Shame Lifter: Replacing Your Fears and Tears with Forgiveness, Truth, and Hope

by Marilyn Hontz

Book Overview

Do you ever berate yourself over minor happenings? Do you feel unworthy and wonder why God would love you? Do you struggle to overcome memories of verbal, emotional, or physical abuse? If so, you may... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1414318960
• ISBN13: 9781414318967
• Release Date: March 2009
• Publisher: Tyndale Momentum
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.58 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.3" x 7.6"

Customer Reviews

Shame Lifter - Life Changing

This book touched me in a very profound and deeply personal way. I am in a Bible Study and one afternoon the leader asked what the difference between guilt and shame is. It kinda gave me the chills. I had really not heard or thought of the word shame in quite some time. I don't know if it was a word used more when I was growing up, but it brought back the memory of a sentence my mom often used when she was upset with something we had done wrong, saying, "shame on you". It's not something I say to my children or part of my speach. Those words were tucked far away in my head. So I heard "shame" mentioned that afternoon. Days later my contact person from Tyndale House Publishers asked if I would review this book, Shame Lifter: Replacing Your Fears and Tears with Forgiveness, Truth, and Hope. Okay, I thought . . . God must have something He wants to teach me. If you are one who had childhood struggles/abuse, have a hard time accepting compliments, think you cannot measure up to God or not quite good enough, fear being like someone you absolutely do not want to be like and/or battle with addictions or eating disorders, this book is for you. She shares how the "shackles of shame can fall off." The author, Marilyn Hontz, shares her painful childhood, and how it went into her parenting. You might not feel this type of book is for you - you had a perfect childhood, and really do not think you have hurts that need healed, but I found it also helpful in my parenting and the way I see my children interact with each other. The author discusses us either being shame lifters or shame givers. Are we building up others or tearing each other (including ourselves) down. How do our children play and joke with each other. Below are just a few quotes that I underlined in my book that spoke to me . . . "Toxic shame gives you a sense of worthlessness, a sense of failing and falling short as a human being." " . . . toxic shame lingers and eventually becomes a part of who you are and what you do and don't do. It paralyzes you so you don't think you can move on." "A shame lifter gives grace to the disgraced." "We deny Jesus every time we disregard His truth and put ourselves down. That hurts us. We deny Him every time we fail to see our value in Him. That hurts us. We deny Him every time we continue to hang on to our self-condemning thoughts and lies. That hurts us too. And then, it's as if Jesus turns and looks straight at us with His eyes of love and compassion, and something dawns on us. We have, in a sense, denied our Lord Jesus, and I wonder if that hurts Him." After each chapter are a series of personal questions, things to contemplate, pray about and work through. This is a book I will come back to read, to see where I have grown, and where I need to continue growing and learning. I encourage you to read Shame Lifter: Replacing Your Fears and Tears with Forgiveness, Truth, and Hope for yourself.

Shame Lifter

Shame Lifter: Replacing Your Fears and Tears with Forgiveness, Truth and Hope Marilyn Hontz Tyndale House Publishers 2009 Religion/Christian Life/Spiritual Growth ISBN: 978-1-4143-1896-7 5 stars Reviewed by Cindy Loven Are you a Shame Giver, Shame Receiver, or a Shame Lifter? Author Marilyn Hontz, in this book clearly explains what each of these are, and how to recognize signs in our lives (there is even check lists at the back of the book) She wonderfully presents a interesting book about how we recognize and deal with each of these, in our lives. Hurting people hurt people. The sooner, we recognize this fact in the people we deal with daily and the people who we interact with in our lives, the better. When we become aware of this it will help us to deal with those people who seem set on hurting us. It will also help us to understand our own hurts in our lives. Shame is an ongoing self-deficiency disease. Shame is a powerful tool the enemy uses against us, and the deeper he can root our shame, the more ineffective and dysfunctional we will be as family members, as Christians, and as every day people. Marilyn Hontz, helps us with her book to recognize that shame, to deal with it, and to deal with the process of overcoming shame. Each step of overcoming shame has to be dealt with, we can not go through one step faster than the other, because it often means not truly dealing with our shame. "God thinks of me as a person of value and I need to agree with Him." A quote from the book, but as we deal with our shame and grow in our understanding, we need to recognize this fact, we are not junk, we are not trash, or garbage, as Satan would love for us to believe, we are HEIRS and Royalty of God. I truly was blessed and enjoyed this book very much. The chapter dealing with grief truly ministered to me, and I give this book a 5 star rating.

A message of hope and encouragement

A powerful book pulled from deep within the author's past pain, but with a message of hope for others who have also suffered. Along with some practical advice about how to overcome past messges of worthlessness and shame. Much different than the author's previous "Listening for God," but equally helpful for lost and hurting readers.

How to find hope and love to replace shame

Marilyn Hontz's "Shame Lifter" portrays her painful story, the story of how shame affected her life and how she stood up and overcame the fears that were holding her back. We are all dealing with our own "shame" in one way or another. May it be an eating disorder, depression, abuse, the list can go on and on. Marilyn helps to show us that with God we can do anything, He can help us to lift that shame and live a life of truth. (And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth - Revelation 21:3-4) This book is very easy to read, I couldn't put it down, a very inspirational read combined with great scripture that fits. It helped me to be able to find some things within myself that I had been shameful about and was having a difficult time letting go. She has inspired me to help others I know who are having a difficult time in their lives by using her book and God's words of hope to help to ease the pain and lift the shame. As a bonus be sure to check out the "How About You" section at the end of every chapter which includes questions, steps to action, along with ways to lift the shame (The Shame Lifter) you may be dealing with in your life.

A very special book!

"I am a child of the ultimate Shame Lifter, the Lord God Almighty. The shame on me is gone." (p. 179) What or who is a shame lifter? Marilyn Hontz describes a shame lifter as someone who gives grace to the disgraced. (p. 13) Her book, Shame Lifter, is a beautiful gift of grace for each and every person who has ever felt shame for any reason. Her words are liberally entwined with Scripture as she shares with the reader her deliverance from shame. Although my journey has been much different from the author's, in reading her words I was able to identify the many lies I have believed because of shame over past events. I cannot tell you how healing it was to read her story and realize how completely I am loved by my Heavenly Father! What a blessing! Shame Lifter is designed to gently bring the reader into freedom from the shame they have in their lives. Whether the shame is from abuse, addictions, family dysfunction, weight issues...whatever it is, God has already crucified our shame on the Cross and offers his resurrection power to us in its place. Marilyn uses the story of her own life as a beautiful example of the healing work that God did throughout her life as she dealt with the loss of mother and a very painful relationship with her father and step mother. Each chapter of this book flows easily from one idea to the next, and is connected by a series of thought-provoking questions that allow the reader to examine their own life. The author then identifies shame lifters for that particular need, and closes the chapter with prayer that is bathed in Scripture. I know I will be going back over these chapter ends many times - especially the prayers! They are powerful! As I stated in the beginning of this review, Shame Lifter helped me to identify the effects of shame in my own life. This book also showed me that the Lord has blessed me with many shame lifters along life's way as well, and I am ever so thankful for that! I highly recommend this book to everyone! May each of us be freed from the lies of shame to walk fully in the love of our Father!!