Books with author Dawn Mills

Born under the light of the rising sun, I was named after the beauty of the new day. Later to be given the moniker of Desert Rose, it all fit together. Born as the sun rose over the desert, a place that only comes to life after the storms, at a time of day that is most beautiful, only after the darkest hours. This is me. For my life became the darkness of abuse, neglect, the total removal of all that was light in my life; the end only coming as the strength and beauty of the light returned, removing the darkness that engulfed the hours before the dawn.

INTRODUCTIONi am pleased to introduce the second and expanded edition of the marriage counselling handbook that was originally known as The marriage Counselling manual. This handbook, first published in 1992, and the oldest publication of this ministry, has come about through years of studying the Word of god and gaining practical experience in marriage. i realize from my pastoral experience, that marriage and its complicated challenges canadversely affect most Christians and hinder individuals who are called to the ministry. i am happy to have written and compiled this book through different stages of my life becausei have learnt from experience that we emphasize different things at different stages of life and ministry. For instance, i have discovered that an individual's temperament in the marriage relationship is basically what determines the person's behaviour in the marriage context. in spite of much counselling, teaching and prayer, most people simply live according to their temperamental dispositions. These truths were not as apparent to me ten years ago as they are today. also, male and female behaviour patterns are much easier to predict, as they do not vary much from person to person. For me therefore, marriage counselling although basically the same, must be done with full cognizance of these realities, that is, temperamental and gender behaviour patterns. if pastors fully understand these important realities, they will not become frustrated when their counsellees do not change much. i also believe that we will be less prone to divorce when we understand how much our maleness, femaleness and temperamental dispositions affect us all. i have also observed complicated situations, which lead to divorce; a phenomenon that seemed impossible at the beginning of my Christian ministry. i have come to appreciate the contribution of not-so-easily-diagnosed psychological and psychiatric illnesses in spousal behaviour, especially in females. Perhaps, in later editions of this book, there will be more reference to such matters.recognizing that my marriage experiences alone are limited, i have always tried to tap into theminds of both men and women on various issues in this book. in so doing, i have gathered different attitudes and perspectives from all sides including males and females, the educated and the uneducated, the medical and the non-medical.This research has also been enhanced by some surveys that were conducted on different groupsand individuals. all in all, it has been a journey of continuous learning that will never end. i pray that god willgive you wisdom for your marriage as well as wisdom to help others. i pray that every couple that benefits from this book will have a stable and happy marriage.