by Carmen Renee Berry "You've taken this recovery thing much too far," her angry words cut through me like a knife. "You used to be such a good Christian! Now you sound like some pop-psychologist. I'm afraid for you," my friend's eyes filled with frustrated tears. "You're being fooled by psychology and losing your Christian foundation." I sat stunned as my friend walked away. "Was she … [Read more...] about Trusting God
Search Results for: shame
Creating Shame-free Sacred Spaces
Women and Sexual Addiction
by Marnie Ferree While most people tend to assume that sexual addiction is a problem only for men, the evidence suggests the contrary. Addictions, all addictions, are pretty much equal opportunity diseases. And sexual addiction is no exception. Marnie Ferree is a pioneer in the treatment of female sex and relationship addicts. This article is material taken from a workshop she gave recently in … [Read more...] about Women and Sexual Addiction
Recovery from Spiritual Distress
by Dale and Juanita Ryan A few days after Steve first attended a support group for adult children of alcoholics, a powerful image came into his mind. "I saw myself in a large crowd of people. God was holding my hand. But suddenly, God's hand pulled away and I was lost in the crowd. I was separated from God, abandoned, completely alone." When Steve attempted to honestly face the needs in his … [Read more...] about Recovery from Spiritual Distress
When My Life Was At It’s Worst, I Looked the Best
by Dale Wolery Cleaning up the outside of the cup while leaving the inside a mess is not something Jesus recommended. He made his views on this matter perfectly clear: paying too much attention to how we appear and not enough attention to who we are is like trying to make a tomb seem more pleasant by giving it a coat of fresh paint! It doesn't clear the tomb of the dead bones. … [Read more...] about When My Life Was At It’s Worst, I Looked the Best
Working for God
by Dale Wolery Jim Cramer, Wall Street guru and author of a memoir, Confessions of a Street Addict, summarizes what I have experienced as a recovering religious work addict. He says, "I'm proud of my performance but I'm not proud of the person I became." For me, being work addicted had its meaningful rewards while simultaneously creating immeasurable personal losses. I did a lot of wonderful … [Read more...] about Working for God
Resource Center on Emotional and Relational Health
Sobriety is, of course, just the beginning. It makes it possible for us to feel again. But that's both the good news and the bad news. Feeling again is not always so fun. A lot of stuff floats to the surface in recovery. Some of it can be quite painful. But we are learning some new tools that can help us deal with this kind of thing. We hope you will find something here that will helpful in … [Read more...] about Resource Center on Emotional and Relational Health
Depression
by Dale Wolery Margot Kidder struggled bravely during her interview on "20/20" with Barbara Walters. "I'm not going to cry" she said, as tears leaked over their threshold. Margot continued to describe honestly and vulnerably her long battle with depression. Her particular brand of depression is called "manic depression". It is a severe depression characterized by desperate lows and equally … [Read more...] about Depression
Good News for Co-Dependent Christians
by Jason Li If you visit your local bookstore to look for help with co-dependency, chances are you'll be greeted by an entire shelf of books on the subject. There certainly is no shortage of authors with things to say about co-dependency. It can even get a little confusing because there are so many different things being said about co-dependency. However, one thing that all of … [Read more...] about Good News for Co-Dependent Christians
Pray
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 When we are faced with difficulties in life, we need support from friends and family. We also need God’s help. Perhaps the most direct way to open ourselves to God is through prayer. … [Read more...] about Pray