Putting Childish Thoughts Behind

11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with childish ways and have put them aside. 1st Corinthians 13:11

This morning, my son and I were having a heated discussion about his chore money. He felt that I owed him money even when I explained to him that he did not follow through with all of his responsibilities. And for the next fifteen minutes, in his childish ways he whined, tried to reason, complained and even threw a tantrum like a child will. And I expect that from my kids - because their reasoning ability is all centered around themselves - what is fair to them, what makes them feel good, what they can get for the least amount of work.

I get it (even though at 7:10 in the morning right before his bus is supposed to come, this "discussion" was trying my patience - huge!) And what can I do besides stick to my parenting guns - I can pray that he will grow into a young man who sees life not just though his selfish eyes - but consider the world and people in it around him.

As adults, aren't we supposed to have this all figured out? When we see our kids throwing a tantrum about something like this - it's obvious right? Or is it?

For some of us - I don't think it is. If it was, we wouldn't be in this world of addiction, hurts, hang-ups, habits. If it was so obvious, shouldn't we just be able to stop?

Perhaps, you never received the type of parenting that you needed in order to be able to cope with life and instead you chose addiction as the answer. Now as an adult you see your life crumbling around you and perhaps are wondering why? It's time we stop reasoning like a child and put on our big girl (or boy) pants and make adult choices. If you feel like you don't know how - seek help with a counselor, attend a Celebrate Recovery meeting, or a 12 step meeting, ask a trusted friend for their honest truth.  

It's time to put childish thinking, child reasoning and actions aside. It's time to getting our healing on!  What pants are you wearing today?

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Nothing But the Truth

Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. John 17:17

God demands and teaches absolute truth. Jesus came and preached the Good News - which is the truth. He didn't mince his words and try to skirt the big issues because our lives are just too short for that. Jesus just preached the raw truth. And while many were offended by it, many were relieved and set free.

See, living a life filled with deception is actually very tiring. Those who view pornography and try to do it without getting caught live in a constant state of anxiety. Are you trying to hide a drinking problem from your spouse by disguising it as happy hour?  What about a shopping addiction? Do you get home from a binge and quick hide everything in the closet and don't show your spouse the credit card bills?  Your minds are working so hard to try and plan it so we don't get caught. Well, I'm here to tell you the truth. You are already BUSTED! God already knows.

So, who are you really hiding the truth from? Your spouse, your family and friends? I think the most important person you are hiding from is yourself! True healing from an addiction, or hurt or habit is going to come when you finally accept the truth. That took me a while to do. But once we accept this truth, it's really freeing. At that point there are other things we have to deal with..but the first step is accepting the truth of the situation.  It's a huge step - but healing will only come when you take the first step. Infact, it's the first step in both the Celebrate Recovery program or a traditional 12 step program. Are you ready to take the first step?

And what if you have already done that? What if you are well into your journey of recovery? There are things that we can do. First, we can continue to be accountable to others so that we don't fall and act out again. Second, we can be that person for someone who has just taken the first step. We can be someone's accountability partner or sponsor and give guidance. This carries huge responsibilities with it too. Telling someone the truth can be a tricky thing. It can push others away or it can bring others to us. Sometimes it needs to be just said flat out - and other times we need to help lead the person to the truth but let them discover it on their own. Anyway you slice it, speaking truth to someone carries risks. The only advice I can offer here is to speak the truth in love. You are not responsible for the actions of others - but you are responsible to speak the truth.

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Come Eat

I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty. John 6:35

In order to survive in life we must eat and drink. Our body depends on it for existence. Food is essentia because it provides nourishment for our bodies. Ever notice that when you don't eat you get headaches , cranky, sometimes the shakes, you can't think straight, your stomach hurts - and often not eating properly is a trigger to acting out. It's why eating properly is one of the green lights in recoveryBox and why it's actually a G1 light - because without eating and nourishing your body you can't make good decisions.

Just as you need actual food for nourishment for your physical body, so do you need a food for your spiritual body. That spiritual food is important for your existence here on earth but it's also needed for your existence for eternity.  We must make sure that we maintain a continual conversation with God through prayer, reading scripture, studies of the Bible, etc so that when we need reserves in dark times our spiritual body is filled up. It doesn't happen overnight and takes deliberate choices to eat this type of food. These type of spiritual food is also considered green lights in recoveryBox.  Just like eating well to maintain our bodies is a good habit, so is eating of spiritual food - both are good habits to break addictions.

There is a difference though about this type of food. Whereas physical food only lasts a few hours and we need to eat again soon - spiritual food does not leave you feeling empty or thirsty. Infact, it leaves you feeling full. So full that you will crave more! Huh?!? When you don't eat physical food your body tells you to eat more by those feelings of hunger and it doesn't feel good. But spiritual food makes you feel wonderful inside because it's truth. And as you fill on truth you will desire to have more and more and it doesn't leave you with bad feelings. When is the last time you could eat anything you wanted and not get fat???  I'm so glad that Jesus is my daily bread and that His Word sets me free.

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