Month: December 2022

And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. 2 Peter 1:15 I started journaling while in treatment way back in 2014. It’s my way of processing my thoughts, which has been tremendously helpful in my recovery. In 2016, I began sharing…
Read more

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities . . . as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 2 Peter 1:12-14 When…
Read more

Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 2 Peter 1:10 I’m prone to black and white thinking. It’s simply my nature and to think otherwise often requires a conscious effort. For example, in addiction medicine, I’ll often give a…
Read more

For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 2 Peter 1:9 Our dog likes to swim now, but early in his life, he was terrified of the water. During the summer, he didn’t like the dock and wouldn’t go near the…
Read more

Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 2 Peter 1:5-7 It’s often easy to identify the methamphetamine users in treatment by their smile – or lack thereof.…
Read more

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 2 Peter 1:4 (NIV) When I meet those in jail or treatment who are newly sober, it often seems their minds…
Read more

And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 The life of addiction is one of total despair. Enslaved to the drug, my first thought every morning and my last…
Read more

Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 1 Peter 5:9 Alcoholics Anonymous has a tradition of celebrating clean time. Whenever someone who’s struggled with addiction has a significant amount of sobriety, he or she stands in front of the group…
Read more

Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 Remember that we deal with alcohol-cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. A.A. Preamble I grew up in South Dakota, often vacationing in the Black…
Read more

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.  1 Peter 5:6-7 Back in medical school, I was diagnosed with a cancer, which if hadn’t been caught early, could have been a disaster. Thankfully,…
Read more