Celebrate Recovery Is For Everyone

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12-Step Program, Alcoholism, Anger, Anxiety Issues, Celebrate Recovery, Co-Dependency, Depression, Divorce, Drug Addiction, Forgiveness, God, Healing, Hope, Jesus, Large Group, Life, Living Life On Life's Terms, Loss, Marital issues, Physical Abuse, Porn Addiction, Relational Issues, Richland Celebrate Recovery, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Sin, Small Group, Struggles, Suicidal Thoughts, Verbal Abuse, Worship

Why do people still believe Celebrate Recovery is just for addicts? Is it because they have seen the movie Home Run? Did they go to that bathroom or something during testimony night in the film, where the main character’s sister-in-law speaks of her sexual abuse as a child? Or could it be because everyone thinks only addicts need recovery?

I’ve been going to Richland Celebrate Recovery since it began at my church six years ago, with the exception of a small hiatus. I’ve seen many people come and go over the years for various reasons; mostly, because they move back home upon coming out their recovery program.

I’ve written about CR (Celebrate Recovery) many times on my blog and I talk a lot about it in general, yet people still see it as a place for addicts. Let me say for the record…yes, addicts attend CR, BUT that is NOT all it is about.

Here is what Celebrate Recovery is…

It is a Christ centered program for people. PEOPLE!

It’s not just for the addict…it’s for the hurting, the lonely, the habitual sinner, the depressed and the list can go on and on. It’s a place for people with hurts, habits and hang-ups. It’s a place for healing.

When I started going to CR it was basically to help as a volunteer for our church’s newest ministry. I had heard about it and supported it. Little did I know…I needed it for me.

At the time I was going through my separation/divorce, not being able to see my kids everyday, depression, anger and trying to stop a long struggle with viewing porn and low self-esteem among other things.

I would have gone absolutely bat crazy had it not been for CR and the conversations and prayer from dear friends during all that.

Here’s the thing. A lot of people who struggle, with anything, sometimes feel as if they are the only ones dealing with that particular issue. And many of them feel that if they share their struggle with anyone, they will be looked upon differently…basically judged. And yet we can’t judge and here is why…we are all sinners and fall short of the glory God.

God sees no sin greater than the other, yet He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to die for all. All is all, no matter what it is. It could be adultery, drinking in excess, lying, sexual immorality, gluttony, murder, stealing, idolatry, etc.

The thing is, if we are honest with ourselves, we all have hurts, we all have habits that may not follow in line with scripture, and we all have hang-ups of some form or fashion.

CR is for everyone!

I go for the worship and message and still feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to repent of something or to make amends with someone.

It’s honestly hard to explain. Heck, we have a 70-year-old lady who attends and our youngest is a 17-year-old  young lady. Everyone gets something out of the message no matter what they are going through at that moment. That’s just how God works.

The small groups are more intimate and allows each person the chance to either share how the message applies to their situation or just share what’s on their heart. Small groups have been a source of healing for me just by letting things out. You know…my life verse…confess your faults one to another. James 5:16 is so powerful.

Allow me to ask you guys a few questions.

Are you depressed? Do you have anxiety issues? Are you feeling alone after losing a loved one whether by death or the break-up of a relationship? Do you suffer from over eating? Are you addicted to sweets? Do you drink in excess to the point of losing control of who you are? Are you hurting from the wounds of words spoken? Do you have low self-esteem? Have you ever been sexually molested? Have you been physically or verbally abused?

If you answered yes to any of those, Celebrate Recovery is for you.

Give it a try! Allow the Lord to lead you. Go to the Celebrate Recovery website and see if there are any local chapters.

I have a list of all the ones in Louisiana, here on my blog site and keep it updated as best I can.

If you choose to attend please let me know how you enjoyed it and if it ministered to you.

God Bless,
Stu

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For Out Of The Hearts Of Man Comes What Is Sown

Tags

Anger, Celebrate Recovery, Corruptible Seed, Forgiveness, God, Habits, Hangups, Holy Spirit, Hurts, Incorruptible Seed, Jesus, Peace, Reaping, Resentment, Sowing, Unforgiveness, Word of God

I think everyone understands the concept of sowing and reaping. What you plant is what comes up in due season. If you have a garden and plant seeds of corn..well, corn will come up from the seed not okra. If you plant an apple tree in your yard it will not bear an orange, but an apple.

So with that in mind…

If you sow into your heart bad things you will sow out of your heart bad things.

If you have resentment towards your spouse, friend or family member and you continually water that seed of resentment in your heart all that will come out of your heart and mouth is negative things towards them.

If you have anger in your heart and you continue to fan the flame all that will come out towards that person you are angry with are words of anger, which in turn hurts them and starts the cycle in their own heart.

If you have unforgiveness in your heart towards your spouse, friend or family member for something they did or said to you….I believe you end up with all three seeds, unforgiveness, resentment, and anger, all growing together.

Then you have this big cluster of negative emotions sprouting and taking root, to where you truly do not know the reason for your attitude and actions towards that person.

If you plant visions of naked women or men into your mind all that will come out when you look at either sex is…”I wonder what they look like naked” or ” I wonder what they do when they have sex”. So you reaped adultery, for the Word of God says in RED (meaning Jesus himself said it) that if you look upon a women with lust in your heart you have committed adultery with her.

And we wonder why divorce is so rampant in our country, whether Christians or not. Why friendships do not last.

Everyone holds onto their hurts, habits…”my precious” for too long and just like Gollum in The Lord of the Rings films, it turns them into something totally different and sort of corrupts their mind and heart.

But praise God, for He has given us a means to which we can seek forgiveness and have peace. A means to get to the roots of our “issues” and pull them up. But there are steps along the way by renewing our minds and hearts.

We must first have a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for our sins.

In John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

It is by building that relationship with God that we will want to let go of the things that are weighing us down like the hurt, the anger, resentment and unforgiveness we carry.

We must forgive the person who has wronged us. And when we do so it will lift a heavy burden from our heart.

Mark 11:25 & 26 tell us that if we do not forgive then the Father, who is heaven, will not forgive you of your sins.

We must confess our faults and sins to God.

1 John 1:9 states that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

We must get into God’s Word for the truth which is critical in the renewing process.

Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

1 Peter 1:22 & 23 says since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.

For me the renewing means to put in the good (scripture) and get rid of the old (bad thoughts, hurts or habits).

And then let it go. Lay it down at the feet of Jesus and do not go back to it.

I know, it is easier said than done…trust me. I held on to resentment and anger for decades before I allowed God to truly start moving in my life and He used the 12 step program at Celebrate Recovery to get me to that point.

Don’t be like Gollum…be like Christ.

A New Creation

Tags

1 Corinthians 5:17, Christian Life, God, Jesus, New Creation

This has always been one of the hardest verses for me to grasp at times. 

Granted I know my journey is one that will take my own lifetime and it will never, never be perfect. 

Some of my sins are gone and I have become a new creation in my thinking and actions. And then there are still things that God is working on. I will always be a work in progress.

I am so thankful I have true friends who are loving me through this work in progress called the Christian life and despite my faults.

A Letter To My Future Wife

Tags

God, Husband, Jesus, Marriage, Prayer, Spiritual Leader, Wife

A dear brother in the Lord wrote this letter for his future wife. I thought it was just so beautiful I had to share. I am so thankful he said yes when I asked him if I could share….so without further ado….

To my future wife

You may be wondering why I am writing to you in this journal. Well, it’s just that the theme is love, and I couldn’t resist.
 
I don’t know who you are and where you are yet. I trust in God’s will and timing, though I long to meet you so much. I cannot talk to you yet, but this shall suffice. My Sister in Christ, know that I love you and I am praying for you. I cannot wait for the day someday when I will be able to woo you off your feet. There are so many things I would like to do with you. I can already envision birthdays, Valentine’s Days, Christmases, spontaneous excursions, and the mundane moments of life that become special because I’m with you.
 
Even more than that, I want to worship my God and my Savior, Jesus Christ, with you. I want to pray with you, study God’s Word with you, do ministry with you, counsel other couples with you, raise kids with you, and simply be together.
 
I want to give you the very best. I desire to obey Jesus and be a “one-woman man” like 1 Timothy 3 describes. I desire to live in purity – physically, emotionally, relationally, and sexually for Jesus and you. At times, it is so hard to wait for you, but I know you’re worth the wait. I don’t want to simply desire purity but live in it. I know He desires for me to walk in purity until our wedding day and onward together. His ways are for our best and our good. Satan may tempt me and I may waver, but I will wait for you. I don’t know how long it will be before I see you and meet you, but, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I will persevere. This is what the Father has in store for me, for you, and for our marriage.
 
When I say that you are worth the wait, I don’t want you to feel like you have to prove it. You are worth it, my Bride and my Love. You alone are my standard of beauty. No other woman can compare. For you alone does my heart desire (save Jesus, of course). I can tell already that you are beautiful, that you are lovely, and that you are cute! Do not doubt my love for you; as I write, I long for you, and I catch a glimpse into the heart of Christ as He wants and longs for His bride, the Church.
 
I can tell you now that your beauty is matchless. No woman that I have seen thus far and no woman in the future will compare. You have no comparison, no equal, and no competition! You may think to yourself that I cannot make such declarations because I have yet to see you. Love, you are the standard of beauty for me. I only see you. You are the definition of beauty for me. Even though you may not fit within the current cultural definitions of beauty, know that I consider you beautiful – and so does God!
 
And, it’s not just external beauty that I talk about, of course. You are lovely in appearance, but your character shines brightest. It only makes you all the more attractive and disarming to the eyes. When I see you worship, when I see you pray, when I see your heart for the lost, when I see your compassion, when I see your obedience to the Lord, when I see you sacrifice for others, when I see your study of the Word – everything – I fall for you all the more. In my mind’s eye, I can see all those things happening, and I smile to myself. Daughter of God, how beautiful you are! You have been purchased with the precious blood of the Lamb; what is of more worth than Jesus? Your worth is infinite, daughter of the King.
 
More than anything, I will endeavor to have our marriage magnify and glorify our Savior. My Love, let us leave a Christ-exalting legacy. My family history is tough; it’s riddled with broken, loveless marriages. My family is not full of Christians, and together we mark a new chapter in our family histories. In that way, I am a patriarch and you are a matriarch. What we do today will affect generations from now. By the grace of God, we can leave a legacy of Jesus-founded marriages to the glory of God. I pray that Jesus may fill us with His Holy Spirit and empower us to do such a wondrous work to His fame. It is reminiscent of the generations of Israel in the Old Testament. By God’s grace and sovereignty, He would raise up a generation of faithful men and women of God in the midst of a long line of idolatry and apostasy. We’re like those people – saved by grace through faith. It’s amazing that what we do for His glory is also what is best for us and brings us the most joy!
 
Right now, I just want you to know that I am the luckiest guy in the world to have you. You are a tangible expression of Jesus’ grace in my life and I cannot wait to be your future husband. To be honest, I’m a hopeless romantic (not sure if you can tell!) I want to amaze you. I want to romance you. I want to have adventures with you. It can be adventures around the world or to the supermarket. No matter what the adventure, I know it will be special because I have you by my side. I don’t want to just sweet talk you – to tell you what you want to hear. I want to show you that my words carry weight. See what I mean by my actions. That is how you will know that I am truly your one-woman man.
 
My soul yearns for you. I desire you, my Bride. I don’t know what you’re doing right now, but know that I’m thinking of you. I pray that you are well, my Sister in Christ. May you have sweet and frequent communion with the biggest man in your life, Jesus Christ. I hope to take you on adventures beyond your wildest dreams, yet Jesus will always be the center of it all. He will be our greatest affection – set apart from all other loves, including each other. Let us practice loving Jesus more than life itself and seeking Him above all while apart. But, when we come together, it’ll be glorious; we’ll be husband and wife worshiping the King of Glory together. It’s beautiful for a husband and wife to remember the broken body and the blood spilt by our Savior for our salvation as we take communion together – the same body and blood spilt to establish the church, the Bride of Christ.
 
You know, writing to you is no easy task. It would be a much easier task if I knew who you were. But, you know what, that’s the fun of it. You see me as a single guy writing to you. I’m sure my future self will laugh over this letter, but cut me some slack. This is not an easy task. Actually, this isn’t even a task, but a joy to write to my lovely wife. It’s all worth it to see you smile and to hear you laugh. Sure, your laughter is at my expense, but that’s what a husband is for, right?
 
Lastly, know that I expect nothing in return from you. My love is not contingent on you writing me an awesome letter like this. Moreover, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I will love you like Christ loves the Church. I will love you with no expectation of anything in return and with no regard to your former sins or sins committed against you; because in Christ your sins have been forgiven and you have been clothed with His righteousness. Never think that you aren’t worthy of my affections. I’m more broken and messed up than you know (though it will become increasingly evident, I’m sure), and if you can receive the perfect love of Christ, you can receive my imperfect love from an imperfect me. Full disclosure, though, I’m going to knock your socks off.
 
Love,

Your Future Husband

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places

Tags

Addiction, Comfort of God, Filling The Void, Jesus, Looking For Love

​There are so many people who suffer from a void in their life. They don’t realize what that void is, yet they try filling it with everything but what is needed.

Allow me to share my thoughts on the things we try to fill that void with.

 
Alcohol: Many take their first drink at the request of a friend or loved because they are suffering from something in their life that has left them hurting and feeling empty. So they take that drink thinking it will help….it doesn’t. Once you quit that drinking session and come out of your stupor that hole, that hurt, that problem is still there. Usually worse because you may have done something you regret while drinking.

 
There might be many who would love to debate this but there is nothing wrong with a drink. The Bible says this in Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, in which is excess. Most don’t look at the second part of the verse. Having a drink occasionally is not a bad thing…IF you are living the second part of that verse…but be filled with the Spirit.

 
To me, personally, if you can not go a day without drinking some form of alcohol you are an addict.

 
Drugs: Same as above its just by the time you decide Oh God I’m screwed up you have probably lost your job, family, wife and kids, respect and honor.

 
Sex: This one of course is debatable but please remember these are my thoughts.

There are many women and men who use their bodies as a way to find love. And it can be a heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual or trisexual (meaning they will try any type of sex) encounter. Doesn’t matter they are trying desperately to fill a void in their heart. As the ole saying goes “Looking for love in all the wrong places.” And unfortunately, yes, they can become addicted to actual act of sex.

 
Porn: Does not matter whether it is on paper, on a phone, on a computer or a video that person is still trying to fill a void. But as with drugs it can become an addiction. And it is THE hardest one to overcome because you can actually avoid alcohol and drugs. You can’t avoid flesh…its everywhere! And advertised everywhere. And for the people who are bisexual it is even harder to overcome.

 
Marriage: Yes, I am going here. There are a lot of people who use marriage as a fix all in their life. Thinking if they get married that person will help them overcome the lonely, hurting and sadness in their lives. Once they realize that is not the case they divorce and head to the next one…vicious cycle for some. I have some friends that have been married 5 times.

 
Here is the thing folks. Alcohol will NOT fill that void in your life! Sex will NOT fill that void in your life! Drugs will NOT fill that void in your life! Porn will NOT fill that void in your life! Marriage will NOT fill that void in your life!

 
The only thing that CAN fill that void in your life is JESUS. Ask Him into you heart today and He will fill that void and you will finally have that love and peace you have been searching for. You want freedom from the addictions you have encountered looking for love give your heart to Jesus! 

Stop looking for love in all the wrong places and look to the One who created you…GOD, who loved you so much that He sent His Son to this earth just to die for you. Jesus died a sacrificial death so you can have a relationship with God. Won’t you please accept that gift of love today?

If you claim Christ but yet feel lost in your marriage. I say this. Your trust and fulfillment should be placed in Christ, not your spouse.
Divorce happens when we, as spouses, take our eyes off of Christ and place them on our spouse.

God Bless,

Stu