Ministry Hangover

A few years ago, my friend came up with the term “ministry hangover” to describe what happened to us invariably after our annual Vegas outreach.

Each year, after an incredible weekend, reaching thousands of women in Vegas, spending time in an atmosphere of worship and miracles, we came home to, well, reality. Traffic jams, yelling kids, stuffy noses, the daily grind. Sometimes the contrast between a major “ministry high” and the reality of day-to-day life would leave us feeling low and empty. Did we just imagine that we could change the world together?

Last week was our 3^rd Annual Dinner for a Treasure Fundraising Gala.  Not only did we raise over 37K (Thank you Jesus), we had the chance to equip over 200 people to partner with Treasures and become a voice in their sphere of influence!

AND, in what was surely the most powerful point of the night, the women of Treasures shared their “cardboard stories”.  Their stories sent the audience to their feet in celebration and support!  Their support, in turn, encouraged the women.

The gala was a huge high for us. All of the hard work, planning, and passion and the bravery of the women who shared their stories, culminated into an incredible evening.  For most of us, now that it is over, it’s back to the daily grind. This is when “ministry hangover” has a tendency to set in.

God is in the big stuff. He is in the moments when we declare His wonders and people shout with approval.

But He is also in the mundane. In the little things. In the sad things. In the quiet times. God is with us.

When we share our stories, we are essentially declaring and celebrating the work God did in the ordinary, obscure and painful moments in our lives. Nights like the gala simply reveal and display the work being done in ordinary days like today.

So we can rejoice in this ordinary day because we know God is working.  We know that He good and His plans for us are good.

The celebrations of tomorrow are a product of the work that God is doing today.

Love, Harmony

What is X Girls?

The strategy of Treasures has always been to reach locally and think globally. That is why we have offered Sex Industry Outreach Trainings for leaders interested in developing sex industry outreaches in their communities for the past seven years. My desire is to see an outreach happening in every major city across the globe.

At the same time, there are more women in the sex industry than any other time in history, and thousands upon thousands of women don’t have local support.  This became especially clear to us when Treasures was featured in Glamour Magazine. We were so inundated with calls and emails from women around the world looking for help that it crashed our website, email and phone lines!

Since then, we have always been thinking about strategies that would help us reach and serve these women. When we started offering workshops for the women here in LA, a light bulb went on. I realized that if we could create something web-based on the same topics we were developing workshops for, we could reach a much broader audience. Because we believe that story is so powerful, I thought who better to be a voice in this than women who have “been there.”

In order to capture a wider range of experiences, I got a couple of friends together who had worked in different areas of the sex industry. And that is how the idea of X Girls was birthed.  An x-stripper, x-porn star and an x-prostitute answering questions about the impact of the sex industry and life after sex work.

As women who have each journeyed out of different sections of the industry, and with our own individual, unique stories, we hope to bring encouragement hope to those working in and or/recovering from the sex industry.

This workbook and dvd series has been developed in order to help individuals, small groups, and sex industry outreach leaders engage in discussions, exercises and reflections that will bring understanding and deeper levels of healing and freedom.

We know that healing is a journey.  It is our sincere desire that the X Girls series and workbook would play a meaningful role in your journey!

And remember, YOU are Loved beyond measure…

Valued far above rubies…

and created with a Purpose!

Love, Harmony

X Girls DVD Series
Contains all 10 episodes of X Girls covering topics ranging from Boundaries to Sex and Dating, to dealing with the Aftermath of Sex Work. Questions from viewers are answered from the perspective of an ex-stripper, an ex-porn star, and an ex-prostitute.
Price: $29.99  ORDER

X Girls Workbook
This curriculum contains teaching content, discussion questions and workshop ideas and was designed to help sex industry outreach leaders and churches facilitate 10-week support/connect group sessions for the women they serve. It can also be done on an individual basis.
Price: $17.99

5 Copy Set – 10% off: $89.95 $80.95

10 Copy Set – 15% off: $179.90 $152.91

20 Copy Set – 20% off: $359.80 $287.84  ORDER

X Girls Kit
The X Girls Kit contains both the DVD Series and Workbook.
Price: $39.99  ORDER

Dear Friends,

Each month, Treasures sends care packages to dozens of women who contact us for support.  Many go on to participate in our therapist-led support group; others request mentoring from our care team. 

Whether they take advantage of the surplus of resources available to them, ALL of them receive a care package with a copy of my memoir (Scars and Stilettos), a Bible and a card with personalized encouragement.  For many women, this care package inspires them to make major strides towards healing and freedom. 

Kayla (not her real name) is one of those women. Here’s a letter she just sent…

“I just got a job after twelve months of not working.  I used to say I felt like I was on some kind of house arrest.  But now I see how God had me tucked away in his presence to heal and write.  Thank you for encouraging me through the pages of “Scars and Stilettos.” I remember reading it in the dressing room of the strip club when I was still dancing.  I cried as I read it because learning your story showed me that God had not forgotten me…”

Your support helps reach Kayla and thousands of other women who wonder whether God has forgotten them.

Thank you for being a generous partner.  Your best gift can match up to $25,000 when you give right now!  The impact of your gift will, at least, be doubled!

Please help meet this matching grant challenge.  Gifts of any size will help reach the $25,000 fundraising goal, bringing freedom to women in the commercial sex industry!

Sincerely,

Harmony Dust

Founder

Your generous gift can be made online at www.iamatreasure.com/donate or mailed to PO Box 5311, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413.

Looking back, I can see that a small series of events led up to my decision to take the leap. As a dominatrix I did sessions with clients, primarily in the afternoon. And it was in an afternoon in April 2006 that a tiny thing happened, and it made a huge impression.

That afternoon I scheduled a session with a friend of a friend who I had never met in person. The longer the session, the more money I would make, and of course, I always wanted to extend sessions as long as possible. I booked sessions by the hour, and with this one I figured I could milk it for anywhere between five and ten hours. Score. The only request that the client had was that I wear a certain pair of leather boots and leather miniskirt. I could wear any top I wanted.

Prior to this session I was beginning to think that I was ready to leave the business. But it was a big decision and I wanted to be sure. My plan was to use this session to ‘check’ and see if I was really ready to leave, as it proved to be the easiest session I had had in a while.

At a certain point that day, something happened that made my skin crawl. I saw the client looking at my boots. That was all. It wasn’t what he was doing, but the way he was doing it.  It was as if I wasn’t even there, as if I wasn’t a person, only a pair of boots. It was dehumanizing.

After having been in the industry for five years, let’s face it, I am sure there were many times that I had been leered at, and most certainly the focus was not only at my boots, if you know what I mean. But this was the first time I really felt it, and I was revolted.

It was all I could do to stay in session for an hour and a half. I had to get out of there. And then I knew.

I was done.

Then the strangest thing happened. My phone stopped ringing. I was used to receiving at least 40 calls a day from potential clients. And as soon as I decided I was done, nothing. I felt that this was God confirming my decision.
Shortly before that day, I met the God of the Bible. Prior to that I had always believed in a power in the universe, but I never truly knew God. And once my heart began to open to Him, He began to lead me. It was slow, but certain.

I cancelled my phone and pulled my website. Little by little a new path was opening to me. All I had to do was trust. I began training for a job that I could actually put on a resume. Soon I began to take baby steps out of the old and into the new.

Springtime is a season of new birth, new growth. And what better time than now for us all to embrace a new beginning. Maybe God is pointing you to take your own leap right now. I’d  like to encourage you to open your heart and trust Him. It might even be a scary move to make, but perfect love casts out all fear.

…

Andee Flynn is the Care Team Coordinator at Treasures and a volunteer with the Treasures outreach team. She is also an author, speaker, personal coach and blogger. She lets God shine His light through her story of healing and redemption. Read more from Andee at Joyful Project. Follow Andee on facebook and twitter

Dinner for a Treasure Gala this Friday April 26th

We have about 7 spots left at our Annual Dinner for a Treasure Fundraising Gala in Marina Del Rey.  If you would like to attend, please email lindsay@iamatreasure.com  Seats will be given to the first to respond. Since all of the tables are paid for in advance by our generous sponsors, the event is free to attend.  This ensures that all of the funds raised that night will go directly to supporting the work of Treasures!

X Girls DVD Series and Workbook Curriculum Available! 

This Friday at the Treasures Gala, the X Girls DVD Series and Workbook Curriculum will be available for purchase!  We are so excited because the curriculum contains teaching content, discussion questions and workshop ideas designed to help sex industry outreach leaders and churches facilitate 10-week support/connect group sessions for the women they serve. It can also be done on an individual basis. It will be available for online purchase next week! www.iamatreasure.com/store

Woman at Spearmint Rhino Shot By Obsessed Fan, Who Then Killed Himself

As You Are and Where You Are

Transformation was the word of the night at our April outreach to Hawthorne.  It’s a fancy word that gets thrown around a lot in the church, but in it’s simplest form, it’s the process of becoming all that we were created to be.

As You Are and Where You Are

by Lindsay Hall

Transformation was the word of the night at our April outreach to Hawthorne.  It’s a fancy word that gets thrown around a lot in the church, but in it’s simplest form, it’s the process of becoming all that we were created to be.

According to the Huffington Post (full article below), a woman at the Spearmint Rhino in Rialto was shot by an obsessed fan, who then killed himself.

Please pray for this woman in her 20s who remains in critical condition.

The man who shot her was a regular client who allegedly visited the club daily and wanted a relationship with her beyond the club.

I have often said that beyond selling sex, what the sex industry sells is fantasy.  When this man’s fantasy did not align with reality, the consequences were devastating.

I remember what it was like to sell fantasy.  To feign interest in regulars knowing that my livelihood depended on how well I did this. I remember the men that came in nightly, spending their paychecks, retirement, burying themselves in debt, all in a tenacious pursuit of fantasy.

I also remember what it was like to drive home at night, glancing in the rear view mirror the whole way, afraid of being followed home by an obsessed customer.  On several occasions, I actually was followed. I learned to pull into a fire or police station to lose the car on my tail.

At least once a month, sometimes weekly, here at Treasures, we get some form of a marriage proposal either via mail, email or Facebook.  Blinded by fantasy, men have gone so far as to send prenuptials and engagement rings. They are convinced that one of us is “the one”.

I have also seen what happens when they are forced to face reality.  Some bow out quietly and stop sending letters. Others get mean.  Threatening even.  One of these men is currently in Federal Prison for stalking and threatening the life of one of the Treasures women.

What happened in the Spearmint Rhino is devastating. The media is flashing their headlines, “stripper killed”, “dancer shot in the face”.

It seems easy to reduce her to this. But she is so much more.

She is more than the dehumanized projection of an obsessed fan’s fantasy.

She is loved, valued and purposed.  She is an individual with hopes, and goals and dreams.  She is somebody’s daughter.

She is a woman with a story.  And today she is a woman who is fighting for her life and needs our prayers.

Love, Harmony

UPDATE: A volunteer was able to bring flowers and offer support to both the club and the woman in the hospital. Thankfully, she is expected to live.  Please keep praying.

Huffington Post Article

Spearmint Rhino Stripper Shot By Obsessed Fan, Who Then Killed Himself

A stripper in her 20s fell victim Wednesday to a supposedly obsessed fan.

The customer, a man in his 40s, reportedly came into the Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s club in Rialto, Calif. and went into a back room for a private lap dance, NBC reports. After the dance, still in the back room, he shot the dancer in the face and then shot and killed himself.

Police said the man reportedly wanted a relationship with the dancer and that he shot her after she refused his advances, ABC reports.

Before shooting the dancer, the customer, who supposedly visited the club daily, allegedly said something about spending a lot of money on her in the past year, CBS reports. A friend of the dancer said the customer was obsessed with the victim.

The woman was hospitalized and remains in critical condition, according to NBC. Police said the club does not screen for weapons.

Last year, at Sam’s Hofbrau strip club in downtown LA, two men lost their legs when a third man they’d been fighting with allegedly hit them with his car.

Building Strategic Partnerships

by Ashley Abercrombie

Partnership is powerful. Partnership has the capacity to both build and destroy businesses, marriages, communities, governments, and today’s context, ministries. The goal of partnership is usually for the benefit of others. Strengthening an economy, reconciling racial tension in a neighborhood, reinforcing infrastructure within an organization, helping a marginalized people group recover their humanity are examples of goals within a partnership.

As a team, we certainly don’t know everything, but we have learned to build successful partnerships within the city of Los Angeles, including LAPD, city councils, non-profits, faith-based organizations, as well as other churches. We hope our journey is a help to you.

Here’s the process our Outreach Team practices to build strategic partnerships:

PRAY

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins and will heal their land.”

Isn’t this what we all are praying for? God, please heal our land. Please heal and restore the land of my own heart. Please heal the land of our relationships. Please heal the land of our cities. Please heal the moral climate in our nation. We’re praying for God to heal our land. That’s the “then” part of this scripture. The “if” part is when we, who are called by His name, humble ourselves and pray and seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways. It is arrogant for a believer to pursue anything without first seeking God. We need Him to do what we are called to do. Daily.

In ministry, humility is a basic requirement, and if you’re anything like me, a daily struggle. I struggle to keep my mouth shut. I struggle to not do everything on my own. There are times when I struggle to remember that while I want credit for something, God is really the only one who deserves it… ALL.

Prayer helps us walk in humility, not arrogance or entitlement; it helps us remember to seek the face of God, not only His hand of blessing, but His face – Who He is. Prayer helps us turn from our wicked ways, which is simply any way not God’s. We can turn from un-forgiveness, bitterness, anxiety, addiction, pride, doubt and unbelief.

And you know what we’ve really learned through prayer? It’s really, really hard to be mad at people we are praying for. Forgiveness comes and offense leaves as we pray for the people who have hurt or betrayed us. And if you’re around for, oh, I don’t know, five minutes in ministry, there will be more enough chances for offense and bitterness to attach itself to our hearts. Offense kills dreams, kills purpose, kills people and prayer is the first line of defense to guarding our hearts against offense, which leads straight into our next step in building strategic partnerships.

BIBLE

We love what our Pastor Philip Wagner says, “that we are to cultivate an affection for the Word of God.” This language implies relationship, intimacy, vulnerability.

The Bible tells us who God is. We learn His character, His nature, His compassion, His provision, His love, grace, peace, mercy, justice, and so much more. We see through the life of Jesus who God the Father is (John 14:4-11).

The Bible tells us who we are. We learn that we are His workmanship, His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, prepared before we were even born, that we should do them (Ephesians 2:10).

The Bible tells us who and what God loves. He loves prostitutes, tax collectors, adulterers, murderers. He loves people of all backgrounds, races, and cultures. He gives voice and purpose to both men and women. The ground is level at the foot of the cross – He does not show favoritism. God loves us all (James 2:1-13).

The Bible gives us weapons to fight with. We see Jesus tempted in Matthew 4, and that he defeated the lie of the enemy with the truth of the word of God. And we learn how to dress ourselves for daily battle from Ephesians 6. The Bible renews minds, heals broken hearts, gives us direction concerning justice and brings a direct level of leadership and accountability to our lives.

In short, the Bible helps us love God and love people. John 13:34-35 says, ““A new commandI give you: Love one another.As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (Emphasis mine)

We look forward to our time together next week sharing Part 2 of the principles we practice to build strategic partnerships: Education, Service and Strategy. Happy partnering!

The Truth About Me & God

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habit. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”

~Lao Tzu

Humans are thinkers.  Scientists conclude that it is our capacity to think and reason that sets us a part from from animals. Even the term “homo sapien” is Latin for “knowing man”. 

Our thoughts and our “knowing” are powerful forces.   As the saying goes, thoughts determine our actions, our actions become habits, our habits become character, our character becomes destiny.  

Ultimately, where we go in life starts with the way we think.  Paul must have understood this when he wrote the following: 

“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” ~2 Corinthians 10:5

Often, the “arguments” are in our our head.  We get an inkling that perhaps we are meant for more than our current circumstances would indicate, maybe we deserve to be treated better than we are being treated, or that there just might be a chance we are capable of doing something really great during our time here on earth.  These inklings are disputed by old thoughts designed to hold us back. “You have no value”.  ”No body will ever love you”. “You are going to fail”. 

Transformation takes a renewing our our thinking (Romans 12:2).   It is not enough to simply try to will our way out of thinking the things we are used to thinking.  We need to take the thought captive and replace it with the truth. 

When you look over “The Truth About Me” and “The Truth About God” below, which truths are hardest for you to believe?  If you find yourself resisting the truth that you are in fact “loved” or that God is “faithful”, concentrating on the corresponding truths would be a great place to start renewing your mind by replacing the lies. 

Love, Harmony

The Truth About Me

I am loved…

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.? ~Isaiah 54:10

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.? ~Jeremiah 31:3

Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.? ~Romans 8:39

I am valued…

She is far more precious than jewels and her value is far above rubies or pearls.? ~Proverbs 31:10

How precious are your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.? ~Psalm 139:17-18

I am purposed…

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.? ~Jeremiah 29:11

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands.? ~Psalm 138:8

I am redeemed…

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, (s)he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!?

~2 Corinthians 5:17

The Truth About God

He is faithful…

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.? ~Deut. 7:9

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”? ~Deuteronomy 31:8

He is gracious…

God is all mercy and grace– not quick to anger, is rich in love.? ~Psalm 145:8

My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ?~2 Corinthians 12:9

He is mighty…

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.? ~Psalm 46:1-3

He is caring…

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed.? ~Psalms 34:18

He is comforting…

As a mother comforts her child, so I’ll comfort you.? ~Isaiah 66:13

And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes.? ~Revelation 7:17

He is near…

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.? ~Psalm 145:18

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” —which means, “God with us”.? ~Matthew 1:23

God has so much more for you

By Larissa Zdon

How much does God love us? He is an infinite God. That suggests that his love is infinite. It knows no end. It outfills any capacity. It outstretches any distance. It outlasts any rejection. It endures any resistance.

We are created in God’s image. We have an eternal soul. You house a piece of God’s infinity. That suggests that you have an infinite capacity to receive God’s love.

So are you settling for what you have now?

Your mother always thought you could do everything just a little bit better than you were doing it. She was never fully satisfied with anything you did. God delights in what you do and is fully pleased with you.

Your father was always a little too busy with other things to make time for you. When you would see him give his time to other people, you would wonder why he didn’t make time like that for you. You eventually concluded that you weren’t really worth his time. Or anyone’s. God is speaking to you all the time. He is with you while you sleep, when you rise, and when you lie back down again. He loves spending time with you, and only wishes you would allow him to spend more of his infinite love on you.

Whether you’ve known God for a few months or many years, the amount of his love that you know now still leaves out an infinite amount that he truly loves you. It’s like the elementary math problem. If you subtract infinity from infinity, what will you have left? Infinity. It never runs out. Get it?

God once spoke to me in a very practical way to help me to understand how much more he wants me let him love me. I was reading a story of a husband who abused his wife; scorned her for being ugly; forced her to work for him day in and day out, even when she was sick; demanded that she give him all her most beloved possessions; and finally took a mistress and moved her into the same house with himself and his wife. Through all this the wife stayed with her husband faithfully through periods of horrible poverty and starvation and even the loss of two of their children.

While reading this story, suddenly God spoke to me and said that the way this wife sees her abusive husband is the way that I see God. I was confused and immediately told God, “No! I don’t see you that way. I know that you love me!” Then God told me again that compared to how much he actually loves me, my understanding of his love is the same as the way the wife in the story thinks her husband loves her. That’s how little I know of God’s love.

Beloved, God has so much more for you. God gave you dreams in your heart so that they could be fulfilled! God wants healthy, loving relationships for you. God wants your identity to be secure in God, unable to be lost or injured by people around you. God wants to heal you and shine a light in your life that will overwhelm any darkness. God is very different from us. God is not ashamed, God is not guilty, God is not insecure. God loves you out of a pure heart, loving you not out of a need, only because it is his desire! God is not trying to take anything from you. God’s biggest hurt is our rejection of his love. Go ahead and ask God, “What more do you have for me?” Have you already guessed the answer? Infinity.

Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:39

Many waters cannot quench love, nor can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with all his wealth, his offer would be utterly scorned.  Song of Solomon 8:7 [New Living Translation]

Love, Larissa