Family Ministries (AMFM) Conference. It’s only just begun but there’s a powerful spiritual synergy of people, the leaders of leaders in the country who desire to equip the church to build healthy relationships. One of our greatest surprises is that we received our newest book Becoming a Family that Heals in an early shipment for this conference. We are like excited parents with our newest child! This week we are presenting information on this book to eager, earnest pastors, mentors, counselors, and lay leaders. They will learn how to heal broken families by using the Soul Healing Love Model and receive tips for healthy parent-child communication—communication that will take the kids away from video games for at least five minutes! These tools also bring understanding and connection within family relationships, something that is greatly needed in homes today.

Blessings,

Drs. Bev and Tom

 *Becoming a Family that Heals will be available for purchase on Amazon.com and SoulHealingLove.com September 1, 2009