Mysteries Of The English Language

The English language is a bit of an enigma; it’s possible that it might even rival God in its mystery. It’s full of words that uplift and encourage. It’s full of words that frustrate and offend. It’s scientific. It’s mathematical. It’s logical. It’s spiritual. It’s abstract. It’s colloquial. It’s slang. It’s me. It’s you.

It’s confusing…yet comforting.

One word that really stood out to me today is the word: SURRENDER. What an awesome word. To yield. To give up. To abandon. To relinquish. To consciously choose to set myself aside. Not really a word that parallels cultural norms.

We’re raised to fight, to strive for the best, to be number one. How can you possibly be number one AND surrender? A winner doesn’t give up. First place isn’t awarded to the last one to cross the finish line. Yet, Jesus said the last will be first and the first last (Matthew 20:16).

Nothing makes sense.

That’s right, NOTHING makes sense and without Jesus nothing is ALL YOU’LL EVER HAVE. The first step in knowing Jesus, the first step in starting a relationship with him, involves SURRENDER.

I YIELD to his authority.
I GIVE UP my selfish desires.
I ABANDON my pride.
I RELINQUISH control.
I CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE TO SET MYSELF ASIDE and allow Jesus to live through me.
I SURRENDER my life to the one who gave his life for me.

Nothing makes sense.
Does it have to?
No.
That’s faith.
That’s hope.
That’s Jesus.

What are you still holding on to? What are you waiting for? What’s holding you back?

Under Construction

Two years ago I was asked to lead worship for this upcoming ministry known as Celebrate Recovery. I was hesitant. I had my doubts. I had been clean and sober for about 3 years…I DIDN’T NEED RECOVERY. I was not one of those people.

I declined…at least initially.

Now, two years later, I believe WE ALL NEED RECOVERY. We’ve all been hurt or hurt someone else. We’re all in need of Jesus—his grace, love, kindness, and mercy. We are ALL THOSE PEOPLE. Denial keeps recovery just out of reach. We don’t want to be categorized. We’d rather show up on a Sunday morning with a smile on our face and hide the fact that our lives, our marriages, our families are ALL JACKED UP. We’d rather it remain secret simply because we don’t want to work at it…we don’t want people to know.

Sorry dude, but Jesus died to set you free, not bless your laziness. If you want a better tomorrow, you gotta start working on your TODAY. I realize today that I am UNDER CONSTRUCTION. I will remain under construction until the day I finally meet Jesus face to face.

Watch this video from earlier this week.
 

Turn On Notifications

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re ALIVE. If you’re alive, you’ve got CHANCES, OPPORTUNITIES to make a difference in your life as well as the lives of others. That’s right; you can make a difference in the life of SOMEONE ELSE.

Our journey, our walk, our recovery (whatever you want to call it…to-MAY-to, to-MAH-to) is a nothing more than a series of events that transform us from who we WERE (lost, broken, weary) to who God WOULD HAVE US BE (found, whole, rested). Somewhere in the midst of these changes our perspective changes. We start to think about OTHERS more than we think about OURSELVES. That’s a God thing. That’s the presence of God in your heart, coursing throughout your entire body, living inside you, showing Himself through you.

BUT…and yes, there’s typically always a but…

For some crazy reason we have to be REMINDED of His presence. We have to be REMINDED of His promises. We have to be REMINDED of His love. We have to be REMINDED.

The same can be said for those I consider my friends, my accountability partners. I get around them and I’m reminded of how much I appreciate them. I think about calling them or sending them a text. I plan on reaching out to them. Then I leave…

Again, I have to be REMINDED to call. I have to be REMINDED to text. I have to be REMINDED to reach out.

Here’s what I’ve come to realize. I need God to radically rework how my heart and brain function. There’s a disconnect somewhere. I have a tendency to neglect some of the most important relationships in my life simply because of a lack of tangible presence, which is just an excuse for a LACK OF INTENTION ON MY PART.

I don’t have to be reminded of how much I love my wife. I don’t have to be reminded of how much I love my kids. I don’t have to be reminded to tell them I LOVE YOU. I don’t have to be reminded that they love ME. I think it’s because they’re with me. I SEE them. I can TOUCH them. I can SMELL them (though sometimes that’s not a good thing).

God’s presence isn’t confined to a song. God’s presence isn’t locked in the Bible. He’s in you. He’s all around you. He’s in everything you see, hear, taste, touch, and smell. You seek for something tangible, something to be REMINDED of Him…you already have it, you just got to acknowledge it, recognize it…recognize HIM.

What relationships are you allowing to fall to the wayside? What relationships are being neglected simply because you need to be REMINDED of their importance?

Pick up your phone and call someone RIGHT NOW! It could make all the difference in the world.

Working On Your Now For A Better Later

What’s up New Life?

I woke up freakin’ PUMPED for Celebrate Recovery tonight AND I’m EXCITED in general for what God is doing all throughout our church.

I see people coming ALIVE.

I see marriages coming TOGETHER.

I see relationships being RESTORED.

I see leaders RISING UP.

Here’s the crazy thing…this is ONLY THE BEGINNING! I believe with all my heart that the best is yet to come! My hope is that this year, 2012, is the GREATEST year of spiritual growth for our church. My prayer is that we become a people who CELEBRATE what God is going—people crossing over from death into life, people taking steps of obedience through baptism, people finding freedom from life’s hurts, habits, & hang-ups…

You want to catch a glimpse of what this looks like? You want to see people that are fired up about what God is doing? You want to get around people who are passionate about the broken? You want to witness lives changing FOREVER?

Do YOU want to change? Do YOU want something better? Do YOU want to get unstuck?

Come out to Celebrate Recovery and SEE what’s up. Come out to Celebrate Recovery and HEAR their stories. Come out to Celebrate Recovery and EXPERIENCE freedom you never knew possible.

Following Jesus requires MORE than faith, it takes ACTION (I wrote about this yesterday in case you missed it). Tonight, we discuss OUR PART, OUR NEXT STEPS. Tonight, you’ll determine whether you want to LIVE FOR JESUS and be SET FREE or continue living for yourself and remain stuck.

7:00pm…hope to see you there.

PRAY like is depends on God and WORK like it depends on you.

It's Only The Beginning

I am so PUMPED for Friday! This week we’ll be tackling Lesson 6: ACTION. There is so much potential for life change packed into this lesson. If you hear it, digest it, and apply it…you’re going to be set FREE.

May people today believe salvation begins and ends with a prayer. Like you say a prayer and BAM you’re changed, you’re free, you’re going to heaven. Like from that point forward life is full of rainbows, unicorns, and wherever you go there’s always seems to be a harp playing.

No…

IT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING. It’s a process. It’s a journey. Jesus told us to take up our crosses and FOLLOW him. The word ‘follow’ denotes an ACTION. It’s something I DO. I FOLLOW him. I want to KNOW him, LEARN FROM him, BE LIKE him.

Freedom is found within the lifelong process of LIFE CHANGE, TRANSFORMATION, RECOVERY. As God works in you, as you grow to know Him more deeply, more intimately, your insatiable appetite for (insert hurt, habit, hang-up here) is satisfied in God’s sufficiency. THAT’S how He sets you FREE.

Recovery begins with the decision to start a relationship with JESUS. Recovery is the process of an ever-deepening relationship with JESUS. Recovery is taking your passions, desires, needs, and wants, and redirecting them away from your hurts, habits, or hang-ups toward JESUS (I wrote about this on Monday in case you missed it).

It takes ACTION.

It takes a CHOICE.

It’s only the BEGINNING.

Comfortably Numb

One of the struggles we all face is COMPLACENCY. Start strong. Run fast. Slow down. Get comfortable. Coast in neutral. Sound familiar? It’s too easy to accept things as they are, to believe they can never improve OR simply lack any desire to do better. Most people don’t want to be challenged. Most people don’t want to work hard. So, when we see an opportunity to slack off, it’s easy to jump at it.

We do this in our marriages.
We do this in our jobs.
We do this in our spiritual journey.
We do this in our recovery.

I’m reminded of a song, wait, an AWESOME song by Pink Floyd titled Comfortably Numb. Just that phrase alone makes my gut hurt. The idea of being numb, feeling nothing, and finding comfort in lack of.

A lack of desire.
A lack of feeling.
A lack of love.
A lack of aspiration.
A lack of drive.
A lack of reason.
A lack of purpose.
A lack of faith.

Read these words…

When I was child I caught a fleeting glimpse, out of the corner of my eye.
I turned to look, but it was gone. I cannot put my finger on it now.
The child is grown.
The dream is gone.
I have become comfortably numb.

WOW! I don’t want that for ANYONE! The words of Jesus echo in my head and resound in my heart, “…turn from your sins and become like little children,” (Matthew 18:2-3). Children have a desire to KNOW, a desire to GROW. They ask questions. They seek answers. They accept TRUTH at face value and believe with ALL THEIR HEARTS. As it states in the song, a dream was grown out of a fleeting glimpse, a mere moment.

With age, and so called maturity, comes a different way of thinking. We move from concrete to abstract thought. We become more analytical. We require proof. Faith become synonymous with fairy-tale. We become comfortably numb.

Where are you in your spiritual journey? Have you stopped asking questions? Have you stopped seeking after answers? What about your recovery? Have you stopped working the steps? Have you stopped seeking after accountability?

Have you become comfortably numb?

Destroying Idols & Discovering Sanity

Step 3 states, “We made a decision to turn our lives and our wills over to the care of God.”

Last week I discussed the importance of Principle 3. How we, as individuals, are given the CHOICE, the opportunity to CHOOSE to turn over our lives and wills to the care and control of Christ. It’s OUR decision. It’s YOUR decision. Well, this morning I’d like to discuss the biblical comparison, the Scripture that’s connected to Step 3:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.”
Romans 12:1 NIV

Here Paul encourages us, the Church, the body of Christ, to consider our bodies, our hearts, our minds, our words, our thoughts, our deeds, over EVERYTHING, as a living sacrifice TO God. This is KEY TO RECOVERY. What I’ve come to realize over the past few years is that our hurts, habits, and hang-ups are grown out of misplaced and misdirected worship. Instead of worshiping God, the Creator, we worship something or someone. We become what the Bible calls an idolater (one who worships something OTHER THAN God).

Crazy, right?

Think about it. Some of us LOVE food. We CAN’T do without it. So, we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to food, to our stomachs. Others LOVE pornography. So, we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to porn, to our lust, to our sexual appetite. Then, there are those of us who were abused sexually, physically, emotionally, mentally. We CAN’T let go. We CAN’T move passed it. So, we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to the pain, the hurt, the resentment, the fear. The THING, whatever it is, seats itself upon the throne of our lives and rules over us in God’s place…except there’s no grace, no mercy, no love, no hope.We voluntarily remain the victim. Sacrificing not just our bodies, but our marriages, our children, our relationships, our happiness, our joy.

If you want to find “success” in your recovery you’ve got to shift the direction of your worship. The verse above says TO God. It’s not a question of ARE you a worshiper, but WHAT and WHO you are worshiping. Once you learn to live out this step, once you learn to direct your worship to God, to turn your life and will over to His care and control, you’ll find that your desires changes as well. Believe me, it’s NOT IMMEDIATE. It remains a DAILY struggle, but in Christ, you find the strength and the courage to overcome it.

WHAT or WHO are you worshiping?
WHAT or WHO are you sacrificing?

Recovery will remain nothing more than a good idea until Jesus becomes a PRIORITY.

Why I Do What I Do

Why do you do what you do? Why do any of us do what we do? Do I sing on stage to get attention? Do I write this blog to get noticed? Do I lead Celebrate Recovery to help others? Is it about me? Is it about the people I desire to lead, inspire, motivate?

No.

Allow me to use the words of Paul here…

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
Acts 20:24 NLT

I don’t do it for me. I don’t do it for you. It’s not about me. It’s not about you. It’s all about Jesus. IT’S ALL ABOUT JESUS!

His WORK.
His WILL.
His WAY.
His PRAISE.
His HONOR.
His GLORY.

This can be difficult in recovery ministry. It’s easy to be deceived and start believing that YOU are setting people free, YOU are fixing people, YOU are the rock, YOU are the refuge for the weak. What dangerous place to dwell. What burden to carry; a burden FAR TOO GREAT.

Paul said his life was worth NOTHING unless it was used to tell others about Jesus. It’s in Jesus that we find completion, wholeness, worth.

I sing to lead others to WORSHIP JESUS.
I write this blog to inspire others to LIVE FOR JESUS.
I lead Celebrate Recovery to point people TO JESUS…our all sufficient help.
I do what I do to HONOR JESUS.

So, I’ll ask it again, why do you do what you do? Why do any of us do what we do?

Watch this video from Elevation Worship and be reminded of why we do what we do.

4 Things I Want To Share With You

One of the lessons I’ve learned, well am STILL learning since stepping into a position of leadership, is that I cannot do this alone. I do not have all the answers. I am not the most skilled. I do not have the greatest ideas. I NEED others. Interestingly enough, this principle is echoes all throughout the Celebrate Recovery program (which I’d say has been the GREATEST leadership tool or resource I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of).

Interestingly, this NEED for others has actually transformed into a WANT. I don’t just need people, I don’t just need to be around others, I don’t just need the accountability, I don’t just need to be pushed and challenged…I WANT it!

Here are 4 things I want to share with you that I’ve learned over the past few years…

#1 There’s No Room For The Lone Ranger Leader—If I think I can do it all, if I honestly believe that I’m always right, I will NEVER be willing to work with others and will be forever destined to ride off into the sunset on my own (sorry Tonto). When I think of this style of leadership I think of a knot that’s been tied at the end of a balloon. It does a great job of maintaining the shape and integrity of the balloon, BUT only for a while. Eventually the helium leaks out. Eventually something comes along, life happens, the balloon is squeezed, and POP! All you’re left with is a deflated remnant of what WAS. Be more like the helium tank and blow up OTHER balloons!

#2 Answers Kill Creativity—How do you create an atmosphere of creativity? How do you get people to share their ideas? It’s simple: ASK QUESTIONS. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Don’t be afraid to allow others to speak. What I’ve learned is that if I’m the one giving ideas, if I’m the one giving answers, the creative people SHUT DOWN and SHUT UP. I’ve learned that I don’t necessarily always have the greatest idea in the room. Sometimes I have to just sit back, take notes, and allow the brainstorming process take place. I’ve got to allow for ideas to bounce back and forth amongst my creative team.

#3 There’s Always Someone Who Can Do It Better—Yes! This doesn’t scare me. This doesn’t make me feel insecure. This gets me EXCITED! This gets me FIRED UP! This means I will have the opportunity to invest in and build up future leaders! THAT’S FREAKIN’ AWESOME! God receiving more honor and glory; how could that be bad? As a leader I have to be secure in my relationship with Christ, not in my ability to speak, to write, or to sing. I do not know it all. I cannot do it all. BUT I can empty my cup into someone else’s. I can share what I’ve learned and learn FROM them. Grow leaders who can take over; don’t work to secure a position.

#4 You Stop Leading When You Stop Learning—New Life Community Church is the FIRST and ONLY church where I’ve been on staff. When I came on as the Worship Arts Pastor…I had NO CLUE about what to do. I’ve been LEARNING AS I GO. Thank you God, for blessing me with a patient group of people who have stood by me, encouraged me, and helped me along the way. As much time, if not MORE time, as I spend on planning and implementing I spend on researching and reading. Leaders, when you STOP LEARNING you will STOP LEADING. I fully understand that I do not know it all and cannot know it all, but I can sure as heck try my best to learn ALL I CAN! Again, I gotta be willing to ask questions, difficult questions, and seek advice from the people I trust.

God wants to use you to do something MAGNIFICANT! God wants to use you to CHANGE THE WORLD…the MAKE A DIFFERENCE! Here’s the catch: you cannot do it alone. Do you have a creative team? If you’re in Celebrate Recovery, are you investing in your T.E.A.M.? Is the majority of your time spent with OTHERS or yourself?

People matter. Just look to the cross for proof.

More Than A Prayer

I’ve been sober now for 5 years…I think, maybe 6. I’ve been in recovery for a little over 2 years. There’s a MAJOR difference. I’ll leave that topic for another day. I made the decision to turn my life over to Jesus 7 years ago or, better stated, I reached out to grab hold of his promises of salvation, grace, hope, and mercy…

I was FAR from committing ALL my life, let alone part of my life, and will to Christ’s care and control. I asked Jesus to invade my life, but I asked him from behind the door. As a matter of fact, I opened the door, but left the chain on. I went on to live the next few years believing that day, that prayer was enough. Biblically you could argue it was (Romans 10:9).

Looking back it’s difficult to identify any real change. I continued drinking. I continued using drugs. Don’t even get me started on my porn addiction. Is this what it means to be a Christian? Is this what it means to follow Jesus? I thought life would get easier. I thought things would be different. I thought God was going to CHANGE me!

He did.
He is.
He is going to.

Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.
Principle 3

Principle 3 nails it.

#1 CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE—It’s my choice. I have say whether or not I remain stuck in my mess or move forward in His blessings. You have the same choice. It’s the most difficult, yet easiest decision you could ever make. Jesus said it like this, he’s standing right outside your door WAITING for you to LET HIM IN (Revelation 3:20).

#2 TO COMMIT ALL MY LIFE AND WILL—God didn’t want my empty words, He didn’t want my empty promises, He didn’t want my excuses, He didn’t want my lies…He wanted my heart. He wanted ALL OF ME. He wanted a RELATIONSHIP with me. I thought He wanted my works, my good deeds, my service. He wanted ME. He wants YOU.

#3 TO CHRIST’S CARE AND CONTROL—Oh now you’ve gone and done messed it all up. People don’t want to hear about this. People don’t want to hear about handing over control. People don’t want to hear about surrender. People don’t want to hear about obedience. As if Jesus wanted anything more than to BLESS you. As if Jesus wanted anything more than to SET YOU FREE. Jesus doesn’t want something FROM you, he has something FOR you. On my own I walked a path that was leading to destruction. Destruction of MY life, my WIFE’S life, my KIDS’ lives, my kids’ KIDS…in Christ I found hope, I found LIFE. In Jesus there exists the hope of changing the trajectory of your ENTIRE family line.

I believe now more than ever that Jesus is THE remedy. NOTHING can or will convince me otherwise. I haven’t just READ ABOUT IT, I’ve LIVED IT. I’ve EXPERIENCED IT. It’s more than just saying a prayer, it’s about growing a RELATIONSHIP. It’s about TRUST. It’s about realizing you cannot do it alone, but IN CHRIST you have the strength and the courage to face today, tomorrow, and even yesterday.

Don’t stop at just saying a prayer. Let today be the day you CHOOSE to COMMIT.

No More Buts...Sorry Sir-Mix-A-Lot

This past week I took a trip with my family to the Bahamas, my ENTIRE family…wife, 3 kids, and even my mother-in-law. It was a FANTASTIC trip! It was 8 days of simply spending time with one another, laughing with one another, getting to know one another…being reminded of how much we love and appreciate one another. While away I was reminded of all the things that I seem to take for granted, the things that I don’t acknowledge ENOUGH in my life, people that matter. While away I was reminded of the importance of GRATITUDE. Funny isn’t it? God was gracious enough to give us this trip, to take us to an island paradise, only to remind me of how much I miss things BACK HOME. Crazy, right?

How often do you sit in your office or maybe your favorite spot on the couch at home and dream about the places you’d like to visit, the people you’d like to meet, the things you’d like to have...basically EVERYWHERE, EVERYONE, and EVERYTHING you don’t have?

I believe many of us, if not ALL of us, do this from time to time (some more than others). We focus more on what COULD have been or what we believe SHOULD have been and, in some cases, what WILL be. We do this, whether intentional or unintentional, and miss out on what we DO have. We miss out on what IS. Our hearts, our minds, our very souls become entangled in a mess of ungratefulness.

I’m currently reading through the book of Numbers…

Look, sometimes we think the Old Testament was written for OTHER people, we cling to and claim the New Testament and leave the Old because of the genealogies and difficult names and instructions for things that seem to no longer be pertinent, BUT, I’d like to encourage you to pick up your Bible and start reading the Old Testament. It’s a GREAT reminder of how much God loves us, how vast His grace and mercy extends, and, most importantly, it all points to Jesus…

Ok, so back to the book of Numbers. God rescues the Israelites. He saves His people. He leads and guides them with His PHYSICAL PRESENCE, like these people SAW God moving (pillar of cloud, pillar of fire). God was taking the Israelites to a land flowing with milk and honey. He was TAKING them, as in they weren’t there yet. The people grew dissatisfied with their current conditions and situation. The people wanted to go back into SLAVERY instead of move forward to GOD’S BLESSING. Read this:

So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?
Numbers 14:1-3 NKJV

The Israelites had become so focused on what they DIDN’T HAVE they completely missed out on what they DID HAVE. God SAVED them! I’m not even talking about redemption, like one day you’ll be in heaven with Jesus, but God SAVED them from 400 years of slavery. He was living AMONGST them! I don’t mean like my body is the temple and the Holy Spirit lives in me, but He was PHYSICALLY with them, leading them, guiding them.

BUT…

Maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m the only one. God has given me so much, yet I consistently respond with BUT… but WHAT?!? Like the Israelites, God saved me, He rescued me from a life of slavery—slavery to drugs, slavery to alcohol, slavery to porn, slavery to resentment, slavery to being a victim. He rescued me from the life of slavery, He’s taking me somewhere, He’s got a plan for my life, and I respond with BUT because my focus is on what I DON’T HAVE, not what I DO HAVE. God help me.

NO MORE BUTS!

Today, I’m choosing to fill my life with THANK YOU! Thank you for reminding me that you want to lead me THROUGH my struggles, not take me OUT of them. Thank you for calling me Your son in spite of my ungrateful heart. Thank you for loving me enough to remind me of WHO You are and WHAT You’ve done, when I need it the most.

Thank you.

Getting Unstuck From A Moment

Ever get stuck in a moment? What I mean, is has there ever been a part of your life, a point in time that was either so BAD or so GOOD you simply couldn’t forget it. You couldn’t get OUT of it. You couldn’t get AWAY from it. You couldn’t ESCAPE it.

There are moments in our lives that shape the way we think, the way we act, the way we love…moments in life that shape WHO WE ARE. It’s almost as if we get stuck in that moment. We live in that moment. It might be a high school football game. It might be the day you were married. It might be the first kiss. It might be graduation. It might be an award you received. It might be the day your dad first hit you. It might be the day you took your first drink. It might be the day you were raped. It might be the day you saw your best friend die.

Good. Bad. Positive. Negative. We remember. We relive. We get stuck. It’s interesting to think of it this way, but we continue in our lives, we move forward, but we constantly LOOKING BACK. It’s almost as if we’re always trying to recreate that moment, recapture that feeling.

Because we’re stuck in the PAST, we miss out on all that’s going on around us in the PRESENT.

You’re not alone. Moses had a similar struggle. Read this excerpt from Exodus.

But whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he would take the veil off until he came out; and he would come out and speak to the children of Israel whatever he had been commanded. And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
Exodus 34:34-35 NKJV

You and I cannot possibly fathom or even remotely grasp the intensity of God’s GLORY, especially in His PRESENCE. God is so glorious that Moses’ face actually glowed after spending some time in His presence. It glowed! His countenance would physically change. He would come out from the presence of God and speak to the Israelites and IMMEDIATELY cover his face. Why? The glow gradually faded. His face would eventually return to normal as he remained OUTSIDE the presence of God.

Even Moses struggled with his past, stuck in a moment, clinging to what God HAD DONE, not what God WAS DOING. Recovery is no different. Whatever your hurt, habit, or hang-up might be, you can place yourself in the moment you found freedom, the moment God’s presence became REAL in your life, and NEVER want to leave that moment. You get stuck. You yearn for that feeling.

I’m here to tell you that I serve a God who WAS and IS and IS TO COME. It’s not about what God DID in my life, but what He’s CONTINUING TO DO in my life. Recovery is a process. It’s a road we travel. It’s a journey. I cannot afford to look over my shoulder. I cannot afford to look back. I’ll trip. I’ll fall. I’ll stumble. I have to look where I’m GOING and periodically look AHEAD. Setting goals based on your past will change your perspective from what’s in front of you to what’s already behind.

Thank you, Jesus for SAVING me.

Thank you for RESCUING me from my hurts, my habits, my hang-ups.

God, help me get unstuck from my PAST.

God, help me see what You’re doing in my life RIGHT NOW.