Relationships/Marriage
Elizabeth had been in a small group of ladies she had known since growing up. She felt so comfortable with them that she opened up and shared some important things. But after she risked telling about something very personal, she learned they gossiped about her. Elizabeth felt so betrayed that she left the group and has struggled with trusting new groups.
Like Elizabeth, you may have been betrayed by a group that betrayed confidence or gossiped about you. Sadly, many people have been hurt by gossip in groups, or have had someone share what was shared in a group to someone outside the group. (more…)
Relationships/Marriage
“If you are living in isolation because of shame, God wants you out of hiding and into the arms of a healing community.”- Steve Arterburn
Have you been isolating yourself? Are you ashamed of your struggles? Has it been hard for you to connect with others? One thing that will either make or break your recovery is connection. You are more likely to succeed in recovery when you choose to connect. But isolating, withdrawing, and separating is dangerous. Why? There are three reasons why isolation is dangerous.
Reason 1: Isolation hurts your relationship with God.
When you go off course, you tend to run from God. We’ve all made mistakes; we’ve all done things we’ve regretted. (more…)
Addiction/Recovery
“It is clear that persevering through difficulty
and pain is the God-ordained path to maturity.” – Steve Arterburn
Has life been hard for you lately? Have you lost your job? Are you going through a divorce? Have you or a loved one been struggling with health issues? To make matters even worse, you are also struggling with addiction.
But overcoming an addiction is easier said than done. To help you, here are some things you can do to recover, even when times are difficult.
To start, have a good support system in place.
Are you going to a 12-step recovery group? If not, we recommend that you find a Life Recovery Group in your area. (more…)
Faith/Spiritual
You’ve been sober for months. Everyone in your Life Recovery group says you’ve made significant progress. You’re seeing a counselor once a week, working your recovery program and from the outside, everything seems to be going great. But deep down inside, you wonder if life will ever go back to normal and you doubt that long-term restoration is possible.
Restoration is possible. But first, you must make restitution. Step 9 in Life Recovery states, “We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” When we make restitution, it can bring restoration, if not for the relationship but for you in your recovery. Restitution is making amends to those whom your addiction and behavior have hurt. (more…)
Addiction/Recovery
When it comes to making changes in our lives, some of us act as if we’ve got our heads buried in the sand. For example, after years of struggling with addiction, we finally admitted we had a problem. But that was several months ago. We probably even looked into going through treatment, seeing a counselor, and attending a Life Recovery group.
However, we still haven’t made any changes in our lives.
If this sounds like you and you’re struggling to make changes in your life, the truth is, admission without change is meaningless. While you needed to admit you have a problem with addiction, recovery doesn’t stop there. That’s just the first step on your journey! (more…)
