Stop Dancing with The Enemy

Beloved daughter of the Most High God, are you tired of limitation and fears? Are you feeling unloved, or do you question your worth and value? Do you desire freedom or courage? Would you like to know the depth and width of God's love? Do you desire to be set free from the past? Do you lack self-confidence, or are you trapped by shame and guilt? Do you feel bound? Imprisoned? Limited? Stuck? Hopeless? Have you answered "yes" to any of these questions? Then this book is for you.

Stop Dancing with the Enemy will help you:

• Gain insight as to the source of your limitations and how to move with more freedom and power through God's Word and His love.

• Gain freedom over insecurity

• Understand how your identity in Christ will heal and transform

• Overcome past abuse

• Learn the powerful healing truth of God's love.

• Develop more confidence

• Defeat shame, guilt, and fear

Imagine you have come to watch the most exquisite dancers in the whole world. It is the grandest of all ballrooms. It is ornate and glorious in splendor. No detail overlooked. Her beautiful gown swirls around her feet, her hair and jewelry perfect. Look at her dance! Anyone that beautiful must not have any cares of this world.

But her graceful movements and beauty are simply a cover-up for the truth. Her partner greets and escorts her to the floor. He is wearing a tuxedo and appears to be the most handsome man ever. Appearance is deceiving and hides his true identity. The Deceiver has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He seems so inviting and such a skilled dancer. He knows exactly how to lead and direct her movements.

The audience is captivated by the exquisite performance. They clap and cheer as they execute difficult dance steps, spinning and twirling as one across the dance floor. Every step more intricate, every step synchronized perfectly to the music. What they do not see are the chains that keep her shackled.

Why did I write this book?

I have been a counselor for three decades and have helped many people deal with the issues covered in the book. I wanted to go beyond one-on-one counseling in order to empower as many women as possible.

Isaiah 61:1-2 is my motivational scripture for readers. This passage describes God's heart towards His children. He desires to set the captives free, open prison doors, and give them joy for mourning. 

I want them to understand God's love in a deeper more experiential way that will eradicate shame, fear, insecurity, and misplaced identity. They will gain a deeper understanding of their worth and value. 

There are many people who have exchanged the Truth for lies in their lives. We often do not recognize the lies because they are so familiar to us. We hear them echoing in our heart saying, "You are a failure; You are weak; You are nothing." We think they are just our own thoughts and so we continue to dance with the enemy. God's desire is for his great love and His truth  to bring freedom, healing and transformation so you can dance with The Beloved.

Mari Plank is an International Speaker/Trainer, Life Coach and practicing Christian Counselor with over thirty years of professional experience in family, marital and personal counseling. As a trusted voice, her expertise impacts thousands through her weekly radio show Transformation! Her extensive background in this field includes working as Dean of Cathedral Bible College Counseling Department, Assistant Clinical Director for a group home, Graduate School Professor, Lay Pastoral Counseling Trainer, Foster Care Social Worker, and Foster Parent Trainer.

 Mari possesses a living testimony as a survivor of domestic violence, which underscores her authentic compassion and practical breakthrough for clients. With great transparency, she often shares that she too suffered from co-dependency, depression, and low self-esteem.

Even though she was a Christian during the abusive years, she teaches others that she didn't really understand how God's love could heal her. Mari knew John 3:16, but it was mere theology and not true heart knowledge for her at the time. Desperate for help, she cried out to the Lord, and asked Him to show her His real love or else she was done as a Christian. That prayer began the long journey out of an abusive cycle and a legacy of healing that she now shares with the world.

Mari’s dramatic healing prompted her to obtain a master’s degree in Marriage & Family Child Counseling, so she could help transform more lives in the way that God empowered hers.

Early on in her practice, God gave Mari an amazing model based upon three powerful pillars: 1) God’s love, 2) His Word and 3) Forgiveness. Using a tree symbol in a step by step process, she first identifies the client’s fruit that is troublesome; secondly she helps clients to identify the lies that support and nourish the bad fruit (anything that is contrary to God's Word) in order to replace it with God’s truth; thirdly she identifies the soil (sources of hurt, pain, limitation that caused the fruit); and lastly she helps clients apply genuine forgiveness. Mari has utilized this technique for amazing, quick, and effective results.

Her passion is watching people transformed by God's love and His Word. Mari has successfully done this important work in one-on-one counseling, workshops, retreats, leadership training, local jails and on her Radio Show. For more information visit mariplanklifecoach.com.