Growing a Passionate Heart

Growing a Passionate Heart is a Christ-centered curriculum for women wounded by childhood sexual abuse. It provides victims with clear definitions for their experiences, helping them firmly establish responsibility where it rightfully belongs. It helps them assess and overcome the damage caused so they move from being victims to being survivors. It helps survivors uncover the core beliefs developed as abuse was occurring and gain an understanding of how these beliefs have driven their choices and actions and replace faulty beliefs with Biblical truth. While giving survivors the freedom to wrestle with God and His sovereignty over their abuse, it helps them explore what it means to passionately love God, themselves, and others including abusers with a love that is both tender and bold. It helps survivors see their story, painful and ugly as it seems, is truly a part of God’s beautiful redemptive story. Wendy J. Mahill serves in the People Encouraging People Ministry of River Lakes Community Church as a lay counselor and as leader of a Passionate Hearts support group, which is a Christ-centered, curriculum-based support group for women who have been wounded by childhood sexual abuse. She also serves on the curriculum writing team for her church and is a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Wendy has been married for thirty-three years and is the mother of five grown children and five grandchildren who have nicknamed her Jam. She and her husband, Joel, have resided in Bakersfield, California for 19 years.