Hearthaven Publishing
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Feedburner
  • Twitter
  • Rss
  • Home
  • Books
    • He Did Deliver Me From Bondage
    • Clean Hands, Pure Heart
    • From Heartache to Healing
    • Patterns of Light Vol 1
    • A Voice from the Fire
    • Dear Bishop
    • The Unseen Enemy
  • Audio & Art
    • He Did Deliver Me Audio Book
    • The Sky’s Not the Limit
    • Provo Lecture Series Audio CDs
    • Wonderful, Counselor Art Print
  • Recovery
    • Addiction
      • Addiction and the LDS Community
      • Alcohol and Drugs
      • Codependency
        • Codependent Characteristics
        • Codependency—An Ancient Problem
      • Other Addictions
      • Overeating and Food-Related Addictions
      • Sexual Addiction
        • Do I Have a Sexual Addiction?
    • Twelve Step Support
      • The Origin of the Twelve Steps
      • LDS 12 Steps
      • AA 12 Steps
      • Tools for Recovery
      • 12 Step Community
    • Forums
  • About Us
    • About Hearthaven Publishing
    • Hearthaven History
    • Submissions
    • Link Swap & Buttons
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Bookstore
Search the site...
Home» Tools » abstinence » Celebrating Abstinence

Celebrating Abstinence

0

Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer. (D&C 59:14)

 

Fasting is not meant to be a negative experience. It is more than just refraining from eating.

Fasting is as much about attitude as about action. It refocuses our hunger and thirst on the spiritual life, rather than on the temporal or physical life.

In the scriptures, fasting is a synonym for rejoicing. It is a celebration of coming to know for yourself that the spiritual life is not just a theory or a hope, but an essential reality.

Abstinence could be considered a form of continual fasting and as such could also be considered a state of continuous celebration, rejoicing in the triumph of the spiritual over the physical. Rejoicing in our abstinence, however, is not something we can will ourselves to do. This spirit of humility and gratitude that fills us and takes away our cravings is a gift from God. He eagerly waits for us to desire this gift more than we desire our addiction.

The truth is, we can choose to let our abstinence feel like a burden and an excuse to be depressed—or we can choose to believe in and request our abstinence from God as a blessing and a gift. The choice of how we experience our abstinence is up to us.

 

~Colleen H.

©2012 Hearthaven Publishing. All rights reserved.

 

abstinence, choices, fasting, gift, humility, joy, rejoicing

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe via E-mail

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Grab Our Button!


Click image for details.

LDS 12 Step Sites

  • Heart t' Heart
  • LDS Addiction Recovery (ARP)

Other 12 Step Sites

  • Alcoholics Anonymous
  • Overeaters Anonymous

Recovery Bloggers

  • LDS 12 Step Reflections

Archives

Dear Blog Visitor:

Due to the many spammers out there, if your listed URL goes to a business site or a locked facebook page, your comment will be deleted as spam. If your leave a legit comment and it does not show up within a few days, please contact us using the link at the bottom right of this page. Sorry for the inconvenience. ~Hearthaven Publishing

From Twitter

  • Could not fetch Twitter RSS feed.

Recent Posts

  • God is Waiting for Us . . .
  • God is Not a Means to an End
  • Working the Steps Is Like Reconstructive Surgery
  • Free Step Friday: I Came Not to Judge the World (Step 6)

Need a Dose of Recovery?

Visit our blog and join the conversation on various aspects of recovery from an LDS perspective. Your comments are welcome!

Get in Touch

  • 1-435-245-3723
  • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • None
(c) 2012 Hearthaven Publishing
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us