Defeat is never an option

Dec. 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Defeat was not an option for writer, teacher, evangelist Cheryl Lacey Donovan

Someone once asked  what her passion was in life, she said, "God has given me a heart for women who are struggling with life’s twists and turns. My message to them is even when we can’t diagnose the problem; God’s word can bring us healing and wholeness. I want to bring this message to all women. I want them to understand that until they fall in love with Jesus, the chains of sin and bondage will never be broken."

Cheryl Donovan has developed a unique voice that manifests itself through her literary endeavors. Her newest contribution, “Women What in Hell are You Thinking Now: Transform Your Thinking to Transform Your Life arrives in bookstores March 2011. It compels women to look at themselves and their lives and take inventory. If they don't like what they see then it's time to clean the clutter.

Welcome to the world of Cheryl Donovan.

In 1983 Cheryl found herself pregnant at the age of sixteen. She married the baby’s father and had another son. She soon found herself in the midst of an abusive marriage with little hope.

Cheryl believes the enemy loves to put thoughts into our minds and if we’re not careful those thoughts  produce strongholds, which produce feelings that land us into bondage... all because we listened to the devil more than we listened to our God!

“Years after I went through my pregnancy as a teen and experienced the abuse of domestic violence I would beat myself up on a regular basis. “How could I be so stupid? How could I stay as long as I did? I would be so much further along if I had just listened.” Satan wanted to remind me of the sins of my past. He said, “You’re bad, you’re a failure, you're a disappointment.” But Jesus, through God's Word, told me that if I turned to Him, I’d be forgiven and my past forgotten: Isaiah 43:25, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."
I was faced with a choice: I could either listen to Satan's lie that I was a failure and a disappointment, or I could listen to God's Word that told me my past was washed away and I was a new creature in Christ!” says Donovan.

Cheryl chose to listen to God’s voice and allow it to crowd out the voice of the enemy because she recognized the strongholds in her life were built on the foundation created by the lies of the enemy. But when she feasted on the truth in God's Word, it tore down the strongholds and made it harder for the enemy's voice to penetrate the walls of her thoughts.

“Listening to Satan's decrees that I was a failure would’ve continued to feed that lie, until it grew into strongholds of poverty, reliance on government assistance, low self-esteem, and decreased confidence in my ability to succeed. My feelings would’ve been a direct result of my thoughts resulting ultimately in a self- fulfilling prophecy.  But listening to my Father in heaven, who was speaking truth to me through His Word, I began to tear down the strongholds in my life and rebuild a future based on wisdom knowledge and understanding. Those messages from society that kept playing over and over in my head telling me I would be on welfare, living in government housing with children who wouldn’t graduate high school or worse who would be in prison the rest of their lives crumbled under the     weight of the Word of God . When I meditated on the truth in God's Word, it became part of me, and before long, I began feeling different, simply because I was exchanging lies of the devil for the truth in God's Word. I believed my sins were forgiven and I’ve allowed my conscience to be cleansed from dead works by the blood of Jesus”
Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"

Apex reviews refers to Cheryl's writing as detailed, straightforward, and unchecked. Donovan's personal testimony of strength and conviction is articulate, passionate, and very necessary.

Donovan grew up in Houston, Texas the daughter of parents who divorced when she was four. Her father is a prominent Baptist preacher in Houston. In spite of the vicissitudes of life which found Cheryl a pregnant teen in an abusive marriage, she has now become a highly sought after inspirational speaker, educator, talk show host, and award winning author.

“I love everything that I do, she says.” It is the path God has placed me on. When I became pregnant I was scared my life would be over but He knew best. Nothing I do is a job to me. It's a lifestyle. One where I do my best to pour into others what God has poured into me; love, power, and a sound mind.

Meanwhile, she’s also managed to find a real niche as a writer, regularly being included in anthologies like “The Triumph of My Soul”, “Gumbo for the Soul” and “Victorious Living for Women”.  

One reviewer has said, “She has truly mastered the ability to "break one down in order to build one up," much like a master subtly shaping the hearts and minds of unwitting students.”

That passion and sincerity also comes through in person. “Cheryl's students at a proprietary school in Houston just enjoy her presence because she’s very open about speaking about her confusions and her shortcomings. She also shares her triumphs, breakthrough, and accomplishments and that’s something a lot of the students find refreshing

Donovan lives in Houston with her husband Keith Donovan, who made his writing debut in Do You Still Do What Happens Happily Ever After, the couples’ transparent piece on the realities of relationships and what it takes to have a marriage of purpose. They are the parents of three adult children and grandparents to two handsome grandsons.

“The desire of my heart is for women to see opportunities for growth and enrichment in the mundane moments of life,” Donovan says. I try to help people incorporate character building into their daily routine and identify their individual gifts that can serve themselves and their families for a lifetime. I want them to see beyond what they literally know, to reshape their personal knowledge of love and hate, conformity and rebellion, innocence and experience into something with deeper meaning.”

For more information about the release of Donovan's new book “Women What in Hell are You Thinking Now: Transform Your Thinking to Transform Your Life visit http://www.womenwhatinhellareyouthinking.wordpress.com or to reach Evangelist Donovan visit http://www.worthmorethanrubiesministries.org. She can be e-mailed at cherylspeaks@gmail.com

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Worth More than Rubies is an Evangelistic Ministry dedicated to spreading the wisdom of God for every day life.

For more information about the ministry visit http://www.worthmorethanrubiesministries.org