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Christians, do you know of a good multi-trauma bible study book for groups?

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lostforgottensoul

MyPTSD Pro
I don't know where this belongs on the forum so please move where appropriate.

I'm struggling to find something on like Amazon so I thought I would ask if anyone knows of a good Christian Bible study book for groups. For Bible study groups. That isn't just focused on one trauma (as that's all I'm seeming to find) but rather has all traumas looped into it. The pastor that I'm meeting with and talking to along with another lady from the church and I are trying to start a trauma focused Bible study small group and I'm struggling to find a good book that doesn't just focus on one type of trauma. I went through one a long time ago called Shelter from the Storm but it's about sexual abuse only. Hearth and home or something like that has a lot of small group Bible study books but they are specific to one type of trauma per book and my want for this trauma Bible study group is to have anyone with any type of trauma be involved. I dont want to single anyone out or make it about this or that type of trauma but rather allow anyone with any trauma in and they will get something from it.

The pastor has offered to buy one of each book that I mention with the church fund and offered to go through it together with me to see if it will be a good one to use, him focusing on the Bible parts and me focusing on the trauma parts and then he will buy enough of that one book for everyone. I just can't find a single book that is a good over all traumas and isn't focused on one specific kind of trauma. Anyone gone through a small group trauma Bible study with a workbook that included all traumas and if so, what was the book?
 
A Better Way to think, not trauma focus but helpful, Neil t Anderson and stormie omaritan are also two good authors to preview their titles. I’m personally reading Hold Me tight-( seven conversation for a lifetime of love) author is sue Johnson-attachment based stuff-no bible reference in it but if your pastor read it could add the biblical basis-but if you read hold me tight and used it with the five love languages it would be a hugely practical both sides of the coin group And your pastor could lead it. That would be a cool group-one week of hold me tight and a week of the five love languages.
 
A Better Way to think, not trauma focus but helpful, Neil t Anderson and stormie omaritan are also two good authors to preview their titles. I’m personally reading Hold Me tight-( seven conversation for a lifetime of love) author is sue Johnson-attachment based stuff-no bible reference in it but if your pastor read it could add the biblical basis-but if you read hold me tight and used it with the five love languages it would be a hugely practical both sides of the coin group And your pastor could lead it. That would be a cool group-one week of hold me tight and a week of the five love languages.
He's a pretty busy guy. On top of meeting with me weekly. I don't wanna add more work for him. He doesn't want to lead it. He says he isn't opposed to being a part of it to sort of be the referee that keeps the group on topic and keeps the peace and all but he wants someone that's been traumatized but is a biblical person to lead it. The women that's part of it with me has lead a Bible study small group before so she may end up leading it in the end if he can't find a good person to lead it that's been traumatized. But I don't want to ask him to lead it. Unless it's during some of his slower months.

They are also building onto the church and starting a school there. So, his days are so packed right now. His wife is now a retired teacher who will be the teacher there and they are looking for more teachers. But on top of it, he will be leading a Bible class in the school and he has several IT certificates and will be teaching an IT class in the school. They aren't building a lot onto the church. More just bumping out the front. It's a modest build as the church is super small and they pack over 200 people into an area about 800 sq feet or less. And the foyer area is super small. Probably about 3 people wide and maybe 20 feet long. Just a super long hallway. So they are making that a bigger area so people can hang around and talk. Right now they sort of push each other in and out. The church is probably two of my 850 sq feet apartments put together total. Super small church that pack in a ton of people. So, they are just adding onto the foyer maybe twice the size it is now and may end up extending the "sanctuary" area a little bit. And then that will help the school too.

All to say, I dont want to ask him to do unneeded things during this busy and stressful time for him. I think if I can find a good workbook and work with the lady that's helping, if he and I together can proof some books to find a good one, he may not be needed at all. And seeing just how busy he is and the time he already takes with me, that's my goal. To try to need him, after proofing the books to find a good one, as little as possible.
 
I don't know if this is helpful or not, and I don't know the Bible very well (would try to start, then stop, or didn't understand much). But came across something I find helpful and interesting, I think they call it The Great Adventure Bible, by Ascension Press (at Amazon, etc). I think it has a workbook, definitely a free reading timeline/ guide. But more imprortantly it's free on youtube, called a Bible in A Year (Fr. Mike Schmitz). What I like is it explains context, history as applicable, and poetic language. It is not trauma focused, but I would say very respectful around delicate topics, and the fact historically the figures in the Bible were actually traumatized in many/ most cases. I like the explanations (for example, it at one point they explained shame pretty well, though I can't remember. 🙄 Or like you mentioned elsewhere animal sacrifices- the part I remember was the foreshadowing wherein Jesus became the sacrifice which displaced any or all offerings like that. If I got that right! Oye. 🙄 And the fact was the attitude of scrificing what was the best one had to give (not the leftovers), or even from a place of attachment ie. for example it is very hard to (also) sacrifice maladaptive coping mechanisms- we say ok, but 'tomorrow'. An even better example, to me, was describing that God had to teach the people (at the time) what justice was (in what was a totally unjust society), before He could teach them what mercy was).

Hope that makes sense. I do know a lot of stuff in general is triggering for me, but that isn't. Also, I am a tiny bit familiar with the concept of the Hold Me Tight conversation; that for me would be totally overwhelming and unfathomable in a group setting (just for me, maybe not others).

Good luck! Hope whatever you choose is helpful! 🤗
 
I wrote an email to the pastor to see what he thinks of the idea of us writing a workbook together. Me writing the trauma part. Maybe making each chapter about a topic. Shame, forgiveness, sex and hyper and hypo sex drive, panic and anxiety, fear, guilt, anger and rage, etc. And maybe I could write diving deeper into unique issues that rise from all types of trauma and then he can write his biblical take along with Bible verses and how they can apply to the traumatized person. And I advised that we can write at the end of each chapter some questions to the person. Some additional Bible verses to look up and how to apply them to their life along with some things to ponder. Like homework after the meeting. And maybe we can add some sharing time in the beginning of each meeting if someone wants to share some thoughts and things they had from the previous week that could help everyone else.

This way we are able to loop all traumas into one workbook type of material and then he is then ensuring that what is written is biblical and he is adding his teaching style in there and making sure that what is written is his understanding of scripture. This will take some time but we sort of do this type of thing already. Me asking questions and he answering them with Bible verses and his understanding of what those verses mean and how I can apply them to my life. And the lady that is helping to put together this group can help. We can do a 3 person email chain and maybe we can break it up into parts. We can maybe take a topic each.

I don't want to ask him to dedicate anymore time to me and this Bible study group.n, can help with this. Either with the trauma part or the Biblical part. So, we'll see what he thinks of that. And thank you @PlainJane, will go through that site snd see if that see if it will help piece together content.

With that that said, if anyone knows of a good Bible study book for groups that is trauma related for all traumas, please let me know! Thanks for all the help!
 
He said it was an interesting idea. I don't want to ask too much from him during an already super busy time though. So, still on the hunt for a Bible study group book that encompasses all trauma. Or a few books that we can piece together. But I mentioned to him that when I first joined here, I was on the hunt for people that grew up in a cult as I couldn't see how I could be helped and supported if people didn't grow up in a cult too. But it's when I started to piece out my trauma did I get support and help on here. Like I mentioned to him, someone that was in combat doesn't know what it's like to be sexually abused as a child. But, both people can identify with the fear, the life or death feeling, the need for escape, even shame. And anger. Maybe even anger at god. So, if we do this, sticking with those basic things will allow anyone with any trauma to identify and get something out of each chapter.

He's a writer and he says I'm good at writing. Which I don't see. I am dyslexic. But he says I express myself very good in written form. Someone else on their closed Facebook group said the same thing. So writing it ourselves maybe a good idea. But, just feel like it's asking way too much from him in an already very busy time. I mean they are building onto the church, starting a school there, and he still has to do sermons and be the head pastor and all. But he did say that after March, things will slow down for him. Though I can't see that with the building onto the church and the school and then him teaching 2 classes in that school (a Bible class and an IT class. He will be teaching pyton and I think a few other programming languages). So, don't see it slowing down for him. Plus he already takes time out of his day to meet with me for an hour to an hour and a half every week and email with me pretty much daily. Just feel like I'm asking too much from him but I guess I need to let him make the call of it being too much or not. Just feel almost too demanding. But even just posting questions on the Facebook page feels as if I'm being too demanding of people on there. It's my issue...
 
'The body holds the score' has a bunch of different traumas in it but is not exactly what you're looking for.

Perhaps someone can use the book aligned w/ a Bible and find scripture. Like a Bible hunt.

Praying it all works out for you w/ all mentioned!
 
The pastor and I spoke about the group. He found some good Christian books and PTSD which is way more overall trauma then what I was finding. He says he has a book budget. He has a library of books in his office. So he bought one while we were meeting. A doctor that wrote a book about overcoming trauma as a therapist and what she learned from her clients and where god fits in.

He said he is way less busy now that the hard work of finding the contractors to make the build onto the church is done. It's basically just let them do their thing. So, he was saying he isn't opposed to writing a book together. Me covering the trauma parts and him covering the god and scripture parts. If we do that, I will pull in the 2 ladies helping. Well, one helping and partnered into it and one I just invited to be a part of it but I'm sure if we had an email chain, the one lady I invited wouldn't mind helping to write it. So, the 3 of us can maybe write out our stories and struggles and send that over to the pastor who can work god and scriptures and some teachings into that. He's a head pastor. He's good at writing teachings on god and scripture and stuff. Plus, he's a writer anyway.

But, if those 2 books or just the one he bought today works out, then that will be an already written piece with both trauma and god stuff already written. He will have me read it to ensure the trauma stuff is solid and he will also read it to ensure the scripture stuff is solid. And if we all agree, we may have found a book to use. I still thinking just having it talk about PTSD is still a bit more narrow then what I want the group to be. I want it to be anyone with any sort of trauma, diagnosed or not with PTSD, can come and get something from it.

He talked a lot about how his church is different. Where they really want to reach out to the community to help them. They are a church but they don't push god onto people. He thinks that people will just come to their own belief on their own. But he's the type where he let's people do that on their own time and he doesn't push, at all. He really is great like that.

He thinks that god sent me to help reach out to the church body and to the community in this way. He says im already helping a lot of people in the church without even being there. He says that my openness about my past and my struggles and asking questions and being open to people's answers are already helping people that I've not even met in real life. He was saying that god sees that the church as they are, aren't equipped to help people with trauma and that god is going to send someone to help. I thought he meant someone else. Maybe a therapist or something. But then he said he thinks that person is me. I was suprised by that. And by how much he says I'm already helping people. He says every Sunday, someone asks about me. And says that they hope I go to the church one day so they can meet me in person. And he tells them "I think she will. She just needs time".

Was suprised that just me sharing my past and sharing my struggles and asking questions and being open and even being honest about how I currently feel about god, that just that is helping people. That many likely feel the same way but would never say it outloud or even type it in fear of being judged or asked to leave the church or something. A lot of people say they see my strength and courage and that inspires them. I don't see myself as strong or courageous but a lot of people are saying they see that.

Anyway, sorry, didn't mean to make this more of a diary post. Was just explaining that the pastor found 2 books that might work, one he bought and that he's open to writing a book with me and that he's not near as busy now as he was weeks ago or even a month or so ago. That it wouldn't burden him. Cause I'm always afraid I'm going to be a burden or am being a burden so he is always telling me in many ways that I'm not and I've even helped him to see the need of people. The questions people have. The things that people don't know that he assumed they know. And that shapped the sermon series he did fully based on my early questions about sex. A lot of good stuff is happening here and I don't know if it's god or not but it's good and healthy and part of it is in person which I needed to do. To meet people in person.

So anyway. There is my ramble about all of this.
 
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