A Gleam of Light: A Guest Post by Witch's Slave No More

The blogger, Witch's Slave No More, continues his story of a journey out of mind-control and manipulation in this second guest post. To read the first part of his story, click here.

You know, I had heard that even a single match lit in the darkest of caves can create a fantastic force of light that can be seen from hundreds of yards, even miles away.

When I started to read the Bible again, I could see that light, but it was not enough to make out that the light WAS the Lord Christ. The light was of Good origin, I knew this much, but it was not enough to say who was casting it and certainly not enough to fight off the evil that was subduing me.

She continued to try to sell me her lies, but I was only lending a deaf ear to what she had to say as I started my studies. Proverbs was my first book, and I loved it dearly. The wisdom is deep and so very simple to understand. I prayed for protection and read verses over and over again from the book of Psalms. As I continued to study, I noticed that certain things began to happen to my abuser. Over the next year, I saw the following changes in her: a spider bite from a brown recluse which resulted in the loss of a toe, a torn ACL (knee joint) which required surgery, contraction of diabetes and several diabetic seizures, multiple lice infestations, lupus, total decay in about 6 different teeth, severe bone density loss, more than I can actually name.

My God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. -2 Samuel 22:3-

When the time felt right, I took my stand. I had my family praying for me and I was going to at least try for my freedom. I could hear the Lord pounding drums in my chest. She came to my door and I stood my ground, telling her that Witchcraft is wrong and I cited the scriptures that I knew...

God, you've walked out on your family Jacob because their world is full of hokey religion, Philistine witchcraft, and pagan hocus-pocus, a world rolling in wealth, Stuffed with things, no end to its machines and gadgets, And gods—gods of all sorts and sizes. These people make their own gods and worship what they make. A degenerate race, facedown in the gutter. Don't bother with them! They're not worth forgiving! -Isaiah 2:6-

But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. -Rev 21:8-

She stood her ground by reiterating what she had said before about the Bible being fickle. When I asked her proof, she could not respond with anything besides cusswords. I had caught her off guard.

She had promised not to make me practice witchcraft again, but still, it wasn't over. I wanted these horrible games she was playing to be over and done with once and for all, but despite the wishes of my God, my family and myself, the war for my soul continued. However, getting her to stop was a step in the right direction, but I knew that if I didn't keep reading that Bible, her willpower would overthrow mine and she would once again command fully. At the time I felt like I had won a battle, but slowly witchcraft's principles gradually and subtly leaked from her. So I read,

Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord. Declare me not guilty, O Lord my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles. Don’t let them say, “Look, we got what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive! -Psalms 35:23-25-

I studied and started going to a non-denominational church. The preacher reminded me of the one I knew at that little Church of Christ where my spirituality was born. The community of church can give you something that no other group of people can: bravery, even in the midst of terrifying adversity. Since church provides friends that will listen and help, it was no wonder that she didn't want me going on a regular basis. In less than a month I was truly prepared to make that final step. Within that time, the Lord gave me the strength to study and prepare for perhaps the greatest spiritual battle of my life: to at last end my relationship with this witch and to save my soul...Until next time,

Witch's Slave No More

Breaking The Chains: A New Book On Overcoming False Gospel

I can't wait to read this book!
Breaking The Chains chronicles the mental, spiritual, and emotional captivity of a life lived in a perfectionist church who believes their organization and their organization alone will be accepted into heaven.
Click here to learn more.

image bydavidmccleary in photobucket

Another Beautiful Sunday!

Once again, a Sunday without PTSD!
Each and every Sunday free of distress is a gift from the Creator of my mind and emotions!
Here is the description of my first Sunday PTSD- free:

Amazing day- No effects of PTSD at anytime during church!After almost a year and a half of driving up to church and restraining myself from crawling into a fetal position, this is a red-letter day.
At my new church, the pastor recruited a Beatle tribute band named No.9 to play at the beginning of the service to illustrate the message series on love.
I will forever associate Beatle music with this very joyful day.
The sun of freedom truly came out for me today. Thank God!The abusive church days have lost a major battle today!

Happiness is a Journey

I am writing in response to the threats received to certain EX-members of a Dade City church compound facility. First and foremost, I would like to say, there must be truth in the “Letter” for the accused to know whose home to come running too and bang down the door while screaming threats and “trying” to intimidate, while two other “yes-men” from the compound stand nearby as witnesses, how pathetic! Oh, did I mention, I too am an escapee from a Dade City church! And this is my story.

I must say, this is a very difficult situation for me because I still have family that I love dearly, still in this compound. My mother and sister are still held captive there by a force that they can not even see for themselves. They will read this and will be very upset with me, and I am sure that they will make sure it gets back to me that they are not by any means being held captive or feel they have to stay, but the truth is, I have been there and I know that there are times they feel insecure about the environment in which they exist, we all did at some point and time, but because of the deep-set mind control, you ignore those feelings and continue your mere existence in the world that has been “created” for you. So, mom and sis, I do this because I love you!

I was one of the so called “fortunate” ones that got to actually live with the pastor. This was a very weird time for me, and thankfully I have been able to block most of these memories. I knew things that would make your hair stand on all ends, from evil plots to intimidate and destroy families and individuals, to stalking members at work, home or family vacations or one day trips, to embezzling monies from the tithes and offerings as well as family savings, to tapping phones lines, and the list goes on and on. I guess the most traumatic thing for me in leaving was my children, then 10 and 7, they were the reason I lived! And the “leader” knew it and she would use this against me. It was embedded in me that if I dare left the flock, my children would be lost and their souls would burn in hell for eternity. My kids were very close to their grandmother and aunts there, and I knew that if we left they would be cut off, sure enough, to this day, they still have nothing to do with them, yes they occasionally receive a birthday card, Christmas card, etc…or maybe a dinner night out once a year, but wait did I mention, that was only if they “the church” wanted to pump them for information about those of us that had left. I still struggle to believe that my mom truly realizes what she is doing and has missed some of the most important years of their lives; they are now 18 and 15.

I was the back up piano player for church since I was about 15 until a couple of years before we left, she FORCED me to play on a regular basic, all the while, criticizing me, that I was not following the lead of God, or wait, I think she meant “her lead”, whatever! I would go home at night and cry for hours because of the mental torture, throw up, and get myself back in check for the next service, just to go through it again and again and again! My kids were in 4th and 1st grade when we left. We tried to leave in good graces, wrote a letter to the “pastor” asking that our kids be allowed to remain there for just the remainder of that year and that we were not angry with anyone, but we felt that in order for us to grow spiritually, we needed a change. That weekend, two trustees from that place, showed up at our front door, with our kids personal belongings in a black garbage bag, and we were told “May God have mercy on your souls.” Needless to say, I was absolutely petrified leaving, my kids were sure to be struck by lightning and killed by nightfall. Going from school to school, trying to find a place I felt secure with for my kids was another story in itself. Every Pastor I came upon would stop and pray for me, telling me they could see the hurt and pain in my eyes, and would lovingly try to express to me that God was a caring and loving God, not a malicious, murderous being. It took months for me to even begin to lighten up and realize I didn’t even know God! All those years, 25+, I had been serving a person, the “pastor”. I slaved for her, cleaning buildings at all hours of the night while holding down a full time job; when I prayed, I was praying in an unconscious manner, because I knew if I didn’t pray through as she thought I should, she would be down on me, criticize me, mock me, ostracize me, so I prayed in a fashion that would be pleasing for her. I played the piano, not for the Glory of God, but that I might please her, I studied the Bible, testified, not for the Glory of God, but that I might please her in all I say and do! As sick as this may sound, it is the truth!

I was not able to even have my own family over without her (the pastor) permission. She would decide for us when we could go out for dinner, family vacations, have birthday parties for my kids, or have someone over for dinner, if we did not get her permission and she found out, we would be lashed out upon from the pulpit. Many times, she would buy us things when she knew she had gone too far, which would put us back in that “feeling obligated” mode. We did not have much, money wise, and at times we could not tithe like we should, plus knowing what happened to the tithes, didn’t help matters either, but during a very hard time when we couldn’t tithe like normal, she told me to my face, I had no right to pray or ask God for anything!

One service, out of the clear blue, she accused me and another member of the band, of lustful feelings for each other, right from the pulpit, and had me move my seat to the other end of the room. My jaw dropped to the floor, I turned 20 shades of red, I had no idea that was coming! Later, a few years ago, I finally found out what that was all about, it was because we were having a picnic, a 4th of July holiday at the church, I had started blowing up a slide for the kids to play on, and because this other member came over and offered to help, and DID NOT WIPE OFF THE MOUTH PIECE AFTER ME, that we had a fling going on! Do you see how warp and demented this is! And this is just my story.

I could go on and on and tell you of things that would just floor you, but I have to stop somewhere, so here is where I will stop. Since we have left about 9 years ago, we are doing wonderful and we thank God everyday that we finally saw the light and our kids did not have to be raised in that environment. I pray that my family left there, will one day come to an understanding too that will allow them to see it for what it really is.
By Happiness is a Journey

Clarity Rediscovered

This is an informative check-up by a blogger at "Clarity Rediscovered".
Unfortunately, they are no longer allowing random visitors- you have to be invited to read.
Hopefully they will soon re-open their blog to the public.

http://clarityrediscovered.blogspot.com/2009/01/seriously-is-it-just-me.html
"I decided to compose a simple, and of course, very unscientific, test which can be taken by those who have left the former church or one like it. With the help of my husband and a good friend, the questions were designed to help everyone see how differently the former church affected people during our unfortunate captivity there. If you would like to, get out a sheet of paper and see how you do.

1. How long did you attend this church? (1 point for each year)

2. Were you there every time the doors were open? (10 points)

3. How many years were you actively involved in a helps ministry? (1 point for each year in each area of helps. Example: 16 years in music=16 points, plus 5 years in the nursery=5 additional points)

4. Were you ever a department head, either paid or volunteer? (10 points)

5. Were you ever a paid staff member? (20 points for each family member on staff)

6. Were you or a family member ever on the board? (10 points)

7. Did your children grow up in this church? (20 points)

8. Did they ever have an unpleasant experience with the former pastor and/or his family members? (20 points per incident)

9. Did you or anyone in your family ever have to meet with the former pastor, his wife, or his son in order to be corrected? (20 points)

10. Did the former pastor ever make you or an immediate family member cry? (10 points per incident)

11. Were you forced to follow the dress code? (10 points)

12. Were you ever expected to choose the pastor and the church over family and friendships? (20 points)

13. Did you ever discover that you were the subject of the dinner conversation of your former pastor and his family? (10 points)

14. Did the former pastor ever pit you against staff members and/or church members, demanding information, and giving you no choice but to answer? (10 points)

15. Were you ever personally corrected from the pulpit, knowing without a doubt that he was talking about you? (20 points per incident)

16. Did you give your tithes and offerings to this church? (20 points)

17. Did you give out of obligation, and did this ever create financial difficulties for you? (20 points)

18. Were you ever made to feel inferior because you didn't have an impressive amount of material things, and because of this, then felt pressured to acquire them? (10 points)

19. Did you ever feel left out of the former pastor's clique? (10 points)

20. Did you or your family experience any kind of loss or pain that you believe you would not have experienced had you not attended the former church? (50 points)

21. Were you ever strongly advised by the former pastor (from the pulpit or in private) to make an important decision regarding your personal life or finances which ultimately proved to be wrong? (20 points per incident)

22. Did the former pastor ever lie to you by giving his word that he would do something and then not do it? (such as a Christmas bonus for 2 years in a row) (10 points per incident) 50 bonus points: Were you asked to leave this church? 50 bonus points: Were you fired from a position in this church? 50 bonus points: Was your spouse fired from a position in this church?

If you scored 150 points or above, then you have probably been adversely affected by this church. Some more than others. I am sure that there are a wide range of scores.

As you can see from all of the possible responses to the questions posed in this test, people have had largely varying degrees of involvement and experiences, leading to a countless number of different reactions. It is a very personal thing. As unique as your fingerprint. No one has the right to decide when it is time for someone to get over a hurtful situation. Some have needed an opportunity to vent, which in turn has helped others to do the same."