Aubrey Gayel Sampson - Overcomer: Breaking Down the Walls of Shame and Rebuilding Your Soul

Shame has plagued us from the beginning, but in Gods redemptive story, it has no final word. With humor, authenticity, and biblical wisdom, Aubrey Sampson writes to proclaim good news: in Jesus, we have a Savior and a Shame Remover.

JEN POLLOCK MICHEL, author, Teach Us to Want

Scripture couldnt be clearer: There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Yet we continue to hide behind the wall of shame. Aubrey Sampson calls us out from our hiding place and into the freedom that is already ours. With honest storytelling and practical application, she nudges us forward and then beautifully kicks our backsides to step boldly into who we already are in Christ.

ELISA MORGAN, speaker, author, The Beauty of Broken and Hello, Beauty Full

For any woman who has experienced insecurity or shame, Aubrey Sampsons words offer truth, joy, and healing for the soul. Filled with humor, biblical insight, and no apologies, Aubrey offers women hope instead of despair, grace instead of grief, and beauty instead of ashes. Read Overcomer and rebuild your identity as a woman free from shame.

GEORGIA SHAFFER, author, Avoiding the Twelve Relationship Mistakes Women Make

Shame is far too powerful in most of our lives. Overcomer is not a miracle cure, but its the next best thing. Prepare to reclaim your past and discover your fullest self!

LESLIE LEYLAND FIELDS, author, Forgiving Our Mothers and Fathers

This winsome and practical book will resonate with so many women, both for its stories of shame and its roadmap for finding the way out. Let it lead you toward freedom.

AMY SIMPSON, author, Anxious: Choosing Faith in a World of Worry

Shame is toxic to our faith. Through the pages of this book, Aubrey Sampson will take you on a journey to discover its devastating nature. Aubrey presents bold truth to help usher you into deeper intimacy with Christ and empower you to overcome shame. As a pastor, I am excited to recommend this book because I know it will be a great tool to introduce many people to the fierce love of God that brings true freedom!

KENNETH E. ORTIZ, Redefined: Discovering and Celebrating What God Really Thinks about You

With wit balanced by insight and honest confession, Aubrey helps us face the pain of shame with hope and truth. For all those ashamed to deal with shame, let Aubrey hold your hand to the cross.

MITCHEL LEE, pastor, Grace Community Church

I work with thousands of women and never has there been a more urgent message in our quest for wholeness in Christ than uprooting the lies about shame. Overcomer is relatable, practical, and purposeful in sharing the steps to inner freedom. A perfect small-group study.

PAM KANALY, author, speaker, cofounder of Arise Ministries

Aubrey tenderly walks you through the hidden hurts and fears we all carry and hide. Through Scripture and story, she winsomely invites you in to real and powerful times of healing and restoration.

CINDY JOHNSON, author, Whos Picking Me Up from the Airport? and Other Questions Single Girls Ask

Aubrey Sampson is well-acquainted with shame and what it takes to overcome it. In this book, youll find great help and encouragement to kick down the walls of shame as you learn to think rightly about God, yourself, and the world.

MARLENA GRAVES, author, A Beautiful Disaster: Finding Hope in the Midst of Brokenness

Are you drowning in overwhelming public shame or silently hounded by unwanted thoughts of regret or self-loathing? Overcomer reveals a tender Jesus with the power to transform our stories of shame into identities soaked in love. A resource every woman needs. With honest stories, accessible tools, and worksheets, Overcomer provides what you need to rebuild your soul.

SHAYNE MOORE, author, founder of Redbud Writers Guild

In my years of ministry to women, Ive learned that, for so many, you dont have to scratch too far beneath the surface to encounter some form of shame. This book provides a dynamic, solid, biblically based toolbox for those who are ready to be set free from shames crippling effects in a loving, practical, and powerful way.

TERRI KRAUS, president, Redbud Writers Guild; author of The Project Restoration series

ZONDERVAN

Overcomer

Copyright 2015 by Aubrey Sampson

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

ePub Edition August 2015: ISBN 978-0-310-34261-8

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with literary agent Heidi Mitchell of D.C. Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company, www.dcjacobson.com

Cover design: Dual Identity

Cover photography: ronfromyork / Shutterstock / nicolecioe / iStockphoto

Interior design: Denise Froehlich

First printing August 2015

This book is dedicated to The Sundays.

Your picture was next to my computer the whole time I wrote, and in so many ways, this book was designed for and inspired by you. You have blessed me.

May you always live without shame.

CONTENTS

by Shannon Ethridge

Her vacant eyes above forced smile reveal
how worn she is from all she, silent, knows.
How beautiful shell be when her lips peal,
the chains fall, she speaks out, she blossoms, grows.
And so a megaphone for the defiled
Will rise up from the fragile billboard child.

LYDIA BUSH, BILLBOARD SIGN

Lift your face, Love; Raise your eyes, Child.
Beauty streams from you.
Shame was vanquishedHope is shining;
God can get you through.

LYDIA BUSH, AFTER ALL

I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

KING DAVID, PSALM 34:45

Grabbing the cleaning supplies, a roll of paper towels, and the For Sale sign, we headed into the woods toward the clearing that had been home to our gently used RV for the past decade. Now that our kids were older, it was time to retire from camping and pass the RV on to another family. We had agreed on an asking price of only $1,000, indicating our generosity and our desperation to have one less item to maintain. A couple of hours of scrubbing and polishing and shed be good as new and ready to roll.

But when we opened the door, unexpected sights and smells greeted us. Rather than the layer of dust wed anticipated, a layer of mold decorated the wood cabinetry, and mildew adorned the upholstery, curtains, and carpet. The sagging, water-stained ceiling told the sad story of a neglected recreational vehicle whose roof had sprung a leak in the eight months since it had last been used.