It takes humility to take the first three steps—the surrender steps. They seem so desperate, like I’m throwing in the towel on my life. Like I’m giving up every bit of personal power. And I am. But in the most counter-intuitive and paradoxical way, these steps toward powerlessness are quite literally steps toward power. Through […]
Read More grace, humility, power, powerlessness, surrenderWhat is Free Step Friday (#freestepfriday)? Click here for details. Scripture 3 Nephi 9:21—Behold, I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world, to save the world from sin. The Lord declared this same message when He said, “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: […]
Read More FreeStepFriday, journaling, scripture study, sixth step, twelve stepI’ve been feeling a little put upon lately. Well, to be honest, for the past several years. And it’s been ticking me off so much that I’ve gained 40 pounds. And that ticks me off too. And in the midst of my ticked-offedness this morning, I read this verse of scripture: “For behold, I have […]
Read More challenges, Christ, faith, hope, trials, trustAt a conference a few years ago, a talked about how important it is to fight the adversary, to do combat with him. I suppose that on the surface this seems like a good idea, but my heart cried out, “No!” I wanted to jump from my seat and proclaim what I perceive to be […]
Read More atonement, Christ, grace, surrender, willpowerHave ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? (Alma 5:27) Keeping myself blameless before God? How in the world can I do that? There are so many ways to sin—in thoughts, words, deeds (Mosiah 4:29-30). How can I possibly watch myself so closely that I can remain blameless? I can’t. It’s an impossible task for […]
Read More atonement, blame, repentanceIn Sacrament meeting, I was once again impressed by the words of the Sacrament Prayer: “Always remember Him…” (Moroni 4:3, 5:12; D&C 20:77, 79) The Him in these verses refers to our Savior, Jesus Christ. We are urged to always remember our Redeemer and what He has done for us. Remembering Him includes keeping His […]
Read More love, sacramentThe Lord blesses us in so many different ways. Many of us are most interested in the physical blessings: good health, financial security (or abundance), a family, mortal relationships. It’s part of the human condition to long for these things. We are no different than the people in Christ’s own day. They wanted Him to […]
Read More blessings, healing, spiritual lifeAnd I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Luke 11:9) A Twelve Step program is a crash course in how to prepare to meet God. If you sincerely follow the twelve steps, you will not only recover from […]
Read More Christ, recoveryPart 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 [This post is excerpted from Chapter 3 of From Heartache to Healing: Finding Power in Christ to Deal with a Loved One’s Sexual Addiction by Colleen C. & Philip A. Harrison.] Coming to Know the Unfailing Love of God, Even […]
Read More atonement, Christ, humility, imperfection, recovery, repentancePart 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 [This post is excerpted from Chapter 3 of From Heartache to Healing: Finding Power in Christ to Deal with a Loved One’s Sexual Addiction by Colleen C. & Philip A. Harrison.] Escaping the Lies Satan Has Snared Us With It’s […]
Read More atonement, Christ, codependency, lies, love, recovery, repentance