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, surrenderOver three decades of my life, from age 34 to 64 years old, the Lord has led me to return to the Twelve Steps of recovery over and over again. He has used the Steps to peel away my pride, one layer at a time. It’s sort of like reconstructive surgery. You can’t reconstruct an […]
Read More little bit, recovery, twelve stepWhat 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 stepWhat is Free Step Friday (#freestepfriday)? Click here for details. Scripture: Mosiah 26:35–36—And whosoever repented of their sins and did confess them, them he did number among the people of the church; and those that would not confess their sins and repent of their iniquity, the same were not numbered among the people of the […]
Read More fifth step, FreeStepFriday, journaling, scripture study, twelve stepWhat is Free Step Friday (#freestepfriday)? Click here for details. Scripture: Jacob 4:10—Seek not to counsel the Lord. When we finally surrender our lives and our will to God, we begin to pray in a whole new way. Our prayers begin to have less emphasis on what we want, and more emphasis on what would […]
Read More conscious contact, FreeStepFriday, journaling, prayer, scripture study, twelve stepLiving by the Twelve Steps is essentially agreeing to give up our power—or rather, our powerlessness—in exchange for God’s power. It is becoming willing to do only what God gives me the power to do. But when I offer up my will to God, relying on His power, does this mean that He will give […]
Read More control, power, willpowerWhat is Free Step Friday (#freestepfriday)? Click here for details. Scripture: Omni 1:26—Offer your whole souls as an offering unto him. How much plainer can it be stated? Our whole soul—body and spirit. This is the ultimate act of consecration. It is to come full circle back to God and offer to Him all that […]
Read More FreeStepFriday, journaling, scripture study, trust, twelve stepAbstinence is not always recovery. What?!? Many people want to believe that abstinence is the end-all of a Twelve Step program. While it’s extremely important, abstinence is the result, not the goal. Recovery is not born of abstinence. Abstinence grows from recovery. Rather than focusing on how long we’ve been abstinent, our emphasis should be […]
Read More abstinence, Christ, pride, recoveryWhat is Free Step Friday (#freestepfriday)? Click here for details. Scripture 1 Nephi 7:12—The Lord is able to do all things… for the children of men, if…they exercise faith in him. As far back as I can remember, even into my earliest childhood years, I have always believed in God and that He could do […]
Read More FreeStepFriday, scripture study, twelve step, writingWhat is Free Step Friday (#freestepfriday)? Click here for details. Scripture Mosiah 27:29—My soul hath been redeemed from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss;…My soul was racked with eternal torment. Gall of bitterness? Bonds of iniquity? Darkest abyss? Racked with eternal torment? Have you ever heard a […]
Read More scripture study, twelve step, writing