God,Jesus, Grace, Redemption, Atonement, Reconciliation, Love, Joy and Recovery one day at a time...
Improving our conscious contact with God. If I have enough patience to let God work in my life, a God- consciousness will naturally present itself through prayer, meditation and the practice of contemplative listening in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Celebrate Recovery Habersham
Wow, Thank you my anonymous friend for bringing light where there was darkness! Your simple inquiry about the spiritual drought evidenced by my lack of blog posts landed with impecable accuracy in my heart...Complete transparency begs me to humbly admit that in the days between my last post and this Monday, November 29th, I had abandoned my Bride at the altar, straying from the aisle and wandering away from the path of righteousness most gracefully afforded to me despite my unworthiness. I have wallowed in shame, riddled by guilt, I disguised my contempt for my own hypocrisy in anger. In my hour of darkness I beseeched forgiveness. And from the depths of my aching heart with humble contrition, I dropped to my knees and declared victory over the stranglehold of despair that obscured His Truth. Holy Holy Holy With the Holy Spirit rekindled, and the scales on my eyes removed, I see clearly the path before me. Thank You for shining the light on that path, whatever moved you to comment was IMHO God's Grace working through you. May Blessings abound in your life and may you feel His Love shine from me to you. Selah! Jhn 8:12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Romans 5
What does it mean to be broken, poor in spirit, humble? For me personally, it means taking a journey in my head, remembering the place and the time in my life when I had exhausted my own resources, my own intellect, reason, and capacity to manage my own life, my thoughts, my feelings and my actions. Unfortunately, there have been many times in my life where I have figuratively waived the white flag of surrender, turning over my will to others, to God, for help...realizing that my own self-sufficiency had failed and that I could not do it on my own. Sometimes, in my own stubborness and pride, as soon as the pain faded away, I wrestled back some semblance of what I perceived as self-dignity, and took control of the wheel, directing the show, and doing my best to "manage well." When things did not work out as I planned, I was quick to point my finger, placing blame on someone else, some external event or force that derailed my well laid plans for success and happiness. And yes, I am not proud to say, that once again, I would turn back to my own self-sufficiency over and over again, repeating this same pattern, until I became completely broke, powerless, undeniably convinced that left to my own devices, I am nothing! Oh God, please let me never forget this! Help me please remember that my own will for my life, never works out. Reveal your plans for me God! Remind me of my brokeness on a daily basis! Give me a contrite heart! But let me also, walk quietly...listening...for there are times, when I disgrace you. Understanding the paradox that there is strength in weakness, I take your word, and twist it, using my humbleness as a some sort of pretense, for honor. Forgive me Lord, for even in my brokeness, my ego flexes. I build my self up as the best of the worst! I use my pain for gain. Oh God, turn me inside out! Hear my cries~Do I need to be knocked down again? Help me lay to rest these things that I despise in myself. Let your Love replace the hurt, the anger, the shame that lie behind my false righteousness! Make me knew again Lord...know my heart...climb inside Lord, take the wheel, please? Hear my words, bring me peace, I ache, I long, I yurn for you, for salvation, peace, love, redemption. I am at your Cross this morning Lord, asking for your help, Come.
Phl 2:3 Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Self, self, self. Let me be removed of the bondage of self. Oh, how I struggle with my selfish ways and thoughts...I pray for mercy and grace; that I may be healed, and become whole and walk humbly, restored through redemption. Today, may I take measure of the twelve steps that will lead me to the Cross. Selah...
He brought me out into an open place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
—Psalms 18:19
Dear Lord,
When I wandered off the path; when my steps were my own; when I took back from You, what I called my own; Your loving hands were there; for one so undeserving; You picked me up again, and wrapped Your arms around me; whispering gently; Your promises and The Truth. When you delight in me, I am undone. I am in an open place, exposed to the world, as the day I was born. I give you my praise.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for Today. Let me rejoice today in the struggle and pain that spring from my own weaknesses and provide a foundation of opportunities to change my own ways. Let me abandon the notion that I know what is good and right; align my motives with your will. Give me your strength this morning Lord, that I may fight Your battle, not mine. Use me today God to bring good to this world, letting me give of myself, rather than take for myself. Show me my errors and correct me when I stray from Your path. Put words in my mouth, to encourage and minister to others, who may be sharing my burdens, and struggling in the wilderness of this world. Thank you Lord for the simple things, that are given freely, by Grace and often over-looked as trivial, but truly blessings in themselves. Selah.
I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. —Jeremiah 31:3
My prayer for all today, is that we walk in the light, bearing witness where there is darkness, carrying His Love, sharing His Word in order to change hearts and lives. Selah.
| Phl 3:12 | I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. |
As my faith and spirituality have developed over the last 5 years since I became a child of God, I have been led by the Holy Spirit in both my personal and professional life. Although I have fallen short of God's expectations for me, I continue to strive forward on the path that I discern through my daily prayer. God continues to open doors and close others. I too, persist in taking my own will back frequently, and am learning to humbly accept the frailty and shortcomings of human capacity; my sin nature. One door that I believe God has led me through is in the professional arena of addiction counseling. By his grace, I have been provided an opportunity to fulfill a portion of his Great Commission in a secular world. However, as I become more convicted of purpose in life, I am beginning to discern a bend in the straight path of secular addiction counseling. I have taken a turn, with His guidance, towards Professional Christian Counseling. The last 5 years, during the Certification process for addiction counseling has provided me an opportunity, to cross paths with many gifted professional Christian Counselors in the addiction counseling field. Each time, in the course of my conversations, whether at Conferences and Seminars, or in the daily practice of addiction counseling, I have felt a nudge, in that direction. I once again would like to humbly reiterate, my lack of knowledge in this new arena. There is so much to learn and I understand, from my initial undertakings in my internet explorations of the field, there are a number of paths to consider. Here are just a few of the websites that I have been dipping into: www.acadc.org www.aacc.net www.ncca.org www.ccef.org www.christiancounseling.com www.christianpsych.org
What a great day! His Word has come alive today and once again, I am held captive by His Love!
1 Peter 2:2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation
1 Peter 2:3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
I found myself on the Assembly of God website today because I am a new member of an Lifepoint Church in Gainesville www.lifepointgainesville.com and I felt it was my duty to delve deeper into the core beliefs of a church of which I claimed to be a member. As I was studying and reading the 16 Fundamental Truths, I found myself, referencing the scripture with the aid of www.Blueletterbible.com and www.Biblegateway.com , I ended up on a rabbit-trail, completely immersed in a sense of insatiable craving to know more of truth. I realized, just how little I know! I pondered the idea of progressive sanctification, wondering whether this aligned itself with the Assembly of God's approach to the fundamental truths www.ag.org . I found myself so caught up in my own spiraling, man-made, epistemological and teleological debate, that I I almost became overwhelmed, and then was granted, a spiritual peace, spoken to me through His Word, that I would be carried along by the Holy Spirit, at a pace of His choosing.
2 Peter 1:21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
I humbly accept that I am just a babe in Christ, and know so little, but so much! I know that his Glory and Goodness will continue to be revealed. Thank You Lord!
