Free to Run the Race

Free to Run the Race describes the living out of our life in Christ (Hebrews 12:1). It speaks of running ""with endurance the race that is set before us."" This can be done by fixing our ""eyes on Jesus."" ""Undoing the Burden of Parental Disregard,"" speaks to a specific encumbrance that weighs the runner down making it harder to keep focus and finish the race. The burden is called ""parental disregard."" It is not being allowed to ""be oneself,"" to pursue one's inner direction, or natural proclivity in one's life. It is the experience of developmental woundedness that says being oneself in temperament, aptitudes, natural talents, and the expressing of this is prohibited. Prov 22:6 says, ""train up a child according to his own way."" The burden of parental disregard is the emotional pain in living out an identity that is not based on any expression of one's natural ""way(s)"" or bent(s). This makes the development of trust in a heavenly Father (parent) difficult. The relieving of this burden takes a ruthlessly honest focus on this woundedness and its working out its implications honestly that allows a more truthful understanding of God's love for our lives.


""Drawing upon his vast knowledge and experience in the fields of theology and psychology, Dr. Gary Ventimiglia presents critical insights regarding what keeps many from being free to become the person God has created them to be. Gary concludes by sharing practical suggestions that foster holistic healing leading to the experiential knowing of God's love, which in turn frees the reader to run their race. This is a book worth reading!""
--Larry Warner, author of Journey with Jesus

""Here is a liberating, biblically rooted, Christ-centered book by a Christian psychoanalyst and family therapist that will . . . bring healing of the raw nerve of parental disregard so they can run with the Master with freedom and joy.""  
--Lloyd John Ogilvie, Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, California (1972-1995); U.S. Senate Chaplain (1995-2003)  

""For those of us who are held back by the voices that constantly seek to get us to 'Run faster!' as well as those given the privilege to raise up young souls, this book gets us back to what it means to find healing in grace. With a gentle but deliberate hand, Gary Ventimiglia leads us on a journey home in a thoughtful, grounded, and accessible way.""
--Chap Clark, Author, Hurt 2.0: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers; Professor of Youth, Family and Culture, Fuller Theological Seminary

Gary Ventimiglia is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and a psychoanalyst in private practice in Van Nuys, California. An ordained minister, he received a MDiv (Talbot Theological Seminary); a MA in Marriage and Family Ministries (Fuller Theological Seminary,) and two doctorates (PsyD, PhD) in psychoanalysis (Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles). He is a clinical member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, Christian Association for Psychological Studies, and the Society for the Exploration of Psychoanalytic Theory and Theology.