CSS Blog Tour April 4-18

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You Are Loved

by

Linda Gomes

 

ISBN: 9781935858588

Paperback, 176 pages

Embrace Ministries 

Published 2010 by One More Chapter Publishing

          

In this sensitive, insightful book Linda Gomes shares her story. With disarming honesty, she tells of building new foundations from the ashes of an abusive childhood. She has helped many people come to terms with the pain of their past, encouraging them to redirect their energy into healthy productive channels and assuring them that "You Are Loved!"

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INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR:

My life and its past had always been a burden to me.  I tried to hide it, lie about it and pretend that I was just as “normal” as everyone else until I realized that my faithful life was being affected by not being myself! I made a decision to become a part of a class at my church called Wounded Hearts that was lead by the most amazing woman!  (You can read more about her in dedication of my book) after several hours of being a part of this group I was encouraged to write or journal and  that lead to asking for prayer and writing Monday Morning Prayer which I emailed to my friends.  It was very well received, much to my surprise as I never thought of myself as a writer!  Then one day I was thrust into a trial that I had no frame of reference to handle.  I thought that my attending my class was confidential until  I read an email from a pastors husband that once again tried to pigeon hole me by suggesting that my crying foul and not tolerating abuse in my life was somehow “because of” my past!  The exact words were “she must have some significant damage in her past to react this way” It had been the story of my life to not speak out when I was hurt, to not demand respect and to take the abusive behavior from others as just another part of my life as if I deserved to be treated less then.  The impression that was transmitted openly in a not so private email was that this man felt that he knew who I was, because of a class that I was attending! God hit me at that moment like a Mac truck!  I was keenly aware that this type of reaction and careless assumption was the reason I had hidden for years, taking me off of my path and “shaming” me back into hiding and away from the blessings God had intended.  I saw it so clearly at that moment!  I was working so hard to not be “pigeon holed” that I was not the authentic person that God was trying so desperately to use for His purpose. 

I made the decision that day that I would use my life and all of its facets to speak out and not hide any longer.  I would not allow anyone else to “tell” my story!  I could no longer allow another broken person to define “who I was” and just cower in the shadows.   I realized in that moment that women hide from their abuse because they believe they will not feel loved by anyone if they tell their story.  The ignorance in one email brought me to my knees before God, begging to be relieved from the pain of the secret that was snuffing out my life and the gifts that He had intended me to be blessed with! 

You are loved, was the message that I had to accept and then I had to allow Him to use my story to reach out to others! 

How can reading your book have an impact on the reader’s life?

My hope and prayer is that my life will encourage other women to be brave in his name!  I exposed my life because I was living in a way that  the world had designed and defined and not the life that God was working to use to restore others. I believe that His plan is to shed the light in the dark corners where we hide our deepest pain.  My book reveals pain and fear that can control and lead a life into desperation and isolation, destroying His purpose!  As you will read in the first page of You are Loved,  Surviving is my History, Living is my Destiny,  the impact will be that my readers will finally know and believe that they are loved and that they are worth it!

What are your plans for the future in the publishing world? Think you have any more books in you?

I am in the process of writing new book called EMBRACE.  This book is a culmination of all the steps it took for me to be the woman God intended.  Embracing your life and all of its facets is a process, this book will bring you full circle, through the pain of your life to the joy that the healing that God creates through that pain, teaching you to walk in His Embrace in order to lead others to His salvation! 

What else does God have you doing these days Linda, and how can our readers connect with you?

Embrace Ministries is the passion of my life these days.  I am still writing Monday Morning Prayer and the Daily Light Switch. You can find me at www.embrace-ministries.net.  I am also on Face book at http://www.facebook.com/people/Linda-Gomes/1260573178#!/pages/You-Are-Loved/281441512624. Both of these pages allow feed back and support.  


How can our readers purchase your book?

You can purchase my book on www.embrace-ministries.net.

Linda Gomes has been a life coach and motivational speaker for more then 15 years. She has a strong background in Physical Fitness and a faith and belief that God has created her and restored her life to be used for His purpose. She has brought many women through the trials of relational loss, self worthlessness, hopelessness, devastating illness, extreme weight gain, weight loss, and spiritual deprivation. She has published her own life story in a gripping and alarmingly honest book called You Are Loved! in order to help women realize that they are not alone and that they are not the sum total of their history! She believes and has found through the healing power of prayer, there are answers beyond the explanations of our past. An amazing lesson in trust and faith, You are Loved is about learning how to live and not just survive. Helping you to realize the struggle with authority is the wall between you and God when you are “just” surviving. Linda walks you step-by-step through amazing platforms of faith in order to build the trust and renew your hope and love for God.

Linda founded EMRACE Ministries in 2008. It is dedicated to women of abuse, single women and single moms who are searching for a place of support, love, and life tools to help them get to the purpose of what God intended their lives to be. Through this ministry she has continued to write and reach out with "Monday Morning Prayer," a weekly devotional that tackles today's trials with the tools of His word.

Linda is a  proud mother of two beautiful girls. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area and continues to teach, write, and fully embrace the precious life that God has gifted her. 

I was given a complimentary copy of this book from the author in exchange for posting the author’s interview on my blog. This blog tour is managed by Christian Speaker Services (www.ChristianSpeakerServices.com).

MY REVIEW:

This book is not fiction it is a real story of a little girl that abused by her brother and her father as she was growing up.  The story is very touching as it tells in some detail of what she went through. Her mother did not like her so she didn't care what happened to her, even when she was an little girl and when she got older she just assumed that this was a way of life.

Linda found out later when she found some pictures of the family that her mother had torn her out of all of them.  It was as though she never existed .  Can you imagine how this hurt her, to know that no one cared a thing about her or what happened to her.

On page 106 of the book Linda tells of something her friend told her, that if she could find the "Key to Women" and write about it, she could make a million dollars, well she knew of one woman, she is one"

This book is about Linda's personal testimony and how she begin to sort out her life and to overcome some of the hurt and clutter of her life and how she learned to rely on the Lord for help.

If you are a woman that has gone through these struggles or know someone, then please buy them this book as it will help any women to learn that she is not alone.  I want to thank God that I have never had to go through with any of this, been married for 50 years to the same wonderful Christian man, and he has never once done anything to hurt me.

This book was sent to me by Christian Speaker services for my review.