Do you want to get well?

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)

Strip Clubs & Baptisms

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)

Facing the Giants

FACING THE GIANTS

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 promised 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 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

Will you stop?

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!

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.

Let's Mobilize!

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...

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...

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

Chasing other Lovers

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

Out of the Mouths of Treasures

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

Jesus and the Magic Wand

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?

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...

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

Wanna Get More Involved?

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

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

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

Incredible Update on the Tyra Show Guest!

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

Love Painted

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

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