The Wounds That Bind Us
A book about finding connection in our suffering
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The Wounds That Bind Us
WHAT IF GODLINESS ISN’T WHAT YOU THINK IT IS?Is your impression of godliness sitting quietly in church resisting any outward expression of negative emotions except possibly a few "holy" tears at communion? Is your impression of Jesus cool, calm, and collected despite all the imperfection that surrounded him daily? If it is, you might be missing the bigger picture.Godliness isn't about suppressing negative emotions. Jesus expressed emotion (even at church), and yet He was perfect. Fully God and fully human, Jesus experienced our world. He experienced the gifts of delicious food, the beauty in nature, and friendship. But He also experienced the broken world we live in.God did not shelter His Son from painful emotions or circumstances. Jesus was rejected and mocked, misunderstood by His own family, and betrayed. He experienced the depth of painful emotions and broken relationships.Even though humanity contributed to the suffering Jesus experienced, He continued to love and connect with them. He ate with people, rested with them, cried with them, taught them, and helped them grow.The way He loved changed the course of history.It’s natural to want to avoid painful emotions, but what if acknowledging and feeling painful emotions could drive deeper, more authentic connections with God and others? What if it could actually strengthen our faith in God?The Wounds That Bind Us is an artistic exploration of the humanity of one of history's greatest figures. Explore the negative emotions that Jesus felt as fully God, but also fully human. This interactive experience combines art, music, and story to show a side of Jesus rarely explored.
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About
Joanna is an Enneagram 4 who seeks to understand Jesus more deeply and to see the world as He sees it. She first read the gospels in its entirety in junior high, and was amazed at how different the Jesus in the gospels felt compared to the Jesus she learned about in Sunday School. When she read the gospels again as an adult during a period of emotional, spiritual, and physical healing, she found insight and comfort in Jesus’ humanity and how human emotions—even painful ones—can help us connect more deeply to each other and to God.She spent nearly a decade in the corporate world, finding her identity and worth in what she did, until she had a come-to-Jesus moment, paid off the house, and quit her job. She faced some of her toughest demons and ultimately found her identity as a child of God, valuable in the eyes of her Creator.This is her first book.