Month: August 2018

There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment? Ecclesiastes 2:24-25 A patient recently thanked me, telling me that he read my blog.…
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Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure . . . and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind . . . Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 I can clearly recall the thoughts of my last relapse. Having worked a long run of nights, the insomnia caught up…
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She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. Proverbs 31:20 When I got out of chemical dependency treatment, I began going to the local jail and sober housing facility for two reasons. First, I truly believed God wanted me to share his love with others, and second, I needed…
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This is the way of an adulteress: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wrong.” Proverbs 30:20 In every struggle I’ve had with my destructive appetites, there has always been a point where I knew I didn’t need help from God or man. I’ve got this under control. I can quit…
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A fool vents all his feelings, but a wise man holds them back. Proverbs 29:11 (NKJV) When I do whatever I want, I end up in jail. I heard it again this week, at jail Bible study. I may not have spent time incarcerated, but I know the feeling well. When I go my way,…
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Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13 I’m sure there are those who boast about their addictions, but most of us prefer to keep our dark struggles in the dark. We hide the things that control us, and we fear what would happen if…
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As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man. Proverbs 27:19 When I was in medical training, I met physicians who, though they provided excellent care for patients, were monsters in their personal life. It seemed they thought that because they saved lives, that they could behave horribly outside the…
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Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 Nearly four years ago, as life fell apart in my drug addiction, my problems only multiplied. Knowing I had to go away to inpatient treatment in a few days, I spent as much time with my kids as I could, and while playing, ended up tearing…
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A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls. Proverbs 25:28 Whenever I have experienced success in self-control, whether it has been in my drug addiction, thought life or overeating, I have almost immediately succumbed to pride, condescending to those who are still struggling. Look at me. I’ve got self-control. Why…
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If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. Proverbs 25:16 I often write that we must surrender our destructive desires. Using drugs and donuts as my most common examples might lead you to think that I view sugar consumption and drug abuse as…
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