Abstinence 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, recoveryI, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20; emphasis added) Abstinence is not a result of anything I do. It is a result of the […]
Read More abstinence, deliveryDoing abstinence with God—putting Him in charge of defining it, letting Him guide us in applying it, relying on His strength to live it—elevates abstinence to a holy sacrament. With God, the spirit of abstinence becomes one of joyful surrender, as our willingness to live the truth becomes blessed and sanctified by Him. When you […]
Read More abstinence, sacrifice, willpowerAnd thus mercy . . . encircles them in the arms of safety. (Alma 34:16) Learning how to be abstinent is like learning how to walk on a balance beam. At first, you are very, very clumsy. You gain your balance for a moment, take a couple of shuffling steps, and then fall off. But […]
Read More abstinence, conscious contact, delivery, faith, recoveryI stayed up pretty late, last night—well, this morning. Only then did I remember that this morning was a Tuesday mornin—my morning to serve as facilitator for the Heart t’ Heart online meeting at 6:30 a.m. (Mountain Time). I am so grateful that I had the chance (and the excuse) to be at that meeting. […]
Read More abstinence, challenges, delivery, faith, little bit, prodigal, recovery, trustA new year is upon us and many of us are taking inventory and making plans to change. We desire to be better, to do better, so we make long lists of resolutions, detailed itemizations of things we need or want to change in our lives. I think that taking inventory and having a plan […]
Read More abstinence, challenges, delivery, ebb & flow, little bitAnd out of small things proceedeth that which is great. (Doctrine and Covenants 64:33) For most people, the one sure way to quickly become abstinent and then to consistently continue in abstinence is to start with a humble, simple abstinence. We must view our beginning efforts as the Lord does, with mercy and humility. Like […]
Read More abstinence, Christ, Christmas, faith, grace, little bitVerily, 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 […]
Read More abstinence, choices, fasting, gift, humility, joy, rejoicingMy abstinence has changed a lot over the years. What and how and when I eat now is nothing compared to what and how and when I ate 25 years ago. If I had met my current self then, I would have been so impressed with me. The kind of abstinence I have now would […]
Read More abstinence, experience, faith, hope, recovery, sanity, strengthRecently, I watched the movie, “17 Miracles” that depicted the Saints coming across the plains to Utah. I was deeply moved by the many sacrifices they made, even the loss of their own lives in some cases. We are quick to feel sorrow for those who died along the trail, those who never made it […]
Read More abstinence, recovery, repentance