Addiction/Recovery
Does taking an ongoing personal inventory sound intimidating? Although it can bring sadness, it’s a necessary step to living a life of joy.
When recovery is going well, it’s easy to assume that the worst is over and that it’s time to celebrate by taking a day off. But not so fast! Should someone who is recovering from addiction take the day off? No! Sobriety doesn’t take a day off—nor does it get a vacation day. Recovery is a lifelong process that takes daily work. Life Recovery Step Ten says, “We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.”
So, if a person in recovery is not careful and refuses or neglects to take an ongoing inventory as Life Recovery Step Ten requires them, they could relapse.1 Corinthians 10:12 (NLT) says, “If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.” Part of a daily routine can include prayerfully taking a personal inventory. In a journal, such as the New Life Journal, write down one good thing that happened that day and one thing that needs improvement. (more…)
Life Issues
On New Year’s Day, we are excited to set New Year’s resolutions and accomplish them. But within 30 days, most of us quit.
We’re initially looking forward to doing whatever it takes to reach our resolutions. But as reality sets in, we become less and less excited. It’s hard work to meet our goals—many of us give up on them altogether.
Is there a way we can accomplish our New Year’s resolutions and make them stick? Yes, absolutely! We can learn three principles from farming.
Get rid of contaminants. (more…)
Life Issues
“We don’t always have to be strong or pretend to be perfect.” – Steve Arterburn
Perfectionism and addiction go hand in hand. Those of us who struggle with addiction can be extremely hard on ourselves. We don’t give ourselves any room for mistakes, and it’s easy for us to procrastinate or give up because we’re afraid of not being good enough.
When things don’t go perfectly as planned, some of us use it as an excuse to go back to addiction. (more…)
Addiction/Recovery
An addiction is a lot like being on a merry-go-round, but with the exception that it’s not fun.
You turn to food, gambling, shopping, one-night stands, codependency, hoarding, or something else. The more you turn to your addiction, the more shame you feel and want to numb that feeling. So you go back to the very thing you don’t want to do. Now you’re stuck in the vicious cycle of addiction. And it’s going so fast that you don’t know how to stop.
The apostle Paul put it this way “And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t” (Romans 7:18). To interrupt this cycle of addiction, you must break free from pain, acting out, shame, and relapse that keeps you in bondage.
Here is a more in-depth look at each phase.
Pain — Before you even realize you are dealing with an addiction, you’re in pain. You feel emotional, physical, spiritual, and relational pain. These painful feelings create a longing for you to get rid of the pain. Pain and addiction go hand in hand—they feed off of each other. As your pain increases, your desire for relief increases. Recognizing you are in pain and in need of help can be the first step in recovery. (more…)
