10 years later…

Where are we now? Can you believe I started this blog back in 2010? Man, who knew what the next 10 years would hold. And, goodness…who would of thought that we would be in the middle of a pandemic. Crazzzzzzy.

I’ve had a little extra time at home recently and I noticed that this blog still gets some traffic. Which is good and bad. If people are still searching for information on spiritual abuse, that means it’s still out there. Often hiding in plain sight. So, over the weekend I decided to give this little piece of the internet a face lift. That way, if you happen upon it, you won’t feel like you are stuck in a time warp. All I can say is…ahhhh, this new look is much better. 😉

So. Much. Better.

If you have read the blog in the past, or perhaps you are finding it for the first time today. Welcome! My name is Jana Bishop. My husband and I were in full time ministry for 17 years. We were on staff at big churches, small churches. Healthy churches and abusive churches. And one thing is for sure, the abusive church experience stayed with us for years. Long after we left. And that’s why I started this blog. I’m not an expert. I’m just a girl with a story to tell. My hope is that if you are reading this because you too, have felt like damaged goods, you will see some similarities in my story and know that you are not alone.

The issue wasn’t your disobedience or lack of faith. It was probably a broken leader that had too much influence, for way too long.

Now, for anyone that has made it this far in the journey, I figured you may be wondering where we are now. First things first. Our little boy…the one I was pregnant with when we moved to California, is 11 now. Can you believe it? And you guessed it…that means I’m 40. And you know what, I’m really loving it. I have a strong feeling this will be my best decade yet. 😉

After living in California for 11 years, we felt like it was time for a change. Barry was on staff at a wonderful, loving healthy church. The same one you read about in Redemption Road. Yep, that one. In 2018 Barry and I started to feel like God may be redirecting our path and preparing us for something new. It came as no surprise. We are BIG dreamers! Over time we knew in order to truly pursue what we felt like God was placing on our hearts, Barry would need to eventually resign from full time ministry. And, in 2018, he did! It wasn’t without some tears. California was home. It was all Rowan had ever known and our best friends were there. It was a difficult decision, but we knew it was one we needed to make. Through the years we have fine tuned our ability to hear God’s voice and follow his lead. Even when it seems out of the ordinary. Since Barry’s resignation, we bought a house in Texas and moved there to be closer to family. We both have loved ones here and it’s been such a joy to have them around. It was definitely a missing puzzle piece for many years. There’s just nothing like having a house full of cousins, aunts and uncles. All the inside jokes and shared memories. It’s priceless. We have family game nights every Friday and a grandstand full of cheering fans at Rowan’s sporting events.

Our hearts are full!

There’s a lot on the horizon for us, and I’m sure I’ll share more as we begin to fully step into this next season. I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am that you are here. Thank you for following along on this journey with us! Until next time. ❤