God is moving in CR

What makes this Home Run movie so special to me? The stories shared in the film are all real. There is nothing more dramatic than real life is there? If you have seen the movie already, you may recall this powerful testimony of Rick Cottle being shared. The man in this picture is the man whose story gets shared in the movie. Wow! True life change! I watch this movie and cry with tears of joy in knowing the lives that have been impacted in so many ways thru this ministry, including my own. Think for a moment about the next "Rick" that may not walk into a church but would go to a movie. Think for a moment what miracle might be waiting today, in your city, in your theater, today. The person(s) you invite today just might be the next walking miracle. Will you be there to witness it in person? God's Word says in Ezekiel, "I will look for those that are lost, bring back those that wander off, bandage those that are hurt, and heal those that are sick...&quo

This weekend is very important in the life of Home Run. Our ability to encourage people to go to the theater this weekend makes the biggest difference about whether or not we will be in theaters next weekend.     The ministry has begun. Lives are being affected. Keeping it in theaters longer means more ministry.    Please consider getting out to see Home Run.  Maybe you've already seen it!  Maybe you couldn't get out Opening Weekend. Either way---this weekend is THE time to go!!  Bring friends.  Bring a group with you.    Please vote with your feet.  Let the world know that the messages of HOME RUN are important.  Go to HOME RUN this weekend!   "Shouts of joy and victory resound in the tents of the righteous: “The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things! The Lord’s right hand is lifted high; the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!" Ps 118 Let us praise God for all He has done. And will do. Rodney Holmstrom

Are you tired or weary in your talking about Home Run yet? Maybe this will spark a second wind. One of our friends was speaking to a church about Homerun & this was the note he sent us afterward. "I got a call from the Celebrate Recovery group leader in the Villages area, in another state and he said at their CR meeting, they had 3 new people show up -- all 3 said they had just seen the movie HOME RUN, left the theater, tracked down the nearest CR meeting, and drove there to join.  That's on Day 1!  Amazing how God works!   Then...After my talk on Sunday, a 60-something-year-old man came up, shook my hand, and thanked me for helping to make the film. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "I want to tell you something.  The last words my father said to me were "I hate your guts and I never want to see you again."  He looked down for a moment, then said, "He died five years later."  I could feel his pain, and tears welled up in me.

Let me tell you & show you a picture of how God not only doesn't waste a hurt, but he makes us stronger and allows us opportunities to give back in ways we never imagined. My wife of almost 21 years has always been a behind the scenes person. Never a huge desire to be in the spot light and content with doing the important work behind the scenes. Aren't you glad for those kind if people? Me to, we need them! I am so proud of my wife though this morning as she gets ready to leave for a conference she is helping lead in Mexico. She is taking Life's Healing Choices over there to share with over 130 woman in two different conferences. Wow! She would be the first to tell you that she would have never imagined this being something she would do. I am so proud to see how The Lord has and is growing her in her personal walk. “Let God's promises shine on your problems.  -Corrie Ten Boom” God is now using my bride's past and healing in her own life to shine

I have heard so many great stories from people that attended this past weekend's movie. Many lives already being lead back to the Church and specifically Christ. •    Our little film was #3, behind only “Oblivion” and “42,” for average number of people per theater at a wide release film this past weekend! •    In spite of being on 5-10x fewer theaters than the top 11 movies, “Home Run” still managed a solid #12 out of 47 movies in theaters this weekend! •    Rolling Stone Magazine tweeted yesterday, “Rob Zombie Can’t Compete with Jesus.”, referring to an independent flick that underperformed compared to HOME RUN! •    A surprised reporter from The Detroit News, without any fondness for Christianity, reviewed,  “…director Boyd weaves the preaching — which includes testimonials from actual recovering addicts — into the story….For what it is, "Home Run" is a solid hit.” •    The Washington Post says,  “The strongest scenes take place in dingy hotel rooms, on a de

“People don’t change”. I used to hear those words slip out of my mouth too. Why? Because I believed it. Think for just a moment about this verse: “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Inste ad, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” Romans 6:14 Did you catch that? We can live under the freedom of God’s grace. Wow! In Christ we are set free and sin’s power is broken! What a gift! Now think about those right now who are struggling, living in a silent and dark life apart from Christ. Do you remember what it felt like to have no hope, without family or community? Is there one person you could invite to see Home Run this weekend? This could be the seed planted in their life journey toward real healing. Here is one response from just one participant that watched the film this past weekend: “It was absolutely fantastic! So representative of the sometimes "silent" struggle most of us face in our recovery (l

You know why I love watching Home Run the movie over and over again? The same reason I never grow tired of coming to CR. It has real life change stories. Stories of healing never get old do they? Week in and week out we see men, women, children & youth come into CR to deal with life's "bloody noses". Sometimes these bloody noses are in the form of failed relationships, addictions, broken dreams, shattered hearts, seemingly unbearable hurt and more. Sometimes we need help because we are the ones that have given the emotional 'bloody noses' to others close to us. Isn't it good to know that God can use those 'bloody noses' for His glory? To hear life change stories from someone who has had pain in their past gives me hope to know that I am not alone. It also helps me to know that if He can help 'them', he can help 'me' too. This keeps me coming back. This gives me hope. Home Run shows us how Jesus Christ uses CR to he

Home Run Opening Weekend is Here!!! Can you believe it?! As I reflect on this, I am struck with how many people will enter the theater with so much hidden pain in their life. Many have said two words for so much of their life... "I can't"  "I can't... change, do this anymore, handle life right now, deal with all this junk, live with all this pain,  beat this addiction, fix my relationships, brush off this despair....I just can't get better."  It's true, we can't, but with Christ  we most definitely  can! In Exodus 6:6-8, God say 5  times;  "I will" I will deliver, I will redeem, I will take you as My own, I will bring you, I will give to you..." Because He says 'I will', so can we. What is my part? Telling the Father, "I will surrender to You Lord!" As we approach this great opening weekend let's pray for all those that have been living the "I can't" life. Pray that they w

Can't we just forget that ever happened? It wasn't that big of deal, was it? Ever been in a position where you were so deep in your own junk that you lost perspective of who God intended you to be?  My poor choices made in my life not only hurt me but others as well. Two things created that pain for myself and others: 1. Making the poor choices to begin with. 2. Justifying my actions, hiding it and pointing my finger at others to blame. After King David fell into sin he shriveled into something completely different than what God created him to be. He lost his place and then began hurting so many others, including, himself, Bathsheba, Uriah, (Bathsheba's husband who he had killed as well as many soldiers in the battlefield). This was due to his attempts to cover up & control his wrong and fix it on his own. How did David respond to the harm done to so many thru his poor choices? With a hardened heart.... "...do not let this displease you, for t

In 1995 in  Boston  Mass.  construction began build the D street tunnel  to link the I90 freeway to the Ted Williams Tunnel. It  was completed  in 2005.  Just one  year later, ​ July 10, 2006, a  women in a passenger car was traveling east bound thru the  D Street Tunnel.  As she approached the end of the tunnel, a large panel from the suspended ceiling fell, detaching  abruptly from their anchors. 26 tons of concrete and suspension hardware  fell, crushing the car & killing a 38yr old woman. All the time and effort that went into the construction of this tunnel, gone. Why? Because  it separated itself from its anchor. How did this disaster happen?  What went wrong? Investigators began  looking at the epoxy that held the anchor in place in a  study that engineers call the “Creep Factor” This is where you fix any plastic at one end and a load at the other end and over  time you can come back and measure it and it  will have stretched. This is 'creep'.

I recently met with a physical trainer to discuss a workout plan to get me into shape. As a part of the plan and assignments she gave me I was asked to keep a food journal. "Tell me everything you eat, good or bad." I have to admit a couple days into the process I hesitated thinking, "should I really tell her about that extra helping I had at dinner? Does she really have to know?" The truth is, I had to make a choice, either be completely honest and reveal all as it is, or hide some things and effect how my trainer could coach and help me in my growth process. In the principle 4 moral inventory process we face the same thing. I can either keep some things hidden from my sponsor and others and stay in denial or be rigorously honest and allow my Master Trainer, Jesus to take over in bringing healing into my life. The ironic thing is that God already knows all about me good or bad. He also knows how we are designed cause He created us. He knows that by

I have several friends that have ran marathons. I have great respect for them cause it takes such great discipline. One thing I hear often from them is that having people with them to encourage them during training and the actual race is so critical. I can only imagine how much joy it brings to cross the finish line with people standing there waiting to cheer them on. Without that support, it sure would be a lot harder wouldn't it? “If you want to walk fast, walk alone; if you want to walk far, walk with others." Burkina Faso Reminded this morning that part of the journey in life is allowing people to walk or run alongside me. If I become "me" focused then I will find myself alone and very discouraged. I won't make it too far alone. If you are running alone these days, please know that is not how God created us. He created us to be in community. True recovery and sustainable recovery happens with relationship with Christ first, and then a group of l

God, [Father Jehovah, Son Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit living inside of me] grant [allow, permit, approve] me the serenity [calmness, peacefulness, composure, coolness, poise, contentment, repose] to accept [recognize, admit, acknowledge, understand, resign to myself] the things I cannot change [alter, modify, transform, adjust, amend], the courage [bravery, guts, nerve, valor, daring, audacity] to change [alter, modify, transform, adjust, amend] the things I can [am able to, know how to, am capable of], and the wisdom [understanding, knowledge, insight, perception, astuteness, good judgment,     prudence, good sense] to know the difference [distinction, differentiation];  Living [living and breathing] one day [24-hour period] at a time; enjoying [taking pleasure in, liking, getting pleasure from, benefiting from] one moment [instant, second] at a time; accepting [enduring, tolerating, complying with, consenting to, submit to, resigning myself to, taking on, undertaking] hardshi

Sometimes in this life we have to call time out and see if what we are thinking is truth. Someone once said, “He who cannot change the very fabric of his thought will never be able to change reality, and will never, therefore, make any progress.” In the movie, Home Run we see this play out. Cory stepped into the batters box, and those old thoughts of his hurtful relationship with his dad crept in. He began listening to those false truths of who he was. Allowing those lies to mold his thinking pulled himself out of the batters box of life and into a path of destruction. If we listen to the lies that say we are nothing, a failure, worthless, cannot possibly be loved by anyone, etc, then progress won't happen. When those lies creep into your mind, call a timeout, step out of the box, distinguish what is truth and what is not. Throw out those lies and receive the Father's truth.  When we do this, God gives us the power to step back into the batters box of life and s

When I worked in retail I used to tell my employees the high importance of treating the customer right. It didn't matter how much we treated the customer right, if one customer was treated badly, that would be what was remembered.  This reminds me of an old proverb, “Good things sell, bad things advertise." As Christians this can be the case as well. I am challenged that no matter how many people I may have done the "right thing" with, the one "bad thing" where I responded in haste or without love will always be the one that advertises the most. I am reminded that as a Christian I need to be cognizant of this, but also show grace when others hurt me cause I know what it's like to need grace. This is why taking a daily inventory is so critical for me. To keep my side of the street clean. If you are in my life, I can assure you, I will mess up and say or do things that will hurt you. I must keep striving for good though and show grace and