Family members hurt us. Friends betray us. Fellow Christians deceive us. But Jesus provides a path through the pain—and it might surprise you:
the Lord’s Prayer.
In The Wall Around Your Heart, Mary DeMuth shows you that you can reach wholeness and healing in the aftermath of painful relationships by following the road map of the Lord’s Prayer. You’ll walk through story after story of hurt people who are led through biblical truth into amazing, life-sustaining, joyful growth.
Life is hard. People can be mean and petty and awful. But they can also be amazing and beautiful and sacrificial. God is good. He is faithful. You can trust him with your relationships. “He’ll send people to call out what is hard in your heart,” Mary shares. “And that’s a gift to you.”
Allow God to access the wall around your heart. Dare to say, “Tear down the bricks, Lord, whatever it takes.” Pray first. Ask for bravery—for yourself and for others. Risk engaging despite your hurt. Seek the shelter of Jesus.
You don’t have to resign yourself to your wounds! You can rise above the pain. You’ll usher in a new life—an openhearted way of relating to others that expands the kingdom of God. In the process, you’ll draw closer to Jesus, be healed, and become an agent of healing to others.
Mary DeMuth is an author and speaker who loves to help people live uncaged, freedom-infused lives. She’s the author of fifteen books, including six novels and her critically acclaimed memoir, Thin Places. After church planting in Southern France, Mary, her husband, and their three young adult kids now live in the burbs of Dallas.
She lived the message of this book the hard way, enduring relational pain, building walls, and suffering in solitude. Jesus sweetly brought her through, broke down her many walls, and ushered her into welcome-hearted living.
(And just in case you think she’s got it all together...she still pushes against bitterness, and those pesky walls keep trying to rebuild. In a way, she wrote this book so you would keep her accountable. We’re all on this journey together.)
"My heart for you in this journey we’ll be taking together is this:
Be loved. Be wildly and audaciously loved." — Mary
Frank Viola
Author of God's Favorite Place on Earth, FrankViola.org
"One of Christianity's premier authors has crafted a powerful healing balm for true Jesus followers."
Sandra Glahn
Author, Coffee Cup Bible Studies series
"When people let us down—and they will—the Lord’s Prayer serves as a map on the highway to healing. In The Wall Around Your Heart, Mary DeMuth takes readers on a journey of masterful storytelling, biblically sound content, and road-tested experience to show them how. Highly recommended!"
Johnny Douglas
Anglican Pastor
"The oldest prayer comes alive through the power of the Holy Spirit and Mary’s writing gift. Every page beats with life and fresh hope!"
Jen Hatmaker
Author of 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess
"No matter how someone else has injured you - betrayal, abuse, abandonment, manipulation, neglect, physical harm, exploitation – The Wall Around Your Heart will be a balm of healing, because no injury is too great for Jesus to mend. If you are drowning in pain or bitterness or shock from a broken relationship, start on the first page of this book and set it down at the end healed."
Preston Yancey
Author of seeprestonblog.com
"Mary DeMuth offers here an invitation to habituate the Lord's Prayer as a healing balm to the fractured and broken places of the spirit. Her frank and matter-of-fact turn of phrase journeys the reader through the depths of ache and up into the heights of joy. DeMuth whispers into the soul the gospel of peace, the promise of a Christ in whom all the fractured are made whole."
Judy Douglass
Author, Speaker, Encourager, Director, Women's Resources, Cru
"I love how my friend Mary DeMuth uses the stories of her life to tell the stories of God's work in our lives. She did it for me today in The Wall Around Your Heart, touching my heart with tender reminders of God's love and grace. Mary weaves the powerful beauty of The Lord's Prayer with the challenges of hurtful relationships and events, creating an exquisite tapestry of healing and restoration and hope."
Susan Larson
Author, Speaker, Radio Host
"This is a fallen world. Others hurt us and we make our own bad choices. So how do we survive the wreckage of broken relationships? How do we salvage our identity when we've found ourselves at the bottom of the pile? Mary DeMuth knows the answers to these questions because she's lived them. If you long for healing and wholeness after relational heartbreak, walk with Mary through these pages. She'll help you recover your identity, learn to trust again, and find the beauty in worship amidst it all."
Heather Kopp
Author of Sober Mercies: How Love Caught Up with a Christian Drunk
"I can't think of a woman I know who wouldn't benefit from the wisdom and hope to be found in Mary DeMuth's latest book, The Wall Around My Heart. The way she mines the Lord's Prayer for healing truths is ingenious. As always, DeMuth writes with the kind of rare authenticity that draws you in and keeps you turning pages. You can't help but be changed by the message in this book, and you'll never pray the Lord's Prayer the same way again."
Deidra Riggs
Writer, deidrariggs.com, managing editor, TheHighCalling.org
"The Body of Christ is beautiful, and I'm glad to limp along with them in this crazy journey of faith. Along the way, I sometimes step on someone's toes, or someone steps on mine. Mary has written this guidebook to help successfully navigate those seasons where I'm tempted to hold a grudge and give up on the Body of Christ. Using the Lord's Prayer — each line — as a prompt, I'm reminded of God's desire to heal and comfort me in each of my relationships; especially the ones in which I have been deeply hurt, and even broken."
"In this wall-abolishing adventure, I wish you an openhearted life."
— Mary
Participate in the Openhearted Revolution!
(Do 5 of these ten tasks and receive an exclusive, awesome, over-the-top cool t-shirt as our thank you. Simply email wallaroundyourheart@gmail.com when you’ve finished.)
1. Tweet about The Wall Around Your Heart with the hashtag #openheart and @MaryDeMuth.
2. Create a unique banner for your Facebook wall and include a jpg of The Wall Around Your Heart. Keep it up for three awesome days.
3. Create a pin using one of these quotes:
Use the hashtag #openheart in the pin’s description.
4. Send an email to a friend or group of friends about the book.
5. Write a blog post about the book, highlighting a story of when God crashed down one of your walls. (Contact Mary if you’d like her input).
6. Share the book trailer in any way (twitter, facebook, blog, google +, Linkedin, etc.) Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/189Ord1
7. Post a review about the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Christian Book Distributors or GoodReads.
8. Ask your local bookstore or library to stock the book.
9. Compose a song (yeah, really!) about the walls people put around their hearts. Or write some kickin’ slam poetry & perform it. Upload to Youtube.
10. Pass the book to anyone cool. (Note: We’re all cool.)
You’ll discover how to navigate conflict in a healthy way and find joy despite the heartache.
You’ll uncover the secret of getting rid of bitterness, even when someone re-injures you.
You’ll dare to risk again for the sake of living openhearted with others.
© 2013 Mary DeMuth. All Rights Reserved. Site by Author Media.