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Showing posts from December, 2011

The Afterglow of 2011??

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What has 2011 looked like for you? What would 2012 look like if you were seeking Christ and dealing with your hurts, habits and hang-ups from the past? "I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago." Psalm 77:11 Song by Brian Doerkson "Song of the Bride Isaish 30:15 reads "This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says; "In repentance and rest is your salvation, In quietness and trust is your strength," Maybe this year is THE life changing year for you and your relationships, to change the way you are dealing and feeling about your life. Maybe the goal of 2012 is to allow God to guide us and direct our every step. He has the ability, is willing, and able and very much desires with His great care to walk with us through our life's hurts habits and hang-ups. No matter what you are going through or holding onto from the past or present, His Word brings hope and strength with a promise, Isaiah 1:18 &

12 Days Of CR Christmas

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One of our great leader Monica rewrote the lyrics to this old Christmas song to tie into the 12 steps. We had a lot of fun singing it and love that it keeps the focus on the 12 steps thru Christmas. Great job Monica! On the first day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the notion it’s not about me; On the second day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the third day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the will to be faithful, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the fourth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, my inventory, will to be faithful, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the fifth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, the chance to come clean! my Inventory, faithfulness, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me On the sixth day of Christmas, my Savior gave to me, desire to be humble, the chance to come clean! my Inventory, faithfulness, my sanity, and the notion it’s not about me. On the

Holiday Blues

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How has your 2011 ended up? This time of year can tend to be a time of reflection on the good and the bad from the year we just experienced. I know personally I have good anniversaries from my marriage in another year with my wife. But, there are things that are pretty tough too huh? This year I saw another anniversary from my mother's passing in 2009. Oh how I miss her at times and it is hard not having her here. Are you struggling this season with the lsos of a loved one? Maybe a job situation is frustrating? Having trouble finding work and the bills are piling up? Maybe you are picking up the pieces from debris lying around due to poor choices you may have made. Maybe you are just struggling with life on life's terms. Hopefully this video will bring you some encouragement. Remember, because you have a heart that hurts to well, you have a heart that loves so well. Most importantly, you are loved even more by our Father. If you are ready to go to work on dealing with whate

Have You Lost the Wonder?

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When is the last time you were caught up in wonder? When is the last time you were overwhelmed with an exciting surprise? As a kid I would get so excited when Christmas drew near. I could hardly sleep, let alone think about anything else due to my curiosity and excitement for what Christmas morning would bring. Can you remember what that was like? It seems like 50 years ago for me.  Wasn’t that so much fun? As a dad it was especially fun when my kids were little to see the excitement on their faces as they stared at the Christmas tree decorations and wondered what gifts they would be receiving. As much fun as that is for us, those bursts of excitement are only temporary aren’t they? I mean I can remember some presents I received as a kid being the coolest thing ever, but then a couple weeks later, they had lost their shine to them. What started out as the best thing ever now had become just another thing cluttering up my toy box. I can remember how excited I was when I got an Atari wi

Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over...

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There was a time in my life when I was wrapped up in myself. Pride was my biggest enemy and lead to so much junk in my life. Because of my pride and unwillingness to surrender I would find myself doing the same ugly things in my life. Lying, manipulating situations, and always trying to white knuckle my way through life. The old ugly thinking that told me if I reached out to a brother when I am struggling then I was weak and not worthy to be called a man. My life was made up of reproducing or duplicating the unhealthy things that lead to destruction or emptiness. Duplication by its very definition is to do or perform an act again repeatedly. In recovery I learned that this is called insanity, to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Paul puts it like this in Romans 7:15 “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.” When I have tried to control things on my own by white knuckling my way through my hurts, habits and

My Recovery Journey to Ephesus – Continued

My Recovery Journey to Ephesus – Part 1:7-10 As I wrote before, recently, I was challenged to spend time in the Book of Ephesians. So, this time as I read through it, I thought I would keep a journal of sorts on My Recovery Journey to Ephesus Eph 1:7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. Theology is a word we often shy away from. It is big and often represents thoughts that are beyond my understanding. A simple definition would be “the study of the nature of God,” or as one of prof

What Is Your Defense?

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Imagine a man standing in a courtroom getting ready to face the Judge for some hideous wrongs he committed in his life. The courtroom is full tension as the prosecution prepares to present his case against the accused. Imagine the man being accused, full of guilt and shame for his wrongs with no real hope of coming out of this alive. You see, the prosecutor, the accuser, is seeking and even demanding the death penalty for the accused. The accused is feeling full of despair and even condemned in his spirit. The prosecution is even so bold to laugh out loud in the courtroom as he sees and knows the outcome is in his favor for the death penalty. How bold can he be? Has he no class or dignity? The man being accused is now growing even more anxious cause at this very moment he doesn’t even have an attorney. That right, he is facing this trial and Judge alone and now the picture looks even grimmer. At that moment, in walks a man. Some people in the courtroom are now whispering, “I heard