Archive for the ‘For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People’ Category
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
I watched a big chunk of Whitney Houston’s memorial service this weekend. I can’t escape the haunting sense of enormous waste.
After the songs and stories, Pastor Marvin Winans captured my thoughts with the theme of his powerful, emotional sermon: prioritize. He talked about “putting things in proper order” based on Matthew 6:33:
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
The message was clear. Success, talent, and fame are good things—when placed in proper priority. It’s too easy to judge the missteps of a public figure who got lost in a confusing maze. Better, I think, to extend grace and pray that the rest of us will reflect on our own tendency to get things in the wrong order.
Jesus knew that God wants us to use our gifts and pursue our passions. He designed us for lives of abundance and joy. He also knew that life gets out of whack when we don’t prioritize.
Have a great week.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of: 
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: Attitudes, bondage, Choices, failure, God's Love, hardship, healing, ministry, motives, New Beginning, peace, Responsibility, serenity, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Attitudes, Choices, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 12 | Comments Off
Wednesday, February 15th, 2012
Why would anyone choose to begin a week by thinking about the past?
Good question, but I’ll bet a lot of us do it. Many folks approach the opportunity of a new beginning while carrying the burden of the past. Weighed down by guilt and regret, they can’t see the promise and opportunity in front of them because they’re looking over their shoulder at a past they cannot change.
There are some things you can do about the past.
- You can learn from past successes and failures.
- You can apologize and ask forgiveness for mistakes.
- You can sometimes make amends for unfortunate choices.
Note that these positive acts do not actually occur in the past. They each require you to look forward, to determine what’s within your control right now.
I believe our spiritual enemy celebrates when we dwell in the past. As long as we’re there we’re prisoners confined by choices and events we can never change. In the prison of the past we cannot accept God’s grace and look forward in hope.
Let’s make this a week of new beginnings and a time to focus on the light of the present rather than the darkness of the past.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, failure, New Beginning, Pain, Responsibility, sin, slip
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Assurance, Attitudes, Choices, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Responsibility | Comments Off
Tuesday, February 14th, 2012
Psalm 71:20: “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again.”
What comfort to know God will restore our lives again. Perhaps you have lost a job or a home because of the economy. God will restore your life again.
Maybe you’ve suffered physical or sexual abuse as a child. God will restore your life again.
Through death or divorce, you may have lost a spouse. God will restore your life again.
No matter what the trial is, God will restore your life again. The second part of verse 20 says, “From the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.” That’s a promise from God.
Verse 21 says, “You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.” What a joy to read these verses on Valentine’s Day. God loves us so much.
Dear God, help me trust you to restore my life again. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Application: Allow God to comfort you this week.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Yvonne Ortega, LPC, LSATP, CCDVC
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Yvonne is a Speaker, Author, Counselor, Cancer Survivor and
serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery.
She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer.
Visit her website: http://YvonneOrtega.com
Tags: Abuse, failure, God's Love, grief, healing, loss, Pain, peace, salvation, serenity, sin, slip, strength, verbal abuse, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Abuse, Anxiety, Assurance, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pain, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012
God rewrote the text of my life
when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
(Psalm 18:24, The Message).
I seldom use The Message for personal Bible study or quotes, but when I came across the above phrase, the writer in me responded with a hearty “Yes!”
Can anyone relate? Have you ever caught yourself bumbling along, trying to orchestrate your life, order your steps, direct your future—and then stopped and asked yourself, “What was I thinking?”
We are not the captain of our own ship or the master of our own fate, but we sure act like it sometimes, don’t we? Oh, I know, before we become Christians we actually believe that we are and live accordingly. Then we come face to face with the Savior, turn our lives over to Him, and we never make that foolish mistake again. Right?
Well, theoretically, we don’t. And most of the time, not intentionally. But unless I’m different than every other believer on planet earth, we do slip into that faulty thinking on occasion. And oh, what a mess we can make of things! Those self-written chapters of our lives are made up of text we’d like to delete, aren’t they?
Psalm 8:24 holds the secret to the edit button. Though we can’t go back and erase what we’ve already written, if we will be honest with God about the foolishness and regret in our heart, He can (and will) rewrite the text of our lives. Though the sins and mistakes of the past may still have consequences today, we can be assured that the God of the universe will somehow bring good out of even the worst pages of our past.
As a writer, I know how easy it is to go off on a self-imposed tangent, to become distracted and get off-track. The result is poorly written material and lots of wasted time. But just as God has so graciously redeemed my poor writing and wasted time, so He will redeem and rewrite the text of our lives if we will just open our hearts to him and allow Him to finish our book for us.
He is, after all, the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2009-2012 Kathi Macias, all rights reserved. Used by permission.
Kathi Macias is a multi-award winning writer who has authored 30 books. 
“Beyond Me. Living a You-first Life in a Me-first World”
and
“Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today”
Tags: Abuse, backsliding, bondage, failure, Forgiveness of God, God's Love, grief, hardship, loss, Macias, New Beginning, Pain, rebellion, reconciliation, salvation
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Abuse, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, Forgiveness of God, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pain, Renewal, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Monday, January 30th, 2012
The more I think about it the more I’m convinced that the notion of “special needs” isn’t biblically sound.
My friend Tim pastors a church in Denver, and he talks a lot about the “Y’all Come In” mentality. In that view, if the church opens the door and puts down a welcome mat, that’s enough.
Except that it’s not enough.
At Tim’s church they send people to homeless shelters and by-the-week motels. They sit with people one-on-one, talk with them, assure them they’re valued and needed.
Those aren’t the comfortable church people. Often they’re dirty and smelly. Sometimes they’re manipulative or mistrustful. They’re certainly the most materially needy, and they’re also the least likely to respond to “Y’all Come In.”
In Tim’s eyes this isn’t a special ministry to special people who need the church. It’s a biblical ministry seeking folks with essential gifts the church needs.
I think it’s a lot like that with people who face physical, emotional, or mental challenges. I suppose it would be ideal if everyone felt equally welcome and accepted. They don’t. We don’t.
Suppose it’s not about meeting “special needs.” What if it’s about really believing that every person brings unique gifts to the table and that every excluded person means an incomplete body?
There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, 12-14
I don’t know how to make this happen. Well, actually, I do—we all do. What I really don’t know is how to make it comfortable.
It’s uncomfortable to be around those who are different. It’s just easier to worship in familiar surroundings with familiar people and familiar ideas. Folks with disabilities, folks who don’t “fit in” in some way—they make us uncomfortable. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.
What’s wrong is letting that discomfort control us. Folks who look or act differently, who evoke feeling of discomfort—we can’t just open the door and say “Y’all Come In.” And we can’t shuffle them off to the side into “special” sections or “special” programs that that serve our needs much more than theirs.
We need to go get them. We need to include them. We need to equip them to use their unique gifts in ministry.
Just like everyone else.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, disabilities, fellowship, judgement, ministry, motives, rejection, respect, Responsibility, salvation
Posted in Attitudes, Choices, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Responsibility, Step 12, Things to Ponder | Comments Off
Friday, January 27th, 2012
Humble yourselves. That sounds obscene. At least to the culture of self-promotion and “get ahead at all cost” and “don’t look back, the competition is gaining on you” it sounds obscene.
Humility is a forgotten virtue. Often confused with weakness or timidity, humility is about knowing our proper place in the world without flaunting it. Only God can exalt in a permanent way, so the key is to know our place before him and let him put us in the place he chooses to honor him.
A humble heart is tender towards God, and He responds when it cries out to Him. And that may be why He sometimes allows hard things into our lives – to bring forth the fruit of humility.
As God does great things in our midst, we don’t ever want to forget what He’s brought us through. We can do nothing without His intervention. But as we keep humble, contrite, tender hearts, there is no end to what He can accomplish not merely in our own lives, but for our children’s children.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Chaplain Michael Clark
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Chaplain Clark is a Speaker and Writer,
Addiction Counselor/Professional
as well as a Recovery Support Specialist
Shadows of the Cross Ministries, Prison and Recovery Ministry
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, healing, humility, New Beginning, rebellion, respect, Responsibility, self-will
Posted in Attitudes, Choices, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Renewal, Responsibility, Step 10, Step 2, Step 3, Step 4, Step 5, Step 6, Step 7, Step 8, Step 9 | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 25th, 2012
And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14b
It’s one of the really cool questions in the Bible.
Esther ascended to an influential position in a foreign land through a most unlikely series of events. She subsequently faced a difficult and potentially dangerous decision. Her uncle, Mordecai, encouraged her to overcome her fears and confront a volatile king on behalf of her people. “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
Mordecai believed Esther faced a divine appointment, that God worked through events in her life and placed her in a strategic position. God orchestrated a complex set of mid-course corrections and long-term trajectories “for such a time as this.”
A pastor friend used to gaze solemnly around the congregation and say, “No one is here by accident.”
At the time it creeped me out because I thought everyone else knew why they were there and I had no clue why I was there.
Now I think it’s enough to believe there’s a purpose even when I don’t know exactly what it is.
I love the notion that God’s brought us together for such a time as this. Who knows?
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:18
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: fellowship, God's Love, healing, ministry, New Beginning, relationships, Responsibility, strength
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Faith, Family, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Renewal, Step 12, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
Judges 6:14: “The LORD turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?’”
I froze when I went up north for a week. On the flight home, my right ear made crackling sounds three times. I got sick and lost my voice.
For several days I prayed God would heal me. I reminded him about my speaking engagements the following week. I would need a voice.
Then I read this passage from the Bible. I sensed God say, “Go in the strength you have, Yvonne. Am I not sending you?”
In faith, I packed my suitcase and practiced my presentation silently. My voice finally returned.
We all face challenges and disappointments. However, God still wants us to accomplish his mission for us on earth.
God doesn’t expect us to work miracles. That’s his job. He simply tells us to go in the strength we have. He sends us, and he will do the rest.
Dear God, help me go in the strength I have. Amen.
Application: Where is God sending you this week?
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2010-2012, Yvonne Ortega, LPC, LSATP, CCDVC
All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission.
Yvonne is a Speaker, Author, Counselor, Cancer Survivor and
serves on the Board of Directors of Christians in Recovery.
She is the author of Finding Hope for Your Journey through Breast Cancer.
Visit her website: http://YvonneOrtega.com
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, hardship, ministry, New Beginning, Responsibility, self-will, strength, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Anxiety, Assurance, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, New Beginning, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Responsibility, Step 12 | Comments Off
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
DISCONNECT
I learned today that a friend recently suffered a serious injury that threatens his professional future. His response was gratitude, not for the injury but for doctors and for his friends and family. It’s a great example of action and attitude aligned with principles.
I admire that sort of faith. I know I wouldn’t have reacted with that sort of grace, though I know it’s exactly right.
Sometimes I wonder if I really believe what I claim to believe. I wonder that when there’s such a huge disconnect between belief and behavior. Seems like this faith ought to impact my actions more than it does.
Sometimes I seem to make no progress at all toward integrating personal conduct and faith. I’m thankful for grace, but I sure wish I could do a bit better.
Not the most uplifting way to begin the week, but sometimes that’s just the way it is.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: Attitudes, disabilities, failure, grief, hardship, loss, Pain, rejection
Posted in Assurance, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Things to Ponder | Comments Off
Monday, January 16th, 2012
Yesteray (Maybe I Just Can’t See) I told you the wonderful story of my friend Kelli and her long-term recovery from cancer. I wondered if perhaps Kelli’s ability to not only survive but thrive was a one-degree miracle.
A reader sent a great question: Why did you include “perhaps”? Of course this was a miraculous answer to prayer!
Why “perhaps”? Because I don’t know.
I absolutely believe God answers prayers and always keeps His promises. I know He listens and responds when I share my heart. I believe He causes good to arise from even the most horrific circumstances.
But I don’t claim to know how that works. I’m not certain I can draw a clear cause-effect line from my desires to God’s actions. And I surely can’t categorize when God says YES or NO.
I’ve told this story before.
A pastor in a rural North Dakota church sought God’s help. The farms surrounding his church were struggling through a prolonged dry period. If rain didn’t come soon, an entire year’s crops would be lost.
So the pastor prayed for rain. A few days later it rained. And for the rest of the summer, rain was frequent and plentiful. The farmers harvested record crops, and the pastor thanked God for answering his prayers.
God had been good.
One day as winter approached one of his parishioners appeared in the pastor’s office in great distress. His business was on the brink of failure.
The man ran a large road paving company. The season for this work in North Dakota is relatively short, and excessive rain had prevented him from completing contracted obligations.
Long-time employees who depended on his company for income and benefits were in danger of losing their jobs. Roads would deteriorate over the winter from lack of maintenance, leading to increased taxes for everyone in the county.
As he scrambled for a way to keep his business afloat until the following summer, he asked the pastor to pray for good weather. To avoid disaster, he needed an exceptionally productive season.
One man’s blessing was the other’s disaster. Good … isn’t always as clear as I think.
I’m called to know and become like Jesus. A significant aspect of that journey involves understanding and accepting that God’s thoughts aren’t my thoughts. Same for desires, plans, and perspectives. He’s God. I’m not. I’m glad.
So I find that my conclusions about the short-term circumstances of my life include a lot of “maybe’s.” I know what I know.
I’m okay with what I can’t know.
Don’t miss CIR’s Daily Article !
Copyright 2008-2012 by Rich Dixon, All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
Rich is an author and speaker. He is the author of:
Relentless Grace: God’s Invitation To Give Hope Another Chance. Visit his web site www.relentlessgrace.com
Tags: Attitudes, Choices, failure, grief, hardship, loss, Pain, worry
Posted in Ability to Overcome, Assurance, Attitudes, Faith, For Friends & Family of Dysfunctional People, General Recovery, Pain, Pastors & Recovery Pros, Prayer, Step 2, Step 3 | Comments Off
