Good Little Church Girl Ascends: Finding the Truth Within

Good Little Church Girl Ascends

Finding the Truth Within

Rebecca Louise French

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at [email protected].

Copyright © Rebecca Louise French 2017

Published October 30, 2017

Publisher: Rebecca Louise French

Cover Design: Sherri Hayter

Photography: Shutterstock/@julia700702

Editor: Lisa Riemann

ISBN: 978-1-7751452-0-2

This book is dedicated to all those who grew up under the suppression of organized religion, whether you have left, are thinking of leaving or still feel it is the best place for you to be right now.

My dream is that this book inspires you to find your heart’s truth within and know that who you really are is perfect.

There have been many ideas floating around the past umpteen thousand years about the Path to God. Of course, any way you take is the way to take if it gets you where you wish to go. There is no right way; no right path or wrong path, but only the path which you're on.

—Neale Donald Walsch

Disclaimer & Warning

Please be aware that Chapter 9 of this book contains explicit content about sexual abuse.

The value of this book will not be diminished if you feel unable to read this chapter.

A reminder is given at the start of the chapter should you wish to skip it due to personal sensitivities.

Acknowledgments

To Lisa Riemann, I am forever grateful to our higher selves for choosing each other as a support network in this lifetime. Thank you for your honesty, your feedback, your support and most of all, your belief in me and what I was thinking I could achieve now and beyond. Thank you also for being the first and last to read and edit this book and letting me know that the book I thought might be worth writing was actually something others may benefit from reading as well.

To Diana Marcellino, it’s hard to imagine that when we first met I was a good little church girl. Seems like a lifetime ago. Thank you for your feedback on all my business ideas, in particular, the naming of my business and the title of this book. I miss our monthly dinner dates where we could speak candidly about all things spirituality, ascension and my thoughts and fears about all the huge changes occurring in my life. I’m grateful for your constant presence in my life.

Nancy Valentine Smith and Cindy Thompson, thank you for being shining examples of what humble, inspirational mentors and healers could be. Your healing hands and words and very presence helped me to release some of the darkest periods of my life so that I could see the diamond that was within me ready to shine. I learned more from both of you than I can ever put into words and I am deeply grateful for who you are.

To my ever loving, supportive and patient husband and my amazing boys. Thank you for understanding when I suddenly asked for quiet when inspiration hit. I’m so happy that this journey of self-discovery was something we did together in a family filled with love and understanding for what each individual had to offer. You are my inspiration, my safe place to land and my greatest loves.

To my parents. My Dad for always encouraging me to take calculated risks and for consistently being there to support me when things don’t go according to plan. Talking things out with you gives me clarity of mind and confidence to move forward. And Mumma, for your never ending love, cuddles and support, you’re more like a sister to me than a mom, which I adore. I love how proud of me you both are when I’m just being myself. I feel blessed to have you both in my corner.

I feel so blessed to have two of the most amazing women in my life that I’m honoured to call my best friends. To Leslie and Debbie, thank you for always being my sounding boards and support when I doubted myself; for allowing me to practice healings on your kids when I wasn’t even totally sure I could do anything to help (thank goodness I was even more gifted than I ever thought possible so I didn’t make things worse!). Thank for your helping me to laugh when I wanted to cry and for being that shoulder when I needed one to cry upon. And most importantly, for being my Muscato mamas!

To Dale and Seth, the reasons why are evident in the chapters within. Thank you for allowing me to share a little piece of our stories with the world.

I couldn’t have done this without my angels and guides, particularly Archangel Michael who stood by my side in those early days when I doubted myself and questioned everything continually. You pushed me outside of my comfort zone, one big learning experience at a time, and helped me to overcome my fears so that I could assist others to do the same. Invaluable.

There is a place on Facebook where I can be myself, and feel surrounded by the love of extended family-by-choice. The A Year of Healing meditation group has become a safe place to land for so many. Thank you all for being open to sharing your experiences with the meditations and messages which are downloaded from the spirit collective through myself. Your openness, unwavering support and inspiration allowed me to trust in the messages I was given and together we have all made an impact on the world around us. You are all wonderful and it’s been an honour to serve you as we all work together on this ascension path.

Lastly, to the Soul Writers group also on Facebook; the place where I received encouragement, advice and step by step guides to making this book go from a dream to reality. Thank you.

Foreword

Reading Rebecca's heartfelt and raw account of her experiences during her childhood, young adulthood and early motherhood was a profound experience for me. Coming from the same church denomination I had my own traumatic experiences with control, female submission, disempowerment, conformity, abuse and fear. I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting! Rebecca's writing style is clear and magnetic, her message powerful. I first connected with Rebecca when her journey in organized religion was drawing to a close and the depth of her generosity of spirit, love and wisdom shone through our communications. I knew this was a woman I had to connect with. She is one of our Earth Angels. I believe the moment in history that Rebecca has decided to share her story and healing gifts with the world in this method, to be Spirit Guided and profoundly needed as the earth's vibrations raise.

Good Little Church Girl Ascends is a beautifully written account to validate and empower anyone who has experienced trauma in their life, especially someone coming from a background of spiritual, emotional or physical abuse from an organized body. There are some shocking moments shared including a sexual abuse encounter (which is clearly labelled as a trigger warning for compassionate reasons). This was harrowing to read not just for the obvious trauma of abuse but because it illustrated the depth of Rebecca's pain and disempowerment in a group where she was silenced and not celebrated for the wonderful woman she is. Unfortunately this is a common experience for humankind, myself included. I love how Rebecca weaves her story of leaving this environment and the twists and turns her life took as she healed. Along the way she found her own beauty and power and peace for her marriage and family. Throughout her story she was given many signs of how her guides were watching over her and the full realization of how she was to share her spiritual and healing gifts is profound. Throughout the book there are Self-Reflection pauses which I found to be a great place to meditate and acknowledge the readers pains and start the healing process within. I believe reading this book will be the catalyst for many healings and positive shifts. If you've picked up this book and have read this far, honour yourself and your journey. Make yourself a cuppa, be open and dive in! You will feel your mind, body and relationships heal, I promise! For me, I can't wait to see what Rebecca will write next!

—K. Niejalke, TAS, Australia

A Note about My Previous Religion

I have given a lot of thought about whether or not to include the actual name of my church/religion in this book or just to use the word church. I realize some may be curious about the origins of my church, beliefs or strange traditions. I don’t assume that all church experiences will be the same as mine due to differing beliefs. At the end of the day, I’ve decided to follow my heart and not name the religion for a few reasons.

Firstly, I still know and respect several members of that church. Secondly, I don’t personally believe that naming the church would make any difference.

This book is not about condemning or judging the religion or the people therein, it’s about how I made a gradual and life changing decision to move from religion to spirituality and the joy, peace and most importantly, love and self-acceptance that I found in doing so.

As the quote states at the start of this book, we are all on our own path to finding God/Spirit/The Universe or whichever name works best for you. Each of our paths will have similarities and differences. It is my intention to share my story in order to assist those who may be searching for answers or who may be unsure about the nature of Spirit. Perhaps in a way, this book is also for those of my religion who felt that my leaving the church was a mistake or that I left due to something which happened with someone or something within the group. I’ve had several people ask me about this switch, which seemed so sudden to them and yet feels like a lifelong path for me. I hope my story within these pages will give you the clarity you are searching for.

For those of you who are unsure, confused or bitter about the religion you are a part of or were once a part of, this book is most certainly for you. I don’t expect your journey to be the same as mine and I don’t expect you to follow my path. I do implore you to do what feels right for you. If you’ve never been a part of a religion and you are simply searching for answers on your own life journey, this book is also for you as you discover your inner truth. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me. I’d love to hear from you.

1

In the Beginning

Have you ever pondered the similarities between organized religion and marriage ?

We’d like to think that just like most people don’t get married thinking they will get divorced, most people don’t join a religion thinking that they will eventually leave.

I know there are exceptions to this rule, such as arranged marriage and one who grows up in a religion and doesn’t choose it, but stay with me here.

Even as a child who is raised in a church, we don’t often think of leaving it, as we’re told how wrong and sinful that would be. When we don’t like sitting still and being quiet or being taken out of the room to be smacked if we break those two rules, we don’t blame the church (or at least I didn’t) we blame ourselves for not being able to sit still like the other good children. Just like when a marriage isn’t going well, many people stay out of obligation or a need to show that they can make it work or their need to demonstrate loyalty or true love. And we don’t often hear of people blaming the institution of marriage itself, rather they blame themselves, their partner or their lack of compatibility.

Many friends and family have asked me since I left my rather conservative church what led me on the path from religion to spirituality.

They don’t understand where the loyalty, love or devotion I once had for the religion and therefore