Book Review - Unmask the Predators

Lisa Cherry and her daughter, Kalyn Cherry Waller share share their horrifying story in Unmask the Predators. I recently read this book for a review for Destiny Image. I will admit that at first, I did not want to read it. I knew that it would be agonizing to read. I tend to feel what characters in the story feel and go through. But Lisa gives a great reason for reading this story. As believers, we need to be aware of the enemy's antics. 2 Corinthians 2:11 states, “We don’t want to unwittingly give Satan an opening for yet more mischief—we’re not oblivious to his sly ways!” (Msg).

Kalyn was the victim of a predator. The man was a trusted friend, fellow church member and even a part of their worship team. Kalyn's mom Lisa tells that as the devoted wife of a pastor and loving mom, she never would have thought this could happen to one of her children. I admit to having had that same thought. I found myself engrossed in the book, wanting to know how they fought this battle for their child and knowing that I had much to learn from their experience. I had been struggling in some areas of my parenting, and the chapter Lisa writes on The Parent's Place of Authority was just the reminder and kick in the pants that I needed. I am thankful that they were willing to share their agony so that I could be reminded and encouraged to step back up to the plate. I am the mom. It is my responsibility to keep better tabs, ask questions, check email accounts, text messages, etc. 

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 9 Fighting to Win that hit home with me...

Step 11: Stay in Your Place of AUTHORITY

Parents should never be tricked into either laying down this responsibility and benefit or giving it away to another: you have been given authority over your own children.
Remember the Greek term exousia that we learned about in an earlier chapter? We saw that God gave Jesus authority (exousia) over the forces of darkness and that He has given that authority to us as His followers. We can now apply that word to the sacred charge we have as the parents of our children. Our children were not given by God to the United States government to train. Our children were not given to the church or to the school systems to raise. While we may choose to use schools and coaches and pastors and Sunday school workers to assist us in our job, the ultimate responsibility for their lives remains with us, the parents.

When attacks come against your home, take a stand by faith and pray like this:

No devil, you’ll not have my children, or torment my children, or drag my children down a path of destruction. I have been given authority over them; and as long as they are in my household, I have authority over your plans against their lives. “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh. 24:15)!

God has told me in His Word that I have been given authority to tread upon snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. (Lk. 10:19.) He also said that whatever I loose (allow) on earth will be loosed (allowed) in heaven, and whatever I bind (disallow) on earth will be bound (disallowed) in heaven. (Matt. 18:18.) So devil, I’ll let you know right now that I disallow rebellion over my household, for it is likened to the sin of witchcraft. (1 Sam. 15:23 nkjv.) I disallow pride and bitterness. I disallow sexual predators from coming near my children. I disallow acts of sinful rebellion such as alcohol, drugs, premarital sex, and violence. I disallow tormentors such as nightmares, depression, oppression, anxiety, and stress.

Regarding me and my household, I say no to the curse as written in Deuteronomy 28; but I say yes to You, God, and to Your Word. I say yes to submission to authority in my life and my children’s lives. I say yes to obedience, and because of that I say yes to all the blessings of Deuteronomy 28. I say my kids are blessed. They are protected. They are fulfilling their God-given callings and destinies. They honor their mother and father and it goes well with them all the days of their lives. (Eph. 6:2–3.) I pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

As parents, we can say no! Our prayers and our authority have power in the spirit realm. 

Powerful, eh? These are Scriptures that we are already meditating on and speaking over our family, so this was a huge confirmation to keep fighting the fight!

I am thankful for this book. Thankful that the Holy Spirit prompted me to read it even when I hesitated due to the difficult subject matter. Thankful for the way the Father used it to encourage and refresh some areas where I was weak or had become slack. It has not caused me to become paranoid in relationships but has heightened my desire to become more and more in tune with and sensitive to the Spirit in keeping my children safe, as well as in all areas of my life.

I most definitely recommend this book to parents, grandparents, teachers and youth workers.

Here's where you can find it:  Destiny Image or Amazon.com

Disclaimer: Thank you to Destiny Image for sending me a free ebook copy of Unmask the Predator for review. No other compensation was received. All opinions on this blog are my own. 

Superb September Hike

The children and I have missed hiking so much. We have decided that the area where we lived in Canada was hiking heaven. We have found one or two places here but hiking doesn't seem to be as common an activity. We had not been in so long and so we decided today was the day. And boy was it perfect! We have been thanking Jesus for the gifts He gave us on this hike and the chance to be back at it again.

Is this a Sycamore? It was beautiful.

The lovely Potomac River

And ladies and gentlemen, that white and brown dot in the middle is a BALD EAGLE!!! There were two that were flying over the river. One of the most incredible sights we've even seen. 

Happy Mama and happy children!

Remembering...

Considering three of my five children were not even born on this date eleven years ago and the other two were very young, I have been trying to put September 11, 2001 into words for them. Words truly fail me. How do I give explanation to such horror and evil?

I remember the day clearly. We were living in Texas. That was the one year Emma went to "out school," as Maya calls it. Austin was a wee 17 month old. So Emma was safely tucked into her public school classroom at Bowie Elementary with our dearest Miss Pool, her teacher. Austin and I were just settling in to our morning routine and I had switched on the television to tune in to Barney for us to watch together.

I was puzzled by the picture on the screen. The first tower had just been hit. The commentators were stunned, as was I.  No one knew what was happening and much speculation was being discussed. The second tower was hit as I was standing there in my stupor, watching. I told Austin this morning that he never did get to watch any children's programming that day. I kept him entertained but the television stayed on the news all day. We went through the rest of our routine that day but with the sound of people in the background trying to report and make sense of the chaos in New York City, the attack on the Pentagon and the plane that had crashed in Pennsylvania.

As I have tried to relay that 11 year old dark day to my beloveds today, I have wept once again over these unbelievable events. I pray for the people who lost loved ones, all the emergency responders and our entire country. We remember and we pray.

Photo Credit

(This 9/11 Timeline has helped with giving some of the details regarding that day. We also watched videos from the attacks on YouTube.)

P.S. And as I pray for our country today, I remember other countries in the world that are under attack, specifically Israel. September 11th was a dark day for us in America, and for the world, but Israel is under attack all the time. Planes are not crashing into towers, but rockets are pointed at Israel 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is something that we can only glimpse of but cannot fully relate to as Americans. I was asking a friend who has family in Israel, in light of all the threats on Israel by Iran (or any other enemy, for that matter) how long the people have to get into their sealed rooms/buildings. The ones she knows there have a full TWO MINUTES but people in other parts of the country have only 30 SECONDS. As we remember our terror attack from 11 years ago, let us also remember and pray for those who are under constant threat of attack today. 

Praying for Russia

Please pray for these faithful brothers and sisters in Russia who are under persecution. This is a church that was demolished by a mob, including some police officers, in Moscow in the middle of the night last week.

They met at their demolished building yesterday to worship anyway. Not only that, but they stood for 2 1/2 hours in the pouring rain.

Would I, would we, as Americans or North Americans, be so steadfast and committed to have stood outside in the pouring rain to take a stand for our belief in Jesus and to worship Him? As my friend, Ron, who has been to this church and has ongoing relationships with the believers there said on his Facebook page, "Our trials are so light compared to what people like this are facing."

Apparently, there were signs on one of the walls that is still standing that read "The building is demolished - church is ALIVE".

Find out more: Freedom Blog

And please pray!

The latest from Kenya

Just wanted to take some time to share the latest in events from our friends in Kenya. Peb has just been there with another team. Here are a few excerpts from their email reports...


I want to let you know that we made it here intact with all luggage. The trip was a challenge and the enemy indeed tried to hinder our coming but was unable to overcome. To start, our initial flight out was delayed 3 hrs making our connection to Nairobi problematic. I was alerted to this when I awoke at 5am Weds and decided to check on flights. I called the airline and they were willing to put us through Atlanta. After arriving there, our next flight was delayed 2 1/2 hrs when the first plane was found unfit to fly due to the hydraulics controlling the landing gear found to be deficient. After arriving in Amsterdam, we had to wait 20 more mins for a gate. We ended up with 1 hr to change planes and all went well.  I sat next to a man on the Atlanta/Amsterdam flight who is from Nigeria and works for the World Bank as a consultant. He was able to tell me many things about how to make our work here be on a solid foundation and how to teach and train Africans in the way of good business. It was a divine encounter. So what the devil meant for harm in these delays, God worked for good and redeemed. So even though we were way behind leaving Atlanta for Amsterdam and under normal conditions not been able to connect to Nairobi, God gave us favorable winds the whole way cutting an hour off the flight thus making the connection smoothly. We traveled near 700 miles per hour the majority of our transatlantic journey. So thanks for praying.  - Peb



Like many before me I have been particularly struck by the children here. The weather has been cooler than usual so many are dressed in elaborate woolen hats with multicolored tassels and earflaps, accentuating the rag-tag assortment of American hand-me-downs. Old T-shirts; sports jackets, outlandish pixie-dresses, everyone in flip-flops.  Kids I've never seen before will smile and wave or come running to take my hand, gazing up with expressions so luminous and open-hearted,...they contrast tellingly with the look of menacing hardness you see in the faces of some adults walking down the main drag right outside the hotel. On our second day in town Peb and I took an ill-advised walk to the central market area, passing through downtown Machakos on our way. A deepening sense of blight and despair hung over the area. As we ascended a short flight of stairs into the market area we passed a dusty young man dressed in tatters tending a wound in his swollen yellow foot. Just inside the doorway eyes peered up from behind the baskets of muddy produce. The thought had just crossed my mind that I'd seen enough of this place, that there would be no good purpose served in venturing any deeper into the gloom, when a sudden commotion began. I looked down at my feet to see my passport and two hundred dollar bills lying in the dust at my feet. How could they have spilled from the money belt I wore secured around my waist? As I scrambled to reclaim my things a small crowd gathered. A man began tugging at Peb's shoulder, trying to draw us deeper into the market. We turned quickly and left. A minute later I realized the rubber-banded stack of shillings I'd brought for the trip was gone, a little over 600$. This was a tough blow early in the trip and yet the circumstances were so strange and strangely amiss. Living in a third-world country like Costa Rica, I am ordinarily hyper vigilant about thieves and pickpockets so it is unlike me to be careless about money and valuables. Although the weight of the shillings was considerable I never noticed anything falling from my person. Both Onesmus and Esther told me later that the market is a hotbed of witchcraft where spells aimed at causing confusion in the exchange of money charge the air.

Whatever it was that happened back at the market, there is little question that the line dividing supernatural agency from ordinary cause and effect is far more intermittent and unstable here than it is at home. A person in perfect possession of themselves, well-spoken in English, thoughtful and inquisitive, may in a moment be taken with fits and need to restrained to keep from harming themselves or others. We are clearly in a kind of spiritual war-zone with the forces of witchcraft, spells and imprecation on one side and the Holy Spirit on the other. Standing with Onesmus and Esther we are unquestionably on the winning side of the conflict and yet the battle is far from over. The sermon preached in church on Sunday was, accordingly, unlike anything I'd ever heard. In a vision Onesmus saw snakes on all sides and one directly in front of him that divided into forty. He is chopping furiously at them with his "panga" or machete when fire from heaven descends at last to consume the lot. The following day Peb called for a time of intercessory prayer after several hours of teaching the church leadership. I was rather expecting the mannered give and take I am used to at home, with each person adding a few words of thanksgiving and supplication in an orderly ceding of turns and little expected to find nearly everyone hitting their knees at once; in loud voices, in English, Swahili and other tribal dialects, some with tears, many praying in tongues, all laying siege at heaven's door for the power that binds this city to be broken. The din of their voices was something otherworldly, 'the voice of many waters'. The urgency bespoke the life and death struggle one sees taking place here.

On the television at night in my room I catch news of church burnings by Islamists in Mobassa or outbreaks of violence against women and children in recent tribal clashes. Anxieties are running high everywhere about the elections next year and the possible recurrence of anarchy in the streets. The violence of the 2007-2008 election cycle is still fresh in people's minds. Esther's kids, C and S, told me of days on end spent indoors because it was unsafe to go outside, of the air reverberating with gunshots and shelling. I cannot imagine what it would be like to raise kids in a place like this, having two of my own, ages 3 & 6. The strain tells in Esther's face when she talks about sending I away to boarding school next year at age 13, because it’s just not safe to keep her here any longer. The fear of poisoning is real and present danger to say nothing of the spiritual opposition from rival pastors and witchdoctors alike. Peril on all sides. That said, it would be hard overstate the resilience and good humor with which Onesmus and Esther face down the challenges of life in Machakos, Kenya. They are people of immense dedication and stamina. - David

Yesterday we traveled to Kibunga....as the name sounds, it is off the beaten trail.  Miles of red dirt roads with ruts and rocks. You find people living much as they have for hundreds of years in this place. However it seems that the Lord has not forgotten and may be preparing these places for a harvest yet to come. James is the pastor there. Ten years ago he was called out of a good job by God to go there and then given dreams of his future work. Within 1 month a arriving, the Lord had given him more people than could fit into his mud building. He has also been given dreams of preaching to many Muslim people and they are then saved. He also has seen himself with many bags of corn to distribute to these people. What is sense is that when things continue to get hot with war in the Middle East and Northern Africa as prophesied in the Bible, many will be forced south looking for protection and food. I believe that God is strategically locating His people in Kenya which will receive many of these folks. James is one of them as well as many others that we are connected to in this area. At that time, there will be a harvest of many Muslims into the Kingdom. In a way it seems far-fetched, but I don't think it is. The Lord has been moving miraculously in this part of Kenya and is stepping up the work by making more and more connections. He is calling people out of their normal lives and giving them no option but to go. James refused the Lord 3 times, but eventually was told that if he cared more for his life and his children’s' lives then the lives of His people who are dying in their sins, then the Lord would destroy him and his family. So he went. This is a pattern that is repeated over and over again here in Kenya. I believe that the Lord is preparing a harvest and is putting His people in place for that harvest. - Peb

Please continue praying for the East Africa Zarephath Ministry and especially Onesmus and Esther as they work and minister and persevere under intense spiritual conditions in Kenya. The warfare is real and intense, but Jesus is the Victor and we, as believers, have our victory in Him.

Thank you!