Choices

Relapse Warning Signs and a Prevention Plan

Jeremiah 6:10
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

Relapse is a very scary word for men and woman in recovery. Relapse is not a condition that only addicts and alcoholics have to deal with. Some people relapse to overeating, gambling, unnecessary spending, inappropriate social behavior and other conditions that can be life threatening.

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Teamwork of Marriage

When you get married you become connected with another person in such a way that everything you do, constructive or destructive affects the other person, and everything they do, good or bad affects you. So then knowing this, we should know that when we abuse the marriage in any way it would affect the both of you. What is God’s purpose for you as a married person? I believe He wants His children to encourage and support one another through the difficult times as well as the good.

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I Stand at the Door

I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world –
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door – the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do

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Love and Respect

Every now and then, I have a recurring dream. It’s not a very holy dream, but I dream it nonetheless. In it, the Colombian singer Juanes appears at my door, shirtless and on his eleventh beer. He confesses that he came across my writings and, through them, has developed a man-crush on me.& nbsp; Me… a 42 year-old, minivan-driving, dreamboat of an office manager from New Jersey. He then authoritatively grunts “I must have you, Robert”, journeys his hand to the back of my neck, and, with confident ownership, pulls me in closer to kiss me. It is always at this point where I awaken, with an unresolved outcome.

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Sneaking Pleasure

Proverbs 21:6 NRSV
The getting of treasures by a lying tongue
is a fleeting vapor and a snare of death.

Most of us don’t see ourselves as getting treasures through lies. Likely we work at not lying and are very convicted when we choose to lie. However, because we are sinners, we sin. And I would propose that there are times that we hide what we do in an effort to get comfort from the suffering we experience. In other words, there are things we would prefer to do in the darkness, alone, without others watching that we might not do so readily in the presence of others (particularly other brothers and sisters in Christ).

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My Husband is an Alcoholic. What Can I Do?

Ask Angie: Hi Angie. My husband is a severe alcoholic and has tried detox & rehabs several and I mean several times. He has been an alcoholic for 20+ years. We have known each other since we were teenagers and then started dating again about 8 years ago. He was in recovery when we started dating and I really didn’t know what an alcoholic was at that time. The longest he has ever been sober is 7 months and that was in 2001. Ever since then he has gotten worse the disease has really progressed over the years. During the last 4 years I think he has been sober for 3 months at the longest and in 2008 and now 2009 he has gone 3 weeks as the longest stint of sobriety. He is always emotionally abusive and sometimes physically abusive.

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Are You Doing the Right Thing?

Proverbs 20:10 NRSV
Even children make themselves known by their acts,
by whether what they do is pure and right.

Known by their acts. We are not who we say we are; we are who we show we are. The Lord Jesus taught that “either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.” Matthew 12:33 NRSV

The idea of fruit is used in scripture to depict behavior that comes from the spirit. (Did you know that all behavior comes from a spirit?) And what’s interesting is that Galatians 5 begins the discussion about behavior with this verse:

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Indulgence or Self-discipline?

When I was younger, there was a hepatitis outbreak on my college campus. Unfortunately, I was one of the young people to get it. Our family doctor recommended a diet regimen and rest for three months, giving my liver a chance to recover. At the end of the three months, he pronounced me well and told me that I could go back to my regular activities. The problem was, I was still tired. Tired all the time. I asked the doctor about it, afraid that I still had active hepatitis. He told me that I was fine, but that the inactivity had caused my body to feel tired. What I needed to do was ignore my tiredness and get active again. Do exercise. Get out. Eventually the tired feeling would disappear.

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