"Recovery touches all aspects of our lives, body, soul and spirit. We are interconnected beings that do not come to life in compartments within ourselves but awaken by the ripples of concentric circles like pond water invaded by stones. Grace enters us in different places, but it moves through us regardless of the many obstructions that are present within us.

One of these stones in the pond of recovering from death and all its manifestations is the power of nature.  

Addictions impact our relationships, first and foremost with ourselves. We…are addicts. Our lives, and more particularly our bodies, are the epicenter of this war. To recover is always a physical journey that wraps around all the other aspects of restoration.

We lose connections with so many God designed parts of a whole and meaningful life when we give ourselves to our destructions.

That is why repentance and forgiveness always starts with God and ourselves, then extends outward to others. Our sins destroy us and this devastation is profoundly personal, touching our very flesh, our sexual experiences and the core sense of our self. Who we are, our identity, our consciousness, our understanding and compassion for the gift of our lives needs to be recovered too.

Self harm is a reality because as Jesus bluntly said “murder” has been the intention of evil since the beginning (John 8:44). This hatred is always manifesting in some way or another. To be “saved” is a far deeper and broader word than it’s often understood in religious circles that narrowly talk of it. To end the war on yourself is one of the most beautiful aspects of a recovering life. Finding peace with yourself is woven into peace with God and peace with others.Our bodies resonate with the various elements of the natural World. Everything emerged from the waters of chaos and our Creator fashioned us from dirt and wind.

In returning to our natural we encounter God’s Divine attributes:

“For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world,  being understood through what he has made.  As a result, people are without excuse.” -Romans‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭

Encountering the power of God is part of the recovery of life. We need resurrection, we must be born from above. To be recreated by God is a spiritual journey of many experiences. Regeneration is a joyful returning as much therapeutic as it is theological. To be remade is a gift that reunites us with our own bodies too.

You come to celebrate your cleansed and sanctified selves. To be holy isn’t a censure, but a celebration. Retuning to Eden isn’t a puritanical covering up of our created selves, but an unclothing of our blessed nakedness. A removal of remorse and shame and an entrance back into quiet and un-pressured communion.                  Being set free is a returning and recovery that only God can accomplish for us and within us.

It leaves us with silence and song as we feast on the many delicious fruits God has granted us in His bountiful garden. To know Him is to come to know ourselves again. To follow Him is to reduce our pace, to stop racing, rushing and being driven or pushed, but to simply walk.

The addicted are compelled, the free ones are invited. Recovering life is tough, but it isn’t a yoke that rubs you raw.

“Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life.” -Jesus (Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬)

 She's not easy.

A life with this girl will not be a walk in the park so listen up....

Her past trauma has taught her to build walls up that surround her heart that are nearly indestructible. 

She talks back and she stands up for herself because of the things she's been through. 

Her feelings are easily hurt and she overthinks literally everything and unfortunately believing the worst case scenario. 

She is going to need you be completely honest and be very straightforward with her at all times because she is done playing games like she has with the people in her past, that were the complete opposite of what they proclaimed to be. 

She will need continuous reassurance with not only your words, but your actions as well with every single day that passes. 

She fights the voices in her head everyday that tells her she's not good enough. 

She has anxiety and depression and there will be days where she will struggle to even get out of bed. 

She's still learning how to love herself so she will require a little more patience and effort than what you're used to but I promise you this ..... 

If you can prove to her your intentions are genuine and you show her how much you deeply care through your actions on a daily basis, you will experience one of the most purest forms of love in existence. 

~ Cody Bret

 This one’s for the grandparents who TRULY show up.  

Not just for the photos. Not just for the social media moments. But for the everyday—the messy, the beautiful, and the real.  

For the ones who don’t just celebrate the big milestones but are there for all the in-between moments, too.  

The ones who never miss a game, a recital, or a birthday.  

The ones who cheer the loudest from the stands, clap the hardest in the audience, and give the warmest hugs in the parking lot after.  

The ones who bring comfort with every embrace and wisdom with every story.  

Who make the holidays brighter, the traditions stronger, and the ordinary days a little sweeter.  

Who show their love in the little things—handwritten notes, homemade meals, early morning rides, and late-night talks.  

Because showing up isn’t about convenience or appearances.  

It’s about THEM Their childhood. Their memories. Their hearts.  

And in the end, that steady, unwavering love—that PRESENT love—is the greatest gift you could ever give. ❤️  

Here’s to the grandparents who make life richer, one moment at a time.

 

The following is about not neglecting our family and those close to us with our zeal for strangers. It's harder at home and with family because they make demands on us that a stranger may not. 

"Charity sitteth on a fair hill-top, blessing far and near, but her garments drop ambrosia, chiefly on the violets around her: She gladdeneth indeed the map like scene, stretching to the verge of the horizon. 

For her angel face is lustrous and beloved, even as the moon in heaven; but the lights of that beatific vision gloweth in serener concentration, the nearer to her heart, and nearer to her home, that hill-top where she sitteth. 

Therefore she is kind unto her kin, yearning in affection on her neighbors, giving gifts to those around who know and loved her well. 

But the counterfeit of charity, an hypocrite of earth, not a grace of heaven, seeketh not to bless at home, for her nearer aspect is ill-favored: therefore hideth she for shame, counting that pride humility. 

And none of those around her hearth are gladdened by her gifts: Rather, with an overreaching zeal, flingeth she her bounty to the stranger and scattered prodigalities abroad compensate for meanness in her home; For benefits showered on the distant shine in unmixed beauty, so then even she may reap their undiscerning praise: 

Therefore native want hath pined, where foreign need was fattened; Woman been crushed by the tyranneus hand that upheld the flag of liberty: Poverty been prisoned up and starved by hearts that are maudlin upon crime; and freeborn babes been manacled by men who liberate the unruly slave."

Martin F. Tupper