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Viewing 19 - 27 out of 62 Blogs.
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2 years 9 months; January 27th! I never thought I’d even see 1 year. It’s amazing what God can do when you let him lead. It hasn't been an easy road; I’ve had my share of “What the heck is on?” But, as I look back over the last 5 years, I can see a major path that God has been leading me down. I didn’t want to accept some of it, but now I see what He was doing. I’m getting better at letting HIM lead and I just give each day to Him. Sometimes I stop myself from “what is going on?” and soon remember the verse and a few lines that I’m using everyday now: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 God is exactly where HE wants me to be at this very moment in time. He has already lined up the things in which my path will follow and I can’t change any of that, except by making good choices and trying to do good in His sight. I’ve whined, I’ve asked “WHY?” I’ve begged and then came to the conclusion that this won’t change anything. So, I sit back and wait for God’s Blessings. I couldn’t have been sober this long without my HP. I haven’t relapsed and haven’t wanted to and that’s a miracle in itself. There is hope and wonderful things out there for each of you that have Faith, Believe in yourself and Trust daily. I just wanted to share my gratitude this morning and wish everyone here a successful road to recovery. It isn’t always grand, easy or fun, but we do survive; One Day At a Time. Love to all, Tina
Tags: Reflective
Life Is At Work In You
by Jon Walker We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. (2 Corinthians 4:8-12, NIV)
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We are jars of clay, chipped and blemished, fragile by God’s design in order to show the glorious light of God shining through our cracks and crevices. People should look at us and say, “What’s this? That plain jar of clay isn’t creating such a glorious light; it must be the light of heaven contained within. The peace and joy and love I see in that light must be from God.”
And so our older brother Paul says we can rest assured that our hardships are not meant to defeat us. God is still at work in our lives, even if we’re unable to see his hand at work. We may be hard pressed, yet our hope in God keeps us from being crushed; perplexed, yet our hope in God keeps us from despair; persecuted, yet our hope in God tells us we’re not abandoned; struck down, yet our God keeps us from being destroyed. We are at the crossroads where the street called “When You Can’t See God’s Hand” intersects with the avenue of “Then Trust God’s Heart.” And God says his heart is not to hurt us, but to help us as we journey back to heavenly wholeness with him. His good plan for us doesn’t mean we won’t be hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, or struck down. It means we can remain filled with hope, even as we pick ourselves up off the ground. God’s plan is that every time we face these hardships, we learn to trust God a little bit more, so that every time the hardships press in, we can be a little stronger. God is our strength, not our own ability to carry the weight. God doesn’t ask us to “work up” this hope – pretending we’re joyful when our whole world is collapsing around us. Rather, our hardships allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, developing joy and peace – teaching us to stop trusting in our own understanding and instead to trust that God is at work within and around our lives. Paul encourages us to press on toward Christ-likeness. In order to be like Jesus, however, we must be men and women acquainted with sorrow, just like Lord Jesus, who hard pressed, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down, only to rise again. In him we place our hope, and it is a hope that will not disappoint. What does this mean? · See your problems as leading you to be more like Jesus – Ask God to help you see how your problems are helping you grow toward Christ-likeness. Ask God to show you how your hardships are working for you and not against you. Ask him to help you embrace a peace that passes all understanding. · Skip the ‘try harder’ mentality – The Christian walk is difficult enough without beating ourselves up about the need to “try harder.” Rest in Christ and allow him to give you peace, even as you face hardship. Your ability to “try harder” pales in comparison to Jesus’ ability to be your strength in the midst of trouble. By this, you will discover that God is strongest in your moments of weakness.
Tags: Reflective
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Let Go
Posted On 01/11/2008 17:03:54
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There are some days when, frankly, I don’t feel much like worshiping God. There are probably more days like that than I’d care to admit. But usually those are days when I’m staring at my circumstances and making faithless judgments about what I see around me. And I struggle with the God-truth that he is in the circumstances surrounding my life – all the circumstances. Have you ever considered that heartbreak is part of God’s “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”? (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) We put so much energy into avoiding the hurt, when God would have us embrace it. He wants us to know he can heal our hurts, even use them for his benefit. He wants us to faithfully believe that the circumstances we think are harming us are actually positive situations God is engineering. God, who is omnipotent, sees the breadth and depth of our circumstances, and he knows his plans for our lives. Thinking, then, like Christ, we can slowly – perhaps ever so slowly – begin to understand that avoiding the pain in our lives is actually an act of faithlessness. God calls us to faith in him during difficult circumstances; we’d rather place our faith in avoiding the circumstances. As always, Jesus shows us the way – because he is the Way. Jesus embraced the pain of God’s plan for his life, and he did it with full faith that God was still working the plan to bring a “hope and a future” to your life and mine. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) Christ was so sure his grief would turn to joy that he showed a radiant certainty in God’s faithfulness (“Radiant certainty” is a phrase William Barclay uses to describe the attitude of Jesus at the Last Supper). Our Brother Jesus, who is also our King, was heading into a crisis that would cost him his life, yet he was so certain – radiantly certain – of God’s faithfulness that not one of his disciples even discerned the gravity of the crisis! Jesus was so certain of God’s faithfulness that it radiated throughout his whole being. And we also can have this radiant certainty about God’s hand in our lives. We can say, when it comes to God’s faithfulness, “I know because I know that I know.” That’s radiant certainty! The cross was Christ’s glory, not his penalty – and the same is true of difficult circumstances in our lives. What now? · God’s faithful character – You will develop this radiant certainty in God when you learn to trust in his faithful character. Your daily worship of God is irrevocably tied to your faith in God. · Praise God anyway – You must choose to praise and worship God every day, no matter what the circumstances of your life. Developing a radiant certainty in God begins with simple steps of faith and obedience. · Respond to God, not your circumstances – When faced with a painful or difficult circumstance, ask God, “How do you want me to respond to this?” Keep your eyes wise for the “Why me?” traps that lie about your circumstances. · You can be radiantly certain of this: Difficult circumstances are opportunities for you to intentionally focus your faith in God and see what he will do to give you hope and healing.
Tags: Enthusiastic
I love this devotional. Read this carefully, get in deep into your heart and let it heal. The theology packed in that statement is astounding. ‘God meant it for good means – You can accept the past – No sin, no action, no choice on your part is too big for God to handle – or too big to be worked for the good of those who love him and are called according to his name. Just ask Joseph. Better yet, ask his fearful and famished brothers, who were forced to rely on him for survival. You can embrace the present – There’s no need to play the ‘what if’ game. The past is gone, and no energy you expend will ever change it. The future is in God's omnipotent hands, so you’re free to focus on the present. Your job is to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, trusting him to forgive the past and transform the future. Martyred missionary Jim Eliot once wrote, “Wherever you are, be all there,” not living in the past and not fantasizing about the future. God wants you in the present because that’s where his grace will flow. You can look expectantly toward the future – Even if you make mistakes today, God still controls your future. Walking in the Spirit, you can live life to the fullest, unafraid of making mistakes and unconcerned you may stumble into some terrible circumstance that takes you out of God's control. Even when things appear to be terrible, you can trust that God is working out some divine plan through you. What does this mean? · No matter how bad things get – God is still able to bring good out of it. Today, thank God that nothing – no disaster, no delay – is bigger that his ability to turn it into something good and godly. · Thank God and let go – Thank God that he is sovereign over your past, your present, and your future. Give God the circumstances, disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins from your past. Give God your current situation, your disasters, hindrances, hurts, and sins of today. Praise God that he can work anything in your future for godly good, that you can walk in confidence that there is nothing anyone can do to you, or anything you can do that will be beyond the reach of God’s Grace and redemption. · Look for God’s hand – Walking by faith means you see God’s hand even in the most difficult of circumstances. You trust in his ability and his willingness to transform the bad into godly good. God is not limited by people’s motives. In other words, it does not matter why someone hurt you; God can still transform a deliberate, mean-spirited situation into something for his good. · What will you allow God to change? – There it is: some situation, or event, or person in your life who, as far as you can tell, “meant it for bad.” How do you think God meant it for good? Ask God what he wants you to do with this situation (event or person). When he answers, do it. © 2007 Jon Walker. All rights reserved.
Tags: Serene
A Call to Radical Commitment By Rick Warren Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling, and I'm finished with wavering. I've made my choice; the verdict is in; and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now! I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word. Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living and a home awaiting in heaven, I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family. Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, “we” over “me,” character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today. I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose-driven and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race. I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace, so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for everyday, and generous with everything that God entrusts to me. To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say: However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes! Wherever you lead and whatever the cost, I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway. Whatever it takes Lord; whatever it takes! I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I'll hear you say, "Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!" What does this mean? Today, I affirm this commitment to God and submit to his plans and purposes for my life, no matter what it takes.
The Promises (short version) - We know a new Freedom and Happiness.
- We will not regret the Past nor wish to shut the door on it.
- We will comprehend Serenity.
- We will see how our experiences would benefit others.
- The feeling of uselessness and Self Pity will disappear.
- We will lose interest in Selfish Things.
- Self Seeking will slip away.
- We will know Peace.
- Our whole attitude and outlook on life will change.
- Fear of People and economic insecurity will leave us.
- We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to battle us.
- We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we couldn’t do ourselves.
Our these Promises impossible, WE THINK NOT!
This hangs in the rooms of AA for all to learn.
Tags: Reflective
THE ACCEPTANCE PRAYER Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation-some fact of life- unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. NOTHING, absolutely nothing happens in God’s world by mistake. Unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes.
I always like sharing this prayer for those new and can use it. So many times it has helped me with so many situations.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and remember: New Beginnings for 2008! Love to all! Tina
Tags: Serene
On this Christmas Eve I am thankful for the miracles in my life and I'm so thankful for my sobriety. I am only sober due to the Grace and Mercy of God. “As we feel the new power flow in as we enjoy Peace of Mind, as we discover we can face life successfully, as we become conscious of His presence, we begin to lose our fear of today, tomorrow and the hereafter. WE ARE REBORN.” (Step 3) In learning the serenity prayer I understand that it offers a simple prescription for a healthy emotional life. The things I cannot change: I’m an alcoholic The things I can change: I don’t have to be a drunken alcoholic; I can be a sober alcoholic The wisdom to know: To see that all things are possible and that we can change ourselves MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE TO EVERYONE! MAY GOD'S LOVE SURROUND YOU DURING THIS TIME OF REMEMBERING THE REASON FOR THIS SEASON. TINA
Tags: Happy
When you are in recovery, you are open to all sorts of help and tips in staying sober. You welcome comments that help you get started in a program. Working a program keeps you sober.
BEING HONEST, thankful, grateful and seriously wanting to get well; is part of the program. I’d like to know this? If someone offers you advice on AA and getting sober, (Because you have asked) how is that having an attitude? It’s sounds like someone offering help and advice to someone, but if you are here for the wrong reasons, it doesn’t apply, you can't comprehend; it comes across as attitude to you and that’s sad. I don’t think people should comment to others about their attitude when they are only trying to help. GO TO AA and GET HELP Don't bother the serenity and love of this site.
Tags: Frustrated
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