The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Romans 8:7 Without God, we cannot find the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference. As we examine […]

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 It’s that time of year again; Thursday marks the holiday season with Thanksgiving and the busy rush to Christmas and New Year’s. How can we […]

“Some men came bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said […]

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21 Sometimes what we perceive as treasures are really ongoing patterns of behaviors that keep us sick. An alcoholic walking into a brewery—jackpot. An addict coming upon a pile of stash he had forgotten about—jackpot. A co-dependent with a new person to fix—jackpot. A […]

Step 11: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power carry that out. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Colossians 3:16 I listened to a wonderful message at CR last Friday night on Gratitude. There is […]

“After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever.” 1 Peter 5:10 I was talking to a person with an addiction last week—actually I was […]

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me.” Philippians 1:21-22 We all have problems—not if, but when. The problem with problems is that if you don’t take care of today’s problems, they will become past […]

“Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8 The antithesis of generosity is judgment. We talk of CR as being a safe place; not just in terms of anonymity and confidentiality, but also in terms acceptance and freedom from judgment. When working with another, sometimes we can get confused in how we are helping them. […]

“Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families; he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.” Psalm 68: 5-6 Loneliness is a terrible state of mind. For those reading this message today who have been in that lonely place, I don’t need to […]

“God has things under control even when life is out of control.” That’s the hope filled message I heard at church over the weekend. We all know how important hope is to our recovery. We come to Celebrate Recovery to have a new relationship with Christ, learning to rely on his grace to clear away […]