Treasures Out of Trauma.  By Arlene Hendriks.

It’s a great privilege to be able to share God’s Amazing Grace with you all.  I come as one beggar telling other beggars where I’ve found bread.

My early life was marked by rejection, betrayal and violation to the extent that  I reached my teens with my heart filled with bitterness, rage and hopeless despair. My mind was continuously engaged in rehearsing, nursing and cursing the wrongs done to me, and anticipating nothing different for the future.

When I met Jesus, I thought everything would magically change, and I would become different overnight. But my thoughts were still tangled up with wanting to do better and having no idea what that would look like. I knew I should be “nice” to people instead of surly, suspicious and ugly, but I really had no idea how to make that work. I prayed that God would change me, imagining a magical, “Tah-dah” kind of miracle where God would just make me different overnight and fix all my problems. When that didn’t happen, and my thoughts continued along many of the well-worn pathways I had already established, I thought I was just too far gone, and I would never be whole. Was I in for a surprise!

“But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ, (for by grace we are saved)  and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”   ~Ephesians 2:4-7

God began to show me the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward me in Christ Jesus. The problem was, His grace was most often wrapped in events and circumstances I did not like or want!

I also began to realize that my identity, at the very core of my being, was that I was the one who was wronged over and over. I had spent so much time and energy rehearsing in my mind how I had been so ill-treated, and imagining how I would take vengeance against those who had been the perpetrators of evil against me, that it seemed like I would lose my identity if I let God change my thinking, and I didn’t know who I would be if I didn’t have all the grievances to refer to in interpreting life.

But God was so patient with me, first to anchor my soul in His Word, the Bible, and let it do its work of renewing my mind. Then He began to train me to pay attention to the inner chatter in my head.

Soon He was showing me how my thoughts followed well defined pathways as

I made my way through life. Going from “good day” to “bad day” followed a discoverable pathway which led me back into bitterness.

I realized He wanted to help me trace it out and exchange the lies I was believing for His Truth.

But how could I let go of all I had “learned” about avoiding pain in my life?

He began to speak powerfully to me as He brought His Word to life.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty through Godto the pulling down of strong holds, casting down imaginations andevery high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” ~2 Corinthians10:3-5 NKJV

He taught me practical ways to be intentional, to willingly partner with Him (WITH NO CONDEMNATION) as I engaged in the war over the territory of my mind. He began to show me how to bring every thought and imagination of my heart to Him so He could speak TRUTH to me.

Over the years He has set me free from bondage to the past where I let myself be defined both by sins I had committed and the sins of others against me.

God was faithful to His promise in Psalm 71:14 …

“And even when I am old and gray, O Lord, do not remove me until I have declared Your strength to this generation;  Your power to those who come.”

I didn’t start out to write a book. But it turned out I was a very slow learner and had to go to the Lord many times with the plea, “I blew it again, Lord!” He was always kind and patient to go over the precepts with me again and again. Eventually I started writing down what He was teaching me.  The story of how those writings became a book is for another time, but Treasures Out of Trauma, along with it’s Spanish sister Transformar tus traumas en tesoros  has been used to help many other women find freedom and a deeper walk with the Lord.

Now our team of Treasures class facilitators are ready to share what He has done for us and pass on to you the ways God has rescued us, trained us and brought us to Life in knowing Him and trusting His purposes in everything He allows.

So who should come to this class?

Anyone who has ever been hurt in any way.

I’ve listened for many years to many stories of trauma of many kinds. And I’ve found that the particular trauma we have suffered is not the source of the pain we feel. The pain comes from our believing lies about God, about ourselves and other people. The lies are all variations based on these premises:

God is not Who He says He is.

God does not do what He says He will do.

(Therefore)  I am not who He says I am.

I am a victim of life.

The Bible is a dusty old book, written thousands of years ago, by a bunch of old men. It has no relevance today.

God’s plan for us is to plant His Truth in our hearts so that He can heal all our wounds and replace our pain with His love. The key to entering a relationship with Him where He can heal us is our decision to accept His invitation and choose to trust His Word, the Bible, to lead us into all TRUTH.  The Treasures book and class will help you begin your journey or deepen your relationship with the Lord as you realize how much power your choices have in your life.

This is a discipling class for every believer. We are a team of women, all of whom are “works in process” ourselves who will be sharing specific and practical ways we can move away from a “do it to me, God” thought process. Instead, we will learn how to become intentional about actively participating with God in the process of becoming whole people by using tools He has provided for us.  We will learn how to represent Him accurately, as He trains us to think as He thinks about ourselves, about others and even about God Himself.

We’ll learn the difference between taking blame for the actions of others and taking responsibility for our responses to life. We will come to understand the influence our interpretations of life events, past or present, have over our perceptions of our identity. Then we will see how God can revive us, heal our broken hearts, bind up our wounds and bring us into deeper relationship with Him.

We’ll learn to discern pathways our mind takes to arrive at interpretations of life and how to let God give us new interpretations from His heart to ours, evaluations of our worth and teach us how to live our lives.

We’ll learn to allow the Word of God to have access and authority into our thinking so that His Word does in us what He declares is its purpose- to discern the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts, and to fully equip us for every good work which He has planned ahead for us to walk in them.  Hebrews 4:12

It’s been an exhilarating adventure, this business of becoming transformed into His likeness! Not without difficulties and pitfalls, but I’m really starting to get it when Paul says,

“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also

we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace

in which we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The beginning of the next verse seems to get a little crazy, but stick with me:

And not only this, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, (???)

KNOWING that suffering brings about endurance…proven character and hope

which does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love

in our hearts through His Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

And that is exactly what is happening with us. I’m often surprised by joy when my reaction is totally different than it would have been before, or I see amid troubling events a glimpse of what God is up to, and I feel joy rising in me, protecting me from the schemes of the enemy of my soul.

We’d love to share with you how God is training us and to hear your stories of how He is working in your life. So, if you are hungry for more of God, come.

It will be a great time of growing together.

We can’t wait to see you there!

Sign-ups for the class will take place at the conference.

Online registration closes TODAY so register for the conference right now!

https://chico.heartsbeinghealed.org/chico/speakers-schedule/

If you miss today’s deadline, you can still register on Saturday at the conference as a walk-in. You may pay in cash or by check (or have received a scholarship ahead of time);  we don’t have a way to accept credit card payments at the conference. Also, please bring your lunch since you will have missed being in the lunch count if not pre-registered online.

DATE:   Saturday, March 15, 2025  8:00 Check-In and Walk-in Registration

9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Conference

VENUE:  Neighborhood Church of Chico, 2801 Notre Dame Blvd., Chico, CA 95928