Kristin Spencer

Kristin Spencer

 

Kristin Spencer is a 30-something missionary and her personal testimony is full of ups and downs, but she is blessed by God’s enduring love and guidance since she rededicated her life to Jesus Christ over 15 years ago. Kristin is amazed by God’s faithfulness, grace, and mercy towards her, and she is beyond humbled to share the lessons God has taught her. The only qualifications she offers about herself are "I am a sinner, so I am qualified to talk about sin, I am saved by an amazing Savior, and filled with the Holy Spirit, Who I pray is actually the One putting this whole thing together." There are a few other things you might be interested to know about her. She is the wife of an amazing man of God and the mother of "the three most incredible blessings I could never imagine." Kristin and husband live in Athens, Greece as full time missionaries, watching God unveil His plan for her family one day at a time. Read more about their amazing lives by clicking here. Or check out her "introduction" by clicking here.

Plunge into Darkness

How The Story Was Born

Life is messy because people are messy. While Kristin was a missionary in Athens, Greece she spent a lot of time around profoundly broken people who were making brave choices to change their lives and the lives of their children. Human trafficking creates a unique kind of broken, and the people that minister to people who have survived this difficult journey also have to reach an understanding of what the people they’re ministering to have been through. After a while serving in a ministry that works with women who have been rescued out of prostitution, the founder and director sent Kristin a message. She said she wanted to have a sit down talk so they could get to know each other.

As Kristin nervously tapped her foot on the plastic metro floor on her way to the meeting, a picture came into her head. Kristin saw a young woman sitting next to a dark pond filled with sledge, and knew instantly that something that could help her was inside there, and the only way to help her was to jump into the sledge and find it… to experience the darkness as a witness as a way to understand it. When she got to her meeting with the director, she told her about the picture she had seen on the metro. The Director said it was a perfect illustration for the work they do as advocates for survivors of sexual abuse. It was then that Kristin thought, “This is more than a picture… this could be a story to illustrate how sometimes the only way to help hurting and broken people is to go through the darkness—though to a lesser degree of course—ourselves.”

When you have a friend or acquaintance that is healing from a difficult ordeal, one of the best ways for them to heal is to be able to talk about it. The simple truth is, hearing about someone being raped is horrific and uncomfortable. But imagine how much more horrible it is to actually be raped, and then never feel like anyone wants to let you talk about it. Not only are you reeling from the sexual assault, but also from the society imposed silence everyone expects you to keep.

Enter Ever, Dawn, and the Man of Sorrows. Kristin doesn’t want to give too much away, but if you read the story, you will see the clear implications of how what she just described came to be crafted into a fantasy story that deals directly with the character of man versus the character of an all loving, creative being. Kristin hopes you love this book and it leaves you wanting more even though the topic is a difficult one.

Please note: This book contains subject matter which some may find troubling as it spotlights helping those who have experienced abuse. Kristin tried to handle this topic as delicately as she could, keeping the reader’s experience in mind.

Two girls.
A village with a dark secret.
Their only hope is a mythical figure Ever Morena has only read about in her father’s lone book.

Ten years ago Ever’s best friend disappeared without a trace. Though the loss of her friend only came close to killing her then, the truth of what happened might finish the job now—just when her future as the village healer is looking bright.

Ever must risk everything she loves in order to plunge into darkness on an impossible journey in the middle of the Concealed Forest. Never before has redemption been so costly.
Read more here...

Audio Studies

Withholding Sex & Biblical Attitudes Toward Love Making
Author’s note: Before you read or listen to this article, please keep in mind that this is written for people that are not currently experiencing spousal abuse, or going through counseling for sexual abuse. There are times when it is reasonable for people healing from abuse to go through an agreed time of breaks from sexual activity with their spouse. Please understand that this article is written for women that feel emotionally neglected by their husbands, and are seeking to solve this problem by withholding sex. That is not a biblical approach to this problem. However, anytime a woman feels she has been forced to have sex, even with her husband, that qualifies as abuse. For more information on what qualifies as sexual abuse within marriage please see this article by Leslie Vernick.
Giving Up Rights To Your Husband
Saying, “I Love You”
Unrealistic Expectations And Your Husband
The Basics: Getting To Know God
The Basics: Trusting God
The Basics: Prayer 101
The Basics: To Hear God’s Voice
The Basics: I’m a Selfish Sociopath that needs Self-Control

Articles

We are happy to share with you here some of Kristin's articles and books. Follow the links to read the full articles!

Jesus Christ – The Best News Ever!

I want to share something with you which has been called, “The Best News Ever!” Did you know that God’s love for you is the most sincere love you could ever experience? And you don’t have to do anything to achieve it, He already loves you as you are. But in order to be with Him and experience His love to the fullest, you must be His child. This means you need to acknowledge your sin, ask for forgiveness, and believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins personally. Read more here...

Regarding Abuse

Why Suffering Doesn’t Make Sense
Are you suffering? Have you suffered? Things happen in this life that are unfair and wrong. As a Christian community, I feel like most of the time we push past suffering. We don’t want to know the details. We don’t want to share in the suffering. We explain suffering away using two or three well placed Bible verses out of context as painful jabs. I’m not saying you, or me, I’m saying we. I’ve done it. When we follow God, we experience a strong craving for everything to make sense. Read more here...

God Doesn’t Want You To Cut
I know that cutting, or self mutilation, has become a common way of dealing with anger an pain in many societies in different parts of the world. Over the past few months, this topic has come up over and over again, and I thought it was time to talk about it. Read more here...

God Doesn’t Want You To Cut - Part 2
It isn’t that you actually want to harm yourself. It is a temporary reprieve from your intense emotional pain that you are after. In “Counseling Survivors of Sexual Abuse” Diane Langberg suggests that you take up exercise, which will release those same endorphins, but in a much healthier way. Exercise is also part of your well-being, and an improved well-being will help you take control of your life. Well-being also includes creating healthy sleep patterns and eating healthy foods. Read more here...

My Friend Was Abused. How Can I Help?
Last week we were privileged to stay at CCBCE in Vajta, Hungary for five days. It is always a refreshing stop for us when we travel because our best friends live there. It’s a safe place. We can be ourselves, and if that means we’re broken piles of sadness, that’s ok. That is a rare kind of friendship from what I have experienced in my life. Read more here...

Where Was God When I Was Abused? – Part 1
“Where was God when I was abused?” This question is extremely important for Christians that have survived abuse. In fact, it is a life defining question. As you know, I am on a journey to learn how to walk alongside people that have been abused in their quest to find healing. I am blessed to have a friend that has been guiding my journey, and one of the book she lent me is called, “Good News About Injustice,” by Gary A. Haugen. I am only 40 pages in, but the spiritual perspective he shares is invaluable. Read more here...

Recognizing Verbal & Emotional Abuse
I was pleasantly surprised to find a concise yet thorough explanation of what emotional and verbal abuse entail. I experienced constant verbal abuse growing up, but I have also experienced it as an adult. During the second occurrence I didn’t realize what was happening, but looking back I can see that all of these things happened to me. This is one of the things God revealed to me during my journey to walk alongside those who have been abused, and it is important for everyone to know. Read more here...

Holy Sex Reboot: My Sexual Identity in Christ

Whether you are single or married, this book covers everything you need to know in order to reboot your sexual identity to mirror the life of Christ. Are you curious about God’s plan for sex? Do you have questions about masturbation, pornography, and same sex attraction? Are you tired of singles being treated as second-class citizens? This book will challenge you as it uses God’s Word to speak openly about each of these topics.

Find freedom from the bondage of sexual sin as you embrace God’s plan through your own Holy Sex Reboot.

After years of struggling to understand sexual purity, Travis and Kristin Spencer realized there was a better way. Through uncomfortably honest conversations, time spent studying the Word and life of Jesus Christ, and determined discipline, they were able to reboot their sexual identity and finally leave their destructive sexual habits in the past. As the parents of three children, one of the reasons they feel so passionately about this topic is because they want their kids to understand God’s plan for their bodies and sexual intimacy. Read more here...

Missions

Can God Forsake Me?
Do you ever feel like God has totally forgotten you and your problems, needs, and deepest desires? I do. Do you ever feel rejected by Him? Maybe you’re holier than I am, but I sometimes make the mistake of taking the actions of people, human beings incapable of the perfect love of our Heavenly Father, and assuming these reactions represent the attitude of God. After a summer of literally 20 rejection letters I sometimes entertain the very destructive and heretical thought that God has forgotten about me. Somehow, even after every proof of His sure and steady love, I doubt His promises. “But Kristin,” you might say, “It’s normal for an author like you to receive so many rejections… it’s part of the deal, isn’t it? Like, aren’t there lists of authors that were rejected over and over again before they finally got their big break?” Yeah, actually. And I do expect constant rejection as an author. But the thing that had me really down, and depressed if I’m being honest, is that the rejections I mentioned earlier were about missions support. Read more here...

Can God Trust Me With Disappointment?
When we think about things that God entrusts us with, we almost always think of blessings. In the parable of the talents, we look at the fact that the man entrusted his servants with money (Matthew 25:14-30), and in our minds that translates to things. Physical things we can hold in our hands. But what about spiritual things? What about things we don’t think of as having a value, or a physical shape. Read more here...

A Heart Without A Home
Lately I have been discouraged. Many of my frustrations have revolved around Facebook. The online thought board is reflection of deeper issues. I have no home. Two things happened to me this week. First, there was a single event with a popular news personality. Yes, I got into a debate with someone that has the masses behind them, and they insulted me, repeatedly. That was fun. Secondly, there have been a series of events running through my newsfeed about racism. The anger and hatred have finally pierced my normally thick, peach skin. Read more here...

Things Missionaries Do: Thinking Creatively
Have you ever visited the home of a missionary and thought, “Why do they do things that way?” I can confidently say on behalf of many missionaries, we don’t do things strangely without reason. There is a lot of time and thought that goes into everything we do in our homes. Missionaries need to think creatively. We have to be efficient with our time and money. We need to be able to comfortably smash as many people into our homes as we can. Read more here...

Giving Up Rights To Your Husband
While we were visiting the States, I felt a strong urging from the Lord to think about my husband, and what my life would be like if he wasn’t as present in my life. He surrounded me with women, and testimonies of women that were choosing to give up their rights to their husbands. There are seasons we go through in our lives as well as in our marriages. There have been seasons in my life where I felt like a single mother because my husband was working several jobs to provide for us. All of the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of our daughter were my sole responsibility and it was exhausting. Looking back I can see that I did not deal with that season in the best way. I was angry and resentful that my husband chose to be away from us, but that is the completely wrong way to feel about these kinds of situations. He was not choosing to be away from me and our child, he was providing so we would have a place to live and food on the table. Bitterness does not lend itself to common sense. Read more here...

Feeling Discouraged
There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t have the thought, “I am a missionary.” Maybe some people get used to it, but after three years I never really do. It’s a good thing though, because I am constantly reminded that God has blessed me with a unique opportunity to serve Him and die to myself every single day. Read more here...

Dealing With Difficult Parents

The holiday season is here, and that means that many of us will be spending time with our parents (or in-laws). My father-in-law will be joining us for Christmas, and I am seriously excited. But I know not everyone experiences that excitement when they are going to be around their parents. I was talking to a good friend and asked how her Thanksgiving was and she said something along the lines of, “Really hard because of my parent.” That just broke my heart. It can be exhausting and discouraging on the holidays when you find yourself dealing with difficult parents. I believe that God has a specific plan for dealing with tense parental situations. It can be difficult for adults to know how to interact with their parents, and vice versa. Read more here...

Christian, You Must Stop!

Over the past few months, we have seen all different kinds of Christians (including pastors) doing something that deeply grieves Jesus Christ. If you are really a Christian and believe and follow Jesus out of love for Him, then you need to walk as He did (1 John 2:6). Nowhere does the Bible say that it is ok to hate a group of people, or stir up hatred towards them, because they are different. That phenomena is called “xenophobia” (fear of strangers/foreigners), and Jesus never said that kind of behavior was acceptable. In fact, He taught the opposite. He said that we would be hated, but that we were not to hate. Read more here...

A Love Note From My Heavenly Father

Let me preface this post by saying that today has been rough. My faith wavered for a moment and I had to remember that God is greater. My kids yelled at each other. My amazing husband and I had an argument (which we later resolved). In general it was a depressing day for me. But this post is not about today. This post is about yesterday, when God made sure that I know without a doubt that He loves me. Read more here...

Becoming A Better Wife

This series is for married women that want to encourage their husbands to be the men of God that they could be, if we would be the wives we should be. Join me in my journey to becoming a better wife, dedicated to helping my husband in His walk with God.

–Withholding Sex & Biblical Attitudes Toward Love Making

–Giving Up Your Rights To Your Husband

–Saying, “I Love You.”

–Unrealistic Expectations and Your Husband