An Invitation to Self Discovery

I am a happy woman! The joy of the Lord is my strength! I live a miraculous life! I can do ALL THINGS through Christ Who strengthens me! My best keeps getting better...Glory after Glory!!!

And yet, I have been divorced, disowned, rejected, evicted, threatened, and thrown into a mental hospital. I have been attacked, arrested, homeless, penniless, robbed and raped. I have suffered the pain of shingles, been diagnosed with AIDS, and I’m over seventy years old! My book, “Secrets of a Survivor: Coming Out Smellin’ Like a Rose” is the adventure-filled story of how I survived the ills of the world to come out smelling like a rose.

Today I am a spiritual educator. To educate is not about teaching you something you don’t know. To educate means to draw out from within. When I began writing this book I was inspired by going to the internet and watching a rose blooming, a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, a chick escaping the comfort of its limited world in an egg shell, and the birth of a baby, having outgrown its mother’s womb. To suffer simply means “to go through.” The rose, the butterfly, the chick, and yes, the human baby all “suffer” to grow into the next level of their existence, becoming more than they were before. The alte
ative is death. All of life has an innate need, a deep desire to grow. Are you ready to blossom and grow? I pray that my story will inspire you to break free from limiting reality.

Know Thyself

“Know thyself,” that ancient adage, invites each one of us to ask the questions, “Who am I?” “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” To know yourself is an inside job. Science has long used fingerprints to identify a person. The iris of your eye is another way to identify you. No two people are alike. Yet, according to Scripture, we are the image of God. Therefore our identity, who we are, and God’s identity are intimately interwoven.

Guided by the prayer “I will to will Thy Will,” I began to ask these very questions. Like the peeling of an onio
I am discovering, layer after layer, new information about myself that I never could have imagined. My quest began in March of 1984. I have carried these discoveries in my heart for all these years, not knowing what to do with them. But now my mission is clear. By sharing my experience with you, you may be inspired to begin your own journey within, to discover just who you are according to the One Who Knows, our Creator. You are exceedingly, abundantly more than you could ever imagine.

I Will To Will Thy Will

This journey requires that we put “ourselves” aside. The thoughts that already occupy our minds are from the world and will only mislead us. Therefore we pray, “I will to will Thy Will,” spoken to the One Who Knows, the One who created you in His image, through whom He could express His very nature. This prayer will set your course. Take a moment to digest this idea. The person you believed yourself to be until this very moment was made not by the One Who Knows, but by the world, the thoughts and influences of your parents, friends, other created beings just as yourself.

It’s time to go to the Source of all Truth, the Truth that will set you free from the illusions of the world. Are you at least curious where this inward turning will lead you? Read on, and as you share my journey, continue to imagine just who you really are, according to the perfect plan of the Creator. Yes, I said imagine, as the imagination is the screen on which your Truth will appear. In the world we have “vain imaginings.” On this journey, our imagination becomes our friend, serving its higher purpose of communication with our Creator. As you share my experience, you will understand.

I invite you now to explore with me the chambers of my heart that were illumined when I began to ask, to seek, to desire to know my very nature. May you be encouraged to begin your own journey within, the greatest adventure known to mankind.

The Spirit of the Creator is waiting to take your hand, as this is not a journey that we make alone. You will also find me there, encouraging you to go ever deeper on your personal path to self-discovery!