Treasures Updates & Devotions

No longer blogging here...

2010-07-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Hey Folks,

We are no longer blogging here anymore.

Here is our new blog site...

http://iamatreasure.com/category/blog/

Let us know what you think of the new blog....

Love, Harmony

Do you want to get well?

2010-07-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

There is a well-told story of a man, lying on a mat, who had been disabled for 38 years. In it, Jesus asks him a question: ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5)

At that point, the man started coming up with excuses, saying that nobody would help him, and every time he tried to get better, somebody got in his way. Ultimately, Jesus instructs the man to ‘Take up his mat and walk.’ He follows this instruction and is miraculously healed.

I believe that Jesus is asking you and me the same question: “Do you want to get well?”

Sometimes we think we want to get better, but when it comes down to it, we have a million excuses as to why we can’t. We complain that “Nobody will help us” and “Every time we try, something gets in our way.” We become comfortable with our condition and content to remain paralyzed on our mats.

I spent many years wishing my life would change, stuck in patterns and relationships. But ultimately, it wasn’t enough to want to change—I had to decide to change.

Ultimately, the decision is in our hands. Nobody can want it for us. God can’t force it on us. Our friends can’t fix us. Finding the “right man” won’t miraculously make our life better. We must decide to get well. Once we do, I believe that just as the paralytic man discovered, Jesus will give us the strength we need in order to walk.

By Harmony Dust

www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

(Excerpt from my memoir, Scars and Stilettos.

Appendix Chapter on My Healing Journey)

Does Jesus Love P0rn?

2010-07-15T15:04:00.001-07:00

Does Jesus Love P0rn?

“Are you saying Jesus loves porn?” a half-dressed girl in a children’s bounce house asked us as she held the “Jesus Loves P0rn Stars” t-shirt up to herself. She was one of a few dozen girls hired at the p0rn convention to entertain the patrons by swinging on swings and playing on see saws and other children’s apparatuses.

“No. Because that would be weird,” Rachel a fun-loving, boisterous volunteer began,“but he loves p0rn stars and all of the people IN p0rn. I think if he were here today, he'd show up at p0rn conventions and say the same thing.”

Throughout the rest of the Exxxotica P0rn Convention in Los Angeles last weekend, the Treasures team partnered with XXX Church and shared that very message. Jesus loves people.

We were joined by Crissy, a stunning young woman who left p0rn at the height of her career, in order to follow Jesus. Her compassion for the women still in the industry seeps out of her pores and was evident in all of her encounters with them.

One moment I looked over to see her eyes filled with tears as she talked to one of the girls. “I was in the business for 6 years,” she shared.

The woman’s face softened upon seeing Crissy’s empathy. “It’s hard, isn’t it?” the woman responded.

Next to the bounce house was one of many tables of women signing autographs. But these women were not signing autographs for their p0rn-stardom. They were noted as being the “Scandalous Women of 2010”, a title awarded for having affairs with the likes of Tiger Woods and Jesse James. They were being given celebrity status for having sexual relationships with married men.

My stomach flip-flopped. Are we really living in a culture that rewards adultery with fame?

I was reminded of Jesus’ response to the woman at the well, a “scandalous woman” of her day. “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water," Jesus said to her.

Out of all of the people in the bible, this woman’s story resonates with me the most. I have been a scandalous woman in my own right and I identify with the depth of her need and the lengths she goes to in order to satisfy it. After years of looking to men, food, sex, attention, (you name it) to fill me, I have discovered that only One Thing will satisfy. Only Jesus can quench my insatiable thirst in a way that is true and lasting.

My heart broke as I handed each the women signing autographs a gift. Not BECAUSE of them, but FOR them. Because I believe that if they knew the “gift of God”, they would not be compelled to drink from the salty cup of infidelity. If they truly knew, they would walk away from that hollow well of fame, and instead thirst for Living Waters.

Jesus loves scandalous women. He loves p0rn stars and addicts. He even loves prideful, religious, judgmental folks. And when I contemplate my own heart and nature, it is just as awe inspiring that He loves me.

Love, Harmony Dust

www.IAmATreasure.com

www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

Strip Clubs & Baptisms

2010-06-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

STRIP CLUBS & BAPTISMS…

7 years ago, during Treasures’ first ever Vegas outreach, we met Abby*. A bright young woman, full of life and personality in spite of having faced some very painful circumstances in her life, she had just entered the sex industry.

“This is perfect,” I thought. “Perhaps after meeting the Treasures team, she will decide to leave the industry before she gets too deep into it-- before it gets too deep into her.”

The journey that has followed has caused me to practice everything I preach—Loving people right where they are at, trusting that God will do a work in their heart as they draw near to Him, knowing that it is His goodness that leads people to change.

I would ask God, “What do you want me to say to Abby?”

“Nothing. Just listen,” He would speak to my heart.

In the past 7 years, there were moments when I had the opportunity to tell her how much God loves her or to pray with her about a challenge she was facing. I have to admit, there were times when I thought to myself, “Okay God…I know that healing is a journey, and that I am supposed to love people where they are at…but 7 years?”

He would remind me that His love is unfailing, unchanging, unrelenting, unstoppable, and that I am to love as He does.

This weekend, God’s work in Abby’s heart had our team in tears. She let us know that she wasn’t going into work, despite it being a potentially lucrative holiday weekend and that she just wanted to be around us. So she joined in all of our activities for the weekend. During our volunteer prayer, she jumped in and asked us to pray for her. Before we prayed, she turned to me with tears in her eyes and said, “Every night when I show up at work, I pray that ‘the Prince song’ will come on because I want to leave like you did, Harmony.”

I literally started balling. I couldn’t even hold back the tears if I wanted to. Because I know that she was referencing a pivotal moment in my own life when ‘the Prince song’ Purple Rain came on, and I had an encounter with God in the middle of the strip club. It was at that moment that I left the industry.

We all cried and prayed with Abby. We told her that God’s plans for her are good and encouraged her that He would make a way for her, just as He made a way for me.

The next day, Abby asked us to come to church with her and was delighted to show up with an entourage of girls. That day, she told us that she wanted to be baptized but had no one to cheer her on they day her church offered baptisms. She asked if I would be willing to do the honors of baptizing her. So, with her Treasures family cheering loudly at the hotel pool, Abby was baptized!

I love that God loves us and meets us right where we are at—in strip clubs and hotel swimming pools, whether we are still dealing with pride or envy…or stripping—He loves us and He always shows up! He is unrelenting in His pursuit of us and I am honored to witness His pursuit of Abby and the beautiful work He is doing in her life.

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

PS. For more Vegas highlights, check out the Twitter highlights! www.twitter.com/TreasuresLA

And you can watch one of our poolside baptisms here! http://yfrog.com/5j366z

(*Name changed to protect confidentiality)

Wounds and Stilettos

2010-05-26T14:17:00.000-07:00

Wounds and Stilettos

If I had to come up with a word to describe Friday’s strip club outreach, it would be “breakthrough”. From getting into a club for the 1^st time in 7 years with gift bags, to talking to a manager who says he is leaving the industry in 3 weeks because “God told him to” and he wants to “follow in His footsteps”, to seeing the intense compassion in a bouncer who says his own heart breaks for the girls and seeing what they go through, it was an incredible night.

One of the most rewarding moments on a personal level came when we gave gifts (and lots of hugs) to the girls in a dressing room I hadn’t been in since the night I last worked there.

Over 12 years ago, I showed up at this particular club for one of their weekly contests where I, along with dozens of other women, paraded naked around the stage hoping for the loudest applause and the $300 prize. Early that night, before all the parading and madness began, I found myself sitting in the empty club next to a “competitor”.

“I think I am going to write a book about it.” I said starring at the empty stage.

“About what?” she seemed surprised I was talking to her.

“About this…about stripping.” I began to ponder the nature of it all. Exposing myself to the scrutiny of strangers and being openly judged solely on physical appearance. How familiar it had become.

The idea of writing a book lay dormant for years to come. I suppose I had to live out

more of the story before I could record it. If I had written it then, I probably would have had to call it “Wounds and Stilettos” rather than “Scars and Stilettos”. Because before they are scars, they are wounds. It would be a long while before the healing process turned my wounds to scars.

Last Friday night, we passed the spot where I sat talking to the girl years ago. I pictured my 20-year-old self and remembered what it felt like to be her. If I could, I would give her a little pink gift bag and a hug and tell her “Precious Harmony, you are loved, valued, and purposed…”

Love, Harmony

www.IAmATreasure.com

www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

PS. If you’re not following @TreasuresLA and @HarmonyDust on Twitter, here’s what you missed!

. Wow! I just went into the dressing room of a club for the 1st time since I worked there. Got so many hugs from the girls! 10:59 PM May 21st via Twitterrific

.    Strip club mngr told us my # is written in sharpie on the dressing room wall 4 emergency help. Not the 1st time my # was written on a wallJ 10:42 PM May 21st via Twitterrific

.    Bouncer says his heart breaks evry night 4 the girls that work in the club-that seein what these girls go thru makes him wanna b a better dad 10:30 PM May 21st via Twitterrific

.    We just got into a strip club with giftbags that we haven't been able to get into for 7 yrs!! Via @TreasuresLA 9:54 PM May 21st via Twitterrific

.    Strip Club manager is leaving the industry in 3 wks because God told him to...says he has to follow in His footsteps. Via @TreasuresLA 9:22 PM May 21st via Twitterrific

.   Strip Club Outreach tonight! May we show God's love 2women who feel separated from it. You can be part of their stories http://bit.ly/dpvIru 8:53 AM May 21st via Twitterrific

Facing the Giants

2010-05-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

FACING THE GIANTS

In my own journey, I have had to face some big giants: sexual abuse, rape, father issues, fear, rejection, abandonment, unforgiveness, and bitterness, to name a few. To rattle them off in a list like this is easy, but to actually face each of these head-on has been a battle. I can distinctly remember fighting though Los Angeles traffic to make the one-and-a-half-hour commute to see my therapist, where I had to pay upwards of $60 an hour to face some of my giants. I would much rather have been sitting on my couch, eating chocolate ice cream and watching reruns of Seinfeld. But if I wanted to walk in the fullness of God’s promises for my life, there were giants to be faced. Sometimes I felt like David: as if I was facing a seasoned combatant with weapons as puny as a sling and a stone. But during those times I learned that, like David, God has given me the tools I need to face the giants in my life, and that I never have to face them on my own. (Taken from the appendix of my memoir, Scars and Stilettos.)

If you are ready to face the giants in your life, you don’t have to do it alone! We are launching Celebrate Recovery at Oasis and all are welcome! This is a safe place where you can get on the road to recovery from your own hurts, hang-ups and habits. For more details, visit http://www.oasisla.org/life--oasis/celebrate-recovery/

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

www.IAmATreasure.com

www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

Forced into Sex Work...

2010-04-29T15:14:00.000-07:00

Women will walk in freedom because you care.

Angela (not her real name) never thought she’d end up in the sex industry. But at age fourteen, she was homeless. She was kicked out of her last foster home, left with nothing but pajamas and slippers.

Preying on her vulnerability, a man in a fancy car told her that “a girl like her” shouldn’t be out on the streets. He promised to care for her and help her find a job. In the wee hours of the night, he delivered her to an underground brothel where other under-age girls “serviced” men who showed up drunk after the local strip clubs closed at 2AM.

What happened to Angela that night scarred her deeply.

She was forced into sex work

and continued working in the industry for ten long years.

In her adult years, she appeared like any other girl in the strip club. Naively, onlookers assumed she was there by “choice.” People believed the story that was that she was a struggling college student. In fact, she was a victim of domestic sex trafficking.

Then Angela escaped. But it was the only life she’d known -- her only means for survival . . . or so she thought!

Angela’s journey did not end the day she walked out of the strip club. It only began. Like many women we serve, Angela must now learn to walk in freedom. She must learn to resist the human urge to return to the familiar—even when the familiar means captivity.

Today, Angela works hard to rebuild her broken life. She faithfully participates in Treasure’s one-on-one weekly care team sessions. And she seeks stable employment, is growing in her faith, and bravely allows God to heal the deep psychological and emotional wounds she sustained.
Along with so many others, Angela is on the path to recovery. And because you care, Treasures equips her for the journey. Your faithful and generous partnership means freedom from the chains of bondage is offered, with God's love.

Thank you for supporting women just like Angela. Your best gift today goes to immediate use!

Sincerely,

Harmony Dust, Founder

P.S. Your gift of $50, $100, or even $250 or more will go far in helping women just like Angela.

Donations can me made at www.IAmATreasure.com/donations or

Mailed to: Treasures PO # 2013 North Hills, CA 91343

The Harvest Show & More!

2010-04-28T16:39:00.001-07:00

Hey Friends,

We have some exciting things going on in the upcoming weeks! Hope you can join us!

Set Your Tivo for The Harvest Show May 4th!!!
Harmony will be sharing her story and talking about her new memoir, Scars & Stilettos.
(It should air at 9am ET, but check your local listings)
http://www.harvest-tv.com

Treasure the Journey Women’s Conference
May 7th & 8th, 2010
7:00 pm on Friday & 9:00 am on Saturday (Friday Session in Spanish)
Harmony will share why YOUR STORY MATTERS!
Parkcrest Christian Church, 7th St. Campus, Long Beach, CA
www.Parkcrest.org

Gift Bag Assembly at Oasis
May 8th, 2010 at 10:00am
We are preparing 2,000 gift bags for our upcoming Vegas outreach and we need your help!
5100 Wilshire Blvd. L.A., CA
www.OasisLA.org

Love,

Harmony & The Treasures Team

PS. Get connected! Support the Treasures cause by joining us on our social networking sites!

www.Twitter.com/TreasuresLA

Join the Facebook Cause: http://www.causes.com/causes/382171?recruiter_id=8159582

Vegas Strip Clubs!

2010-04-22T16:20:00.001-07:00

With our next Vegas outreach right around the corner, I thought this video would be fun to share!

Check out what happens when a van full of Treasures volunteers visits 54 strip clubs in one weekend! One volunteer had a particularly powerful weekend because the last time she was in Vegas, she was working as a prostitute. This time, she was a part of the Treasures team, bringing hope to others!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=408589786788&ref=mf

If you would like to donate to our upcoming Vegas outreach, visit www.IAmATreasure.com/donations

Love,
Harmony
www.IAmATreasure.com
www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

Will you stop?

2010-03-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Will You Stop?

I am believing for a day when strip club outreach will be a normal part of the way the local church loves and reaches her community. I imagine there was a time when soup kitchens and homeless ministry was not commonplace—when people walked by a man laying on the street without stopping, much like the religious leaders in the story of the Good Samaritan.

Today, I wonder how many people walk by strip clubs, porn conventions, and women walking the streets without stopping and asking themselves, “What is really going on here? And what can I do about it?”

I wonder how many turn away in judgment, assuming that “those kinds of women” must like what they are doing and that they are all there by choice.

This weekend, the Treasures team had the honor of training over 30 women, from all over the nation, to do Strip Club Outreach. These are the sorts of leaders that have made a decision to STOP. They have asked the question: “How can I be a part of the solution?”

During the training, they learned that 87% of women in the industry would leave if they could*, and that there is a lot more going on behind the façade of glamour. After discussing everything from vision and logistics, to after-care and healing, we put it all into action during an outreach to Hollywood and Downtown Los Angeles.

Each time I handed a little pink gift bag to a woman, I had generations in mind. As we link arms and reach women, the capacity to impact generations grows exponentially. As women in the sex industry make decisions to walk in healing and freedom, the lives of their children and grandchildren will be impacted.

And I believe that as people like you and I, make a decision to stop along the way, whether it be through prayer, outreach, giving or any other way, we become a part of these stories of freedom. Generations are affected.

Love, Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com/donations

PS. Tell your friends! This week you can catch me on the radio…

March 24th, 6pm (PT)
The Frank Pastore Show
Station call letters: KKLA
http://www.frankpastore.com

March 26th, 10am (PT)
Midday Connection
Host: Melinda Schmidt
MOODY RADIO
http://www.middayconnection.org

*Based on research conducted by Dr. Melissa Farley

National Training, 700 Club, MI and more!

2010-03-09T17:49:00.000-08:00

We've got some exciting things happening at Treasures and we don't want you to miss out!

Saturday, March 20th, we will be hosting a Strip Club Outreach training for leaders throughout the nation (and even Australia) interested in started outreaches in their communities. They will be joining the ranks of the 16 other outreaches we have trained using the Treasures model of outreach. I am excited to partner with them and potential impact is unfathomable!

If you are in the Los Angeles area and are considering volunteering on the Treasures team, this training is open to you too! Please email Brey at info@iamatreasure.com for details and to register. Please do so quickly as space is limited.

Attention Michigan peeps: I will be speaking at Gateway Assembly this weekend and would love to see you there. Check out our upcoming events to see when I might be speaking in your area. AZ and GA are next month. www.iamatreasure.com/events

And finally, in case you missed out on the 700 Club Episode I taped last week, here it is.

Harmony Dust: Scars and Stilettos

2010-03-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

Hey Folks, In case you missed it, here is the episode of the 700 Club I taped yesterday:)

Harmony Dust: Scars and Stilettos

Let's Mobilize!

2010-02-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

Let’s Mobilize!

If you have been following the work of Treasures, you have no doubt heard the stats…

Research indicates that women working in the sex industry are faced with higher rates drug addictions, sexually transmitted diseases, violent assaults, and mental health problems such as Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than the general population.

Overwhelming research indicates that large proportions of women in the sex industry have been sexually and physically abused as children. Data gathered from 2 studies suggest that 62% of the women in the samples came from a background of physical abuse. Other studies estimate that anywhere from 66% to 90% of women in the sex industry were molested as children.

Risk factors for vulnerability to sex work include economic disadvantages, lack of education and training and broken homes where either one of both of the parents are absent. The average age of entrance into prostitution is 13!

Behind each of those statistics are real-life women, with real-life stories.

For the average person, the stories and stats can be overwhelming…paralyzing even.

We at Treasures want to empower and mobilize you to make a difference!

No matter who you are, you can do SOMETHING to partner with us as we provide spiritual inspiration, mentoring, and resources to women in the sex industry (including victims of commercialized sexual exploitation and trafficking)

Here are 10 Simple Things you can do:

1. SHARE

Memorize the stats & Read the Stories on the Treasures site and share them with friends.

2. PRAY

Treasures prayer partner application available online

3. JOIN the Treasures Facebook Cause
4. INVEST

Become a monthly financial partner. $10 a month funds 5 gift bags for outreaches, $25 funds 3 care packages including bibles, books and resources to encourage the women who contact us.

5. ORGANIZE A FUNDRAISER or Jewelry Making Party
6. VOLUNTEER

Our next training is March 20th. Info

7. SHOP TREASURES

Pick up a copy of our devotional, Treasures Reflections, or Harmony’s memoir, Scars and Stilettos. Proceeds support the ministry.

8. COLLECT

Gather brand-new cosmetics & jewelry from your friends and donate them to the Treasures gift bags used for outreach.

9. REACH

Get trained to do outreach in your area. info@iamatreasure.com

10. GET CREATIVE

Write a song, paint a painting, or write a blog where you talk about the women we are reaching and how their stories have impacted you.

Thank you for taking the time to make a difference!

PS. If you missed the Moody Radio show today, you can download the podcast at: http://www.facebook.com/l/31073;www.moodyradio.org/brd_podcast.aspx?Program=MiddayConnection

Harmony Dust

Long Overdue...

2010-02-22T17:04:00.001-08:00

We have had so much going on at Treasures lately, this update is long overdue!

From our latest outreach last Friday during which we visited 8 strip clubs in Anaheim and gave gifts to a couple of hundred women...encouraging them that they are loved, valued and purposed...

To The Stiletto Project Exhibit and Release Party (check out the photo albums!)

Some days I stand back and wonder how on earth this team is pulling it off! God is having His way & The Stiletto Project was a prime example of that.

If someone walked into that gallery at 7:15, they would have never known about all of the challenges we had to face in preparing for the night. From unexpected storms causing a flood in part of the gallery to an unexpected shift in our entire set up....to having the whole team locked out on the street in the cold until 30 minutes before doors! The team got in there and set the ENTIRE GALLERY UP IN 30 minutes like a bunch of CHAMPS!

And by 7:30, we were at capacity with a line around the corner! The rain had stopped, and people began to flood the gallery to see the photos and art work done by some of the bravest women I know.

I watched people walk around that room with tears in their eyes as they processed the beauty, splendor and redemptive power of God they saw displayed!

At one point, a girl walked in off of the street. As it turns out, she works as a stripper and "just happened" to be walking by because her private gig that night got canceled. She went on to tell me that she wants to leave the business but doesn't know how. I told her that I am a Christian and believe that God has a plan for each person's life and that we are all inherently valuable. I told her that our heart was to see women live in a way that reflected that. She told me she is a Christian too but feels like she can't go to church on a Sunday because she feels so ashamed of what she does on Saturday night. I invited her to Oasis and told her it is a safe place for her. We were also able to give her my book and some other resources. And even though I know that we impacted hundreds of people that night, even if it was all for her, it was worth it!

I seriously feel like we took a sledge hammer to concrete and un-earthed new soil. We planted seed in places it had not yet been planted and I truly believe that God is doing a new thing in this ministry and in our city! Thank you so much for being a part of it! I am honored to serve alongside of you! FOR REAL!

Love, Harmony

PS. We are having a SALE in the Treasures webstore! Check out our new Stiletto Project T-Shirt! www.iamatreasure.com/store

In the face of rejection...

2010-02-04T13:59:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you find yourself staring in the face of rejection?
What happens when it seems like the dream in your heart has no way of coming to fruition?

Check out this interview for the Examiner where I talk about how I dealt with rejection in the early stages of writing Scars and Stilettos.

http://www.examiner.com/x-35833-Womens-Ministry-Examiner~y2010m2d4-Coming-out-of-the-sex-industryinterview-with-Harmony-Dust-author-of-Scars--Stilettos?cid=email-this-article

This has been a VERY long journey and I am so excited to finally be celebrating the release of this book! Hope you can make it to The Stiletto Project on Saturday to celebrate with me!

Love, Harmony

PS. You can read the first pages at www.ScarsAndStilettos.com

Are You a Tweeter?

2010-01-25T18:18:00.000-08:00

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional

Are You a Tweeter?
by Ashley Dodson

Are you a tweeter? Me too… In fact, I have tweeted in the middle of a Pilates class, as I begged God for mercy from the beautiful-Russian-ex-Ballerina instructor holding us hostage. I have tweeted during showers, weddings, dates, awesome conversations, accidentally from my purse, and yes, I have even tweeted in church (but I am sure it was because Holly or Philip had a brilliant point that required an insta-tweet).

You see, I love words. More specifically, I love to learn who people are, what and who they love, and what matters to them. What we say (and don’t say) determines what we do, so I try to listen carefully. Whether it’s Bentleys in Beverly Hills or fighting human trafficking, I value a deeper insight into, and understanding of, humanity. Because, as John Maxwell always says, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Go ahead and tweet that. I’ll wait.

Aren’t you so glad that Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world, but to save it? Whatever people in our world care about influences our media, the arts, business, industry, ministry, economies and ultimately establishes our global condition. If we are to ever minister effectively to others, it will require that we operate less in judgment, and more in love. I am not suggesting tolerance; we are supposed to be in this world, but not of it. I am suggesting an aggressive, radical love that stands strong in what it believes, but has an enduring presence and a faithful heart that makes way for each individual journey.

I like that Jesus hung out with tax collectors, prostitutes, Samaritans, rough neck rowdy entrepreneurs AKA Disciples, traitors and thieves. I like that when he saw Zacheus up in that tree he didn’t scream, “You thief! You oppressor! How can you lay your head down and sleep at night!” Nope, he said, “Dinner at your place. Tonight.” I like when the woman at the well gave him a tough time about even wanting to talk to her that he didn’t say, “Listen woman, I am the Messiah, I know everything about the hot mess you’re in and if you know what’s good for you, you will do what I say. And can’t you see I’ve been walking a while? Get me some water!” Nope, he listened gently, spoke lovingly and revealed to her His character as He addressed the need in her heart through perspective correction. He offered her another way… His way…the Way. I hardly call what He did tolerance – I call it understanding where she was, where she had the potential to go, and speaking the truth in love.

How can I ever begin to minister to anyone without an understanding of the context from which they view life and make decisions? Jesus knew how to love because He took the time to listen to His Father, who revealed to Him understanding and insight from heaven. Then He took the time to listen to the individual as He encouraged them to successfully navigate the transitional journey of becoming more like Him.

I see myself in the rebels and outlaws. In the thieves and robbers, the thugs and traitors, the rough around the edges disciples, the forbidden women. In the lost, the broken, the forsaken. I am so thankful that He offers us new life, a fresh start, a beautiful invitation to join Him on the wildest History story ever unfolding. He is a God of freedom, second chances, new and seemingly small beginnings.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, a well-known American author said, “Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.” This made me consider what it’s like to walk with Jesus. My journey with Him has called for tenacious persistence; however, it has also called for endless surrender. I am learning to master maintaining the constant ability to keep on keepin’ on, matched with the humility to begin again in various areas, at the same time. Life in general requires us to increase in capacity to handle thinking, believing, doing and loving on several different planes. This is what the Proverbs 31 woman, our Mother and Hero, our Blueprint from the Bible, was so great at. She had a super-natural ebb and flow, which kept her ready for anything in every season of her life. She also had capacity that kept her prepared not just for her life, but also her husband’s, her children’s and even in her local and global world, encompassing politics, economics, social awareness and spirituality. She knew how to live, and I imagine she knew how to let go, to roll her sleeves up and start again, whenever life called for it.

Sometimes the answer is not to persist but to let go, to give up a method, process, system, a way of thinking and start over again. Letting go is not always failure; oftentimes, it yields a fresh way to live. The way I used to live was full of persistence, but there was no method to my madness. Giving up my ways to adopt all that Jesus Christ is and all that I am in Him was not only an incredibly gracious chance to start over, but the key to living fully. After all, He came not just that we would have life, but life more abundant. This might just mean hearing, Daughter, you can keep living that way or you can live a better way. Persist in becoming more like Christ and endure faithfully when that means letting go and starting again. When we seek first His kingdom, when our whole life is focused on being transformed more into the image of Christ, everything else in our hearts, lives, and dreams must be held lightly. Nothing is surety but surety in God.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:
Ashley Dodson
Harmony Dust

PS. Don’t miss The Stiletto Project: Exhibit & Memoir Release Party on Feb 6th! www.iamatreasure.com

Where Was God?

2010-01-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

Where was God?

It was an incredible weekend for Treasures! On Friday night, we headed to the City of Industry where we gave out nearly 300 gifts to women working in strip clubs. Having a multi-lingual team definitely came in handy!

At one club, a volunteer made a connection with a Spanish-speaking woman who called us in desperation the next day. She said that she is fed up with working in the industry and being treated like a “whore” every night, but she feels like she has no other options. A volunteer is meeting with her tomorrow to offer her support and assistance.

At the end of the night, one of our volunteers from Jordan came across an Arabic-speaking strip club manager. When he realized she spoke Arabic too, he began to explain to her that he felt stuck working at the strip club. He wanted out of the business but couldn’t seem to find another job. He asked her if she would pray for him. She replied, “Just keep your eyes open like we are having a conversation” and prayed for him right there! He told her that he plans on coming to the church she attends and offered to help our team get into the other clubs he is affiliated with.

Saturday night was God Chicks Night of Freedom. I had the honor of sharing my story and had my first ever book signing! There wasn’t an empty seat in the house and one point during the service, Holly asked if anyone had an area in their life in which they needed freedom and nearly EVERY HAND IN THE HOUSE WAS RAISED! It was a night of freedom indeed!

Then, on Sunday, I had an encounter that blew me away. A girl at church came up to me and said, “I just want you to know that I always appreciated receiving your gifts. They meant a lot to me and all of the girls.” As it turns out, she had been working as a dancer at a local club for several years, receiving our gift bags! Today, she is out of the business and planted at the Oasis! It makes me wonder how many more women have had their lives impacted in such significant ways without us even knowing!

When I look back over my own life, I have asked myself “Where was God when I was going through so much pain?” The truth is, I can see Him in the people who showed up, just at the right time. It is my hope and prayer that when the women we are reaching look back on their lives and ask themselves, “Where was God?” they will see Him in the moments we showed up for them.

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

PS…

NEW SITE LAUNCHED! We launched a new site for the Scars and Stilettos book release. Read the first few pages, leave a comment, and check out the preface by Craig Gross and Foreword by Holly Wagner. www.scarsandstilettos.com

If you are in the LA area, please join us for our GIFT BAG ASSEMBLY on January 23rd at 10 am Oasis www.iamatreasure.com/events

Don’t miss THE STILETTO PROJECT Exhibit and Memoir Release Party! (See attached flyer)
Featuring the artwork of commercialized sexual exploitation and trafficking over-comers.

Chasing other Lovers

2010-01-07T12:48:00.000-08:00

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional

Chasing other Lovers

I believe that one of the deepest desires of the human heart is for true intimacy. To be fully known and fully loved. Yet in my own life, for so many years, it seemed that the harder I chased after love, the more it eluded me.

My memoir, Scars and Stilettos, tells my story. Growing up, I never had a clear picture of what healthy love looked like. Abandoned by my father before I was a year old, sexually abused at the hands of multiple people—my picture of intimacy was completely skewed. I was so desperate for anything that resembled love, at the young age of 14, I slept with the first boy who came along and told me he loved me. He broke up with me soon after and raped me repeatedly over the course of the next year. Filled with hurt and shame, I remember thinking, “Is this what love looks like? Surely love can’t hurt so bad?”

The next relationship I became involved in quickly became emotionally and physically abusive. Still I stayed. Because “to him who is hungry, even what is bitter tastes sweet” (Proverbs 27:7). Although the relationship was bitter and painful, I preferred it to the alternative—being alone.

It was that relationship that led me into a world of selling myself in strip clubs. So desperate to keep my boyfriend from leaving me, I attempted to buy his love with the money I earned while dancing for other men. Once again, my skewed view of love brought me pain. For the next few years, I lay awake at night hoping, praying even, that if I tried hard enough, if I chased him long enough, he would love me one day.

How could I know what True Love looks like if I had never experienced it? It wasn’t until I began my relationship with God that I began to that it is patient. It is kind. It is not easily angered. True Love always protects.

It is no wonder that we crave intimacy so deeply. We were created for relationship. In Genesis, we learn that it was Eve’s eating of the forbidden fruit that brings separation between God and humanity, separation from our perfect intimacy with God. Eve has access to everything she would ever need to fill the longings and desires of her heart, yet she still chooses forbidden fruit. How often do we fall to the same temptation and create fracture in our relationship with God? How often do we try to fill legitimate needs in illegitimate ways?

For years, I chased after men, looking to them to fill me. Nowadays, I tend to turn to chocolate. Just last week I was having a frustrating day and the first thing I did was grab a piece of my favorite, dark organic chocolate. The chocolate was delicious, but it did nothing to ease my pain. My prescription was insufficient.

The real trouble comes when our prescriptions become our addictions. It’s when that piece of chocolate leads to binge eating, leads to obesity and compromised health. It’s when social drinking becomes I-just-need-a-glass-of-wine-to-take-the-edge-off, becomes excessive drinking, becomes alcoholism. It’s when a full social calendar becomes a lifestyle so bogged down with running from one appointment to another that we barely have a moment to catch our breath. Our prescriptions for our pain can become our addictions.

Ultimately, it is these insufficient prescriptions and addictions that stand in the way of the one thing that can truly satisfy—an authentic, unhindered relationship with our Creator. I believe that God is calling each of us to surrender the fragmented pieces of ourselves so we can experience true intimacy and love.

God is wooing you and I— hoping that we will give up our other lovers—whether they be man, woman, food, money, sex, busyness, beauty or something else. He knows the hollow end of those affairs. He knows that none of it will fill you like He can. The deepest longings of our hearts can only be truly satisfied by being fully known and fully loved by Him. There is no substitute—there is no filler—there is no other lover worth chasing.

Love, Harmony
,
PS. You can order my new memoir, Scars and Stilettos at www.iamatreasure.com/store

Scars & Stilettos by Harmony Dust

2010-01-01T12:03:00.000-08:00

Scars and Stilettos: The Transformation of an Exotic Dancer by Treasures founder, Harmony Dust is AVAILABLE NOW!

Check out what Holly Wagner, Craig Gross, Nancy Alcorn, & Sheila Weller have to say about this book...

“You will want to get a copy for every person you know… Once you start this book, you will not be able to put it down. You will laugh, you will cry, you will be encouraged, you will fall in love with God all over again.”
-Holly Wagner, Author and Founder of God Chicks  

"Harmony’s story is compelling evidence of how far the love of God reaches to heal broken lives and restore all that has been stolen. Scars and Stilettos is a must read for anyone who lives in despair and believes there is no way out. Harmony, as the founder of Treasures Ministries, has been a guest at Mercy Ministries to share her story with our residents, and the impact was great. Her life is now devoted to reaching out to those who are still living in the circumstances that she came out of, literally loving them to Christ. Harmony is living proof that in Christ, old things are passed away and all things are new.
-Nancy Alcorn, Founder of Mercy Ministries

“The thing that blows me away about Harmony's story is that she showed back up. How easy would it be to never step foot in a strip club ever again. The pain, the memories, the past was all right there but she decided that this was not about her but the hundreds of women that remained in the clubs.”
-Craig Gross, Founder of XXX Church  

"I met Harmony Dust three years ago, and discovered she was that rare, inspiring thing: brave, smart, compassionate, stirringly optimistic -- a young woman who had pulled herself out of years of a spirit-destroying life and was helping other young women do the same. Now, in the often wry and always self-aware voice...Harmony tells her own story. It's the real deal."
- Sheila Weller, award-winning journalist & author of New York Times bestseller, "Girls Like Us".

Order your copy today at www.iamatreasure.com/store
Bulk rate discounts available

-The Treasures Team

Out of the Mouths of Treasures

2009-12-16T09:28:00.000-08:00

Out of the Mouths of Treasures!

When you partner with Treasures, YOU are making a difference! Below are thank you notes from our girls that I wanted to share with you…

Loved.

“Just wanted to say a little thank you for all you allow Him to do through you. Thank you for sharing His love with me through this ministry. In chains of shame I am most often shackled, usually without a fight... You have helped me to see that I am truly a treasure, truly a new creation. My worth is far above rubies, and I am better cared for than the birds of the air who neither reap nor sow. I am in His hands and Loved fully, completely by Him.

Thank you for helping me to continue to realize these truths. Thank you for helping me to no longer dwell on the past, but instead keep moving forward into healing and restoration. Thank you!”

Valued.

“Being a dancer for almost ten years took its toll on me and I witnessed many unfortunate things during my life as a dancer. Your organization has helped me and countless other women to quit a life of degradation to better our lives. Today I hope that my story will help others to understand how dangerous this lifestyle really is. Thank you!”

Purposed.

“I've become so much stronger! I was almost pronounced dead earlier this year and even had to have heart surgery. During my struggles, I would read the testimonies from Treasures of other women like me and I would cry and thank God for what he's doing. I knew that what He did for them, He could do for me too. My dream now is to travel and do mission work, help build homes for the needy, and to do charity work, wherever God leads me. I want to encourage people that God is real and there is nothing He can't do. God even said we would do great things and today, I believe it and receive it. Thank you all for your prayers, support, and love.”

Treasured.

So I just wanted to send an email to let you guys know what God has done through the Treasures organization. I've heard of you guys and I turned my life around 2 years ago! Recently I began seeing how I needed to face my past and be completely healed. I know God will use my past to bring other girls to Him but I needed to deal with it first. I started listening to the Treasures teaching cds. Just from listening to the first CD my heart got turned back to Him. I trust you guys and I read ALL of the devotionals that you send out! I'm just so excited because with what I hear and apply to MY own life with what is being taught I know God is faithful to fully heal and restore me! So I just wanted to say THANK YOU.”

Treasures.

It's hard to believe that this month marks 6 years since I founded Treasures. We've come a long way since then but our vision is still the same. Seeing young women go from needing support and mentoring to reaching and serving other women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, and life in the sex industry is watching the vision come full-circle!

None of this would be possible without YOU, our supporter! Your giving is essential to continuing to offer support and mentoring to these precious women. Before the year ends, we are asking you to consider making a financial contribution so that in 2010, we can continue strong in offering hope and restoration to the women we serve.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Harmony & The Treasures Team

PS. One-time and monthly contributions can be made at www.iamatreasure.com/donations

What would you do?

2009-12-10T09:53:00.000-08:00

You can make a difference

in the lives of women like Crystal . . .

Crystal*, a 21-year-old mother of two, had been stripping since she was fifteen. Two years ago, she miraculously reached out for help.

Like too many women, Crystal, hurting and vulnerable, was lured into sex work when she was just a child. Some are coerced and manipulated by men posing as boyfriends or caring “father figures,” while others are kidnapped and forced into sex work by traffickers.

While she was still stripping, Crystal made the commitment to change her life. She found a church where sincere love came from a pastor and his wife. But not everyone loved her...

Two women discovered what she did for a living. Showing up on her doorstep, they told Crystal she and her children were not welcome at their church.

Crystal desperately called the pastor. He assured her that he would speak to the women about the matter. But then the women returned to Crystal’s home -- this time with threats.

"The next time you go running to the pastor will be your last!"

The following morning, Crystal found her car vandalized. In the middle of the night, someone painted the words "Whore, Prostitute, Slut" on her car. Other names were also added, but too vile to include here.

In spite of feelings of hurt and anger, Crystal demonstrated a relentless pursuit of God. She was unwilling to allow anyone come in the way of her love of God . . . and her desire to know Him intimately. Many people in Crystal’s position would never set foot in a church again. Could anyone blame her?

With incredible tenacity, Crystal didn’t allow the ignorance of two people to keep her from finding a safe church where she and her children could grow and heal. The transformation in Crystal’s life is nothing short of miraculous! Recently, she wrote...

“Harmony, my family and I are doing well. Thank you for the time you took to talk with me and encourage me. I am now the youth pastor at our church! I also share my story publicly alongside my pastor, with the heart of our message being Treasures and the investment you made in my life. My church is raising funds for Treasures to keep you doing what you do and reaching these girls—the girls you and I once were. Treasures made a huge difference in my life.”

When you partner with Treasures, you help heal and transform women just like Crystal!

Your gift of $25, $50, $100, $200, or even $500 or more will purchase special gift bags, care packages, and Bibles for the women we are reaching.

What better gift can you make as the holidays arrive?

With Love & Gratitude,

Harmony Dust
Founder

PS. Donations can be made at www.iamatreasure.com/donations or mailed to PO # 2013 North Hills, CA 91343-2013

*Names and identifying info has been changed to protect confidentiality.

The Men of the Industry

2009-11-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

The men of the sex industry—the gatekeepers. Strip club owners, managers, bouncers.
Before we can get through the doors to talk to the women, there is always a man standing in our path that we must first get through.

This weekend we returned to the San Fernando Valley, the porn capital of the nation, to bring gifts, hugs, and Jesus’ love to the women working in the strip clubs there. In one night, we encountered so many different gatekeepers as we try to reach the women inside.

Some are friendly, expecting us, glad to see us.
Some are suspicious, taking the gift bags hesitantly.
And some seem ashamed of working in the sex industry. Their eyes plead with us for understanding.

We always bring gifts for the men too, so they will be assured that we haven’t come to judge or to attack. We’ve come to give and to love.

We are women reaching out to women. And yet before God created Eve, He created Adam. And to this day, men still hold the keys to the hearts of so many lives of women.
Over the past several years, one club owner has been unrelenting in his “no”—unwilling to allow us access to the women in his club. At one point he showed us the Darwin fish on the back of his car, to prove that he is an evolutionist. He have always respectfully thanked him for his time and each year we return, praying that God would soften his heart.

This time he asked us if there was anything “religious” in our gift bags. We gave him a bag that he could look through to see the make-up, the jewelry, and the card that reads, “Precious woman, you are loved!” He then clarified, “No… I want to know, if I go to your website, is there anything religious there.” One volunteer, without hesitation, replied, “Yes, you will see the name Jesus.”

Jesus, there is power in the name. We were escorted off the property of that club. But not before the owner heard the name that is above all names. Not before the name was spoken that can bring down all strongholds, that can open prison doors, that can bring the dead to life. Jesus.

As we drove away from that club, we knew that a battle had been won. Jesus came to that man’s doorstep.

Nothing will stop God’s love from getting through to the women inside that club. But Jesus also wants the gatekeeper, He wants that one man. He will not give up on him, just as He doesn’t give up on us.

Written by Larissa for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com

Be the 1st to read my memoir!

2009-11-24T14:40:00.000-08:00

Be the FIRST to read my memoir, Scars & Stilettos!!! See below!

Before you run to the mall & buy your mom another scented candle for Christmas…

Why not give a gift that keeps on giving?

When you purchase our devotional, “Reflections on God Life & Woman”, the darling Treasures T-shirt, or The Diamond Collection, our soulful compilation cd, ALL of the proceeds go to reaching women in the sex industry with the message that they are loved, valued and purposed!

AND! You can be the FIRST to read Harmony’s memoir, Scars & Stilettos! The Treasures store is the ONLY PLACE you can purchase this book before January, 2010! Stock is limited so order your signed copy today! When you buy copies for your friends, you can save from 10-30% off your purchase!

Visit our store for details…. www.iamatreasure.com/store

PS. To request that your signed copy of Scars & Stilettos be personalized, please notate in comment section during check out.

Jesus and the Magic Wand

2009-11-02T16:43:00.000-08:00

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional

Jesus and the Magic Wand
By Harmony Dust

In the popular story of Cinderella, our heroine goes from handmaid to princess with the wave of a wand. Most of us would say that this sort of transformation belongs in fairytales but, truth be told, many of us are hoping that someone with a magic wand will come along and fix everything that’s wrong with our circumstances.

I have had the opportunity to share my story for a number of media outlets, and time and time again have seen well-meaning producers look for the magic wand in my story. Some have even tried to peg Jesus himself as my own personal fairy godmother…granting my every wish and desire. And while the transformation that has taken place in my heart and life is pretty miraculous (just ask the people who knew me when I had taken up knocking men in the head with my stilettos when they crossed me). I always tell them the same thing, “Healing is most often a process.”

We like the “healing and transformation” part. It’s the “process” part that isn’t always enjoyable. So often we say we want to change, but we end up getting knocked off course by the first wave of difficulty that hits us.

The Gospel of Luke gives an account of the sermon on the mount during which Jesus gives keys on how to live. He addresses everything from giving, fasting, and prayer, to loving people, marriage, and dealing with anger and emotions.

After he finished giving all of this insight and wisdom he says…

I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. Luke 6:47-49

Much of the healing journey consists of the “digging down deep” part this passage refers to. This is where the work comes in. In order to heal and to develop the kind of faith that will withstand the storms of life, we’ve got to do some digging.

I am reminded of a time when the front yard of my childhood home in Venice was filled with crab grass. My mom took my brother and I out there one day with shovels and said it was time for us to uproot it all. She called the crab grass conquering grass, explaining that its roots would choke out any other seed we planted. As long as we let the conquering grass rule our yard, nothing else would be able to grow there.

The same is true with our lives. Some of us are working hard at planting new healthy seeds, but we haven’t uprooted the old stuff. And we wonder why those same old hurts and issues keep rearing their ugly heads in the garden of our lives. Those old, conquering issues are choking out all of our efforts to plant something new.

In order to lay a proper foundation for healing to take place, we have to allow God to dig down deep and uproot the things that are choking our efforts to get well. Abuse, shame from our past, unforgiveness, roots of rejection and abandonment—all need to be removed from the soil of our lives for healing to take place.

Incredible healing and transformation is possible. It’s available. If you have been waiting on Jesus to wave a magic wand over your life and nothing seems to be changing, chances are, He’s handing you a shovel.

Let’s get digging! Let’s get healed!

Love, Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com

What's in a Name?

2009-10-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

What’s in a name?

On Friday night, the Treasures team reached 790 women working in strip clubs in Downtown Los Angeles! Some were your typical razzle-dazzle clubs with bright lights and valet parking, while others were dingy joints tucked away near Skid Row.

790. It’s more than a number. That figure represents women—unique, adored, purposed women—and God knows each of them by name. To be known is one of our deepest human desires. One of the encounters we had during the outreach reflected the depth of this desire.

We walked into a small dressing room where a couple of girls were primping. I handed a gift to a half-dressed young woman who was counting her tips. “What’s this for?” she asked. “A gift for you. Just to let you know you are loved.” I responded.

She cracked a smile as she peered into the little pink bag. “Why are you guys doing this for us?” she continued.

I went on to explain that I had been a dancer too and now we go back into strip clubs to offer encouragement and support to other women working there. “You can call us if you just need someone to talk to or if you ever need any help or resources”. Her eyes welled with tears and she threw her arms around me. I held her for a moment and she said her name is Precious.

“Your name is Precious!? Look at the card in your gift! It was made for you!” I exclaimed pointing to the top of the note addressed: “Precious Woman”.

Seeing her name written on the card, she turned away and began to weep.

How significant it is to be known. Sought out. Called by name.

There is a Love calling each of us by name. He sees all. Knows all. And He loves every bit of you. May we be as overcome by that truth as Precious was.

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

P.S…
Harmony will be featured on an episode of Pure Passion TV on Sunday, October 25th.
That's Direct TV #376 & Dish Network #267 at 8 PM (PT). www.PurePassion.us

Roberta Speaks Out...

2009-10-16T13:33:00.000-07:00

In the middle of her recovery, Roberta Busby shares her story to help others! Watch the ABC News story below.

Last night, we had the privilege of accompanying Roberta- the survivor of severe burns afflicted in a hate crime- at a Stop the Violence Against Women event where she was a guest of honor.

Our team has been absolutely blessed to walk alongside of Roberta during her healing journey. She is a woman of courage and strength (and great humor) who is not afraid to speak up on behalf of others. We know that this is just the beginning of greater things to come for Roberta. Please continue to pray for her physical and emotional healing and that she would continue to allow God to use what was meant for harm in her life, for good!

ABC Story on Roberta

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

What's New?

2009-10-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

Hey Treasures Friends,

Just wanted to give you a quick update on some exciting things we want YOU to be a part of…

* GodChicks-Night of Pink is happening Oct. 17th! Join us for fun, live music, encouraging stories, tips on how to fight whatever battle you are facing, & an unforgettable after party…

* Harmony will be speaking at a Healthy Sexuality Conference on Oct 18th. The message topic will be “Hiding from True Love: In our pursuit of love, are we actually running from it?”…

For information on these and other events, visit www.iamatreasure.com/events

Also, Treasures will be hosting an ART DAY for the girls we work with. We will provide them with art supplies so they can express their journey through painting. To contribute towards materials, donate online www.iamatreasure.com and write “art day” in the comments.

World Magazine nominates Treasures for the Hope Award! Check out the article they did on us: My favorite part is when the journalist writes: “Dust never stumbles over her words—in fact, she'll finish your sentences for you if you struggle to be articulate.”

I’m not so sure that’s a good thing, but it gave me a hearty laughJ

World Mag Article

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

One Step...

2009-09-23T12:42:00.001-07:00

I have been enamored with my daughter as I watch her learn to walk. Standing on wobbly little legs. Carefully placing one foot in front of the other. And it has occurred to me that she will make the entire journey that way. One foot in front of the other. It never gets more complicated than that. And, so it is for all of us.

This weekend, during our National Strip Club Outreach and Training, we had the honor of training 3 new outreach leaders along with 18 outreach volunteers. I looked around the room at this amazing group of women, hearts filled with passion and love, and I reflected on all that God has done since the conception of Treasures.

Out of the vision God has placed in my heart, hundreds of strip clubs are being reached in 15 cities throughout the US and Canada. I have had the opportunity to share my story with a global audience through media and speaking engagements. We provide resources, prayer and encouragement to hundreds of women and are seeing their lives transformed. None of this has been the product of striving for success or achievement. It has all been the result of steadily and prayerfully placing one foot in front of the other.

I truly believe that God has a purpose for each of us that is greater than we can ask, think, or imagine (Eph 3:20). More freedom and healing than we thought possible. More impact than we ever dreamed of. More of our gifts, experiences, and passion used for good. And sometimes the breadth and scope of what He is calling us to may seem unfathomable. “How on earth will I ever get there?” we ask ourselves.

"Come, follow me". I can hear His voice calling, asking us to walk with Him.

On Saturday night, we followed Him. Into 12 strip clubs in Hollywood. Into dressing rooms and conversations. We saw women touched by our gifts, our hugs, our love, our presence—all extensions of following Him.

Where ever you are, right now, in this moment—no matter how exciting, dreary or daunting the road ahead—I encourage you to fix your eyes on Him and continue to place one foot in front of the other. You can make the entire journey that way.

Love, Harmony & The Treasures Team

PS. For information on how to get involved, visit www.iamatreasure.com/donations and to see a list of Treasures Trained outreaches, visit our resource section

Update On Tyra Show Guest!

2009-09-09T14:35:00.000-07:00

Check out this update from Beauty From Ashes on Natanee, the girl I was on the Tyra Show with! She is truly a Treasure and an over-comer!

"Remember Natanee, the women involved in prostitution who humbly & transparently went on national TV appealing for help on the Tyra Banks show? The program, 'Troubled Mom Tries to Change', ends leaving the viewer with frustration that the twenty eight year old woman did not want to receive help or leave prostitution.

The truth is that Natanee did change, contrary to the repeated airings of the episode since March of this year. She courageously turned down Tyra's offer of a secular 1 month program to go instead into a faith based, 18 month residential program, the New Life Dream Center here in Fort Myers, FL.

Thanks to Harmony Dust of Treasures, also a guest on the program, who through nothing less than a divine appointment, met Natanee in the lobby the night before the show, Natanee found out about Beauty From Ashes (BFA) and the New Life Dream Center. Natanee shared with Harmony her desperation to get out of commercialized sexual exploitation, a destructive lifestyle she had been forced into as a teenager. Harmony called Pastor Julie Shematz immediately to inquire if we could guarantee her acceptance into the New Life Dream Center. Pastor Gaspar Anastasi, founder of the New Life Dream Center & Julie's senior pastor, approved the unique situation and within minutes after the show finished filming, Harmony received the phone call from Natanee telling her she wanted to go into the 18 month 'God' program not another secular one which Tyra had offered her.

We quickly assessed the situation & Natanee was able to change her return flight from NYC to Fort Myers, FL instead of CA & against all odds & numerous potential set backs, she arrived two days later and met Pastor Julie for the first time at the gate of the airport. Julie then took Natanee to enter the program & has maintained a close relationship with her ever since. Tyra's producers were aware of the change of plans from the day Natanee made the decision, yet have refused to tell the viewers the TRUTH about Natanee's courageous steps to commit to long term change.

Multiple phone calls and emails have been made by family & loved ones to advise the show of Natanee's situation. Repeated attempts have been made to leave comments on the Tyra Bank's Show blog after they re-run the program. Sadly, the website moderators have refused to accept the majority of the 'Good News' comments with Natanee's progress and the producers have reportedly said that there is nothing they can do about updating the information. For nearly 6 months, Tyra's bloggers have ripped Natanee apart with their heartless comments about her not wanting to change.

Like the Word of God says, every story sounds good until you hear the other side & finally Natanee's TRUE STORY is revealed! She did want to change and she is more than an over-comer! She not only has changed, she is also now reconciled with her children & family. Natanee is no longer troubled, she has a sound mind and is a godly woman of virtue & dignity. She has embraced her destiny & purpose through the power of the Holy Spirit and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He reached, rescued, restored & is healing her. We simply have been honored to be His hands & feet in the process. It has truly been a team effort and we want to thank every person & organization that has been a part of this beauty from ashes story. Together we are better & are making a difference!

You will be able to listen to Natanee tell what has happened since the Tyra Banks show in her own words on Monday, September 14th @ 6:15pm EST on the God Has the Answer Today Show with Gaspar Anastasi: http://www.kingdom.fm & 91.5 FM Florida.

The program was also recorded & we will have the video available online SOON!"

Isn't that awesome!!!???

If you would like to sow into Natanee's healing journey, you can contribute towards her program costs (which are $760 a month). Donations of any amount are welcome and appreciated. Simply make a donation TODAY at www.iamatreasure.com or mail a check to the address below. Please make sure to note that your contribution is for Natanee. We will gather your contributions and make sure they go directly towards helping Natanee at the New Life Dream Center!

Love, Harmony
Treasures Founder
PO # 2013
North Hills, CA 91343-2013

No Place Like Home

2009-08-25T11:26:00.001-07:00

This weekend, on what I later realized was the 11-year anniversary of me leaving the sex industry, we had one of the most memorable outreaches EVER.

For starters, we had a young woman go out on her very first outreach since escaping the traffickers who brutally forced her into sex work. We have been walking alongside of her for the past couple of years and Friday night, she was ready to turn her pain into purpose. She was so thankful for the healing and rebuilding that has taken place in her life that she wept with gratitude throughout the night. It was an honor to witness this moment in her journey.

Later that night, at the end of the outreach, we pulled up to the strip club where I used to work. This club is a landmark in so many ways. It was the place where, as a broken 19-year old girl, I first stripped and sold myself to strangers. It is also the place where, years later, a compassionate manager, who felt just as trapped as I did, offered to pray with me that God would help me find a way out of the club. Weeks later, God clearly spoke a message to my heart that gave me the strength to leave—“I am going to take care of you. I will never let you down.” And He hasn’t.

This is also the club I sat outside of wondering if there was any way I could reach the girls still working there. My heart bleeding with prayers, remembering them. As it turns out, there was a way—and a simple message, “Her value is far above rubies and pearls.”

Friday night, on the 11-year anniversary of the weekend I quit, and after 6 1/2 years of visiting that very club, desiring to speak love, value and purpose into the lives of the women working there, we were told that the club would be closing the following day. After 53 years of business, the building will be leveled and turned into an airport parking lot.

This would be my last time at the club. And while many of the clubs we visit allow us to hand-deliver the gift bags to the girls, this particular club received them at the door and never allowed us inside. Something in me would not let me leave. So I asked the manager if he would let us in, just so that I could say a proper “goodbye”. And for the first time, since we have been doing outreach, I walked into the club.

It felt as though I entered a time warp. Aside from some wooden stalls they built for more private “lap dances”, nothing had changed. Even much of the staff was the same. Some of them said that they were happy the club was closing—that they finally had a reason to leave the industry. One woman who had been there 25 years said that she WOULD HAVE DIED IN THAT CLUB if it didn’t shut down. Others were not as glad to hear the news. They didn’t know where or if they would be able to find work. We were able to tell them about some of the resources we have.

As I walked in, a young woman threw her arms around me saying, “I have always wanted to meet the girls who have been bringing us gifts. For 6 years we have looked forward to these gifts. Nobody EVER gave us anything or did anything nice for us. You were the only ones who cared." She brought out her camera to take pictures with us and cried like we were long lost sisters.

We spent some time in the dressing room, talking to the girls about their plans for the future. It was the same dressing room where, piece by piece, I sold my outfits on the night I quit, knowing there was no turning back. These women too are at such a pivotal moment in their lives and we hope they will take us up on our offer for support.

Where many clubs have high turnover rates, this particular club seems to keep the employees they hire. Many of the girls reported that this was the first and only club they had ever worked at. And after several years, it was all they knew.

One woman told a volunteer, “This is the only home I have ever known…and there’s no place like home.”

This statement struck me because I can remember a time when the strip club was the only home I knew. I can remember a time when I had become so familiar with being sexualized and objectified that it was comfortable to me. So comfortable, it was almost comforting.

And “home” is exactly what I found on the day I walked into the Oasis, my church. “I am finally home” were the words that came to my heart. I could feel my Loving Father, with His hands outstretched, welcoming me.

We hope and pray that each of these women will discover a home—a refuge—unlike any they have known. And that the closing of this club will mark a new beginning in their lives. That they will come to know that they are loved, valued and purposed and that this revelation would penetrate every corner of their hearts and lives! Here's to new beginnings!

With Love,
Harmony Dust
www.iamatreasure.com

Where Does it Hurt

2009-08-19T14:59:00.001-07:00

Where Does it Hurt?

The other day, my 1-year-old took her first tumble in the bathtub. After hitting her chin on the side of the tub, she slipped face-first into the water. I quickly swept her to her feet and began to examine her for injuries. She looked me directly in the eyes and cried at the top of her lungs. She wanted to know one thing, “Am I going to be okay?”

After finding no blood, bumps, or bruises, I held her in my arms and answered her question. “That was so scary but you are going to be okay, darling. Mommy is right here.” Within moments she quieted and went right back to playing with her bath toys.

Pain can be good. It tells us that something is wrong—that there is something that needs to be addressed.

I realized that my daughter’s response to her pain and fear was actually very healthy. She turned to me, her caregiver, and allowed me to assess her injury and give her comfort. It got me thinking about how I handle pain. Do I always go to God, my loving caregiver, and allow Him to assess my injury? To tell me if there is a wound that needs tending to?

The following day, I found myself hitting a wall. How many of you know that walls can hurt? So I came up with a solution: “I need a freaking piece of chocolate,” I said out loud. The chocolate tasted great, but it didn’t solve the issue. My prescription for the pain was insufficient.

In that moment, I could hear God whisper to my heart, “Come to me…Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”. In that moment, what I needed was the loving presence of my Caregiver, my Loving Father. I needed to spend some time with God and allow Him to assess my hurts. Like my daughter after her fall in the bath, I just needed God to tell me that I was in fact, going to be okay. It was an instance in which I just needed some perspective.

But sometimes our pain is an indication of an actual injury that needs tending. Perhaps an unhealed hurt, or a root of unforgiveness or rejection. We are walking wounded, trying to pretend that all is well—stuffing our faces with chocolate, our appointment books with activities, our minds with television. But these things can only offer temporary relief from the symptoms of our pain. They do not heal our injuries. We again find that our prescriptions for the pain are insufficient.

And there comes a point when our prescriptions for the pain can actually bring more pain. A point when they go from being insufficient, to destructive. It is when the chocolate becomes binge eating and excess weight that jeopardizes our health. When the pain of our loneliness causes us to look for connection in affairs and meaningless sex that jeopardize our families and our hearts. It’s when social drinking turns to drunken stupors, hangovers and missed work.

There comes a time when our prescription for the pain becomes our addiction. We are chasing after what we think we need when only one thing can satisfy.

God has a cure. He says, “Come to me” for “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Ps 147:3). In the arms of our Loving Caregiver, there is rest. There is safety. There is comfort. There is healing.

Written by Harmony Dust for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com

I hear you...

2009-08-03T12:48:00.001-07:00

My good friend Ashley wrote this beautiful poem and I thought you might like it.... Love, Harmony

I HEAR YOU...

Frustration threatens, calls to me, wants to know more than my name! It wants to call me home.

They're all the same.

Suffering, disease, pain, fame.

Calling, calling, calling my name.

Pressure intensifies but I know you’re here… Familiar with my ways, whispering my name, yesterday, today, always the same.

I hear You. I hear You when salt water travels like a creek down the creases of my cheek, collecting, connecting like oceans in my collarbones. I hear You. I hear You.

Disease and death hovering, looming, sea green swampland devils, cooing, luring, consuming, but I hear You, I hear You. Gently, firmly, "You will not drown. Daughter, son, You will not drown" I hear You. I hear You.

Burnt orange and rust colored flames sweeping the land. Red roasting fire of perverted passion rushing gushing, stealing what's left of innocence, ransacking the sacred and holy, raping not just the body, but the soul. But I hear You. I hear You.

Restoring God. Redeemer, Glorious Healer, Magnificent Master, Ferocious Father, Righteous King, Living Word, Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, Beginning and The End.

It is finished, You said. And I hear You. In joy and in pain, we believe You for the day when children are not soldiers, when humans are not trafficked, when cancer will not ravish bones and bodies, when loneliness is not our companion, when poverty and injustice does not reign. We hear You. We wait. We wait with joyful expectation for the day when we see You face to face, when we stand before You in love and longing finally fulfilled.

Holy, Holy, Holy are You lord god almighty! You are the one who was and is and is to come. In light of eternity, I hear You. Let the spirit and the Bride say Come.
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Come Lord, Come.

Written by Ashley Dodson for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com

Love Overflows

2009-07-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

Hey friends,

Just wanted to let you know that we had an awesome outreach in Long Beach where a handful of clubs that seemed weary of us in the past, welcomed us with open arms! At one club, we received 2 rounds of hugs from a girl who was moved by the very gesture of our giving her a gift. "There is something very special about you-you're so generous. There has to be something special about anybody who would come in here and give us gifts like this." We know that it is out of the abundant overflow of love that we have received that you are I are able to give. She said that she is going to contact us and we are looking forward to the opportunity to tell her more about the relentless love God has for her.

This love has not only been evident in the outreach we do here in Los Angeles, but in and among the 15 or so ministries we have had the opportunity to train throughout the nation. To read the letter a club owner in Kansas wrote to a Treasures trained outreach, check out this blog: http://donniemiller.blogspot.com/

UPDATES

We have just added a NEW STORY to the Treasures site! To read about how Dave overcame addiction to sex, crack and life in the porn industry, check out www.iamatreasure.com/ourstories
If you are in the LA area, we would love to have you join us for our gift bag assembly on 8/15. Check out www.iamatreasure.com/events for details.

Thank you!

Harmony Dust & The Treasures Team

Wanna Get More Involved?

2009-07-13T16:49:00.000-07:00

WANNA GET MORE INVOLVED WITH TREASURES?

We would love to have you! Here are some ideas….

PRAY FOR OUR OUTREACH THIS FRIDAY
HELP ASSEMBLE GIFT BAGS: August 15th, at Oasis in LA, 10am.
JOIN THE PRAYER TEAM: Application available online.
START AN OUTREACH
BECOME A MONTHLY PARTNER
WRITE DEVOTIONALS: 500 words or less. Email to harmony@iamatreasure.com
SHARE YOUR STORY: Men and Women with stories of hope and redemption. 1,000 words email with picture to harmony@iamatreasure.com
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

HELP WITH CURRENT NEEDS:

New COSMETICS and JEWERLY for the gift bags (please mail by August 5th)
Beautiful STATIONARY and blank GREETING CARDS (for letters to the girls)
STAMPS
DISNEYLAND PASSES for an upcoming trip with the children of an ex-dancer who was severely burned.
GIFT CARDS: Target, grocery and gas cards (to assist women with transitioning out of the industry)

For more information on simple ways you can support Treasures, visit www.iamatreasure.com

Donations and gifts in kind can be mailed to:
Treasures
PO Box 2013
North Hills, CA 91343

Love, harmony

Surrendering the Canvas: Understanding Sex Addiction

2009-06-30T15:44:00.000-07:00

40 million adults in the U.S. regularly visit pornographic websites and 1/3 of these visitors are women. The question is “Why, and what does it have to do with us?”

What I am learning about sex addiction in its various forms is that it is about avoiding relational pain. Real relationships and intimacy force us to engage with people on a level where our hearts are open. This sort of intimacy is scary...especially for those that have been hurt. So people turn to fantasy and sex because when you are in fantasy, you can control the objects of your desire without risking relational pain. When you objectify someone by turning them into a fantasy in your head, you can control them. They can’t hurt you because they are not real humans…they are objects.

Even reflecting on my own past, I can see that engaging in sex work was largely about sexualizing my pain. I had been raped and abused and learned that intimacy=pain. Stripping offered me a false sense of empowerment and temporary relief from the pain I was suffering. I could pretend that I was in control and as long as I was in control, I could avoid the pain that true intimacy and relationship might bring.

Many people have a difficult time relating to the plight of the sex addict. But I would suggest that if we are honest enough to examine our own hearts, we might find some similarities. Most people spend time imagining what their life will look like. We paint a canvas in our heads of our marriages, careers, friendships etc. What happens when our expectations are shattered by life’s disappointment? Perhaps by the death of a loved one, the breakdown of a marriage or the loss of a career. How do we respond? Do get angry towards God and respond in bitterness? Or, are we willing to engage in true relationship with our Creator and surrender the canvas of our lives to Him. I too have painted a canvas of what my life would look like, but I have discovered that my canvas may not be consistent with the ultimate canvas that God is painting for me.

Are we willing to trust that He is good, and that His plans are good, even when they don’t look like the picture we have painted? If we cling more tightly to the canvas we have painted in our heads, than we cling to God, we too are trapped by fantasy.

Isaiah 42:16-17 says the following:
I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. But those who trust in idols, who say to graven images, 'You are our gods,’ will be turned back in utter shame.

Fantasy is idolatry. It is putting trust in a graven image carved out by our minds. It is much easier to place our trust in something we can see and control, then to place it in a God we cannot see and cannot control.

True relationship and intimacy can be scary. Healing can be scary. These things require trust and courage to walk with God along unfamiliar paths by ways we have not imagined. But God, our God, wants to take us on this journey. He will make our rough places smooth and bring light where there is none.

We must allow God’s floodlight to penetrate our hearts, exposing the true source of pain so that healing can take place. Only then will we be able to see clearly what has propelled us to escape in fantasy. Only then will be able to surrender the canvas of our lives to a good God, knowing that He can do exceedingly, abundantly above all we can ask think or imagine!

Love, Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com

PS. I highly recommend the book “False Intimacy: Understanding the Struggle of Sexual Addiction” by Schaumburg.

Healing Journey

2009-06-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

My Healing Journey
by Harmony Dust

Every journey is different. Every time Jesus healed someone in the bible he did it differently. And so it is with us. There is no secret formula for healing, but I believe that there are steps that we can take and choices we can make that will strength to our lives. Here are just a few of the things that I discovered on my own healing journey.

Relate

There is no substitute for a real and honest relationship with God. He is Lord over my life and so much more. Through reading His word, praying and simply spending time being quiet and still with Him, I have come to know Him as Father, Friend, Comforter, Healer, Redeemer, Provider, and the Lover of my soul. He is not a distant God, sitting in some far off place judging you and me. He is a God of mercy, grace and compassion. He is Immanuel, God who is with us.

Plant

We are not meant to do life alone. Humans are relational beings designed for community. A tree cannot grow unless it is planted, and I strongly believe that my life would not bear the fruit it has if I had not been planted in my church. I am not talking about simply doing the Christian duty of sitting through a Sunday service. I believe that the local church plays an irreplaceable role on this planet. When the local church is healthy, it is a place where people can come to worship, learn, grow, and experience healing, grace, mercy and the unconditional love of God. It is where I have built some of my most meaningful and flourishing relationships with people who know me—imperfections and all—and love me anyway.

Decide

In the bible (John 5), we read the story of a man, lying on a mat, who had been disabled for 38 years. Jesus asks him a question: “Do you want to get well?” At that point, the man starts coming up with excuses, saying that nobody would help him and every time he tried to get better, somebody got in his way. Ultimately, Jesus instructs the man to “take up his mat and walk”. He follows this instruction and is healed.

I believe that Jesus is asking you and I the same question. Do you want to get well? Sometimes we think we want to get better, but when it comes down to it, we have a million excuses as to why we can’t. We become comfortable with our condition and content to remain paralyzed on our mats.

Ultimately, the decision is in our hands. Nobody can want it for us. God can’t force it on us. We must decide to get well.

Replace

Eleven years ago, I believed a lot of lies. They were so woven into the fabric of my being that they became my personal truth. I believed that I was worthless, stupid, and unlovable. My life reflected what I thought to be true because I made choices based on those deep and hidden beliefs.

The bible tells us to “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). It also says that we are to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).

There is a process of transformation that requires action on our part. It is up to us to actively replace the lies we believe with truth. (See Appendix B)

Face

In the well-known story of David and Goliath, David faced and defeated his giant with a sling and a stone. Historically, in the days of Exodus, the Israelites had been afraid to enter the promise land because of the many “giants” who inhabited that territory. It was the fear of the giants, not the giants themselves that kept the people from God’s promise for them.
In my own journey, I have had to face some big giants: Sexual abuse, rape, father issues, fear, rejection, abandonment, unforgiveness, and bitterness to name a few. To rattle them off in a list like this is easy, but to actually face each of these head on was been a battle. I can distinctly remember fighting though Los Angeles traffic to make the 1 1/2 hour commute to see my therapist where I had to pay upwards of $60 an hour to face some of my giants. I would much rather have been sitting on my couch eating chocolate ice cream watching reruns of Seinfeld. But if I wanted to walk in the fullness of God’s promises for my life, there were giants to be faced. Sometimes I felt like David—like I was facing a seasoned combatant with weapons as puny as a sling and a stone. But during those times I learned that like David, God has given me the tools I need to face the giants in my life, and that I never have to face them on my own.

Forgive

I used to think that some things were simply unforgivable—rape and murder among them. I felt completely justified in hating the ex-boyfriend who raped me. To forgive him seemed to mean that what he did was okay and it wasn’t.
Eventually, I learned that forgiveness is a vertical transaction between me and God, not a horizontal one between me and another human. God has forgiven me and He asks me to forgive others.

I have heard it said that forgiveness is setting someone free and realizing the prisoner was you. At first I forgave out of obedience, but when I finally forgave, I realized that I was the one being held captive by my unforgiveness. The people that have hurt me were living their lives, going about their merry way, while I was seething with anger, hurt and bitterness. Unforgiveness was holding me prisoner.

Stay

The journey is never over so be gracious with yourself and stay committed to the course. We are all in a process of becoming—becoming healed, becoming whole, becoming closer to God, and becoming all that we are created to be.
God is a gentleman. He never forces us to change or gives us more than we can bear. He walks us through this process one step at a time. In His strength we are able to face our giants one by one.

I could apply 110 steps to healing and read a zillion self-help books, but what I am able to accomplish on my own pales in comparison to what can happen when I invite the transforming, gracious and redeeming power of God into my life. His love transcends knowledge, reason, and human effort.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,
for ever and ever! Amen.
Ephesians 3:17-21

What do you believe is standing in the way of your healing? Which of these steps might God be asking you to take today? Comment below...

*To order the Healing Journey cd, or other resources for healing, visit www.iamatreasure.com/store

Porn Convention Update

2009-06-15T15:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend, the Treasures team partnered with Craig Gross and XXX Church at the LA Erotica Convention. If you missed out on our instant updates, make sure to follow me on Twitter @youareatreasure

In addition to giving Treasures gift bags to the girls, in all, we gave out over 4,000 “Jesus loves porn star” bibles to convention attendees and men and women in the industry. And as Craig noted throughout the weekend, God’s word will not return void. We are praying that people would be inspired to read the bibles they received and that God’s love and truth would penetrate their hearts!

We saw firsthand, how moving and powerful God’s word truly is. A Treasures volunteer witnessed a special moment when a grown man sitting on a staircase, cradled the bible (which he kept referring to as “this book”) in his hands with tears in his eyes. He was reading God’s word in the middle of a porn convention, perhaps for the first time, and he was visibly moved.

“Jesus is here? At a porn convention…” one girl asked after telling me how horrible the “preachers” standing outside with picket signs had made her feel. Knowing Immanuel, God who is with us, I confidently said, “Yes. He is here, at a porn convention. He is with us.” I could see in this woman’s eyes that this was an entirely new concept to her and the idea that God would meet her there in such a place, seemed to disarm her. Isn’t’ that our God though? Meeting us where we are at, in the middle of our circumstances, and loving us right there, as is. It is this sort of love and goodness that leads to transformation and healing.

Still, there were so many people at the convention who have experienced the opposite of that kind of love. From an ex-reverend who professed to being almost atheist, to a ex-seminary student, to a husband and wife that had been kicked out of their church, to the daughters of pastors, to a woman who had been raped by a pastor and a man who had been raped by a priest. We saw people with real hurts and heartbreak so deep that it has caused them to run from the Only One who can heal that sort of pain. I wonder about the depth and severity of the wounds in their hearts and all I can do is pray. The common thread among all of these people is that they have been hurt, not by God, but by His people.

And, as a friend of Treasures recently posted on my Facebook page, “if I call myself a Christ-follower and treat others like garbage, it is completely reasonable for others to question the positive value of following Jesus because I am telling them by my life that Jesus is unloving, unkind, uncaring, etc. God uses people as an avenue for Him to come to us. I would suggest that God uses people as His most common method of getting in touch with us (with the Holy Spirit being intimately involved in that process).”

I love that idea that WE ARE AVENUES. By our actions and the way we love people, we can either lead people closer to the heart of God, or farther from Him. May we each honestly and carefully examine our own actions and determine where we want our avenues-our lives- to lead people.

Love, Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com

A Legacy of Relationship...

2009-05-19T17:11:00.001-07:00

Many of you may remember hearing about and praying for Tiffanie and her battle with cancer. It is with great sadness that I share this…Tiffanie passed away last night at UCLA Hospital.

Tiffanie served briefly on the Treasures outreach team and she has freely shared her story and the beautiful things that God has done in her for the benefit of others. “I am a living example of someone who has been saved from the enemy’s tight grip.” she wrote in 2005.

When she was initially diagnosed with cancer, I went to visit her in the hospital where she was surrounded by family and friends. Her closest girlfriends were preparing to have a fun-filled, “Girls Night Out” right there in the hospital room.

As she battled cancer and fought for her life, she was not alone. Her friends and family rallied around her. There were strong women of God, “Warrior Chicks” standing with her, fighting on her behalf. She was surrounded by immense love and support.

Tiffanie was rich with friendship and community. It was clear to me that she was a woman who valued and invested in relationship. This was most evident in her relationship with God. Those who love her attest that she was a woman of strong faith until her very last breath. She lived abundantly. She lived well.

As we remember Tiffanie and pray for God to comfort her friends and family as they grieve, let us glean from the legacy of relationship she leaves behind. When the storms of life come, and they do, I hope and pray that each of us will have invested well—in our faith in God, in community, in family and friendship—and that we too will live abundantly and well. Let us carry on Tiffanie’s legacy and invest in the things that matter.

Love, Harmony Dust

Incredible Update on the Tyra Show Guest!

2009-03-25T12:12:00.001-07:00

For those of you that have watched, (or are about to watch) the Tyra Show today, here is an update on the amazing woman you all saw on the show.

The night before the taping, I "just so happened" to bump into her in the hotel lobby. We spent some really special time talking and praying together. I was won over by her tenacious spirit and her heart's cry to leave a life of prostitution behind. I could truly identify with so much of her pain.

On the show, she agreed to go to a one-month program in CA and we were all happy for the bold steps she was taking in her life.

After the cameras stopped rolling, more of this incredible story unfolded. I was at the airport, getting ready to head back to LA when she called me, saying that she felt a strong connection with me. She said really wanted to go to a faith-based program and asked if I knew of any other residential programs that could take her.

I immediately called my friend Julie with Beauty From Ashes and we were able to secure her a spot at the New Life Center there in FL!!!! This is a long-term, faith-based residential program with an 100% success rate of reuniting children with their mothers when custody has been lost.

I am so thrilled to report that today, more than a month later, this incredible young woman is still in the program and thriving! The journey ahead of her will take commitment, but I am fully convinced that she is equipped, ready and able to conquer what lies ahead of her in God's strength! I know that He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ask, think or imagine!

Love, harmony
www.iamatreasure.com

Romance with the King

2009-03-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

A Treasures for You: The Treasures E-devotional

ROMANCE WITH THE KING

Our King wants to romance each one of us. Are you allowing Him?

In Isaiah 54, the Lord proclaims, "For your Maker is your husband...for the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused."

Unlike man, He will never leave you or reject you. He is pursuing your heart and loves you just as you are…today…in this moment. He is not waiting until you are perfect to enter a romance with you and to pour out His love. He wants you just as you are, right now, with every concern, baggage, and worry.

Spend some intimate time with Him this afternoon. He wants to fill you with His goodness and loving kindness. Let's make today that marker of entering a romance with our King. Let's put aside all our distractions, worries and concerns, bring them to the foot of the cross, and worship the Lover of our Soul, for He is worthy.

Love you and praying that He whispers delightful promises of His everlasting kindness to you today!

Onward!

Written by Dina for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com

A Desperate Plea...

2009-02-24T23:10:00.000-08:00

A DESPERATE PLEA
Friday night’s outreach left me and 2 volunteers standing motionless with tears in our eyes in the middle of a strip club. In the midst of giving out hundreds of gift bags to precious women working in 10 clubs, we came across one woman who moved us deeply. When she first saw us, she thanked us for her gift saying that “we always give great gifts”. She has been in the business for 12 years and we have been visiting her club for the past 6.

“Whether you know it or not, you’ve changed my life” she continued. She explained that because of us, she has come to realize her strength and that she is “good”. She went on to say “I know who you are. And I believe what you believe. I pray to God every night.”

The interaction was all hugs and smiles until her tone suddenly changed and she looked at us desperately. “Pray for me” she whispered. “Pray for me. Please pray for me. I’m lost. I’m so lost. I’m gone. Please, please pray for me.”

Through tears, she repeated her plea again and again, each time with more intensity. Of course we prayed for her and have been since. But the urgency of her appeal stayed with us for the rest of the night. We hope that she will contact us, but until that point, may God touch her heart and life with His loving, transforming hand.

UPDATE ON ROBERTA
Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we were able to bring a donation of $500 and a basket of gifts for Roberta and her daughters to the hospital where she is being treated for her burns. We were not able to visit her personally, but left a message for the family that our team is here to support them in whatever way we can. A nurse told us that Roberta is still in critical condition and is heavily sedated as her body fights to heal. She still needs our prayers.

700 CLUB
For those of you who were not able to catch the 700 Club episode today featuring my story and the work of Treasures, here is a link where you can watch it now.

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Love,
Harmony and The Treasures Team
www.iamatreasure.com

Sunlight in a shady place...

2009-02-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Outreach Update January 2009

On Friday night we headed out to 12 strip clubs in the Nation’s porn capitol, the San Fernando Valley. We arrived to find that 3 of the clubs were closed down.

While clubs are closing, others are still opening. At one newer club we met the manager who threw his arms around me and said that the club had been having a very challenging night and really needed our visit. He said that we were a “breath of fresh air” and the “Yang to their Yin”.

In the Chinese culture, the relationship between “Yin and Yang” often described in terms of sunlight playing over a mountain and in the valley. Yin (literally the 'shady place') is the dark area occluded by the mountain's bulk, while yang (literally the 'sunny place') is the brightly lit portion. In essence, the club manager called us sunlight in the San Fernando Valley!!!

Thank you all for your prayers and support!

Love, Harmony

PS. Just a reminder that up to 4% of your grocery purchases at Ralphs can go to support Treasures when you enroll in the community partnership program. If you enrolled in the past, you must RE-ENROLL your new Ralph’s Reward Card.

Here’s how:

- Make sure you are signed up for the NEW Rewards Card
-Create an account online
-Once you’ve created an account, sign in and click on Community Contribution Program
-Then enter your card # and choose Treasures out of Darkness for your organization to link it to your card
-(Our NPO # is 84628). For questions call 800-660-9003

love perseveres

2008-11-25T19:27:00.000-08:00

November Outreach Update

On Friday night, we visited 10 clubs in Hawthorne and Inglewood, CA and gave gifts to women working there. At one club, a manager welcomed us in and said, “What’s it been? At least four or five years now you have been coming.”

Actually, next month is Treasures’ 6-year anniversary! And from the day we started, I knew that building relationships with the clubs was an endeavor that would take time and consistency. The manager’s acknowledgement of the longevity of this outreach was affirming.

Unfortunately, there are three clubs on this route, all owned by the same person that were less welcoming. We haven’t been able to connect with the owner on a personal level to address any concerns she may have and she has directed her staff not to let us give out gifts. At one of her clubs, the girls found out we were outside and came running to the door, trying to push past security, clamoring for gift bags. Our hearts broke to have to turn away without giving them gifts out of respect for the manager’s wishes. One girl ran out of the club and took one from us saying, “I don’t care what they say, and I’m not going to let them stop me!”

Despite the challenges at those clubs, it was a night of breakthrough in other respects. We were able to hand-deliver gifts at one of the clubs I used to work at for the first time since we started going there! It was incredible to think that I used to walk those floors prowling for customers and Friday night, I walked the same ground for an entirely different purpose!

When we visited another club I used to work for, I found out that one of my old co-workers is still there. At the mention of her name, my eyes welled with tears. She is a woman with whom I always felt a special bond. I could always find comfort in her kind and knowing eyes. And when I left the business, she cheered me on.

It has been 11 years since I last saw her, but when she walked in the room, she recognized me immediately and called me by my real name. It touched me to know that she remembered me after all of this time. For the past 6 years, she has been receiving our little pink gift bags. It felt so good to see her face and to wrap my arms around her. It was worth the wait!

In 1 Corinthians 13, the bible paints a picture of what love looks like saying that “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Hugging my friend in that special moment was the fruit of perseverance. When I think of the women in the clubs that we were not able to reach, my hope is in knowing that God’s love for them perseveres. And because of His great love, so will we.

Love,

Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

The Place of Preparation

2008-11-11T18:29:00.000-08:00

The Place of Preparation

But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to (The Promised Land), and his descendants will inherit it. Numbers 14:24

One of the greatest freedom marches of all time is recorded in the Old Testament. It is the story of Exodus—the movement of a people from slavery to freedom.

After leaving Egypt, the land of their slavery, the Israelites entered the desert. The desert was the place between their captivity and the land that God promised them. In the desert, God provided them with manna from heaven. He generously gave them everything they needed to make the journey, yet the Israelites became complacent with the miraculous provision of God and began yearning for Egypt, the very place they so narrowly escaped. “We never see anything but this manna!” they complained. “We remember the fist we ate in Egypt at no cost…”

The fish they remembered, the hopelessness of their imprisonment they forgot.

Moses, the leader of the Israelites, sent spies to scope out the Promised Land. When the majority came back with negative reports, saying that it would be too difficult to enter the land because of the giants that inhabited that place, a man named Caleb had a different account. “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it”, he proclaimed.

Because Caleb had a different spirit and followed God wholeheartedly, the bible says that he and his descendants would inherit the Promised Land.

This story paints a beautiful parallel for our own lives. Often, after escaping some of the most entrapping circumstances, we find ourselves wandering in the desert—that dry, desolate place, standing between our slavery and God’s promises for us. It is in the desert that we experience the hand of God sustaining us in ways we never could have fathomed. Still, like the Israelites, we are faced with the temptation to grumble and complain. Often, we find ourselves wanting to turn back to what is most familiar to us, despite how entrapping. Old habits, old ways, our old lives. In the midst of this desert experience, God is looking for a people that will fix their eyes on Him and determine to lay hold of His promises like Caleb did.

The desert is a place of preparation. During the trials and wandering, our character is uncovered and our hearts lay bare before God. There, he is able to do His most masterful refining, using the dry sands to scratch through the surfaces of our being and uncover the beauty that is hidden there.

The journey can be difficult and there are giants to be faced, but God will sustain us. With grateful hearts, we will enjoy His miraculous provision. If we are wise, we will remember to relish in our freedom. And as we follow Him wholeheartedly, He will give us the strength to face what lies ahead so that we can and will lay hold of all that He has promised us.

Written by Harmony Dust for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

Love Painted

2008-10-20T23:43:00.000-07:00

Treasures Outreach Update October 2008

Friday night was the first outreach I have attended since having my precious daughter in July. Running a ministry and raising a beautiful baby girl is teaching me a lot about surrender. Let’s be honest, my tendency towards being Type A can get me bogged down in details and day planners until my head spins. But I am learning that after a reasonable amount of prayer and planning, the best that I can do is show up and trust that God will move. And that is exactly what He has been doing. Funny enough, as I am releasing more and more to Him, it seems that MORE, not less, is being accomplished. John the Baptist was right when he said, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30

When I showed up for the outreach, volunteers arrived in such record numbers that we were able to split up our Hollywood route between two groups! Thanks to the welcoming managers and door guys, women in every single club we visited received a gift bag.

We were also joined by new friends from Connecticut and Oregon who came along to get some hands on training in order to take the Treasures vision home with them.

At one club, we handed out a gift to a woman who was running out the door in tears telling management she needed a minute to herself. We hope and pray that in that time she spent alone, she opened the gift and took the message to heart. She is so deeply loved.

Later that night, we had the honor of accompanying a young woman on her first trip back to the club she used to work at. Her old co-workers greeted her with welcoming arms. A talented artist, she painted a stunning portrait of a mighty angel for the girls to put up in the dressing room.

A bouncer studied her work with heartfelt appreciation. “What’s it called?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you name it?” she replied.

He stood back and examined it intently. “Gabriel. It should be called ‘Gabriel’” he nodded with certainty.

She painted her love for the women in that club with each stroke of her brush. And from what I could tell, the message was well received.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

Love,
Harmony
www.iamatreasure.com
Treasures Myspace

Be Still

2008-10-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

A Treasure for You: The Treasures E-Devotional
“Be Still”

And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place… Luke 9:10

Last week my Internet crashed just as I was getting ready to send out a project I have been working on for no less than 6 YEARS. I clicked send on the email, relieved that I had made the deadline, and kaput! It was down.

I called the Internet Company where I yelled at a glitchy voice response system, was transferred 7 times, and was placed on hold for a total of 2 HOURS. I finally reached the right person in the right department who told me a technician would be at my house in a week.

“How do you expect me to go without Internet? I don’t have the luxury of taking a week off to wait for your technician!” I lamented into my Bluetooth receiver while simultaneously sorting through the day’s mail.

The call was mysteriously disconnected.

My head throbbed and I felt the muscles in my chest tighten. It was enough to make me want to scream at the top of my lungs.

My husband tiptoed over to me like a soldier in a field of mines. “Babe…um. Well…you know…uh…he Bible.” He gently suggested.

He was right. I hadn’t been making enough time for that. So I went into my room and threw myself on the bed. “Okay God. You have my attention. What do you want me to read? What do you want to say to me? I’m listening.” I rattled on frantically.

Silence.

“I can’t hear you. God seriously. Who do you want me to pray for? Is there something you want me to do? Just tell me and I’ll do it.”

“Be still” I felt Him whisper to my heart. “Be still and know that I am God.”

All He wanted was my stillness.

I have been so wired up and plugged in, multi-tasking and moving at fiber optic speeds, that I had forgotten the art of stillness. Yet it is in this practiced quiet that we will find the refreshing that we need. Even Jesus went aside privately to a desert place. And it’s not like he didn’t have anything else to do. There were people to be healed and fed; a world that needed saving, still he withdrew to places without hurry and distraction.

If Jesus Himself, needed quiet and stillness, then how can I expect to go without these things?

So I am practicing being still and I am reminded of all that He is.

He is Comforter, Redeemer, our Ever-Present Help in times of Trouble. He understands the unintelligible cries of our hearts. He is Father and Friend, Lover and King. He captures our tears in His bottle and refreshes our weary souls. His burden is easy. His plans are good. His grace is sufficient. His hand is gentle and loving.

He is God.

Be still and know Him.

Written by Harmony Dust for Treasures
www.iamatreasure.com
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit

Outreach Update January 2008

2008-01-22T19:15:00.000-08:00

Friday night's outreach was a very special occasion for a couple of Treasures volunteers who, for the first time, bravely ventured out to the very clubs where they used to work. My heart swelled with joy as I watched them conquer fears and venture back to places that represent their past—this time, with a newfound sense of purpose and future.

A special guest, Vicky Taylor from Nashville, TN, also joined us. Vicky was sent on behalf of her church, (http://www.emmauschurch.tv/) for some hands-on training and will be starting an outreach in her hometown! We are so exited to see the vision to extend a hand to God's precious daughters spread throughout the nation.

For all the successes and the couple hundred girls that received gift bags, the night was not without some bumps in the road. When we arrived at one club that is normally very receptive to us, we were told that we would not be able to leave gift bags for the girls as the owner was there. We asked if we could speak with her and were told that it wasn't possible.

We were tipped off that she owns two other clubs that were on our route that night. We left our gift bags at the second club without a glitch. We arrived at the third club and, just as volunteers were being warmly greeted by the bouncer who remembered us from previous outreaches, the owner called and told him that she didn't want us leaving gifts at any of her clubs. When one of the dancers saw that we were being turned away from the club, she began to push through the security exclaiming, "Hey wait! Those are my favorite white girls right there!" J

When security would not let her exit, she ran outside through another door shouting, "You don't own me! I'm outside the club now and I'm gonna get my gift!"

We were both impressed and entertained by this young woman's tenacity. She wanted her gift bag and not even a 250-pound security guard was going to stop her. But beyond entertained, we were moved. The way she was willing to fight for her gift reminds us of all the girls out there who want and need to hear the simple message that they are loved and valuable.

Please pray for the owner of these clubs. Pray that her heart softens and that she will see the sincerity in our intentions. We hope that next time she will welcome us into all three of her clubs.
http://www.iamatreasure.com/
www.myspace.com/treasuresnonprofit.com