One Oreo

It’s harder to eat one Oreo than none. Is there something you need to say no to? In many instances, abstinence is easier than moderation. Why? It requires less willpower because you rely on a strong decision making process in advance. Moderation is a slippery slope. In my experience, it’s harder to eat one Oreo…

Small Stones

If you want to be sober for the next year, stay sober for the next day.  How did God do his work in the Old Testament? When the Israelites were fighting for their very lives, staving off the enemy, God stepped in. They did all they could, then God did what only he could do.…

96 Times a Day

The opposite of addiction is community. And today, that’s a problem, because most people aren’t too good at personal connection. Case in point: the average person checks his phone 96 times a day. There is nothing more annoying than sitting with someone, trying to hold a meaningful conversation, while they keep checking their phone.  The…

Jim Carrey

Award-winning actor Jim Carrey once wrote himself a check for $10 million – when he had nothing.  Early in his acting career, when no one else believed in Carrey, he believed in himself. So one day, he wrote a check to himself in the amount of $10 million, postdated five years. He was telling himself,…

Listen to Moody

As a young pastor, I read everything I could find about the great evangelist of the 19th century, D.L. Moody. I was once blessed to touch the pulpit he used in Chicago. To me, that was like touching the bat Babe Ruth used to hit his last home run. In Moody’s biography, I read an…

3M

Recovery is the result of good habits, done over and over and over and over. Aristotle said, “Quality is not an act; it is a habit.” And Will Durant added, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Let me give you a simple formula for establishing new habits, which are key to your long-term sobriety. Think…

Three Questions

Humility is a key to success, in recovery or anything else. Malcolm Gladwell said it well: “We are better people when we are humble.” What is humility? Jordan Peterson defines humility as the “recognition of personal insufficiency and the willingness to learn.” I ask you three questions: Are you still willing to learn? Do you…

Our Greatest Reward

We come to God for all of our needs: forgiveness, hope, peace, and recovery. But there is a much greater reward offered for those who seek God. God himself. Check out what God told Abraham in his time of need: “The word of the Lord came to Abraham in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid,…

The Uncomfortable Truth

If your faith is strong enough, you will never be sick, you will always have plenty of money, and life will always be easy. And I will be the next quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. Of course, none of this is true. The uncomfortable truth is that, even if you do great recovery work, love…

The Shoot from the Root

The Author of recovery brings a message of hope for each of us.  Isaiah 11:1 reads, “A shoot will come up from the root of Jesse. From his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” This prophetic message was spoken 700 years before the birth of Christ. The message was that from an unexpected source the…