Recent Posts
Unpacking the Process of Sanctification & Recovery
One of the most challenging directives in Scripture is when Jesus says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). A simple review of the 10 Commandments convinces me that I break many of them daily. Without the presence of...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 2)
In part one of this series, Mark L. details how the first three Beatitudes can help us in our recovery and spiritual lives “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” This Beatitude suggests we must actively pursue God and...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 1)
The first formal Step Four a recovering person makes can be likened to the preparation for a “general Confession” made by a Catholic who has returned to the Church after being away or been received into the Church for the first time. This in-depth and thorough...
If I Have Disordered Eating, Should I Pick a Non-Food Lenten Penance?
I just finished cleaning out our bathroom drains. There’s a Lenten lesson in here, I promise. When my daughters were little, I kept their hair shoulder-length. Anything longer was way too difficult to brush without all of us ending in tears. As soon as they were old...
Courage to Share: Going to Meetings When the Lust Addict Is Your Spouse
As I entered my first meeting for family and friends of lust addicts, I looked around the room and studied the faces there, wondering if they would understand. After all, I had a secret in addition to how lust addiction was affecting my marriage, but it was such a...
Finding Peace & Healing in the Midst of a Loved One’s Alcoholism
My spouse’s alcoholism was crushing me both emotionally and physically. Our relationship was no longer a real marriage even though we were living together in the same house. My two children were gone and leading full lives far away from our home. For forty years, my...
The Importance of the Virtues on the Path of Recovery & Holiness
When a person seeks addiction recovery, they’re usually after one goal—to become free of disordered behaviors and addictions. However, for those of us in CIR, we’re also after another goal. We don’t only strive to stop our addictions, compulsions, or unhealthy...
Shifting Our Understanding from Surrendering to Yielding to God’s Will (Part 2)
In part one of this series, Mark L. writes about how the surrender he thought he needed to embrace to rejoin the Father might be more aptly described as yielding to the wooing of a lover who is always quietly beckoning him. Yielding to God’s will to move from...
Finding Healing from Abortion After Entering the Rooms of Recovery
For quite some time now, the Holy Spirit has been nudging me to write about a very sensitive and difficult subject—the pain and trauma caused by abortion. With God’s strength and courage, I pray that we as members of the CIR fellowship will join in deep prayer and...
Shifting Our Understanding from Surrendering to Yielding to God’s Will (Part 1)
Every 12-step novice is familiar with the term “surrender” and its significance for finding recovery. However, as often as the word is used in recovery groups, the word itself does not appear in any of the Twelve Steps. I’ve spent decades in recovery and attended...
Unpacking the Process of Sanctification & Recovery
One of the most challenging directives in Scripture is when Jesus says, “Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). A simple review of the 10 Commandments convinces me that I break many of them daily. Without the presence of...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 2)
In part one of this series, Mark L. details how the first three Beatitudes can help us in our recovery and spiritual lives “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” This Beatitude suggests we must actively pursue God and...
How to Take a Daily Moral Inventory in Light of the Beatitudes (Part 1)
The first formal Step Four a recovering person makes can be likened to the preparation for a “general Confession” made by a Catholic who has returned to the Church after being away or been received into the Church for the first time. This in-depth and thorough...
If I Have Disordered Eating, Should I Pick a Non-Food Lenten Penance?
I just finished cleaning out our bathroom drains. There’s a Lenten lesson in here, I promise. When my daughters were little, I kept their hair shoulder-length. Anything longer was way too difficult to brush without all of us ending in tears. As soon as they were old...
Courage to Share: Going to Meetings When the Lust Addict Is Your Spouse
As I entered my first meeting for family and friends of lust addicts, I looked around the room and studied the faces there, wondering if they would understand. After all, I had a secret in addition to how lust addiction was affecting my marriage, but it was such a...
Finding Peace & Healing in the Midst of a Loved One’s Alcoholism
My spouse’s alcoholism was crushing me both emotionally and physically. Our relationship was no longer a real marriage even though we were living together in the same house. My two children were gone and leading full lives far away from our home. For forty years, my...
The Importance of the Virtues on the Path of Recovery & Holiness
When a person seeks addiction recovery, they’re usually after one goal—to become free of disordered behaviors and addictions. However, for those of us in CIR, we’re also after another goal. We don’t only strive to stop our addictions, compulsions, or unhealthy...
Shifting Our Understanding from Surrendering to Yielding to God’s Will (Part 2)
In part one of this series, Mark L. writes about how the surrender he thought he needed to embrace to rejoin the Father might be more aptly described as yielding to the wooing of a lover who is always quietly beckoning him. Yielding to God’s will to move from...
Finding Healing from Abortion After Entering the Rooms of Recovery
For quite some time now, the Holy Spirit has been nudging me to write about a very sensitive and difficult subject—the pain and trauma caused by abortion. With God’s strength and courage, I pray that we as members of the CIR fellowship will join in deep prayer and...
Shifting Our Understanding from Surrendering to Yielding to God’s Will (Part 1)
Every 12-step novice is familiar with the term “surrender” and its significance for finding recovery. However, as often as the word is used in recovery groups, the word itself does not appear in any of the Twelve Steps. I’ve spent decades in recovery and attended...