Dirty Girls Ministries in partnership with Westside Family Church presents WHOLE Women’s Conference on August 24-25, 2012 featuring author and Women of Faith speaker Lisa Harper.

Based on Mark 5:34a, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole,” this conference experience will tackle tough subjects normally left untouched by the typical women’s conference. Topics that both Christian and non-Christian women struggle with in today’s culture.

In addition to main teaching and worship sessions, women will select breakouts addressing issues like porn addiction, abortion, human trafficking, grieving mothers, homosexuality, marital intimacy, teen purity and more.

Register by May 15 to receive early-bird pricing of just $25 per person (jumps to $35 after May 15). Price of admission includes a breakfast devotional led by Lisa Whittle, lunch provided by Chick-fil-A, a teen purity fashion show by Nuance Boutique and all conference materials.

For more information including a complete listing of breakout topics OR to register now please visit: WHOLECONFERENCE.COM

This conference is appropriate for all women age 16 and older. Mothers and daughters are encouraged to attend together.

- -

PRESS/MEDIA: Click here for our official press release.

Mark Driscoll, founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, recently preached a stirring message about the harms of pornography called “The Porn Path.” This message is a part of a series, “Real Marriage.”

Our friend Crissy (a former porn actress) is interviewed by Pastor Mark and his wife during this message and our friend Bill Struthers (author of Wired for Intimacy) is quoted.

At times throughout this message, there are things that are tough to hear, but that is exactly why you need to listen to it. You can check out a preview of Pastor Mark’s message below and watch/listen to the whole thing, here.

A particularly powerful and disturbing quote from this message is:

“Some of you will say, ‘Well, I don’t contribute money to it.’ But you do, because the advertisers are the ones who pay a fee, and every time you click, you are legitimizing their existence, and you’re participating in a culture of slavery and abuse. And there is no such thing as free porn. The people participating pay and the advertisers pay so that you can enjoy their suffering, shame, and humiliation… Some of what’s made is because of sex trafficking; some of the women who are even in the industry in the US are often held against their will, threatened, beaten, traumatized, because it’s always about the money. And even if you’re not giving your credit card number, by clicking on the site, you are encouraging an advertiser to pay money, so that someone might be assaulted and abused, and you’re complicit in that.”

I recently returned from Thailand where I saw with my own eyes, very young women (likely underage) being trafficked for sexual purposes. I am still processing this trip and hope to write more about it in the near future. But the correlation between pornography and human trafficking is very, very real. We have to wake up and face this very dark reality and the responsibility we have in it.

Face the tough stuff,
Crystal Renaud
DGM Founder

ht: Covenant Eyes

Today’s guest author is Renee Fisher. Leave a comment below (by midnight March 19) to be entered to win a copy her new book, “Not Another Dating Book.”

###

Loyalty Pains
By Renee Fisher

I want to let you in on a secret. When I wrote “Not Another Dating Book” I had been single pretty much my whole life. I was fast approaching 29 years old with no man in sight. Some of my friends were already married, some had kids and weren’t married, and others were serial daters but hadn’t met anyone of quality–yet. I wanted to write a book that could help you find your own love story, the most important being with God!

Today if you find yourself nursing a broken heart as a single, inside of marriage, or just not sure where to begin to have healthy relationships–read and be encouraged!

Loyalty. It hurts when someone leaves, breaks up, or cheats on you. It hurts beyond words. Misery loves company, and that’s why God asks us to get connected. We’re here to encourage one another. Take long walks. Talk and share. Pray together and point each other back to God–even when He is silent.

Leah is the best biblical example of this. She was not loved. Nor was she the favorite wife of Jacob. After Leah’s father tricked Jacob into marrying her, Jacob spent seven years working for the hand of her young sister, Rachel. Ouch. Talk about a loyal pain. But the Lord noticed her misery. As Ann Spangler and Jean Syswerda put it, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Leah’s husband) looked down and saw a woman who was lonely and sad because her husband loved his other wife better than he loved her. So, to ease her sorrow, to provide her comfort, God gave her children–beautiful, upright, strong children, one of whom would found the lineage of the priests of Israel and another who was an ancestor of Jesus Himself.”

I know some of you–myself included–have experienced deep sorrow from a painful breakup. From someone breaking his or her commitment. Maybe you’re the one who broke it. You never know how God’s going to redeem your love story. He’s still writing the pages as we speak. Learn to trust Him and put your hand in His. He’ll lead you down the path of righteousness. Next time you’re tempted to believe you’re the only one with heartache in relationships, take heart and think again.

Since the time of Genesis God has been making and remaking His covenant to His people. Unlike your ex, “God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” (Numbers 23:19). No. Say it again: No! No loyalty pains or broken commitments can separate you from God’s love. (Excerpt from Not Another Dating Book, © Harvest House, Eugene, OR).

• Friend Renee on Facebook
• Follow Renee on Twitter
• Read Renee’s blog on relationships
• Purchase a copy of Not Another Dating Book

A couple of months ago we began advertising openings for volunteer staff positions here at Dirty Girls Ministries. I’m excited to announce and introduce to you a recipient of one of those positions.

Please welcome Lauren Jacobs as DGM’s new Community Manager.

As Community Manager, Lauren will be facilitating and generating content for all of DGM’s Social Media pages including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and this blog. She will also be moderating our online community so it may continue to be a safe place for women to find help, hope and healing.

Lauren has not only captured the vision of DGM, but like all of us on staff, is now willing to volunteer her time to help spread God’s message of hope to women around the world. Jenny and I are so excited to have her join our team and look forward to what the future holds for all of us.

Please help to make her feel loved and welcomed.

With hope,
Crystal Renaud
Founder, Dirty Girls Ministries

###

MORE ABOUT LAUREN

Lauren currently resides in Long Beach, CA where she was born & raised. Her journey has zig-zagged with great enthusiasm over the years, but the constant has always been a desire to serve God while advocating for & ministering to women. She stumbled upon Dirty Girls Ministries while searching for recovery tools & resources which lead her to participate in DGM’s Leadership Training in the Summer of 2011. Since then God has made it clear that His desire is to use her brokenness for good.

Her heart breaks for women in the midst of struggles with sex/porn addiction, sexual abuse, depression, & body image and she enjoys mentoring women in these areas. She is blessed to be involved in The People of the Second Chance ministry at Mariners Church in Irvine, CA which encourages men & women alike to be honest about their brokenness & search for healing.

Lauren loves swimming, witnessing the births of babies, yoga, reading & writing, singing in her car, inside jokes with her kookie family, and being crunchy. You can follow along on her continued road to healing on her blog.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Start 2012 off right with Covenant Eyes for FREE for 30 days for yourself, your family, or your organization.

With so many inappropriate websites and Internet temptations, what we do online impacts our lives offline. Covenant Eyes provides Internet solutions (accountability & filtering) to protect your integrity online. These types of Internet solutions are not just for addicts, but helps bring internet accountability and safety into everyone’s home and workplace. We’re excited for you to give it a try and to do so for free!

CLICK HERE TO ACTIVATE PROMO CODE AND SIGN UP TODAY!