SANITY

“We’ve all been there in that place where we continue doing the same stupid things over and over; and then amaze ourselves with expecting different results.” Well, some folks believe that’s the definition of insanity.

I want to speak about the opposite of insanity and go deep into the realm of sanity.

If you are keeping up with our Celebrate Recovery (CR) Ministry you will understand most of what I’m saying, but for those that have not or know very little as to what CR is all about; let me regress just a bit. CR is really a ministry that was founded by a man in California that was struggling with an addiction in alcoholism. His name is John Baker and he developed a Christ-centered twelve (12) step/eight (8) principle program based upon God’s Word that really coincides with the existing 12 step programs of Alcohol Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs most addicts are familiar with. However, CR is not just for those struggling with alcohol or narcotics, it was formed for all reasons people tend to try and recover from like co-dependency, anger, control, porn addiction, food disorder, abuse, etc. What I tend to tell folks who ask me what CR is all about is this: “CR is about getting my relationship with Christ back to where it should be, so that I’m then allowing Him to help me in my recovery!”

Now, when we get to this point in our recovery, we’ve already got past denial and have realized that we are powerless over our hurts, habits, and hang-ups. We have also come to realize that it takes Jesus Christ alone to restore us to sanity! We cannot do it, since most of us have been in this merry-go-round for quite some time of doing the same thing over and over until we give up! Once we get to this point in our recovery however, we begin to receive some of these gifts:

Strength to quit the fighting, fleeing, or freezing that we did in the past because of Christ who lives within us. See Psalm 46:1.

Acceptance by not blaming others and having realistic expectations of ourselves and others. See Romans 15:7.

New Life in Christ is renewed within us as our faith grows in our only Higher Power Jesus Christ. See 2 Corinthians 1:8-9.

Integrity is now part of us, because we begin to follow through on our promises; just as it says in 3 John 4.

Trust begins again in all of our relationships and especially with Jesus Christ as we “let go and let God”! See Proverbs 29:25.

Your Higher Power is now a personal part of your life because you realize that God loves you just the way you are, warts and all! No matter what comes your way, together you and God can handle it! Remember always Romans 5:8, since we know He loves us so much He died for us!

Two scriptures I leave with you as you travel through this life awaiting the next:

Nahum 1:7, “The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust Him.”

Matthew 6:34, “So, don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.””

Sanity is possible in this life!!

Blessings,
Jim W.

“Refusing to Admit the Truth”

If you’re anything like me, and I’m assuming some (if not all) are pretty similar, we tend to discard what we know as the truth for what feels good or is less cumbersome to deal with!  In other words, we are living a lie and doing it on purpose.  Hard to swallow sometimes, but especially true if you’re trying to make yourself look better than you know you really are; or if you just don’t want to deal with all the answers as to why you can’t get it right.  What’s funny and sad about this, is that pretty soon we begin to believe the lie we are living and just hope everything will work itself out!

In her book “Counseling Through the Bible Handbook”, June Hunt calls it Truth Decay! And just like Pinocchio, we face all kinds of obstacles and issues and decide that a small lie is better than the truth.  It all begins by just a little lie that is repeated time and time again.  June Hunt says, “our repeated lying deadens our conscience and then it becomes easier and easier to lie and be deceptive.”  Similar I’m sure, to an infection that gets into our bodies, and if left untreated it soon takes over our entire lives!  Proverbs 27: 3-4 says, “Lies are untrue statements made with the intent to deceive.”  So, do not ever believe the little white lie is the quick and easy way out of some situation you’re not willing to deal with.

Most of us when we are in this frame of mind, we don’t see ourselves as habitual liars. We rationalize that we are only trying to meet our urgent needs and therefore the lie is justified in our eyes!  June says there are basically two primary causes for lying, and they are: feeling insignificant and lying to make ourselves look more important, and feeling insecure and lying to keep from looking bad, stupid, or inadequate. 

However, our Lord has promised to meet all our needs!  In Philippians 4:19 it says so: “My God will meet all your needs according to His Glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”

When we find ourselves in this struggle with denial; (regardless of the reason for the denial) we must realize the truth that is always true and try in each and every situation to say yes to Christ our Lord and Savior.  Before coming to Celebrate Recovery, I was playing church on Sundays and living just like the world Monday through Saturday.  I was lying to cover up the lies from the day before and before long the anxiety was too much for me to handle.  Thank God that my wife saw the lie for what it was and got me to at least come through the doors to find out I’m not alone in this (and have never been alone).  The Holy Spirit has been living inside me this whole time and has always been there when I needed Him the most.

We all must rely upon the strength of Christ to carry us through the rough waters of this life.  I read once that someone had asked a counselor why he thought God had abandoned her and threw her to the raging waters of this life.  The counselor just calmly said, “Have you ever thought that maybe those pursuing you cannot swim?”  Christ ALWAYS has our best interest in heart.  Denial is a lie so, depend upon Him and the healing can then begin.

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

Jim

Listening to Our Pain

“Sometimes in our recovery the pain we are experiencing can seem unbearable. We have a choice we can make in the signal of the pain. We can ignore it and those around us that are advising us to make smart choices toward healing, we can act like it’s not there and hope it goes away on its own, or we can do what millions have done before us, go face the pain and see what is happening to cause the pain. As we say often, pain is inevitable in our life, but living with misery isn’t mandatory for us. Yes, God uses our pain to shout at us to get our attention. The question really becomes, am I willing to listen and do something about it? Freedom and change are possible. It can be hard to work through the pain but the result can be even better and so worth it. Are you hurting? Is something blocking you from experiencing a life with freedom? What is God trying to speak to you in your pain? God can use that pain for His glory if we make the right choice and allow Him and the body of Christ to walk through the pain. Through the blood of Christ, we can experience oxygen in our time of need to help equip us with the tools to grow through the pain. Don’t go at it alone. We weren’t designed to do it that way. His strength gives us the power. Will you allow his power to work through you? I pray you allow the Father to bring the comfort and healing that you are desiring. God bless you!”    

Rodney Holmstrom, Fellowship CR Congregational Leader and West National Director

Confess

The Deep Dark Abyss

by Jim W.

Not sure about you or not, but early in my recovery I would find myself regressing into what used to be instead of what needs to be!  You know what I mean, right?  Living in the rearview mirror syndrome instead of looking forward to what was to come just around the bend.  Sometimes it even took weeks to get me back into reality before I could begin anew with moving forward.  The old saying of taking two steps back and one step forward definitely applied to my life at these times.  In case you still aren’t following along, let me use a story to demonstrate what I was feeling when I’d find myself in this deep dark abyss!  I’m sure if you’re reading this, that you too have found yourself in this abyss!

This story is true and took place some 30 plus years ago.  Longer than some of y’all have been around!  It’s the story of little Jessica McClure from Midland, Texas.  In October of 1986, little Jessica was playing at her Aunt’s house and accidently fell into an abandoned well pipe in her back yard.  She was 18 months old, and her cries of anguish could clearly be heard through the pipes at ground level.  There were 400 folks involved in her rescue attempt and they’re first step in the rescue effort involved getting someone in the pipe with little Jessica.  The entire country was shocked that so very little was being done to rescue her before this took place.  It was determined that before a rescue could be made, they had to quieten Jessica’s fears by having someone in the pipe with her!  Otherwise, they knew that Jessica’s mind would begin to start playing tricks on her and she would become even more irrational as time went on.  They needed someone who had been there to empathize with Jessica and prevent her thoughts from becoming destructive or worse, that she would just quit.  Well, I’m glad to report that the rescue efforts of those 400 people were successful.

And just like Jessica’s story, ours too can become all bogged down with fear and phobias and our thoughts will become completely disoriented if we allow ourselves to stay in this position for too long.  When we tend to hang on to that sin that we refused to let go of and or hold on to it as if it’s our only reminder of the real world and the old me!  We think we need to hold on to the past by not allowing the Lord to control all our lives and wills.  However, what we need is to Let go of the past and let God be in control!  He is anyway!!  Then and only then will we begin to live this life worth living that He has promised us and begin to feel the healing work of His Hands.  James 5:16, that we say almost every week in CR tends to make this point for me:

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed.”

So, when you find yourself in that abyss; that deep, dark, scary place with no hope, remember that even there; God is with us!  You’re not alone in this recovery process if you are a faithful and grateful believer of Christ!

Much Love,

Jim W.

Spiritual Inventory Part 2

By: Jamie Wilson

Spiritual Inventory Part 2: The journey continues…

I know what you’re thinking — how many times must we talk about our inventories?!? Trust me, I get it — there is a lot to cover with inventories, and the last four areas were not my favorite to dive into. In Spiritual Inventory, Part 2, we are asked to address the following areas — our mind, our body, our family, and our church.

I know for myself, when I started Celebrate Recovery, I didn’t really get how examining all these areas of life were going to help. It wasn’t until I had finished my inventory, that I was able to see it all laid out before me — this road map, of sorts. I was able to see the exact starting point, the moment I began needing recovery — and as I examined the areas identified in the spiritual inventory lessons, I began to see all the detours and the roadblocks, that I created for myself. But most importantly, as I prayed Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life,” God showed me the new paths He created to lead me to my ultimate destination of sobriety, freedom, and personal relationship with my Higher Power, Jesus Christ.

The journey through the inventory was not easy, and as I really investigated how my mind and the thoughts I bought into led me astray — it was redeeming to see that God’s truth could completely negate all the faulty thinking. I spent a long time believing God was not who His Word said He was, and I honestly had no desire to spend time in the Word of God. Even now, on days of temptation and struggle, I find my tendency is to avoid God. It is, however, the Word of God, the truths found there, that show me the way forward, the way beyond my hurts and habits, and addictions. In the midst of despair and negativity, it is God’s Word that provides hope.

A hard one to focus one was my body — and how I had mistreated it. I am one who neglects to take care of myself and I have used food to celebrate feeling good, to make me feel better when I am sad, and to calm me when angry — to excess. Why does that matter? Well, it is through our bodies or flesh that Satan works, and when I find comfort in food – I am not finding it in Christ. When I celebrate with food – I am not giving thanks to God; when I turn to food to calm an uneasy angry heart, I am not finding peace in God. And more so, the believer’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. God freely gives us the grace of His Spirit. He values us so much that He chose to place His Spirit within us. We need to have as much respect for ourselves as our Creator does for us.  Don’t believe me; well, just take a look at Scripture: “Haven’t you yet learned that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit God gave you, and that He lives within you? Your own body does not belong to you. For God has bought you with a great price. So use every part of your body to give glory back to God, because He owns it.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Walking through the last two areas, church and family, were, enlightening. It wasn’t until completing my inventory that I saw just how I had mistreated members of my family by pushing them away and stonewalling them when they tried to reach out to me. And, with the church — until recovery, I didn’t even believe I had a right to a part of the church. Since, completing my inventory, I have been able to make amends and rebuild relationships and become a part of a really great church where I can be faithful and serve God as I continue my recovery.

So, in wrapping up the discussions on inventory — let me leave you with this — it is worth it!!! It’s tough; you face a lot of things that you wish you could forget and could ignore — but that’s how we stay stuck. Trust God — let Him move you forward!