Mark and Beth Denison, married for 36 years, launched There’s Still Hope as a national movement to call men and women into lives of sexual integrity. Their ministry offers 90-day recovery plans for addicts and one-on-one and group coaching for addicts and their spouses. TSH also produces resources for pastors and churches to confront the porn epidemic that is destroying so many lives. Dr. Denison was a senior pastor for over 30 years, NBA chaplain, and board chairman at Houston Baptist University three times. With a Master’s Degree in Addiction Recovery, Mark is a certified PSAP and active member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. Mark has written four books on recovery: Porn in the Pew, 365 Days to Sexual Integrity, A 90-Day Recovery Guide, and 40 Days to Porn-Free Living. His latest book, Jesus on the 12 Steps, will be released later this year.

Planned Neglect

Sometimes, it’s what you don’t do that makes the difference. Someone asked a concert violinist how she became so skilled. She gave a two-word answer: “Planned neglect.” She explained that she neglected everything that didn’t contribute to her goal, which was to be a master violinist.  Successful recovery requires planned neglect. In order to grow…

30 Days

Can you stay sober for the next 30 days? I remember when such a goal seemed crazy. It was on par with becoming an Olympic swimmer, NASA scientist, or watching a Hallmark movie without jumping off a tall building.  Impossible.  I love what Nelson Mandela said. “It always seems impossible until it is done.” The…

Homo Economicus

Harvard professor Arthur Brooks has spent years researching the seemingly inescapable association between achievement and satisfaction. Most of us have been duped into thinking that we are just one deal, one raise, or one dollar short of true happiness.  The pursuit of personal wealth, or homo economicus, consumes most of us. One study found that…

The Dried Up Brook

“So Elijah did as the Lord told him, and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land” (I Kings 17:5-7). Does…

Motorcycle Money

“From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another” (John 1:16). I read about a motorcyclist roaring down the coastal highway in the Philippines who didn’t realize that the zipper of his backpack had come open. The man was making a business transfer with a large amount of cash. The bills began…

Igal, Gaddiel, and Shammua

Let’s play Bible trivia.  Question #1 – Who were Igal, Gaddiel, and Shammua?  Question #2 – Who were Joshua and Caleb? The answer to both questions is the same. These five men were among the 12 spies whom Moses sent to explore Canaan, to see if they were able to take the Promised Land. Igal,…

The Mark Twain Diet

A month after my heart surgery last year, my cardiologist gave me the simple formula for living a long life. He said, “Eat what you don’t like.” Mark Twain took this a little further: “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do…

There’s Still Hope

When we began our ministry in 2017, we knew one word had to be in the title – hope. We talk a lot about hope here. But there is another word that is just as important. Still. There’s Hope and There’s Still Hope are two completely different things.  Here’s what we believe. There’s STILL hope,…

Sanctification that Matters

The Bible promises three things to every believer: “You were washed, sanctified, and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Let’s talk about that middle one – sanctification. The process of sanctification simply means to become more like Christ. There are several ways we might try this. Many of us…

Depressing

I have some depressing news for you.  According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 6.7 percent of the adult population has dealt with depression. And data released by Dr. Paul Greenberg and his colleagues concludes that the number of Americans with Major Depression Disorder increased by 13 percent from 2010 to 2018, with 47…